Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission Elects New Chairman

The State Journal
1 July 2014

Thomas Easterly of Indianapolis, Indiana, has been elected chairman of the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, effective July 1.

Easterly is commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, having been appointed by former Gov. Mitch Daniels in January 2005 and reappointed by Gov. Mike Pence in 2013. As IDEM commissioner, Easterly serves as an ex-officio member of ORSANCO.

Prior to serving as commissioner to IDEM, Easterly served as president of Environmental Business Strategies, Inc., a consulting firm providing environmental technical and regulatory assistance to manufacturing companies. He also worked as the manager of Environmental Planning and Improvement for NiSource, Inc., and developed sustainable environmental business practices which allowed the company to be a charter member of the Environmental Protection Agency's National Environmental Performance Track.

Easterly served in leadership roles in numerous professional and community organizations such as the Air and Waste Management Association, Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center, Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission Environmental Management Policy Committee, Indiana Manufacturers Association and Indiana Chamber of Commerce. He also served the commission as vice-chairman and secretary-treasurer.

Easterly holds a bachelor of science in Electrical Engineering and a master of science in Urban & Environmental Studies from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. He's a board certified environmental engineer and a professional engineer licensed in Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Other elected ORSANCO officers include: Douglas Conroe (New York Commissioner) as vice chair and Charles Lovan (Kentucky Commissioner) as secretary-treasurer. Conroe is the Director of Operations at the Chautauqua Institution. Lovan is the Director of Northern Kentucky Water District.

ORSANCO, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, is an interstate water pollution control agency for the Ohio River and its tributaries. Member states include Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.