Morgantown Dominion Post
22 May 2006
By Janet L. Metzner
Milk jugs, soda cans, tires and other trash left on creek banks often makes its way to the Monongahela River, mixing with natural debris such as tree limbs.
It makes an unsightly mound behind the Morgantown Lock and Dam, as it does along other rivers throughout the country, said Chuck Joseph, project manager for Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan of the W.Va. Department of Environmental Protection.
"We're going to do our part to help clean it up and we hope that everybody else does their part - if you can't come out to clean up the river bank, at the very least, think about your litter and your trash, and put it in the right place," he said.
The first-ever Monongahela River Sweep, coordinated by REAP, is set for 8 a.m.-1 p.m. June 10.
Volunteers - walkers and boaters - are needed to help clean up the creek banks, as well as remove trash from the river itself, said Laura Stiller, office manager for the Mon County Solid Waste Authority.
Volunteers who want to work in Monongalia or Preston counties, but who don't already have a group to clean with, should call Stiller at 292-3801, or they can show up at the Waterfront Hotel (formerly the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center) before 8 a.m. June 10, and be matched with a clean-up group, she said.
Volunteers will get a T-shirt and picnic lunch.
To volunteer in Marion County, call Cathie Oliveto at Marion Solid Waste Authority at 363-3540.
The River Sweep is a new way to spread awareness to help prevent an old problem, Wally Venable told the Monongalia County Commission this week.
"The stuff at the dam all comes from 'somewhere else,' and this event is attacking 'somewhere else,' " he said.
That 'somewhere else' is the Mon River banks, and the banks of its tributaries throughout the Mon Valley, he said.
Venable is a board member and chief technical officer for the Upper Monongahela River Association, a co-sponsor of the event.
The event will be held in Mon, Preston and Marion counties, and seven other counties in West Virginia, Joseph said.
It's a volunteer-based project to remove litter and other debris from the upper portion of the river and its tributaries within the boundaries of West Virginia.
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources and local governments in the watershed and businesses are also sponsors, including the Monongalia Arts Center, Vision 20/20 and the Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce, the Radisson Hotel at Waterfront Place, Coca-Cola and the U.S Foodservice, Joseph said.
The Monongalia County Commission agreed Wednesday to contribute $500 to the effort.
The money could be used for expenses such as T-shirts for volunteers, Venable said.
For years, the commission received numerous complaints and has considered options to clean up the dam trash. "We've embarked on this for 15 years," Commissioner John Pyles said.
For example, on July 4, 2003, the dam was opened and trash flowed by the Hazel Ruby McQuain Amphitheater on the river as the Wheeling Symphony played patriotic tunes.
"Our first step is, at least we can stop as much as we can from making it to the river and the dams, adding to the problem. That's what the goal is," Joseph said.
He said it won't take care of all the trash, but could help.
Commission President Bob Bell said one recent solution to the accumulating trash involved purchasing a $350,000 boat that would corral the trash, then drag it off to another location where it could be separated.
That is an industrial-type, trashskimmer boat that could go behind the dam. It's tough enough to go behind the dam with all its currents, Joseph said.
That idea was scrapped, because operations would have cost $800,000 per year, Bell said.