Cleaning the Mon:

Government agencies: It’s not cost effective to clean trash from river

Morgantown Dominion Post
20 September 2009
By Alex Lang

Just south of the Morgantown lock and dam, half-submerged tree limbs lay gathered in a bunch along the banks of the Monongahela River. The crickets make the only noise that can be heard other than the occasional car driving along Don Knotts Boulevard in the distance, until ... Crack, crack, crack The snap of the twigs and branches as Tim and Maureen Terman walk across them.

“You like baseball?” Tim shouts back.

His metal grabber catches a dirty, waterlogged baseball, which he lifts off the branches and drops into a garbage bag. There’s debris everywhere in this little area on the banks of the river. Soft drink, beer and liquor bottles are scattered among the branches. There are oil containers, pet carriers, Styrofoam and car tires in the area as well. It’s all part of the litter that collects on the banks of the river.

On weekends, the Morgantown couple likes to pick a spot to clean up.

“This is about as bad as it gets,” Tim says as he drives the boat up to the branches.

With green garbage bags in hand and grabbers to help pick up the litter, the Termans leave their pontoon boat and start picking up the litter.

“It will look very different when we are done,” Tim says.

Forty-five minutes pass, and the couple has gathered most of the litter. The area has gone from a litter-infested eyesore to a pile of garbage free tree limbs along the banks.

The Termans load six large bags full of litter onto their boat. But, they’re not finished. Nearby Tim, wants to dig out some larger pieces of half-sunken trash.

Using a wood plank with a nail on the end Tim is able to finagle a computer monitor free from the muck and tree branches.

He guides it over to the side of the boat spins the monitor until he finds a grip. The computer cord appears and Tim grabs its power cord and is able to pull it up in the craft. On top of the computer is a sticker.

“WVU Hospitals, Ha!” Tim exclaims.

Maureen lets out a little chuckle. She will have a new story to tell on the job as she works for WVU Hospitals.

Then the Termans fish for one more item — a partially submerged muddy front bumper from a red Pontiac. With some careful maneuvering, Tim wrestles the bumper free, lifts the bulky car part and drops it into the pontoon with the garbage bags.

The two have their haul for the day. They head back through the lock and dam and back down to the Morgantown Marina. The garbage will remain on the boat overnight, but on Sunday they will put it out for collection.

For the past 3 years, Tim and his wife Maureen have been taking time to clean the banks along the Monongahela River. They often head out on the weekend and pick a spot along the banks to collect the litter.

Tim said they have a five-bag minimum before they head back to shore. They also try to get a couple of larger items, such as tires, as well.

When they are done for the day, Tim said they put the river trash out on Walnut Street to be collected. Tim said the Department of Environmental Protection pays to have the bags picked up.

The DEP provides the garbage bags and grabbers to the couple. The two also receive a $2,500 grant from the city, which Tim said goes to pay for boat maintenance and gas.

Without the Termans work, the river could have a different look, said Chuck Joseph. Joseph works with the DEP’s Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan to help clean up streams and rivers in West Virginia.

“I can’t imagine how bad it would look without Tim and Maureen,” Joseph said.

The DEP would not be able to afford the cost of the smaller litterclean-up projects, Joseph said. He said if the DEP had to pay for the cost it would be a “budget buster.” When litter builds up in the river its environmental impact is minimal, Joseph said. Its worst feature is that it can be an eyesore.

The DEP requires the help of volunteers like the Termans to keep waterways clean, Joseph said. They will provide support to anybody who wants to get out and help clean up a river.

“We need more people like Tim Terman and Maureen,” Joseph said.

A few years ago, Tim says he started giving kayak tours on the river and visitors would notice the garbage. Tim says he thought this is how the river might have gotten its dirty reputation.

Tim decided he wanted to do something about it. In the three years since, he says he has noticed less trash along the river beds.

“We have seen progress,” Tim says.

He sid he hopes people think twice about throwing their trash into the river.

Boaters sometimes stop by to see what they are doing, Maureen says. Most thank them for their efforts.

But Tim doesn’t want people to get the misconception that the river is a filth-infested area. He and Maureen are just trying to spruce up the places where it isn’t as nice.

“It’s 99 percent an absolute beautiful place,” Tim says.

The Termans would like to expand their efforts. If they could find sponsorship they would like to spend a summer cleaning the banks, from Fairmont to Pennsylvania.

Maureen says they have no plans to let up on their efforts to clean the river. “We will do this as long as we are able.”