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Regulatory and Environmental Affairs Division |
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Environmental Programs |
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West Virginia Department of Agriculture |
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Ohio River Sub Basin
The Ohio River Sub Basin (ORSB) Committee, led by Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO), is utilizing a whole watershed approach to implement the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Initiative. Scientific investigations document a zone on the Gulf of Mexico’s Texas-Louisiana Shelf with seasonally low oxygen levels. This hypoxic zone is a result of complicated interactions involving excessive nutrients, physical changes in the basin, and stratification in the waters of the northern Gulf caused by the interaction of fresh river water and the saltwater of the Gulf. Thousands of lakes, tributaries, large rivers, wetlands and estuaries feed fresh water into the northern Gulf, creating an environment that sustains and nourishes a huge diversity of life in a unique ecological system. Waters in West Virginia that flow to the Ohio River ultimately flow to the Gulf. West Virginia is one of seven states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, Tennessee are the others) participating in the Ohio River Sub Basin.
The ORSB began its work in October 2004 and established four workgroups (Inventory, Monitoring, Implementation, and Outreach) that our Environmental Programs staff has participated in to work towards an Ohio River Sub Basin Nutrient Reduction Strategy. Most recently, however, the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Initiative efforts have been focused on the 2005 Reassessment that is evaluating the causes of Gulf Hypoxia and recommending whether the most recent body of scientific evidence supports or suggests revisions to the assessment that formed the basis of the 2001 Action Plan. The 2005 Reassessment process includes multiple activities such as symposiums (that assess the current state of the science) and the development of an expert Science Advisory Board. As the reassessment moves forward, WVDA staff has participated in the symposiums and Ohio River Sub Basin Steering Committee meetings to remain actively involved in addressing the goals of the Gulf Hypoxia Initiative. While this program is still in its infancy, West Virginia became involved early in the process to lend guidance and support to the program as it develops and grows.
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This page last modified on September 19, 2006 |
