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Natural Resources

Natural Resources covers positions on water, solid waste, hazardous materials and hazardous waste, land use, and interbasin water transfers. LWVUS has positions on resource management, environmental protection and pollution control, public participation, water, air, solid waste, land use, energy, and the criteria for hazardous and nuclear waste storage and disposal. These state and national positions augment and complement each other and are to be used together for state and local action. See Impact on Issues for complete LWVUS positions.

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Natural Resources meetings are currently held on the second Friday of the month at 10:30am (locations vary).

 

If you would like to join a meeting, let us know at participate@LWVchillicothe.org

NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE, NEXT MEETING:  
Friday, March 17,  10:00 at the Annex of the Main Library Room D.  

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In the past year, this committee has participated in multiple conversations about protecting Paint Creek and its tributaries.  We plan to continue that discussion and gather more clarity about legislation protecting property owners along the creek.   We also have followed the conversations regarding bike trail repair and maintenance in Ross and Fayette Counties and the Ross County Parks Kayaking program.  

 

At the February meeting, we agreed to participate in the Earth Gathering on April 15 and will need volunteers. 

 

Big changes in plastic recycling are confusing. A new recycling facility is under construction in Columbus, and more types of plastics are allowed in the chain but simultaneously, some avid recyclers are calling for an end to plastic recycling completely due to the major environmental footprint of using and recycling plastic.

 

More to come:

If you are interested in environmental issues and want to join the Natural Resources Committee, please come to the next meeting and bring your ideas. 

 

Connect with us: participate@lwvchillicothe.org

Scenic Waterway Designation for Paint Creek and its Tributaries

April 27, 2021 at 7:00 pm via Zoom,
click link (right) to review recording 

League members and community members are invited to participate in a conversation about designating Paint Creek and its tributaries as Scenic Waterways. Aaron Rourke of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Jody McCallister of Friends of Brush Creek has helped this committee better understand the natural jewel that flows through Ross County. Speakers will describe the process and explain the advantages of Scenic designation. All members are encouraged to participate and invite anyone interested.

Position on Water

LWVO supports policies and procedures that provide for:

  1. Joint, cooperative planning and administration along watershed lines and across political boundaries. (Adopted 1961)

  2. Stringent water quality standards accompanied by strong enforcement and means of implementation.

  3. Adequate state financing, including incentives to local governments and industries for expediting water pollution abatement. (Adopted 1967)

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Background: Water

LWVO has covered the waterfront—from septic tanks and flood plains to lake drilling, mega farms, and scenic rivers.

  • 1955: LWVO studied Ohio Department of Natural Resources (then six years old).

  • 1956: LWVUS four-year study of federal water management. Consensus reached in 1958 and 1960.

  • 1960: LWVO one-year study of Ohio’s water development and management problems.

  • 1965: LWVO Convention adopted not-recommended two-year study of water pollution control policies, programs, and laws. Consensus announced in 1967.

  • 1967: LWVUS announced consensus on financial incentives to industry to abate water pollution.

  • 1995 - present: Algae pollution of Ohio waters started becoming a serious problem twenty years ago. These infections are not limited to Lake Erie, but to inland lakes, and even to the Ohio River. The toxic pollution of Grand Lake St. Mary's and the state’s so-far failed and expensive attempts to remedy it provide a cautionary tale about possible effects from agricultural runoff and the state’s reluctance to deal with likely causes.

  • 2005: LWVO Convention adopted a resolution requesting that the General Assembly support a moratorium on new permits for mega farms in Ohio.

  • 2016: Increased interest in lead in drinking water dates to the emergency declared in Flint MI in January, 2016. Discovery of high lead levels in several Ohio water systems lead the Ohio EPA to recommend significantly stronger regulations, which were eventually embodied in legislation. The League supported this legislation, which was enacted into law. However, the Legislation that has passed is inadequate to deal with the problem. The League has reluctantly supported it, but we have clearly called it a first step.

Current Projects

Our local Chillicothe Ross LWV wanted to start a “Friends of Paint Creek” group, which would be focused on protecting the Paint Creek waterway area. At our first few meetings (before COVID) we were discussing what other groups might be interested in being a part of this organizing group. We were planning to invite other interested parties to an informational meeting before our social lives came to a standstill. When we started thinking about meetings again in December, things had changed a little bit. We were informed that Paint Creek was being seriously considered to become a scenic river waterway and we put our plans on hold. Click here to read more about this from the Chillicothe Gazette.

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In the meantime, we are working with the Ross County Parks District on projects that will benefit the Paint Creek waterway.

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