WASHINGTON, D.C. - The bipartisan Ohio River Restoration Program Actwill support healthy communities, wildlife, and habitats by establishing a national Ohio River restoration program that confronts serious threats to the waters of the 14-state region. This legislation was introduced by Reps. Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.) and Erin Houchin (R-Ind.), co-chairs of the bipartisan Ohio River Basin Caucus.

"Millions of people depend on the waters of the Ohio River Basin for their drinking water, health, jobs, and quality of life," said Jordan Lubetkin, senior director for Ohio River restoration at the National Wildlife Federation. "We are grateful to Representatives Morgan McGarvey and Erin Houchin for their bipartisan leadership as co-chairs of the Ohio River Basin Caucus and their efforts to protect these critical habitats and waterways. The Ohio River Basin faces serious environmental threats, including toxic pollution and sewage contamination which threaten drinking water and the public health. This region deserves focused federal investments to restore its waters, and to support the public health, economic, and ecological benefits cleaner water can provide. We must act now to fund this important work, because inaction will only make the problem worse and more expensive to solve." The Ohio River and its tributaries support 25 million people across 14 states, including Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The National Wildlife Federation has been leading a multi-stakeholder workgroup, in collaboration with the Ohio River Basin Alliance, to craft a plan to restore and protect the waters of the Ohio River Basin with the goal of securing federal investments that support solutions to clean up toxic pollution, restore wildlife habitat, curb runoff pollution, and combat invasive species.

The Ohio River Restoration plan is also being developed with involvement from the National Wildlife Federation's state affiliates including the Indiana Wildlife Federation, Kentucky Waterways Alliance, Ohio Conservation Federation, PennFuture, Prairie Rivers Network, Virginia Conservation Network, and West Virginia Rivers Coalition. Each organization has also endorsed the Ohio River Restoration Program Act.

Every year, Congress supports efforts to restore and protect great waters, including the Chesapeake Bay, Florida Everglades, Great Lakes, Gulf Coast, Puget Sound, and others. The National Wildlife Federation is working to elevateOhio River Basin restoration and protection as national priorities as well.

Learn more about our Ohio River work at https://www.nwf.org/ohioriver.