Summit Focuses on Mon River’s Future:

Pollution among topics of event


Morgantown Dominion Post
11 April 2009

Water quality, commercial value and recreational opportunities will be topics of the fourth annual Monongahela River Summit scheduled for Monday at The Waterfront Place Hotel.

The event is open to the public, and Donald Strimbeck — secretary and treasurer of the Upper Monongahela River Association — encourages those in the area to attend.

“The Monongahela River is a little-understood, but important part of our community,” he said. “And there’s still a lot we can do to further develop and enhance the river.”

Strimbeck said, oftentimes, people focus on the river’s recreational aspects, but there is more to be concerned with, namely pollution.

A forum held earlier this year discussed water-quality issues, after drinking water from the Monongahela River in Pennsylvania was affected by Marcellus Shale drilling last fall.

The Marcellus Shale, which runs beneath sections of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia and Tennessee, is rich in natural gas deposits that are costly to extract. And getting to these deposits, which are deep in the rock, typically requires blasting millions of gallons of water into the earth.

“We need to address this problem here in West Virginia,” Strimbeck said, “because when the economy recovers, we’ll see a pickup of drilling in the Marcellus strata. We need to make sure that the treatment and disposal of waste doesn’t cause the same issue.”

Two speakers at the summit — one from the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission and one from the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, which oversee issues such as river pollution — will explain what their organizations do and discuss whether such a commission is feasible for this area.

“Most people don’t realize how important the river is to the northern West Virginia economy,” Strimbeck said. “The summit helps highlight this and other problems.”

The summit will run from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday, and those interested can still register. A lunch will be provided for those who register. Walk-ins are also welcome, but are not guaranteed a lunch.

Last year, about 90 people registered. This year, according to the Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the event, 123 people have registered, as of Friday.

Monongahela River Summit schedule

Morning sessions   


8-8:30 a.m. — Foyer F-H, Registration and river communities displays. Coffee and refreshments.

8:30-8:40 a.m. — Salons E-H: Welcome and introductions, Ken Busz, president, Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce.

8:40-8:55 a.m. Salons EH: Mon River Summit III recap, and events on the Mon in the past year. Wallace Venable, chief technical officer, Upper Monongahela River Association.

8:55-9:15a.m. — Salons E-H: Keynote address about West Virginia intermodal transportation infrastructure, commerce and recreation by Patrick Donovan, executive director, West Virginia Public Port Authority.

9:15-9:35 a.m. — Salons E-H: The federal stimulus program and status of Pittsburgh District infrastructure by Col. Mike Crall, district engineer, Pittsburgh District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

9:35-10:05 a.m. — Salons E-H: River industries/commerce: How and why we are dependent on infrastructure. Chaired by Wallace Venable; Al McDonald, Allegheny Energy; Rich Lockwood, Pittsburgh District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Charles Minton, Campbell Transportation Company.

10:05-10:30 a.m. — Break and river communities displays. Coffee.

10:30-11:30 a.m. — Salons E-H: Panel discussion on boating, fishing, and water related recreation on the Upper Mon. Chaired by Frank Jernejcic, fisheries biologist, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources; John Burdette, West Virginia BASS Federation; Bob Ventorini, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission; Ralph LaRue, Morgantown BOPARC; Chris Hardie, Greene County, Pa., economic development.

11:30-11:45 a.m. — Morning wrap-up and questions. Chaired by Barry Pallay, chair of summit organizing committee.

11:45 a.m.-noon — Foyer F-H: Break and river community displays.

Afternoon sessions   


Noon-1 p.m. — Salon D: Lunch, with remarks by Jim McCarville, executive director, Port of Pittsburgh Commission. Winners of the “Images of the Mon” art contest announced by Ro Brooks, executive director, Monongalia Arts Center.

1-1:15 p.m. — Break and river communities displays.

1:15-2:30 p.m. — Salons E-H: Panel discussion on Mon River water quality issues. Chaired by Paul Ziemkiewicz, director, West Virginia Water Research Institute, WVU; Rick Spear, Pennsylvania DEP; Rose Reilly, Pittsburgh District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Frank Borsuk, U.S. EPA; Pat Campbell, West Virginia DEP; Martin Niverth Jr., district manager, Greene County Pa. Conservation District.

2:30-2:50 p.m. — Break and river communities displays. Soft drinks.

2:50-3:30 p.m. — Salons E-H: Panel discussion on Mon River activities and initiatives. Chaired by Barry Pallay; Al McDonald, Allegheny Energy; Charles Huguenard, Longview Power; David Bruffy, Mountainline Transit Authority; Patty Lewis, mayor, Town of Granville; Carol Thorn, Everetteville Miner’s Memorial; Duane Nichols, Cheat Lake Environment & Recreation Association; Scott Rotruck, Chesapeake Energy; professors Peter Butler and Ashley Kyber, Landscape Architecture, WVU.

3:30-4:15 p.m. — ORSANCO and Susquehanna River Basin Commission. Chaired by Frank Jernejcic; Peter Tennant, ORSANCO. Tom Beauduy, SRBC.

4:15-4:30 p.m. — Salons E-H: Mon River Summit IV recap and questions, Wally Venable, chief technical officer, Upper Monongahela River Association.

4:30 p.m. — Adjournment.