JACK WOLLITZ River awareness is important issue

For many in our area, the name Mahoning is more synonymous with the county than the river.
A number of people are working to raise awareness about the river Mahoning and the value it has as a natural resource. Their efforts dovetail with the proposed Mahoning River dredging project under study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and sponsored locally by the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments.
The sediment over which the Mahoning River flows in Warren, Niles, Girard, Youngstown, Campbell and Lowellville is contaminated with PCBs and heavy metals, left behind by the steelmaking that stoked our valley's economy for generations.
Now it's time to clean up the mess and make the river useable again - this time as a pretty place where people can canoe, fish, picnic and stroll. Clean-up will be expensive, and public support is important.
Support challenge
One challenge is getting citizens to show support, say Carmen Rozzi and Kim Mascarella, two of the people working hard on the Mahoning River dredging proposition. Rozzi is project manager for the Corps of Engineers. Mascarella is Eastgate's director of environmental planning.
People take our river for granted. Many of us cross the river frequently in our travels, but it is just a fleeting glimpse of a ribbon of water obscured by trees as we zip along I-680 and other thoroughfares.
Few visit the river on purpose, except for those who enjoy Perkins and Packard Parks in Warren or dine at Youngstown's B & amp;O Station. Most of the 31 miles of river between Leavittsburg and the Pennsylvania border are undeveloped, inaccessible and overgrown with brush.
Rozzi, Mascarella and Bill DeCicco, executive director of CASTLO Community Improvement Corp. in Struthers, note the public benefits of a clean Mahoning River are overwhelmingly positive. They cite the economic growth that has resulted in communities like Dayton, Chattanooga, Toledo, Pittsburgh and Cleveland where riverfront development has brought people back to the water for dining, entertainment, shopping and recreation.
Plus, it's just the right thing to do. If we don't dredge the river now, a future generation will have to do it. Let's get the job done and begin to enjoy some benefits.
Project cost
Rozzi said the project will cost about $100 million. Some $65 million would come from the federal government and the balance from local coffers. It's important to know the expenditure would be spread over 10 years. An "average" taxpayer would pay only about $7 a year for the cleanup - about the price of one pepperoni pizza.
Meanwhile, grassroots efforts have begun to sprout as officials labor to make the public aware of the new potential for the old river.
In four school districts, for instance, students participated last spring in an intensive two-week Mahoning River study program. Coordinated by Holly Burnett, the program reached 3,000 fifth- through eighth-graders in Girard, Struthers and Campbell middle schools, and East, Hayes, Volney Rogers Junior High and Hillman Middle schools in Youngstown.
Students learned about water treatment as well as the wildlife that lives in and near the river in the program, which involved classes in math, language arts, science, social studies and art. Support for field trips associated with the program came from Earth Force and General Motors employees, Mill Creek Park, Yellow Creek Park, Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, Consumers Ohio Water Co. and local wastewater treatment plants.
And in Struthers, Mascarella said, Boy Scouts have attached labels on storm drains with a message that warns anything dumped into the drains ends up in the river.
The process for getting the dredging started continues. Project proponents like the Corps of Engineers and Eastgate presented information Wednesday to government officials from communities throughout Trumbull and Mahoning counties.
Following that meeting was a public hearing. Only a few citizens came to the meeting.
Let's show our leaders we want the river dredged. Let's make our interest in a cleaner environment known loud and clear.
You can start with a phone call or email to Kim Mascarella --(330) 779-3800 or kmascarella@eastgatecog.org -- or Bill DeCicco at (330) 750-1363 or wdd@castlo.com.
They would appreciate hearing from you.
jwwollitz@aol.com