Ohio River Sweep scheduled June 15

Thousands of volunteers from West Virginia are expected to participate in the annual Ohio River Sweep, scheduled for Saturday, June 15. The event, which started in 1989, is sponsored by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) and involves the cleanup of 3,000 miles of shoreline.

Workers in six states will remove trash and debris from the banks of the Ohio and its tributaries. The cleanup encompasses the entire length of the river, from its origin in Pittsburgh to its end in Cairo, Ill.

The state Department of Environmental Protection is coordinating West Virginia’s participation in the River Sweep. Cleanups are scheduled at 19 sites in 10 counties: Brooke, Cabell, Hancock, Marshall, Mason, Ohio, Pleasants, Tyler, Wetzel and Wood. The DEP will provide cleanup supplies and T-shirts to volunteers.

Last year, more than 3,000 West Virginians participated in the River Sweep.

For more information on volunteering, contact the DEP’s Travis Cooper at 1-800-322-5530, ext. 1117 or Travis.L.Cooper@wv.gov. A list of West Virginia’s cleanup locations can be found at www.orsanco.org by clicking on “River Sweep.”