Bob Bell
Don Strimbeck
Tim Terman
Joe Duperre
Chuck Joseph
Anthony Giambrone
G. Thomas Bartlett
Frank Jernejcic
Lou Schmidt
Wally Venable
Matt Cybulski
Brad Allamong
Randy Stovall
It is believed that the Army Corps of Engineers will respond to our work, not initiate work themselves. The Corps also needs money, which Commissioner Bell has pursued for the last 7 years but has had no luck.
The Corps sees trash as hazardous waste, which can make disposal more difficult, but WV DEP is capable of disposing of this hazardous waste.
According to the Corps, in order to clear the trash from behind the Lock, they need at least 1 Full Time Employee. The approximate cost for this 1 FTE is $200,000 ($100,000 for FTE and $100,000 for a boat).
The next meeting with Mr. Lockwood of the Corps is Friday September 16, 2005 at 9:00 a.m. at Corps HQ in Pittsburgh.
A river sweep is desirable and can be done, but more than once a year. Constant sweeps are necessary but at least 2 big ones a year are needed.
The new Colonel and other leadership at the Corps are willing to work with us, so we need to take advantage now.
Brad suggested that we develop a proposal addressing short and long term goals, accompanied by a local public relations campaign in order to appeal to local elected officials. This needs to be a regional effort. Brad will draft up a proposal with goals and ideas addressing Mr. Lockwood's outline. This draft will be distributed to the group through e-mail.
We can also provide the trash count/amount picked up on the MRRCC website (not yet in existence).
It may also be beneficial to document locations of trash along the river. This can help aid the Corps and other entities in keeping the river trash free.
We need to have a well though out campaign before it goes public.
A. Our short-term goals (1 year) include:
1) Researching the possibility of obtaining 1 FTE and 1 Boat
2) P.R. campaign to clean up the river
Public Education
2 Big Seeps as Media Events
Make this a regional issue and include Watershed Groups
Establishing a volunteer "Trash Monitors" group
B. Our ongoing goal is to continue to clean up the river the best we can right now
C. Our long-term goal is to increase and promote regional public participation in order to protect our resource.
A special meeting will be held on Friday August 26, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. at the Chamber of Commerce.