The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Agenda posted for Black River Summit
Free event is open to public
A national regulator, a visiting mayor and local merchants will join city and county elected officials to discuss the environmental restoration efforts of the Black River.
The inaugural Black River Summit convenes at 9 a.m. March 29 at the Lorain Palace Theater, 617 Broadway.
The event is meant to be a celebration and informative gathering for anyone with an interest in the progress that Black River in Lorain County has made in the past 20 years.
Kenosha, Wisconsin, Mayor John Antaramian will speak.
The event is free and open to the public. Reservations are helpful but not required.
More information is posted at blackriveraoc. com and on Facebook at Black River AOC Advisory Committee.
The tentative agenda has been posted:
• 8 a.m. — Doors open for check-in, coffee and networking
• 9 a.m. — Welcome by Don Romancak, Lorain County representative to the Black River Advisory Committee
• 9:05 a.m. — Lorain Mayor Chase Ritenauer
• 9:15 a.m. — Lorain County Commissioners Matt Lundy, Lori Kokoski and Ted Kalo
• 9:35 a.m. — Russ Gibson, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, on the Black Area of Concern background and progress information
• 10 a.m. — Tinka Hyde, director of the Great Lakes National Program Office
• 10:25 a.m. — Local testimonies on economic effects. Presenters are Craig Lewis of Erie Outfitters in Sheffield Lake; Erika Fabbro of The Backpackers Shop in Sheffield Village; and Tiffany McClelland of the Lorain Port Authority
Antaramian is scheduled to speak at 10:40 a.m.
The Black River Advisory Committee has learned that the Black River is on the way to complete needed management actions.
Environmental officials will change its designation from an area of concern, a designation from the EPA as being one of the worst of the worst for waters in the Great Lakes Basin, to a river in recovery.
In the last 10 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has invested about $20 million for environmental remediation and restoration of the river and its banks.
The most recent developments are a contrast from the 1980s, when the Black River was known as the River of Fish Tumors, said a summary in the event announcement.