Erich EmeryU.S. Army Corps of Engineers

October 2009 – Ohio River Basin Summit Co-Led by:

US Environmental Protection Agency US Army Corps of Engineers The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission

(ORSANCO) The Ohio River Basin Water Resources Association

Purpose: Establishing a dialogue and raising awareness of common issues and priorities

Attendees: Over 100 stakeholders representing 43 different agencies and organizations.

Participants agreed that gathering together to roundtable on water resource issues within the Ohio River Basin is necessary to promote a sustainable water resources future.

History

Conferences October 2009 – Covington, KY February 2010 – Columbus, OH August 2010 – Charleston, WV March 2011 – Indianapolis, IN September 2011 – Huntington,WV March 2012 – Nashville, TN September 2012 – Pittsburgh, PA August 20-21, 2013 – Louisville, KY

History

USACE Funded the first conference in 2009 Continues to provide administrative support to the

Steering Committee, assists in maintaining the web site and providing logistical support for conference execution.

The Corps’ role will diminish as ORBA grows Conferences since 2009 have been supported by

conference registration fees.

Support

Our Vision is to support and implement integrated management of the Basin’s resources to achieve sustainable economic growth, ecological integrity and public safety.

Our Mission is to form a successful collaboration that will recommend strategies and coordinate actions to address complex water resource challenges and priorities with a unified voice.

Our Purpose is to communicate on water resources issues in the Basin with the goal of identifying key issues that resonate with the entire Alliance membership.

Our Guiding Principles are to include everyone, leverage our resources and authorities, capitalize on existing collaborations, and do not impede or infringe on the mission of any other organization.

About ORBA

The Ohio River Basin Alliance (ORBA) is evolving from an event into an entity. Steering Committee Standing Work Groups Guiding Principles, Vision, Mission and Purpose Bylaws (recently approved) Administrative Procedures (being developed)

Status

Steering Committee Carolyn Hefner, Chair,

WVCA Dave Bailey, EPRI Marty Hettel, AEP Kari Mackenbach, URS Fred Nyhuis, Marathon Jerry Schulte, ORSANCO Dr. Charles Somerville,

MU Mike Steinmaus, AEEP

Working GroupsWater Availability & Management

Erich Emery, US Army Corps of Engineers

Restoration & Protection John Stark, The Nature Conservancy

Sustainable Growth & Competitiveness

Dr. Harry Stone, Battelle

Enterprise & Infrastructure Kari Mackenbach, URS Consultants,

Inc.

Organizational Structure

Provided a forum for discussion and voiced support for a USGS proposal to install a new stream gage on the Ohio River at Marietta.

USACE Climate Change Adaptation Pilot Study: Funded by the Institute of Water Resources ORBA Climate Change Working group established One of 14 pilot projects underway across the US Pilot will examine how climate change will impact the Ohio

River Basin. This pilot study is the first study of its kind to look at climate

change impacts to the Ohio Valley.

Recent DevelopmentsRecent Developments

The next Ohio River Basin Conference is August 20-21, 2013 in Louisville, Kentucky – details available on the ORBA website.

www.ohioriverbasin.org

QUESTIONSQ