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Local Water Quality Agency Appointed New Commission Chair and
Celebrated 75th Anniversary
Cincinnati, OH – July 11, 2023. The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) celebrated its 75th anniversary last month and kicked off a new fiscal year with the election of John M. Hoopingarner, New Philadelphia, OH, as Chair of the Commission. Hoopingarner was appointed to the ORSANCO Commission by Ohio Governor John Kasich on November 6, 2015, and assumed the chair role beginning July 1, 2023. Hoopingarner previously served as Vice Chair to the ORSANCO Commission in 2022 and held other positions such as Secretary/Treasurer. He enjoyed a 30-year career as executive director of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District and continues to serve on the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy Foundation Board of Trustees. Hoopingarner recently returned to private law practice with McMahon DeGulis LLP. He earned a Juris Doctor from Ohio Northern University and a Bachelor of Arts from Muskingum University.
David Flannery (West Virginia) now serves as Vice Chair and Joseph Harrison, Jr. (Indiana) was announced at the latest meeting as the incoming Secretary/Treasurer. ORSANCO officer terms are one year and a new chair will be appointed July 1, 2024. ORSANCO values Hoopingarner’s perspective on matters involving waterways, conservation, and recreation. Regarding his recent appointment, Hoopingarner expressed his eagerness to serve, “I am honored to be elected to this position by my fellow ORSANCO commissioners and look forward to assisting ORSANCO in its effort to protect the Ohio River and its valuable uses.”
Last month ORSANCO celebrated its 75th anniversary with a community event held in collaboration with local water quality partners at Smale Riverfront Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. The celebration kicked off with a press event where the Ohio EPA Director, Cincinnati Vice Mayor, Northern Kentucky Water District CEO/President, Greater Cincinnati Water Works Interim Director, and The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati Director joined ORSANCO’s Executive Director to share their experience partnering across state lines with the common goal of improving and protecting the water quality of the Ohio River and interstate waters of the Ohio River Basin. Over 300 people attended the event, visiting agency booths and participating in water quality activities.
The event press conference can be viewed on the ORSANCO YouTube Channel at Anniversary Event Press Conference. Also, to watch a documentary created by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to commemorate ORSANCO’s 75th anniversary and all the work they have accomplished protecting the water quality of the Ohio River and its tributaries visit ORSANCO Documentary.
ORSANCO, headquartered in Cincinnati, OH, was established in 1948 to protect the Ohio River and its vital uses of drinking water, industrial supplies, recreational purposes; and support of a healthy and diverse aquatic community, as well as, raise public awareness and involvement throughout the Ohio River Basin, representing Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. In total, twenty-seven commissioners are appointed from the member states and the federal government.
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