# Plain Language Summary: Ohio River Basin Restoration Program Act

This bill creates a new federal program dedicated to cleaning up and restoring the Ohio River and the surrounding watershed that feeds into it. The program will be run by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and will focus on tackling major environmental problems affecting the 14 states that border or drain into the Ohio River—including Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, and others stretching down to Mississippi.

The restoration program will tackle a wide range of environmental issues that affect people living in the region. It will work to improve water quality and drinking water safety by reducing pollution runoff, excess nutrients from farms, and sediment flowing into the river. The program will also help communities become more resilient to flooding and storms by restoring natural systems like wetlands and floodplains. Additionally, it will protect fish and wildlife habitats, control invasive species that damage ecosystems, clean up toxic pollution and mining damage, and improve public access to the river for recreation. The EPA will prioritize using natural solutions—like removing dams or restoring wetlands—rather than building new concrete structures whenever possible.

To make this work, the bill establishes an Ohio River National Program Office within the EPA, headed by a director who will coordinate restoration efforts across multiple federal agencies and work with state governments, local communities, Native American tribes, nonprofits, and universities. The director must develop specific, measurable goals within one year and create a detailed action plan within two years that identifies which projects to fund and how to measure success. The EPA can award grants to states, cities, nonprofits, and other organizations to carry out restoration projects. Congress will need to appropriate funding for this program, though the bill doesn't specify an exact amount—it just authorizes whatever funding is necessary to get the work done.