"Molten sparks from a passing rail car set fire to oil- and chemical-soaked debris floating on the Cuyahoga (River) on June 22, 1969," reporter Michael Scott reminds us in yesterday's Cleveland Plain Dealer, and ultimately spurred passage of the Clean Water Act and creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.Forty years later, the river is still designated one of the most degraded waterways in the Great Lakes ecosystem.
But fish counts are rising and the Cuyahoga River Community Planning Organization has declared 2009 the Year of the River.
I wonder, what's the update on Jim White's innovative green bulkhead project?
Picture courtesy of Cleveland Press Collection at Cleveland State University Library.
