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Pennsylvania residents volunteered this past June to help clean
rivers and streams during the 12th Annual River Sweep at more
than 50 sites in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Fayette, Greene,
Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
 he River Sweep is a unique partnership of
government, business and public citizens working together for
cleaner and safer rivers and streams," DEP Regional Community
Relations Coordinator Betsy Mallison, who is the Pennsylvania
River Sweep Coordinator, said. "The key to making the River
Sweep a success is community groups, such as churches, scout troops
and others, who volunteer their time to come out and join in the
fight against pollution along the rivers and streams.
he River Sweep, an annual six-state effort to clean
up the banks of the Ohio River watershed, is sponsored by DEP,
the Ohio River Valley Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) and a number
of Pennsylvania corporate sponsors including Allegheny Energy,
Allegheny Ludlum, BASF, Duquesne Light, Dominion, Exxon, Koppers,
the Neville Chemical Co., Nova Chemical and Tri-State River Products.
he
River Sweep is the largest organized volunteer river clean up
effort in the country, winding through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky,
Indiana, West Virginia and Illinois, covering more than 2,400
miles of shoreline, Mallison said.
 ach
year, about 1,000 volunteers participate in the River Sweep.
Volunteers receive trash bags and a souvenir T-shirt for participating.
Refreshments also are provided at River Sweep sites.
his year, volunteers collected over 1600 bags of
trash, and over 6,000 tires along the Ohio, Allegheny, Beaver,
Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and their tributaries.
Residents with suggestions for cleanup
sites or those who wish to volunteer to help with the annual event
should contact Mallison at 412 442-4182.
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