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Reclaiming Ohi:yo'- Restoring the Altered Landscape of the Beautiful River Ohi:yo' Restoration and Resiliency Projects Members of the Seneca Nation's Watershed Resources Working Group are involved in various restoration and resiliency projects for our Ohi:yo'. The Seneca Nation's Fish and Wildlife Department in particular engages in projects related to building artificial habitat, repopulating our river's Walleye population, and building trenches to help land locked fish. Fighting for the Water: Fracking Wastewater in Ohi:yo' In 2016 the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) began deliberating a 1,000-barrel/day of unconventional gas drilling wastewater (Frack Wastewater) disposal facility in Potter County proposed by Epiphany Allegheny LLC. In response to the news of these fracking plans, our Seneca people again fought for our people, our communities, and our Ohi:yo'.

Footnote 17

For additional resources regarding section 1135 of the Watershed Resources Development Act of 1986, see the following:

National Research Council. 1999. New Directions in Water Resources Planning for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Washington, DC: The National Academics Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/6128.

"H.R. 6- 99th Congress: Water Resources Development Act of 1986." www.GovTrack.us.1985. August 26, 2018 <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/99/hr6>

This page is referenced by:

Kinzua Dam Today: The Section 1135 Study In 2014 the Seneca Nation began participating in a Section 1135 project that would analyze alternate ecological restoration activities for Ohi:yo' on our Allegany Territory that would involve modifying Kinzua Dam's structure and/or operations.

The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), passed in 1986, was one of many omnibus water bills whose corner stone was providing a cost-sharing provision and greater authority for local authorities in the financial and decision making processes of Army Corps of Engineers public work projects. Section 1135 of the WRDA authorizes current Army Corps projects to be modified or for the Corps to construct a new project in order to restore the environment or areas whose environmental degradation have been linked directly to Corps projects.

The operational guidelines of Kinzua Dam, like other public works constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers, were mandated by Congress when the dam began operations in 1967. In addition, these outdated congressional mandates predated important environmental acts, such as the Clean Water Act.

Therefore, even though there is significant evidence of negative environmental impacts to Ohi:yo' as a direct result of Kinzua Dam's construction and operation, it can not change how it operates without an act of Congress.