CORBA Meeting Focuses On New Ohio River Commission

The Central Ohio River Business Association (CORBA) held its first general meeting of 2025 on February 13 in Newport, Ky., on the Ohio River in BB Riverboat’s dockside conference facility. CORBA is a business association that includes a range of maritime companies who work primarily along the Ohio River. CORBA’s core membership is within the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky metro area, but membership extends along the entire river.

Eric Thomas, CORBA’s executive director and general manager at Benchmark River and Rail Terminals in Cincinnati, opened the February meeting by welcoming more than 55 members and guests and celebrating the recent creation of the Ohio River Commission (ORC).

In January, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed SB134 which directed the establishment of the new Ohio River Commission. Over the past six years, CORBA members lobbied hard for such a commission to “promote economiac development, marine cargo terminal operations and travel and tourism on the Ohio river and its tributaries.”

CORBA members expect the new commission to rebalance how Ohio’s lawmakers and agencies—particularly the Ohio Department of Transportation—view and evaluate maritime decisions impacting Lake Erie versus the Ohio River. Some members have argued there is a bias toward Lake Erie and that Ohio River projects “get the leftovers.” River industry supporters point out that Ohio River maritime activities have a statewide economic impact of $2.9 billion while Lake Erie’s impact is $2.6 billion, according to a 2024 ODOT report.

ORC commissioners have to be appointed by the first week of March.

Discussion on the commission dominated the CORBA meeting. Thomas invited speakers from three upriver, eastern Ohio River counties: Jefferson, Monroe and Washington, with east-west river boundaries roughly from East Liverpool, Ohio, to Parkersburg, W.V. All the speakers supported and worked for the new legislation.

Michael Paprocki, based in Steubenville, Ohio, is executive director of the Brooke Hancock Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission. He said his top priority is for the commission is for commissioners to commit to changing Ohio’s maritime assistance program (MAP), which provides $5 million per year to eligible projects on both Lake Erie and the Ohio River. Paprocki, though, said links to “federal opportunity zones” are problematic. Paprocki also argued that private entities should be eligible to receive MAP funds, which is allowed for allocations made by the Ohio Rail Development Commission. In fact, Paprocki contended that rail commission rules should be a model for a reworked MAP.

Jesse Roush, executive director of the Southeastern Ohio Port Authority, based in Washington County, which includes the city of Marietta, also addressed CORBA members. According to Roush, his area has more riverfront than any other Ohio county. Despite that, he said, Washington County thus far has been ineligible for ODOT’s maritime assistance program.

Roush explained that MAP eligibility sets two requirements: an applicant must own an active marine cargo terminal and the site must be located within a “federally qualified opportunity zone (OZ) that has an active marine cargo terminal with a stevedoring operation.” Roush said the OZ requirement sets an “inequitable” demand for rural Ohio counties. He noted, for example, that Washington County has almost 56 miles of riverfront, but just one mile is in an OZ, and that territory does not include one of the top sites the county is ready to redevelop—the 51-acre American Municipal Power-Ohio Gorsuch site on the Ohio River, which the county took ownership of on February 19.

Going forward, Roush said he will seek changes to MAP in order to qualify for the financing packages needed to advance local projects, which could include repurposing old coal generation sites. Multimodal capabilities—river to rail to truck—are central for all projects, he said. Roush contends that Ohio maritime projects and federal opportunity zone requirements are dissimilar and should not be so closely linked.

Roush explained that manufacturers who have moved to these repurposed sites need river access for break bulk cargo headed to new energy and steel plants, for example.

“These large, prefabricated units need to be transported via barge, which is unavailable now, and that has limited their competitiveness,” he said.

One site on the Muskingum River, about 15 miles north of the Ohio River, has the potential for 50 miles of rail service, Roush said.

“We can radiate transportation from this site,” he said. “We can move a lot of freight.”

The Southeastern Ohio Port Authority is seeking a fully public port, so that it can go after funding as specific projects emerge.

The estimated cost of a total site plan is $23 million, Roush said, but to get started planners need $1 million to build out the rail infrastructure. Those funds could possibly be sourced from ORDC, Roush said. Another $2.5 million is needed for a new crane, with funding possibly available from MAP or the Maritime Administration.

“The balance,” Roush said, “will be needed in phases and likely be a mix of private sector funds, future grants, available cash and port authority revenue bonds.”

Roush said a model for his agency’s work is the Pier 48 stevedoring terminal in Wellsville, Ohio, upriver in Columbiana County. He called that site the “gold standard of what we hope to achieve.” The Pier 48 project, Roush said, is one of only two Ohio River MAP recipients.

Another speaker at the CORBA meeting was Taylor Abbott, the treasurer of Monroe County who also leads the Monroe County Land Bank. His office has partnered on the redevelopment of the old Ormet Aluminum Corporation site, which closed in 2013, just north of Hannibal, Ohio. Work at that site is an example of a large-scale industrial project aimed at securing or upgrading river access. Abbott called it “one of the premier sites on the Ohio River” because of its road, river and rail access and its supply of natural gas, which fuels an on-site power plant.

Because of that available power support, there’s discussion of building a data center at the site. Abbott said the Monroe County Port Authority also has recruited a bitcoin mining facility for the site, again, because of available power.

Abbott described another critical maritime project underway in Monroe County: workforce development. The county is one of a number of partners that will establish the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen Inland Waterways Maritime Academy. The Sons and Daughters is a fraternal organization founded in 1939 and based in Marietta that supports projects and educational programs to preserve and promote inland waterways work and history.

The new academy will feature state-of-the-art simulators from Wartsila. Curricula will include classes and certification programs creating a direct career pathway. A groundbreaking is scheduled for April, and the school will be ready for students in 2026.

Another partner is Mountwest Maritime Academy, based in Huntington, W.V. Abbott said the new academy will work with the U.S. Coast Guard to craft a course of study so that students may qualify for necessary certifications and accreditation. Outreach is ongoing to connect with private maritime operators to review and provide advice regarding the academy’s programs and instruction.

Alan Bernstein, owner of BB Riverboats, spoke to CORBA members about the forthcoming America’s River Roots Festival, to be held in October on the Cincinnati and northern Kentucky river fronts. Nine visiting boats will be open to visitors, and the 5-day event will feature river-themed music and entertainment. Another big feature will be a steamboat race, an event that Bernstein said is more about “bragging rights” than actually winning. Also of note, there will be an industry exhibit with tow boats and other working river craft, which will offer visitors a chance to explore maritime career pathways. Details are available at www.americasriverroots.com.