Follow Defend Ohi:yo’ on Facebook HERE
OLEAN N.Y. – Leaders from the Seneca Nation and several Seneca community members joined members of the Defend Ohi:yo’ advocacy group and other neighbors and concerned citizens in a peaceful demonstration outside the Olean Municipal Building prior to tonight’s meeting of the Olean Common Council.
The Earth Day demonstration was held as part of an ongoing effort to demand that Olean leaders make needed improvements to the city’s wastewater infrastructure to prevent the release of untreated sewage and wastewater into Ohi;yo’, the Seneca name for the Allegheny River. Ohi:yo’ means “beautiful river.”
Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca and Seneca Nation Councillors Tina Abrams, Maurice A. John, Sr., Klint Nephew, Odie Porter, Kevin Seneca and Jonathan Williams all attended and participated in the demonstration.
“Stopping the unacceptable pollution and decimation of our river will require full effort and full attention on multiple fronts,” President Seneca said. “Diplomacy, advocacy and activism are all important parts in achieving the solution we all want. The Seneca Nation will work with the City, but we also join our voices with Defend Ohi:yo’, our people, and our neighbors along the river who have been calling for needed action and change.”
Last week, President Seneca and Olean Mayor William Aiello announced that a joint Nation-City task force would be created to address the discharges into the river, which impact the health and safety of communities downstream, including the Seneca Nation’s Allegany Territory.
In 2001, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation issued an Administrative Order of Consent for the City of Olean to upgrade its wastewater treatment facilities to stop discharges into the river. The order has subsequently been revised multiple times to allow the city additional time. Currently, Olean has until 2042 to become fully compliant with the order.
An approximate 35-mile stretch of the river is located on Seneca Nation territory. Many Nation members live along the river and regularly swim, fish and boat in its waters. Since 2007, there have been 46 recorded discharges from the city’s system into the river, resulting in millions of gallons of dangerous waste flowing through communities downstream, including the Nation’s Allegany Territory. In April and June 2024 alone, overflow events resulting from heavy rains in the area accounted for more than 460,000 gallons of untreated sewage being discharged into the river.
This evening, the Olean Common Council approved more than $3 million in bond funding for recreation projects in the city.
“Communities along Ohi:yo’ have waited long enough for a solution. Waiting another two decades while gallon after gallon of filth and waste flows through our communities, threatening our health and impacting our wildlife and ecosystems, is not an option,” President Seneca added. “We are going to do everything we can to raise awareness, to raise our voices, to advocate for and to find long-needed solutions. The life-sustaining waters of Ohi:yo’ must be protected from further damage.”
