YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Mahoning Valley came up in a hearing at a meeting in Washington Monday.

According to the release, the Mahoning River was brought up at a hearing of the House Appropriations Committee's Energy and Water Subcommittee.

During the meeting, Congressman Tim Ryan urged Lt. General Scott A. Spellmon of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clean up the Mahoning River.

The release says Spellmon responded that the Army Corps would be a partner in helping to get the river restored. He also said that he has spoken with the U.S. EPA Administrator about finding a way to move forward on the Mahoning River.

The proposed clean-up of the river comes after years of discharge from steel plants in the area.

In 1977, the EPA reported that the net discharge from nine major steel plants along the river exceeded 400,000 pounds per day of suspended solids. The same report noted that 70,000 pounds of oil and grease, 9,000 pounds of ammonia nitrogen, and 500 pounds of cyanide were also part of the discharge each day.

The amount of oil discharge equates to more than 200 barrels of oil per day.

"I've spent eighteen years working to get this river restored. And one would think that the EPA and US Army Corps of Engineers-the two entities tasked with making sure our rivers are clean, safe, and economically productive-would be eager partners in helping our communities clean up the river," said Rep. Tim Ryan.