April 16, 2021 By Shelley Byrne
A new statistical port district that could become the largest inland port in the United States by freight tonnage has received preliminary approval but awaits a final review.
The Mid-Ohio Valley Port District is planned to encompass nearly 220 miles of the Ohio River between Mile 40.0 and Mile 256.8, filling in a gap between the Huntington Tri-State Port District and the Pittsburgh Port District. It encompasses parts of seven counties in Ohio and nine counties in West Virginia.
The port district has been preliminarily approved by the Institute for Water Resources. The institute is the Corps of Engineers’ center of expertise for hydraulic and hydrologic modeling, dam and levee safety, integrated water resources management, collaborative planning and environmental conflict resolution and the collection, management and dissemination of Civil Works and navigation information, including t