Not only was fish on the menu at Thursday’s Richmond Hill Rotary Club meeting, it was also the main topic of conversation.

Ogeechee Riverkeeper Dianna Wedincamp gave a short presentation in the Richmond Hill City Center updating Rotary members about the massive fish kill in the Ogeechee River in May, when more than 33,000 fish went belly up.

Since the initial incident, Wedincamp said she is aware of a class action law suit filed by numerous citizens against King America Finishing in Sylvania, the alleged culprit of dumping ammonia, sodium, formaldehyde and other chemicals into the river. Though the Ogeechee Riverkeeper organization has nothing to do with that case, she said she hopes the citizens will be able to make a difference.

Wedincamp said she and her team have followed the ongoing investigation with the state Environmental Protection Division and continues to take bi-weekly samples from the river monitoring the pH levels and other “issues,” as she called them, such as high ammonia levels.

She is also working with locals to prevent future river disturbances.

“In collaborating with communities like Bryan County, Bulloch County and others, we’re collaborating to see how we can make sure this doesn’t happen again,” she said. “We’re looking at how we can make sure the EPD is doing their job and monitoring facilities.”

Read more in the July 23 edition of the News.