COLUMBUS, Ohio – The governor has proposed putting a halt to the dumping of sediment dredged from harbors and rivers into Lake Erie.
Governor John Kasich is calling for all dredged material to be diverted from open-lake disposal by 2020 as part of his $72.3 bill budget plan unveiled Monday.
Some researchers believe that contributes to toxic algal blooms that are harming water quality.
Kasich’s budget also would prohibit farmers in the western Lake Erie basin from spreading manure or fertilizer on frozen, snow-covered or rain-soaked ground unless a proper disposal technique, such as injection, were used. Spreading manure would require a new state permit under the bill.
The legislation also imposes limits and expands monitoring of phosphorus discharges from public wastewater treatment plants.
Ohio’s Democratic senator, at the same time, is unhappy with President Barack Obama’s budget proposal to cut $50 million from a program to clean up the Great Lakes.
The president’s spending plan released Monday asks for $250 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. That’s down from $300 million appropriated for this year.
Sen. Sherrod Brown says the algae blooms on Lake Erie and the water crisis in Toledo show the need protect the Great Lakes.