OREGON, Ohio – Ohio’s governor has put in place new rules that should help cut down on the pollutants feeding the algae in Lake Erie.
While signing the bill Thursday at Maumee Bay State Park in Lucas County, Gov. John Kasich signed said the state is committed to protecting the lake, but it will take time for it to improve.
The changes are being made in response to the toxic algae that contaminated the drinking water for more than 400,000 people in northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan eight months ago.
Among the new rules is one that will require farmers in much of northwestern Ohio to change how they store livestock manure to reduce the runoff into streams and rivers. They will also no longer be able to spread manure or commercial fertilizer on frozen, snow-covered or saturated ground in the western Lake Erie basin
The state also has set a goal of ending the dumping of dredged sediment in Lake Erie within five years.
The law, which goes into effect this summer, establishes a Coordinator of Harmful Algae Management and Response within the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate local and state resources to prevent and respond to toxic algae issues, according to the office of state Senate president Keith Faber (R-Celina).
Among other provisions, the law requires certain fertilizer applicators to be trained and certified, allows the state Department of Natural Resources to monitor and enforce water runoff through civil penalties, and calls for additional monitoring of phosphorus levels at wastewater treatment facilities.