(Toledo News Now) - Ohio Governor John Kasich will be at Maumee Bay State Park on Thursday to talk about preserving Lake Erie as he prepares to sign Senate Bill 1, the
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The bill's goal is to stop the flow of phosphorus from the Maumee River into Lake Erie by banning the spreading of manure and fertilizer on frozen ground. But Lake Erie Waterkeeper Director Sandy Bihn says there are some holes in the bill in the form of exemptions that don't make sense.
One of the biggest exemptions is for farmers who grow in the winter, such as cover crops like winter wheat – they can put manure on the frozen ground. That means it can still melt off into the water.
Manure is also allowed to be spread about four times more often than fertilizer. Phosphorus from either of these feeds algae.
While some algae is good, some is toxic, and Bihn says you can't predict what kind will show up in the lake.
“There needs to be help with treatment of it, or finding ways not to broadcast it on the land,” Bihn said. “It just doesn't make any sense, especially with what we have going on.”
Bihn says the Clean Lake Erie Act is a good bill, but she would like to see the major exemptions changed and an emergency clause put back in.
“As we saw last year in Toledo with the drinking water crisis, the microcystin is a toxin that's not to be fooled with, and really need a quicker, more orderly reduction in the inputs that are coming into the lake,” she said.
Gov. Kasich will be at Maumee Bay to sign the bill at noon on Thursday.
