TOLEDO, Ohio — The city of Toledo put forth a resolution on Tuesday that would require a higher level of treatment from two new high capacity farms to prevent nutrient runoff.
The goal of this legislation is to try to reduce the likelihood of severe algal blooms. It targets two farms expected to come into the area that would add more than 14,000 head of swine to the area.
The resolution specifically asks for the manure at these facilities to be treated to human waste disposal standards to prevent the runoff from going into the Maumee River and Lake Erie. If such runoff were to enter the water, scientists say this would increase phosphorus levels, hurting the lake and perpetuating severe algal blooms.
If the resolution passes, changes would not be immediate. The next steps would be asking the governor, local legislators and the Ohio Department of Agriculture to add these restrictions if the two proposed swine farms were to move in. The city cites a study showing the number of confined animals in the area have more than doubled between 2005 and 2018, and the level of phosphorus in the Maumee watershed has increased by more than 60 percent.