Boaters and Swimmers beware! Toxins levels are four times higher than the Ohio EPA safe levels
SOURCE: OHIO DNR
06/21/2021 - High Toxin Alert.
The OEPA threshold for Microcystin posting is 6.0 ppb and the WHO is 20.0ppb.
Ohio Health Dept has posted a "No Contact" warning for Grand Lake St. Marys.
06/21/2021 - High Toxin Alert.
The OEPA threshold for Microcystin posting is 6.0 ppb and the WHO is 20.0ppb.
Ohio Health Dept has posted a "No Contact" warning for Grand Lake St. Marys.
changing farming practices lead
to poor water quality in midwest
ohio Outdoor News, October 10, 2020, Mike Moore
University of Maryland Professor talks about CAFOs IN OHIO, AND ELSEWHERE See file below
| farm_practices.docx |
Interesting comments by the sheriff in story below regarding blue green algae pollution (in red type) - Please read
Sheriff’s Sgt. raises questions in Zion National Park’s missing person case of Holly Courtier
ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah (ABC4 News) — The liaison of the Washington County Sheriff’s
Search and Rescue is speaking out about several discrepancies he says he sees in the case of a
California woman who was found alive after being missing for 12 days inside Zion National Park.
Sgt. Darrell Cashin says his search and rescue team was asked to assist in locating Holly Courtier.
The 38-year-old mom from Woodland Hills went missing from the park on Oct. 6 and was found
by ZNP rescuers on Oct. 18 after they received a credible tip of a possible sighting. Cashin says
Courtier was found within approximately half a mile from where she was last seen in the Grotto
parking area.
Cashin says their crews provided some K-9 assets and several of their highly trained investigators
reviewed the park’s entire search and rescue efforts, from their maps to credible tips and
surveillance footage from nearby businesses, that could help find Holly.
Cashin says the national park’s search and rescue teams “went above and beyond.”
“They even had GPS tracks of every trail, every part of the backcountry, and every valley they
searched,” Cashin says. “They had everything about Holly they possibly could’ve gotten to give an
indication of what her behavior was like and where she might have gone.”
“Understand, there’s a lot of country up there. If you go off-trail, it will be virtually impossible to
find somebody unless they want to be found,” Cashin says.
With his 25 years of experience on search and rescue teams, from swift-water rescues to diving,
Cashin tells ABC4 News he knows the Virgin River is not a clean water source, with many species
of parasites such as cryptosporidium, especially in the warmer months when they’re allowed to
bloom and grow.
The cyanobacteria from a toxic algal bloom detected in early July in the north fork of the Virgin
River remains dangerously high, prompting park officials to recommend that visitors avoid all
contact in the river until further notice.
Courtier’s family told CNN that she had stayed close to a “water source,” a river bed, during the
time she was lost.
“If she had been drinking that water, unless she had some really high immune system, she
would’ve been very, very ill and probably unable to come out on her own,” Cashin says. “She either
took a lot of water with her or had another clean water source that was near here, but the Virgin
River is not that source.”
Cashin says it’s a “high possibility” Courtier would have died
if she was drinking the river water for 12 days. Without any
water, she would have died within two to three days, he
says.
Based on the statements released from both Zion National
Park and the Courtier family, his experience as an advanced EMT, and the liaison of the county’s
search and rescue for nine years, Cashin says he finds some “discrepancies and questions that do
not add up.”
CNN reported that the family said Courtier had hit her head on a tree, became disoriented, and
was only able to take a few steps before collapsing.
“If we had found somebody in that condition with that kind of severe head injury, we would have
at minimum called for a transport agency to check her out,” Cashin says. “The fact that that didn’t
happen tells me that they did not find any significant injury to her that would’ve prompted them
to do that.”
“Physically, she seemed to be in a condition that did not warrant an ambulance and they felt was
comfortable to release her to her family to address,” Cashin added.
Zion National Park officials reported that Courtier was able to walk out of the park on her own
with minimal assistance.
Cashin says that from his knowledge of the case, there was “some question of her decision making
regarding her trip to the park.” He says that she left California in the middle of the night and did
not tell her family where she was going.
“If she’s by the Virgin River, she’s down in the valley, not in the backcountry up in the plateaus and
the peaks,” Cashin says. “She’s in that main part of the canyon, which always has thousands of
people walking up and down those trails. I’m sure people walked by yelling for her.”
“The statements that the family is giving and the statements that the park is giving don’t add up,”
Cashin says. “Those are the types of questions I think everybody has. I think the place where that
question can be answered is with her.”
ABC4 News attempted to contact the Courtier family for an interview. Zion National Park officials
provided our reporter’s contact information to the family, who have not yet responded.
ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah (ABC4 News) — The liaison of the Washington County Sheriff’s
Search and Rescue is speaking out about several discrepancies he says he sees in the case of a
California woman who was found alive after being missing for 12 days inside Zion National Park.
Sgt. Darrell Cashin says his search and rescue team was asked to assist in locating Holly Courtier.
The 38-year-old mom from Woodland Hills went missing from the park on Oct. 6 and was found
by ZNP rescuers on Oct. 18 after they received a credible tip of a possible sighting. Cashin says
Courtier was found within approximately half a mile from where she was last seen in the Grotto
parking area.
Cashin says their crews provided some K-9 assets and several of their highly trained investigators
reviewed the park’s entire search and rescue efforts, from their maps to credible tips and
surveillance footage from nearby businesses, that could help find Holly.
Cashin says the national park’s search and rescue teams “went above and beyond.”
“They even had GPS tracks of every trail, every part of the backcountry, and every valley they
searched,” Cashin says. “They had everything about Holly they possibly could’ve gotten to give an
indication of what her behavior was like and where she might have gone.”
“Understand, there’s a lot of country up there. If you go off-trail, it will be virtually impossible to
find somebody unless they want to be found,” Cashin says.
With his 25 years of experience on search and rescue teams, from swift-water rescues to diving,
Cashin tells ABC4 News he knows the Virgin River is not a clean water source, with many species
of parasites such as cryptosporidium, especially in the warmer months when they’re allowed to
bloom and grow.
The cyanobacteria from a toxic algal bloom detected in early July in the north fork of the Virgin
River remains dangerously high, prompting park officials to recommend that visitors avoid all
contact in the river until further notice.
Courtier’s family told CNN that she had stayed close to a “water source,” a river bed, during the
time she was lost.
“If she had been drinking that water, unless she had some really high immune system, she
would’ve been very, very ill and probably unable to come out on her own,” Cashin says. “She either
took a lot of water with her or had another clean water source that was near here, but the Virgin
River is not that source.”
Cashin says it’s a “high possibility” Courtier would have died
if she was drinking the river water for 12 days. Without any
water, she would have died within two to three days, he
says.
Based on the statements released from both Zion National
Park and the Courtier family, his experience as an advanced EMT, and the liaison of the county’s
search and rescue for nine years, Cashin says he finds some “discrepancies and questions that do
not add up.”
CNN reported that the family said Courtier had hit her head on a tree, became disoriented, and
was only able to take a few steps before collapsing.
“If we had found somebody in that condition with that kind of severe head injury, we would have
at minimum called for a transport agency to check her out,” Cashin says. “The fact that that didn’t
happen tells me that they did not find any significant injury to her that would’ve prompted them
to do that.”
“Physically, she seemed to be in a condition that did not warrant an ambulance and they felt was
comfortable to release her to her family to address,” Cashin added.
Zion National Park officials reported that Courtier was able to walk out of the park on her own
with minimal assistance.
Cashin says that from his knowledge of the case, there was “some question of her decision making
regarding her trip to the park.” He says that she left California in the middle of the night and did
not tell her family where she was going.
“If she’s by the Virgin River, she’s down in the valley, not in the backcountry up in the plateaus and
the peaks,” Cashin says. “She’s in that main part of the canyon, which always has thousands of
people walking up and down those trails. I’m sure people walked by yelling for her.”
“The statements that the family is giving and the statements that the park is giving don’t add up,”
Cashin says. “Those are the types of questions I think everybody has. I think the place where that
question can be answered is with her.”
ABC4 News attempted to contact the Courtier family for an interview. Zion National Park officials
provided our reporter’s contact information to the family, who have not yet responded.
LOCAL FARMERS CLAIM IT IS TOO EXPENSIVE TO TRANSPORT MANURE OUT OF THE GRAND LAKE ST. MARYS WATERSHED
BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT
APPROXIMATELY 3,175 FARMERS IN MERCER COUNTY HAVE DRAWN DOWN $201.5 MILLION IN FEDERAL SUBSIDY,
WHILE 2,593 FARMERS IN AUGLAIZE COUNTY HAVE RECEIVED $145.1 MILLION.
BELOW IS A LIST OF THE TOP 20 RECIPIENT OF FEDERAL DOLLARS IN MERCER AND AUGLAIZE COUNTIES. ALSO NOTE THAT AGRICULTURE IS NOT IDENTIFIED AS A MAJOR INDUSTRY IN EITHER COUNTY.
Large Fish kill at Grand Lake St. Marys
GLSM Water Condition Update
An update on current Grand Lake St. Marys water conditions, courtesy Dr. Stephen Jacquemin, Associate Professor of Biology at Wright State University-Lake Campus:
Oxygen concentration has dropped precipitously in the lake over the past week as levels have fallen to between 0 and 1 mg/L during the night across the majority of the basin. This is far below what is required to sustain fish life in the lake. As a result, a large scale fish die off began several days ago and continues to progress. This die off has occurred across the lake but does seem to have affected some areas more than others. Initial surveys across the middle of the lake indicate that a variety of species have been affected – including Freshwater Drum, Channel Catfish, Gizzard Shad, Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Green Sunfish, Walleye, Hybrid Walleye/Sauger ‘Saugeye’, Common Carp, Quillback, Yellow Perch, White Sucker, Spotfin Shiner, Fathead Minnow, Bluntnose Minnow, Goldfish, and Yellow Bullhead. Unfortunately, this die off will continue until oxygen concentrations begin to increase. Note that low levels of oxygen at this time are a combined result of summer heat as warm water holds less oxygen then cool water, lack of wind or wave action as agitation of water helps fold oxygen into the water column from the air, microbial breakdown of organic material along the lake bottom as these microbes utilize oxygen in the water during metabolism, as well as algal bloom activity as cyanobacteria take up oxygen in the evening when not photosynthetically active compared with their production of oxygen during the day when photosynthesis occurs.
An update on current Grand Lake St. Marys water conditions, courtesy Dr. Stephen Jacquemin, Associate Professor of Biology at Wright State University-Lake Campus:
Oxygen concentration has dropped precipitously in the lake over the past week as levels have fallen to between 0 and 1 mg/L during the night across the majority of the basin. This is far below what is required to sustain fish life in the lake. As a result, a large scale fish die off began several days ago and continues to progress. This die off has occurred across the lake but does seem to have affected some areas more than others. Initial surveys across the middle of the lake indicate that a variety of species have been affected – including Freshwater Drum, Channel Catfish, Gizzard Shad, Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Green Sunfish, Walleye, Hybrid Walleye/Sauger ‘Saugeye’, Common Carp, Quillback, Yellow Perch, White Sucker, Spotfin Shiner, Fathead Minnow, Bluntnose Minnow, Goldfish, and Yellow Bullhead. Unfortunately, this die off will continue until oxygen concentrations begin to increase. Note that low levels of oxygen at this time are a combined result of summer heat as warm water holds less oxygen then cool water, lack of wind or wave action as agitation of water helps fold oxygen into the water column from the air, microbial breakdown of organic material along the lake bottom as these microbes utilize oxygen in the water during metabolism, as well as algal bloom activity as cyanobacteria take up oxygen in the evening when not photosynthetically active compared with their production of oxygen during the day when photosynthesis occurs.
Important health information regarding exposure to GLSM Toxins
HABs-Related Health Problems in People and AnimalsThe toxins produced by HABs can cause illness in people and animals regardless of how the toxins enter a person's body. The type of illness can vary based on the type of toxin and the route of exposure.
Drinking/Swallowing HABs-contaminated water can cause:
Contact a veterinarian immediately if pets show signs of illness.
See ODH Report form below.
Drinking/Swallowing HABs-contaminated water can cause:
- Severe diarrhea and vomiting
- Liver toxicity (abnormal liver function, abdominal pain)
- Kidney toxicity
- Neurotoxicity (weakness, salivation, tingly fingers, numbness, dizziness)
- Difficulty breathing
- Death
- Rashes
- Hives
- Skin blisters (especially on the lips and under swimsuits)
- Runny eyes and nose
- Sore throat
- Asthma-like symptoms
- Allergic reactions
Contact a veterinarian immediately if pets show signs of illness.
See ODH Report form below.
| habshumanillnessdrinkingwaterexposure.pdf |
Exposure to blue green algae shows
signs of brain disease
Dolphins poisoned by algae also showed signs of Alzheimer’s-like brain disease
BY JENNY STALETOVICH
MIAMI HEARLD, MARCH 20, 2019 02:00 PM
Toxins produced by blue-green algae that have increasingly polluted Florida waters have been found in dead dolphins that also showed signs of Alzheimer’s-like brain disease, according to a new study led by University of Miami researchers.
The study, published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One, is the first to show detectable levels of the toxin, commonly called BMAA, in dolphin brains that also displayed degenerative damage similar to Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s disease and Parkinson’s in humans. While more work needs to be done to determine whether the toxins cause the disease, the study concludes that dolphins and their complex brains could provide a key sentinel for the potential threat from toxic algae blooms to humans.
“Not to be too political, but it goes to show the health of marine animals and water quality,” said David Davis, lead author and a University of Miami Miller
The findings add to a growing body of research that focuses on the health threat from harmful algae blooms, which climate scientists warn could worsen as the planet warms. South Florida is particularly vulnerable, with miles of coast, a lake that is a third of the size of Rhode Island, rivers and estuaries, and an agricultural industry and swelling population that continue to feed blooms with pollution from fertilizer and sewage.
This past year, nearly 150 dead dolphins turned up in Florida waters after a widespread red tide along the Gulf Coast coincided with freshwater blue-green algae washing down the Caloosahatchee River. The carnage prompted the state’s new governor, Ron DeSantis, to order a task force assembled to tackle damaging blue-green algae blooms just after he took office.
The task force is expected to be created after a chief science officer, another position Gov. DeSantis created, is selected, Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Dee Ann Miller said in an email. The science officer should be named in the next few weeks, she said.
Two years ago, UM researchers confirmed high levels of toxin from algae in sharks, concluding that the ocean’s big, long-living predators accumulate the toxin in their brains over time, and they warned against eating shark.
The connection between the toxin and brain disease is still relatively new and not without controversy. Scientists first discovered the link after a botanist visiting Guam to research cancer took another look at a decades-old mystery surrounding a degenerative brain disease, Discover Magazine reported in 2011. The disease hit nearly every household in a small village, leading researchers to focus on the seed from cycads, a plant often confused with palms and a staple of villagers’ diet.
The seeds contain BMAA, but researchers concluded that villagers could never consume enough to make them sick. The botanist, Paul Cox, found the connection when he discovered that the villagers also ate fruit bats, which feasted on the seeds and had a much higher concentration of BMAA because it accumulated in their bodies over time, according to a 2012 Environmental Health Perspectives account.
A decade later, UM’s Miami Brain Endowment Bank repeated Cox’s brain study and found BMAA in the brains of people suffering from the degenerative diseases.
“BMAA is more of a long-term toxin,” said Davis, a member of Cox’s Brain Chemistry Lab that investigates environmental triggers for brain diseases. “It integrates and causes proteins for misfold and that’s when you get chronic inflammation and that leads to degenerations.”
Since then, more studies have looked at higher incidences of Lou Gehrig’s disease in people who live near lakes with frequent blooms, Wednesday’s study noted.
This male loggerhead turtle was treated at Sanibel’s Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) for red tide poisoning in July.
CROW
For this study, researchers looked at brains from 14 dead dolphins, including seven Florida bottlenose dolphins that beached themselves in 2005 along the Atlantic, the Indian River Lagoon, the Banana River and Gulf of Mexico where algae blooms frequently occur. They also looked at seven common dolphins that were found dead in Cape Cod Bay off Massachusetts in 2012.
All but one dolphin, which died from a boat strike, had BMAA in their brains as well as signs of degenerative disease. Notably, the Florida dolphins had three times the amount of toxins. That’s likely because they swim closer to shore and into estuaries where blooms occur, Davis said, and eat smaller marine life, like shrimp, crabs and prey fish, that consume the algae.
Making the connection in dolphins is significant because it provides a window into a more complex brain than a shark’s, he said, and one with higher functions like a human’s. Researchers also focused on the part of the dolphin brain used for acoustic navigation because they believed problems would be more apparent.
“It’s one of those regions where if you want to find something wrong with a dolphin, you would look there,” Davis said. “We thought it would be highly sensitive and vulnerable to a toxin.”
Looking at dolphins in the wild also gives scientists a more realistic model of how the toxin accumulates and may cause damage, he said.
“This isn’t animals being fed a certain dose over a certain amount of time. It’s naturalistic exposure,” he said. “If you have these ... dolphins feeding in the same marine food web as humans, potentially eating the same things as humans, that’s why we say it serves as a sentinel.”
Because this study involved such a small number of dolphins, the team was not able to definitively link a cause and effect. For that, the researchers have begun a second study using dolphins that died during last year’s prolonged algae blooms. Nearly 150 were found in Gulf waters, which prompted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to launch an investigation. So far nothing suggests the toxins caused the beachings, which can be a complex event. But Davis said the larger sample will allow researchers to look at more brains. They also plan to examine more parts of the dolphins’ brains.
Davis said they expect to complete the next study in a year. In the meantime, he said the team hopes to draw attention to the health risk posed by algae blooms, especially in Florida.
“The BMAA topic is a relatively new one and a lot of people don’t know about it,” he said. “We’re trying to find out what the long-term effects are. We hypothesize at least neurological degeneration and we have pretty good models that suggest that. But we just want to let people know of this toxin.”
BY JENNY STALETOVICH
MIAMI HEARLD, MARCH 20, 2019 02:00 PM
Toxins produced by blue-green algae that have increasingly polluted Florida waters have been found in dead dolphins that also showed signs of Alzheimer’s-like brain disease, according to a new study led by University of Miami researchers.
The study, published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One, is the first to show detectable levels of the toxin, commonly called BMAA, in dolphin brains that also displayed degenerative damage similar to Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s disease and Parkinson’s in humans. While more work needs to be done to determine whether the toxins cause the disease, the study concludes that dolphins and their complex brains could provide a key sentinel for the potential threat from toxic algae blooms to humans.
“Not to be too political, but it goes to show the health of marine animals and water quality,” said David Davis, lead author and a University of Miami Miller
The findings add to a growing body of research that focuses on the health threat from harmful algae blooms, which climate scientists warn could worsen as the planet warms. South Florida is particularly vulnerable, with miles of coast, a lake that is a third of the size of Rhode Island, rivers and estuaries, and an agricultural industry and swelling population that continue to feed blooms with pollution from fertilizer and sewage.
This past year, nearly 150 dead dolphins turned up in Florida waters after a widespread red tide along the Gulf Coast coincided with freshwater blue-green algae washing down the Caloosahatchee River. The carnage prompted the state’s new governor, Ron DeSantis, to order a task force assembled to tackle damaging blue-green algae blooms just after he took office.
The task force is expected to be created after a chief science officer, another position Gov. DeSantis created, is selected, Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Dee Ann Miller said in an email. The science officer should be named in the next few weeks, she said.
Two years ago, UM researchers confirmed high levels of toxin from algae in sharks, concluding that the ocean’s big, long-living predators accumulate the toxin in their brains over time, and they warned against eating shark.
The connection between the toxin and brain disease is still relatively new and not without controversy. Scientists first discovered the link after a botanist visiting Guam to research cancer took another look at a decades-old mystery surrounding a degenerative brain disease, Discover Magazine reported in 2011. The disease hit nearly every household in a small village, leading researchers to focus on the seed from cycads, a plant often confused with palms and a staple of villagers’ diet.
The seeds contain BMAA, but researchers concluded that villagers could never consume enough to make them sick. The botanist, Paul Cox, found the connection when he discovered that the villagers also ate fruit bats, which feasted on the seeds and had a much higher concentration of BMAA because it accumulated in their bodies over time, according to a 2012 Environmental Health Perspectives account.
A decade later, UM’s Miami Brain Endowment Bank repeated Cox’s brain study and found BMAA in the brains of people suffering from the degenerative diseases.
“BMAA is more of a long-term toxin,” said Davis, a member of Cox’s Brain Chemistry Lab that investigates environmental triggers for brain diseases. “It integrates and causes proteins for misfold and that’s when you get chronic inflammation and that leads to degenerations.”
Since then, more studies have looked at higher incidences of Lou Gehrig’s disease in people who live near lakes with frequent blooms, Wednesday’s study noted.
This male loggerhead turtle was treated at Sanibel’s Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) for red tide poisoning in July.
CROW
For this study, researchers looked at brains from 14 dead dolphins, including seven Florida bottlenose dolphins that beached themselves in 2005 along the Atlantic, the Indian River Lagoon, the Banana River and Gulf of Mexico where algae blooms frequently occur. They also looked at seven common dolphins that were found dead in Cape Cod Bay off Massachusetts in 2012.
All but one dolphin, which died from a boat strike, had BMAA in their brains as well as signs of degenerative disease. Notably, the Florida dolphins had three times the amount of toxins. That’s likely because they swim closer to shore and into estuaries where blooms occur, Davis said, and eat smaller marine life, like shrimp, crabs and prey fish, that consume the algae.
Making the connection in dolphins is significant because it provides a window into a more complex brain than a shark’s, he said, and one with higher functions like a human’s. Researchers also focused on the part of the dolphin brain used for acoustic navigation because they believed problems would be more apparent.
“It’s one of those regions where if you want to find something wrong with a dolphin, you would look there,” Davis said. “We thought it would be highly sensitive and vulnerable to a toxin.”
Looking at dolphins in the wild also gives scientists a more realistic model of how the toxin accumulates and may cause damage, he said.
“This isn’t animals being fed a certain dose over a certain amount of time. It’s naturalistic exposure,” he said. “If you have these ... dolphins feeding in the same marine food web as humans, potentially eating the same things as humans, that’s why we say it serves as a sentinel.”
Because this study involved such a small number of dolphins, the team was not able to definitively link a cause and effect. For that, the researchers have begun a second study using dolphins that died during last year’s prolonged algae blooms. Nearly 150 were found in Gulf waters, which prompted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to launch an investigation. So far nothing suggests the toxins caused the beachings, which can be a complex event. But Davis said the larger sample will allow researchers to look at more brains. They also plan to examine more parts of the dolphins’ brains.
Davis said they expect to complete the next study in a year. In the meantime, he said the team hopes to draw attention to the health risk posed by algae blooms, especially in Florida.
“The BMAA topic is a relatively new one and a lot of people don’t know about it,” he said. “We’re trying to find out what the long-term effects are. We hypothesize at least neurological degeneration and we have pretty good models that suggest that. But we just want to let people know of this toxin.”
New Ohio department of agriculture director, dorothy Pelanda, avoided GOGLSM questions and promised farmers to be there for them regarding potential lawsuits from the Toledo Lebro Bill.
Had the pleasure of meeting the new Ohio Director of Agriculture in Celina, Ohio. I asked, “how could an advocate for clean water evaluate the progress of the state’s manure management in Ohio’s only distressed watershed, Grand Lake St. Mary, especially since the manure management plans which are paid with federal and state tax dollars, are not allowed to be viewed by the public. This is a result of legislation passed while she was in the legislature.” She did not answer. I asked again and again she didn’t answer the question. When she asked for suggestions, I explained that advocates for Lake Erie are wanting a TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load), however, the Grand Lake watershed has had a TMDL since 2007 and it has done absolutely nothing for GLSM because it was never implemented. Since it identified the sources of the lake pollution and had the recommendations of how to stop the pollution, it would be great if the State of Ohio would implement the existing Grand Lake St. Marys TMDL and update it as required by law.
I was surprised by the individual (a farmer) who stated that he considers his manure management plan his private business plan. To him I say, “Dear sir, if you want your business plan to remain private, I suggest you use your private dollars to pay for it and not state and federal taxpayers money to pay for it.”
Now to Mr Homan, of Chickasaw, I greatly appreciate your and Teresa’s invitation to sit down and discuss the current activities and attitudes in our watershed. I also appreciate you warning me that there are some radical thinking farmers in the watershed who have relayed that if the current attitudes don’t change that farmers have discussed shutting down all water coming into the lake. Frankly, Mr Holman and Teresa I don’t think you should be concerned with that threat. Those offering this radical solution is no solution at all. Besides I truly don’t believe those farmers have the nerve, the power nor the intelligence to pull off such an action. I think your suggestion for us to sit down and find common ground is a much better solution and much more productive.
Without Legislation, GLSM needs Litigation!
I was surprised by the individual (a farmer) who stated that he considers his manure management plan his private business plan. To him I say, “Dear sir, if you want your business plan to remain private, I suggest you use your private dollars to pay for it and not state and federal taxpayers money to pay for it.”
Now to Mr Homan, of Chickasaw, I greatly appreciate your and Teresa’s invitation to sit down and discuss the current activities and attitudes in our watershed. I also appreciate you warning me that there are some radical thinking farmers in the watershed who have relayed that if the current attitudes don’t change that farmers have discussed shutting down all water coming into the lake. Frankly, Mr Holman and Teresa I don’t think you should be concerned with that threat. Those offering this radical solution is no solution at all. Besides I truly don’t believe those farmers have the nerve, the power nor the intelligence to pull off such an action. I think your suggestion for us to sit down and find common ground is a much better solution and much more productive.
Without Legislation, GLSM needs Litigation!
GOGLSM reviewing the TOLEDO Lebro bill for viability for grand Lake st. marys
Holy Toledo! This Ohio City Is Voting to Give Legal Rights to a Lake
Supporters hope the first-of-its-kind proposal will create a new environmental framework for the rest of the country.JACKIE FLYNN MOGENSEN FEBRUARY 25, 2019 6:00 AMToledo, Ohio, a city of nearly 300,000 situated on the western edge of Lake Erie, may not seem like a mecca of progressive environmental policy. But on Tuesday, the city’s denizens will vote on a radical ballot measure to recognize that a body of water has legal rights.
If passed, the so-called Lake Erie Bill of Rights, or LEBOR, would grant legal rights to the fourth-largest Great Lake and its watershed, as an amendment to the city’s charter. According to supporters, it would be the first US law of its kind.
“The people [in Toledo] understand that it’s up to them to protect the water,” says Tish O’Dell, the Ohio community organizer at Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, a national nonprofit focused on advancing the rights of nature, which helped local activists draft LEBOR. “The government isn’t going to do this for them. And this gives them more standing [to take legal action].”
The measure, though, has sparked controversy in Toledo, pitting residents fed up with contaminated water against farmers who make up the backbone of the region’s economy. Supporters argue LEBOR is a necessary step in securing clean water for the city, whose primary water source is the lake, while opponents—from entities like the Ohio Farm Bureau and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and associations representing the state’s dairy, pork, poultry, soybean, corn, and wheat industries—posit the measure is unenforceable and unconstitutional, not to mention damaging to their bottom lines.
No matter what happens, advocates hope the measure will create a model for communities across the country who feel current environmental laws aren’t doing enough to protect natural resources—and their health—and who are considering finally stepping up to do something about it.
“Lake Erie, the Dead Sea?,” a drawing from the Bill Roberts Editorial Cartoon Collection
Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University
Surrounded by both agricultural land and metropolitan areas like Buffalo, Toledo, and Cleveland, Lake Erie has long been a site of environmental concern. In the late 1960s, the lake became so polluted it was declared “dead” by the media, a reference to the number of rotting fish washed up on its shores. Its demise provided a wake-up call for the federal government, which went on to pass several environmental regulations, including the Clean Water Act of 1972.
Then, in 2014, roughly half a century after Lake Erie’s declaration of death and after substantial progress in cleaning up the lake, more than 100 people got sick because of a toxic algal bloom in the lake, which was caused by agricultural nutrient runoff. Toledo had no safe drinking water for nearly three days.
“I mean, it was just total panic,” says Markie Miller, an organizer at Toledoans for Safe Water, the grassroots group behind the ballot measure. “People didn’t know how to deal with it. There were lines of people at water stations. And, you know, it’s August. So it’s hot. And we’re standing in the sun waiting to get a bucket of water.”
“People were fighting over it,” she adds.
A few years later, a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Toledo’s 2014 incident was one of the first times a community reported an illness outbreak from algae toxins in municipal drinking water. And in the summer of 2017, Lake Erie’s algal blooms matched the third largest on record, and though no one reported a related illness that summer, it was still a cause for growing concern; researchers estimate that with a rise in global temperatures, algal blooms will only become more frequent.
“It was just total panic. It’s August and we’re standing in the sun waiting to get a bucket of water.”
Miller remembers feeling “voiceless” and “powerless” during those three days in 2014—like there was no real way to challenge the damage being done. The runoff was entirely legal, as farms hold permits to pollute the lake. And the state was doing little to protect the Lake Erie watershed from runoff pollution and cap the pollution levels.
Advocates like Miller spent the following few years trying to force action by contacting local and state officials before attending a 2016 talk by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund about recognizing nature’s rights as a legal strategy. “The residents, after two years of trying to work within the system, heard about rights of nature and they said, ‘Well, why can’t we do that? Why can’t we try that with Lake Erie?’” says O’Dell. “And so that’s how the Lake Erie Bill of Rights was born.”
Miller adds, “As a group, we wanted to do something that was action-based, and we wanted to do something that is going to be more proactive or more preventative…And if that means that we have to get a little controversial, then we will.”
Anti-pollution protesters hold signs outside the water pollution hearings in Cleveland in 1968. Photo by Bill Nehez from the Cleveland Press Collection.
Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University
By last summer, Toledoans for Safe Water had gathered 10,500 signatures—more than twice the required number for a vote in November. (About 6,400 signatures were validated by the election board.) But the plan was held up in late August, when the Lucas County Board of Elections blocked the measure from going on the ballot, citing concerns about the law’s enforceability. The group appealed the decision, and after a long legal battle, the Ohio Supreme Court ultimately allowed the initiative to appear on the ballot for a special citywide vote on February 26.
If passed, LEBOR would authorize individuals to bring lawsuits against activities that infringe upon Lake Erie’s potential right to “exist, flourish, and naturally evolve”—including pollution from farming activities. It would also put Toledo right in line with a growing global movement on the rights of nature. Ecuador and Bolivia already have national nature-rights laws on the books, and similar local laws have been established in Brazil. (Rights-of-nature laws only apply to entire ecosystems. A single tree or the bacteria on a toilet seat, for example, wouldn’t qualify—and it couldn’t be extended to apply to something like an embryo.)
“The residents, after two years of trying to work within the system, heard about rights of nature and they said, ‘Well, why can’t we do that? Why can’t we try that with Lake Erie?'”
Meanwhile, in the United States, a 2006 law in Tamaqua Borough, Pennsylvania, was the first rights-of-nature law to go into effect in the country, according to Osprey Orielle Lake, executive director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network and a member of the executive committee for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature; it prevented corporations from applying waste sludge to the land. She says that “since then, more than three-dozen communities in the US have adopted such laws.” In 2010, Pittsburgh’s city council, for example, passed an ordinance recognizing the rights of nature as part of a ban on fracking. And in 2017, Lafayette, Colorado, recognized the rights of humans and nature to a healthy climate and banned fossil fuel extraction. LEBOR, though, would be the first law that would grant legal rights to a body of water.
Under rights-of-nature laws, industry, of course, can continue, “but only in so far as it does not violate the Earth’s natural systems to survive,” says Lake.
Industry, though, has unsurprisingly provided the strongest push back to LEBOR—specifically the farmers and agriculture companies in the area. Yvonne Lesicko, vice president of public policy at the Ohio Farm Bureau, claims LEBOR is simply unenforceable—because runoff pollution is difficult to trace back to one source—and she argues that it’s also unconstitutional because it would allow Toledoans to sue any business connected to the Lake Erie watershed, including those outside the city.
“We are looking at every possible legal option at this point,” says Lesicko. “We have not made any decisions about how we’re going to proceed [if it passes], but I would say every legal option is on the table right now.”
Lesicko also counters the idea that farmers are currently acting recklessly toward the lake, saying that they are in fact concerned about the pollution in Lake Erie and are pushing individual conservation measures rooted in “research-based” science, like planting cover crops and reducing the amount of fertilizer they use. Lesicko told the New York Times it’s important to be patient because it could take decades to see how these activities improve the lake’s health. (Still, according to a 2016 study led by researchers at the Ohio State University, agricultural conservation practices like limiting fertilizer use and others Lesicko mentioned wouldn’t be enough to ensure clean water in the long term.)
Another key concern for agricultural businesses, according to Lesicko, is costly litigation. “We are talking about a cost to small and large businesses alike. This is anybody across the board. We’re talking about jobs. We’re talking about paychecks,” she says. “We’re talking about businesses who want to focus on doing what they do to sustain themselves, and instead their money and their effort and their time are going to have to go toward defending themselves in lawsuits. Regulation by litigation is not the right approach.”
On the flip side, while litigation could be expensive for farmers, O’Dell argues that seasonal, toxic algal blooms are also costly, but for lakeside businesses that rely on money from tourism and recreation. As she points out, in 2014 restaurants in Toledo were asked to shut down, though it is unclear how much the algal bloom event cost businesses in all.
“Everybody needs to drink the water. Doesn’t matter if you’re red or blue.”
Although Toledo, like many cities, is a Democrat–dominated area, Miller says campaigning in a state that supported Donald Trump in 2016 has been challenging, and they’re not sure how the vote will land on Tuesday. People, she says, have slammed doors in the group’s face, and once someone shouted at a volunteer, “The lake doesn’t pay taxes! It shouldn’t have rights!” Advocates counter that access to clean water should be a nonpartisan issue. “Everybody needs to drink the water,” O’Dell says. “Doesn’t matter if you’re red or blue.”
Over the campaign, Toledoans for Safe Water has put out mailers and yard signs in support of LEBOR, but in its last stretch, anti-LEBOR radio ads paid for by a group called Toledo Jobs and Growth Coalition have called the ballot measure “anti-job” and said it is being run by “out of state extremists,” according to local reports.
Miller says she is “optimistic” right now. “I think that people are aware of theissue,” she adds. “And I think that the people who really get it and really careunderstand the importance of coming out and voting.”
Ultimately, to LEBOR supporters, getting the measure on the ballot—whether it passes or not—has been something of a success in and of itself. And if it fails, Miller says they’ll try again. “The group knows they’re going to be challenged. They’ve already been challenged just to get on the ballot,” says O’Dell. “But even if they lose—it’s not the end. It’s the beginning.”
Supporters hope the first-of-its-kind proposal will create a new environmental framework for the rest of the country.JACKIE FLYNN MOGENSEN FEBRUARY 25, 2019 6:00 AMToledo, Ohio, a city of nearly 300,000 situated on the western edge of Lake Erie, may not seem like a mecca of progressive environmental policy. But on Tuesday, the city’s denizens will vote on a radical ballot measure to recognize that a body of water has legal rights.
If passed, the so-called Lake Erie Bill of Rights, or LEBOR, would grant legal rights to the fourth-largest Great Lake and its watershed, as an amendment to the city’s charter. According to supporters, it would be the first US law of its kind.
“The people [in Toledo] understand that it’s up to them to protect the water,” says Tish O’Dell, the Ohio community organizer at Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, a national nonprofit focused on advancing the rights of nature, which helped local activists draft LEBOR. “The government isn’t going to do this for them. And this gives them more standing [to take legal action].”
The measure, though, has sparked controversy in Toledo, pitting residents fed up with contaminated water against farmers who make up the backbone of the region’s economy. Supporters argue LEBOR is a necessary step in securing clean water for the city, whose primary water source is the lake, while opponents—from entities like the Ohio Farm Bureau and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and associations representing the state’s dairy, pork, poultry, soybean, corn, and wheat industries—posit the measure is unenforceable and unconstitutional, not to mention damaging to their bottom lines.
No matter what happens, advocates hope the measure will create a model for communities across the country who feel current environmental laws aren’t doing enough to protect natural resources—and their health—and who are considering finally stepping up to do something about it.
“Lake Erie, the Dead Sea?,” a drawing from the Bill Roberts Editorial Cartoon Collection
Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University
Surrounded by both agricultural land and metropolitan areas like Buffalo, Toledo, and Cleveland, Lake Erie has long been a site of environmental concern. In the late 1960s, the lake became so polluted it was declared “dead” by the media, a reference to the number of rotting fish washed up on its shores. Its demise provided a wake-up call for the federal government, which went on to pass several environmental regulations, including the Clean Water Act of 1972.
Then, in 2014, roughly half a century after Lake Erie’s declaration of death and after substantial progress in cleaning up the lake, more than 100 people got sick because of a toxic algal bloom in the lake, which was caused by agricultural nutrient runoff. Toledo had no safe drinking water for nearly three days.
“I mean, it was just total panic,” says Markie Miller, an organizer at Toledoans for Safe Water, the grassroots group behind the ballot measure. “People didn’t know how to deal with it. There were lines of people at water stations. And, you know, it’s August. So it’s hot. And we’re standing in the sun waiting to get a bucket of water.”
“People were fighting over it,” she adds.
A few years later, a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Toledo’s 2014 incident was one of the first times a community reported an illness outbreak from algae toxins in municipal drinking water. And in the summer of 2017, Lake Erie’s algal blooms matched the third largest on record, and though no one reported a related illness that summer, it was still a cause for growing concern; researchers estimate that with a rise in global temperatures, algal blooms will only become more frequent.
“It was just total panic. It’s August and we’re standing in the sun waiting to get a bucket of water.”
Miller remembers feeling “voiceless” and “powerless” during those three days in 2014—like there was no real way to challenge the damage being done. The runoff was entirely legal, as farms hold permits to pollute the lake. And the state was doing little to protect the Lake Erie watershed from runoff pollution and cap the pollution levels.
Advocates like Miller spent the following few years trying to force action by contacting local and state officials before attending a 2016 talk by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund about recognizing nature’s rights as a legal strategy. “The residents, after two years of trying to work within the system, heard about rights of nature and they said, ‘Well, why can’t we do that? Why can’t we try that with Lake Erie?’” says O’Dell. “And so that’s how the Lake Erie Bill of Rights was born.”
Miller adds, “As a group, we wanted to do something that was action-based, and we wanted to do something that is going to be more proactive or more preventative…And if that means that we have to get a little controversial, then we will.”
Anti-pollution protesters hold signs outside the water pollution hearings in Cleveland in 1968. Photo by Bill Nehez from the Cleveland Press Collection.
Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University
By last summer, Toledoans for Safe Water had gathered 10,500 signatures—more than twice the required number for a vote in November. (About 6,400 signatures were validated by the election board.) But the plan was held up in late August, when the Lucas County Board of Elections blocked the measure from going on the ballot, citing concerns about the law’s enforceability. The group appealed the decision, and after a long legal battle, the Ohio Supreme Court ultimately allowed the initiative to appear on the ballot for a special citywide vote on February 26.
If passed, LEBOR would authorize individuals to bring lawsuits against activities that infringe upon Lake Erie’s potential right to “exist, flourish, and naturally evolve”—including pollution from farming activities. It would also put Toledo right in line with a growing global movement on the rights of nature. Ecuador and Bolivia already have national nature-rights laws on the books, and similar local laws have been established in Brazil. (Rights-of-nature laws only apply to entire ecosystems. A single tree or the bacteria on a toilet seat, for example, wouldn’t qualify—and it couldn’t be extended to apply to something like an embryo.)
“The residents, after two years of trying to work within the system, heard about rights of nature and they said, ‘Well, why can’t we do that? Why can’t we try that with Lake Erie?'”
Meanwhile, in the United States, a 2006 law in Tamaqua Borough, Pennsylvania, was the first rights-of-nature law to go into effect in the country, according to Osprey Orielle Lake, executive director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network and a member of the executive committee for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature; it prevented corporations from applying waste sludge to the land. She says that “since then, more than three-dozen communities in the US have adopted such laws.” In 2010, Pittsburgh’s city council, for example, passed an ordinance recognizing the rights of nature as part of a ban on fracking. And in 2017, Lafayette, Colorado, recognized the rights of humans and nature to a healthy climate and banned fossil fuel extraction. LEBOR, though, would be the first law that would grant legal rights to a body of water.
Under rights-of-nature laws, industry, of course, can continue, “but only in so far as it does not violate the Earth’s natural systems to survive,” says Lake.
Industry, though, has unsurprisingly provided the strongest push back to LEBOR—specifically the farmers and agriculture companies in the area. Yvonne Lesicko, vice president of public policy at the Ohio Farm Bureau, claims LEBOR is simply unenforceable—because runoff pollution is difficult to trace back to one source—and she argues that it’s also unconstitutional because it would allow Toledoans to sue any business connected to the Lake Erie watershed, including those outside the city.
“We are looking at every possible legal option at this point,” says Lesicko. “We have not made any decisions about how we’re going to proceed [if it passes], but I would say every legal option is on the table right now.”
Lesicko also counters the idea that farmers are currently acting recklessly toward the lake, saying that they are in fact concerned about the pollution in Lake Erie and are pushing individual conservation measures rooted in “research-based” science, like planting cover crops and reducing the amount of fertilizer they use. Lesicko told the New York Times it’s important to be patient because it could take decades to see how these activities improve the lake’s health. (Still, according to a 2016 study led by researchers at the Ohio State University, agricultural conservation practices like limiting fertilizer use and others Lesicko mentioned wouldn’t be enough to ensure clean water in the long term.)
Another key concern for agricultural businesses, according to Lesicko, is costly litigation. “We are talking about a cost to small and large businesses alike. This is anybody across the board. We’re talking about jobs. We’re talking about paychecks,” she says. “We’re talking about businesses who want to focus on doing what they do to sustain themselves, and instead their money and their effort and their time are going to have to go toward defending themselves in lawsuits. Regulation by litigation is not the right approach.”
On the flip side, while litigation could be expensive for farmers, O’Dell argues that seasonal, toxic algal blooms are also costly, but for lakeside businesses that rely on money from tourism and recreation. As she points out, in 2014 restaurants in Toledo were asked to shut down, though it is unclear how much the algal bloom event cost businesses in all.
“Everybody needs to drink the water. Doesn’t matter if you’re red or blue.”
Although Toledo, like many cities, is a Democrat–dominated area, Miller says campaigning in a state that supported Donald Trump in 2016 has been challenging, and they’re not sure how the vote will land on Tuesday. People, she says, have slammed doors in the group’s face, and once someone shouted at a volunteer, “The lake doesn’t pay taxes! It shouldn’t have rights!” Advocates counter that access to clean water should be a nonpartisan issue. “Everybody needs to drink the water,” O’Dell says. “Doesn’t matter if you’re red or blue.”
Over the campaign, Toledoans for Safe Water has put out mailers and yard signs in support of LEBOR, but in its last stretch, anti-LEBOR radio ads paid for by a group called Toledo Jobs and Growth Coalition have called the ballot measure “anti-job” and said it is being run by “out of state extremists,” according to local reports.
Miller says she is “optimistic” right now. “I think that people are aware of theissue,” she adds. “And I think that the people who really get it and really careunderstand the importance of coming out and voting.”
Ultimately, to LEBOR supporters, getting the measure on the ballot—whether it passes or not—has been something of a success in and of itself. And if it fails, Miller says they’ll try again. “The group knows they’re going to be challenged. They’ve already been challenged just to get on the ballot,” says O’Dell. “But even if they lose—it’s not the end. It’s the beginning.”
Lake erie group sues for TMDL, but tmdl did nothing for grand Lake st. marys
New Lake Erie suit against U.S. EPA
Unhappy about lack of Lake Erie TMDL
PUBLISHED ON FEBRUARY 26, 2019
Filed on Feb. 7, 2019, by the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) and the Toledo-based Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie, a new lawsuit alleges that the U.S. EPA improperly signed off on action taken by the Ohio EPA to designate Lake Erie as an impaired water body without implementing a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) to restrict discharges such as agricultural runoff. (Portia_Ann721, Flickr/Creative Commons) COLUMBUS, Ohio — We can’t say that Lake Erie is back in the news, because lately it hasn’t left the news. However, there is a new lawsuit in federal court that seeks further action from either the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the Ohio EPA regarding Lake Erie water quality.
Filed on Feb. 7, 2019, by the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) and the Toledo-based Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie, this new lawsuit alleges that the U.S. EPA improperly signed off on action taken by the Ohio EPA to designate Lake Erie as an impaired water body without implementing a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) to restrict discharges such as agricultural runoff. The plaintiffs weren’t necessarily unhappy about the designation, but they were not happy about the lack of a TMDL.
Designating a waterway as impaired indicates low water quality and triggers requirements to take action to improve water quality. A state must classify its waterways, and that classification guides the selection of which types of regulations to impose and the priority of fixing a waterway. The Ohio EPA’s designation of Lake Erie as impaired under the federal Clean Water Act was motivated by a previous lawsuit brought by the ELPC. In that lawsuit, a federal court ordered the U.S. EPA to review the Ohio EPA’s compliance with the federal Clean Water Act, which is something the plaintiffs in this new case want the court to order again. That case remains pending, and is cited as Environmental Law and Policy Center v. U.S. EPA, Case No. 17-cv-1514 (N.D. Ohio).
The plaintiffs allege that the new designation alone is not enough, and that the Ohio EPA must take more action. The complaint in the new lawsuit alleges that the Ohio EPA must establish a TMDL for western Lake Erie. Under the federal Clean Water Act, TMDLs identify the maximum amounts of a pollutant that a body of water can handle in order to meet water quality standards. The U.S. EPA describes these as a “starting point or planning tool for restoring water quality” that states often use as targets when crafting comprehensive plans to attain water quality.
The complaint alleges that the Ohio EPA must prioritize creating a TMDL for western Lake Erie, but the Ohio EPA has said that it hopes to pursue an alternative approach to water quality attainment without the need for a TMDL. The plaintiffs do not believe that this is enough.
But why then is the new lawsuit against the U.S. EPA, and not the Ohio EPA? Congress granted the U.S. EPA oversight over water quality for federally navigable waters, or Waters of the United States, which include Lake Erie. The complaint alleges that by approving Ohio’s designation of Lake Erie without a plan and timeline to reach water quality standards, the U.S. EPA made an improper and arbitrary decision under the federal Clean Water Act. The plaintiffs want the U.S. EPA to rescind its approval of the Ohio EPA’s action.
After this, the U.S. EPA would have to require the Ohio EPA to submit a new binding plan to bring Lake Erie into attainment with water quality standards, or the U.S. EPA can decide that Ohio has refused to submit a plan and exercise its authority to create its own plan for Ohio. The complaint also seeks an award of attorney’s fees and costs to cover the expenses incurred by the plaintiffs in bringing the lawsuit.
Click HERE to view the complaint. The case is cited as Environmental Law & Policy Center v. U.S. EPA, Case No. 3:19-cv-00295 (N.D. Ohio). Stay tuned to the Ag Law Blog for more updates on litigation involving Lake Erie.
— Evin Bachelor, Law Fellow
Ohio State University Extension Agricultural & Resource Law Program
Unhappy about lack of Lake Erie TMDL
PUBLISHED ON FEBRUARY 26, 2019
Filed on Feb. 7, 2019, by the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) and the Toledo-based Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie, a new lawsuit alleges that the U.S. EPA improperly signed off on action taken by the Ohio EPA to designate Lake Erie as an impaired water body without implementing a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) to restrict discharges such as agricultural runoff. (Portia_Ann721, Flickr/Creative Commons) COLUMBUS, Ohio — We can’t say that Lake Erie is back in the news, because lately it hasn’t left the news. However, there is a new lawsuit in federal court that seeks further action from either the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the Ohio EPA regarding Lake Erie water quality.
Filed on Feb. 7, 2019, by the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) and the Toledo-based Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie, this new lawsuit alleges that the U.S. EPA improperly signed off on action taken by the Ohio EPA to designate Lake Erie as an impaired water body without implementing a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) to restrict discharges such as agricultural runoff. The plaintiffs weren’t necessarily unhappy about the designation, but they were not happy about the lack of a TMDL.
Designating a waterway as impaired indicates low water quality and triggers requirements to take action to improve water quality. A state must classify its waterways, and that classification guides the selection of which types of regulations to impose and the priority of fixing a waterway. The Ohio EPA’s designation of Lake Erie as impaired under the federal Clean Water Act was motivated by a previous lawsuit brought by the ELPC. In that lawsuit, a federal court ordered the U.S. EPA to review the Ohio EPA’s compliance with the federal Clean Water Act, which is something the plaintiffs in this new case want the court to order again. That case remains pending, and is cited as Environmental Law and Policy Center v. U.S. EPA, Case No. 17-cv-1514 (N.D. Ohio).
The plaintiffs allege that the new designation alone is not enough, and that the Ohio EPA must take more action. The complaint in the new lawsuit alleges that the Ohio EPA must establish a TMDL for western Lake Erie. Under the federal Clean Water Act, TMDLs identify the maximum amounts of a pollutant that a body of water can handle in order to meet water quality standards. The U.S. EPA describes these as a “starting point or planning tool for restoring water quality” that states often use as targets when crafting comprehensive plans to attain water quality.
The complaint alleges that the Ohio EPA must prioritize creating a TMDL for western Lake Erie, but the Ohio EPA has said that it hopes to pursue an alternative approach to water quality attainment without the need for a TMDL. The plaintiffs do not believe that this is enough.
But why then is the new lawsuit against the U.S. EPA, and not the Ohio EPA? Congress granted the U.S. EPA oversight over water quality for federally navigable waters, or Waters of the United States, which include Lake Erie. The complaint alleges that by approving Ohio’s designation of Lake Erie without a plan and timeline to reach water quality standards, the U.S. EPA made an improper and arbitrary decision under the federal Clean Water Act. The plaintiffs want the U.S. EPA to rescind its approval of the Ohio EPA’s action.
After this, the U.S. EPA would have to require the Ohio EPA to submit a new binding plan to bring Lake Erie into attainment with water quality standards, or the U.S. EPA can decide that Ohio has refused to submit a plan and exercise its authority to create its own plan for Ohio. The complaint also seeks an award of attorney’s fees and costs to cover the expenses incurred by the plaintiffs in bringing the lawsuit.
Click HERE to view the complaint. The case is cited as Environmental Law & Policy Center v. U.S. EPA, Case No. 3:19-cv-00295 (N.D. Ohio). Stay tuned to the Ag Law Blog for more updates on litigation involving Lake Erie.
— Evin Bachelor, Law Fellow
Ohio State University Extension Agricultural & Resource Law Program
| 2019.02.11_-_environmental_law_and_policy_center_suing_epa.pdf |
Without Legislation, GLSM needs Litigation!
Grand Lake St. Marys, the only "distressed watershed in the state" is passed over again with more money going to agribusiness rather than cleaning up the lake!!
IMPAIRED WATERSHEDS
Water quality program for Ohio watersheds applications from farmers, forest owners due by March 15PUBLISHED ON FEBRUARY 15, 2019
Map of the three Ohio watersheds selected to participate in the National Water Quality Initiative. (NRCS Image)COLUMBUS, Ohio — For the eighth consecutive year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will offer an opportunity for agricultural producers in three Ohio watersheds to apply for assistance to install conservation practices that protect water quality through the National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI).
NRCS conservation professionals will provide one-on-one personalized advice to help farmers determine which conservation actions will provide the best results to address a broad range of natural resource concerns, including water quality. To help install these conservation practices, NRCS will provide financial assistance to approved applicants through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
Conservation actions include practices that promote soil health, reduce erosion, and lessen nutrient runoff, such as cover crops, reduced tillage, and nutrient management; waste management systems that treat agricultural waste and livestock manure; and wetland restoration that increases wildlife habitat, mitigates flooding, and improves water quality. These practices not only benefit natural resources, but enhance agricultural productivity and profitability by improving soil health and optimizing the use of agricultural inputs.
“Watershed studies have shown that targeting conservation on vulnerable acres leads to greater water quality improvements,” said Terry Cosby, NRCS state conservationist in Ohio. “This latest investment focuses on small watersheds where we have opportunities to work with partners and farmers to accelerate conservation efforts and deliver real results for communities downstream.”
NRCS works closely with conservation partners and State water quality agencies to select watersheds where on-farm conservation can deliver the greatest benefits for clean water. Ohio has selected the following three watersheds where on-farm conservation investments have the best chance to address resource concerns and improve water quality:
• Brandywine Creek-Broken Sword Creek Watershed (Crawford County)
• Fivemile Creek-East Fork Little Miami River Watershed (Clermont and Brown Counties)
• East Branch South Fork Sugar Creek Watershed (Tuscarawas and Holmes Counties)
NRCS accepts applications for financial assistance on a continuous basis throughout the year. The NWQI application deadline is March 15, 2019.
To learn more about the NWQI or other technical and financial assistance available through NRCS conservation programs, visit Get Started with NRCS or visit your local USDA Service Center.
(Source: Ohio Morning Ag Clips)
How much time is left?
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Grand Lake St. Marys is now the 3rd most polluted
|
BASED ON INPUT FROM GOGLSM, LIA AND BUZZ GOODWIN THE JCARR (JOINT COMMITTEE ON AGENCY RULE AND REVIEW
RULED AGAINST THE PROPOSED RULE CHANGE BY THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO ELIMINATE THE FROZEN GROUND LEGISLATION. FARMERS IN THE THE GRAND LAKE ST. MARYS WATERSHED ARE STILL REQUIRED NOT TO SPREAD MANURE ON FIELDS FROM DECEMBER 15 THROUGH MARCH 1.
THIS IS A HUGE VICTORY FOR ALL ADVOCATES
FOR CLEAN WATER IN THE WATERSHED!
Special
Announcement
Guardians of Grand Lake St. Marys obtained legal counsel three years ago, provided by the organization "Public Justice", to build legal strategies to address the refusal of the Kasich Administration to clean up GLSM. Also, The Administration has refused to implement the Clean Water Act and its requirement to implement the 2007 Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report and instructions.
Announcement
Guardians of Grand Lake St. Marys obtained legal counsel three years ago, provided by the organization "Public Justice", to build legal strategies to address the refusal of the Kasich Administration to clean up GLSM. Also, The Administration has refused to implement the Clean Water Act and its requirement to implement the 2007 Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report and instructions.
How does Grand Lake St.Marys compare to other Ohio polluted bodies of water?
GLSM 's Microcystins levels continue to be off the charts.
Below is a list of the microcystins ppb levels around the state. Any microcystins level under 10ppb is not included here. The list includes microcystins by a range of 10ppb at a time. Of the ranges of 10ppb to 80ppbs, only Buckeye Lake had a higher levels than Grand Lake St. Marys. In the range of 20ppb Buckeye Lake had a higher level than GLSM by only 0.50ppb. In all other ranges, GLSM always had levels higher than any of the other locations tested in the state.
As millions of dollars are being spent for Buckeye Lake and Lake Erie for basically political and economic reasons. Yes, GLSM has received approximately $21,000,000 but it was spent on worthless projects. The GLSM microcystins levels have grown steadily every year. Citizens in the GLSM watershed has lost 50 million of dollars. Kasich administration continues to ignore the degradation of GLSM.
As seen in the chart below, GLSM is the only testing location in Ohio with microcystins levels 50ppb and above.
As millions of dollars are being spent for Buckeye Lake and Lake Erie for basically political and economic reasons. Yes, GLSM has received approximately $21,000,000 but it was spent on worthless projects. The GLSM microcystins levels have grown steadily every year. Citizens in the GLSM watershed has lost 50 million of dollars. Kasich administration continues to ignore the degradation of GLSM.
As seen in the chart below, GLSM is the only testing location in Ohio with microcystins levels 50ppb and above.
2018 State Microcystins Levels Source: OH EPA
Grand Lake St. Marys, Buckeye Lake and Carroll Water and Sewage City
are higher than 10.0
Locations (Celina is GLSM) Date Collected Toxin Parts per Billion
CARROLL WATER AND SEWER-Raw 8/7/18 Microcystins 10
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/26/18 Microcystins 10
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/8/18 Microcystins 10
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/1/18 Microcystins 10.4
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/25/18 Microcystins 10.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 1/16/18 Microcystins 11.2
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/19/18 Microcystins 11.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/20/18 Microcystins 12.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/4/18 Microcystins 12.4
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/13/18 Microcystins 12.7
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/18/18 Microcystins 12.7
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 1/7/18 Microcystins 12.9
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/12/18 Microcystins 13.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/16/18 Microcystins 13.3
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/11/18 Microcystins 14
Buckeye Lake, L-2 6/14/18 Microcystins 14.2
Buckeye Lake State Park Fairfield Beach 6/4/18 Microcystins 14.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/17/18 Microcystins 16.2
Buckeye Lake, L-2 7/5/18 Microcystins 16.5
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/5/18 Microcystins 16.9
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/10/18 Microcystins 17.71
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 1/9/18 Microcystins 17.8
Buckeye Lake State Park Fairfield Beach 6/11/18 Microcystins 18.4
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/9/18 Microcystins 19.39
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/6/18 Microcystins 19.6 GLSM
Grand Lake St. Marys, Buckeye Lake and Huron City are the
only locations hitting the 20s
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/15/18 Microcystins 20.6
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/23/18 Microcystins 20.9
Buckeye Lake State Park Fairfield Beach 7/16/18 Microcystins 22.2
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/22/18 Microcystins 23
HURON CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/7/18 Microcystins 23.1
Buckeye Lake, L-3 6/14/18 Microcystins 23.5
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/24/18 Microcystins 25
Buckeye Lake, L-1 7/5/18 Microcystins 25.9
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/28/18 Microcystins 26.3
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/19/18 Microcystins 26.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/29/18 Microcystins 27.5
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/17/18 Microcystins 27.9
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/16/18 Microcystins 28.9
Buckeye Lake State Park Fairfield Beach 6/18/18 Microcystins 29.4 Buckeye Lake
Grand Lake St. Marys and Buckeye Lake are the only locations hitting the 30s
Buckeye Lake State Park Fairfield Beach 7/30/18 Microcystins 30.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/1/18 Microcystins 31.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/3/18 Microcystins 31.5
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/5/18 Microcystins 31.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/27/18 Microcystins 32.9
Buckeye Lake State Park Fairfield Beach 8/6/18 Microcystins 33.6
Buckeye Lake, L-3 7/5/18 Microcystins 34.0
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/20/18 Microcystins 34.5
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/8/18 Microcystins 34.58
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/15/18 Microcystins 36.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/2/18 Microcystins 38.6
Buckeye Lake, L-1 7/24/18 Microcystins 38.7
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/23/18 Microcystins 38.92
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/29/18 Microcystins 39.8 GLSM
Grand Lake St. Marys and Buckeye Lake are the only locations hitting the 40s
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/22/18 Microcystins 40.28
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/1/18 Microcystins 40.8
Buckeye Lake, L-1 6/14/18 Microcystins 42.6
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/30/18 Microcystins 43.4
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/7/18 Microcystins 45.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/4/18 Microcystins 45.9
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/3/18 Microcystins 46.2
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/12/18 Microcystins 48.9 GLSM
Grand Lake St. Marys is the only location hitting the 50s
Grand Lake St. Marys, L-1 6/13/18 Microcystins 50.4
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/6/18 Microcystins 51.4
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/24/18 Microcystins 53.7
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/10/18 Microcystins 54.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/11/18 Microcystins 56.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/21/18 Microcystins 56.3
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/22/18 Microcystins 58.9 GLSM
Grand Lake St. Marys is the only location hitting the 60s
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/17/18 Microcystins 60
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/30/18 Microcystins 60
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/15/18 Microcystins 61.7
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/31/18 Microcystins 62.4
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/5/18 Microcystins 63.9
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/29/18 Microcystins 65.6
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/26/18 Microcystins 65.9
Grand Lake St. Marys, L-1 5/30/18 Microcystins 66.2
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/25/18 Microcystins 67.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/14/18 Microcystins 67.96
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/8/18 Microcystins 68.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/7/18 Microcystins 69.3 GLSM
Grand Lake St. Marys is the only location hitting the 70s
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/12/18 Microcystins 71.36
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/24/18 Microcystins 74.5
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/13/18 Microcystins 76.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/13/18 Microcystins 77.64
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/19/18 Microcystins 77.9 GLSM
Grand Lake St. Marys is the only location hitting the 80s
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/6/18 Microcystins 81.9
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/14/18 Microcystins 82.3
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/20/18 Microcystins 82.7
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/18/18 Microcystins 83.2 GLSM
Grand Lake St. Marys, Buckeye Lake and Carroll Water and Sewage City
are higher than 10.0
Locations (Celina is GLSM) Date Collected Toxin Parts per Billion
CARROLL WATER AND SEWER-Raw 8/7/18 Microcystins 10
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/26/18 Microcystins 10
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/8/18 Microcystins 10
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/1/18 Microcystins 10.4
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/25/18 Microcystins 10.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 1/16/18 Microcystins 11.2
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/19/18 Microcystins 11.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/20/18 Microcystins 12.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/4/18 Microcystins 12.4
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/13/18 Microcystins 12.7
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/18/18 Microcystins 12.7
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 1/7/18 Microcystins 12.9
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/12/18 Microcystins 13.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/16/18 Microcystins 13.3
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/11/18 Microcystins 14
Buckeye Lake, L-2 6/14/18 Microcystins 14.2
Buckeye Lake State Park Fairfield Beach 6/4/18 Microcystins 14.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/17/18 Microcystins 16.2
Buckeye Lake, L-2 7/5/18 Microcystins 16.5
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/5/18 Microcystins 16.9
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/10/18 Microcystins 17.71
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 1/9/18 Microcystins 17.8
Buckeye Lake State Park Fairfield Beach 6/11/18 Microcystins 18.4
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/9/18 Microcystins 19.39
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 3/6/18 Microcystins 19.6 GLSM
Grand Lake St. Marys, Buckeye Lake and Huron City are the
only locations hitting the 20s
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/15/18 Microcystins 20.6
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/23/18 Microcystins 20.9
Buckeye Lake State Park Fairfield Beach 7/16/18 Microcystins 22.2
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/22/18 Microcystins 23
HURON CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/7/18 Microcystins 23.1
Buckeye Lake, L-3 6/14/18 Microcystins 23.5
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/24/18 Microcystins 25
Buckeye Lake, L-1 7/5/18 Microcystins 25.9
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/28/18 Microcystins 26.3
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/19/18 Microcystins 26.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/29/18 Microcystins 27.5
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/17/18 Microcystins 27.9
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/16/18 Microcystins 28.9
Buckeye Lake State Park Fairfield Beach 6/18/18 Microcystins 29.4 Buckeye Lake
Grand Lake St. Marys and Buckeye Lake are the only locations hitting the 30s
Buckeye Lake State Park Fairfield Beach 7/30/18 Microcystins 30.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/1/18 Microcystins 31.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/3/18 Microcystins 31.5
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/5/18 Microcystins 31.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/27/18 Microcystins 32.9
Buckeye Lake State Park Fairfield Beach 8/6/18 Microcystins 33.6
Buckeye Lake, L-3 7/5/18 Microcystins 34.0
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/20/18 Microcystins 34.5
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/8/18 Microcystins 34.58
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/15/18 Microcystins 36.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/2/18 Microcystins 38.6
Buckeye Lake, L-1 7/24/18 Microcystins 38.7
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/23/18 Microcystins 38.92
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/29/18 Microcystins 39.8 GLSM
Grand Lake St. Marys and Buckeye Lake are the only locations hitting the 40s
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/22/18 Microcystins 40.28
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/1/18 Microcystins 40.8
Buckeye Lake, L-1 6/14/18 Microcystins 42.6
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 4/30/18 Microcystins 43.4
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/7/18 Microcystins 45.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/4/18 Microcystins 45.9
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/3/18 Microcystins 46.2
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/12/18 Microcystins 48.9 GLSM
Grand Lake St. Marys is the only location hitting the 50s
Grand Lake St. Marys, L-1 6/13/18 Microcystins 50.4
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/6/18 Microcystins 51.4
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/24/18 Microcystins 53.7
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/10/18 Microcystins 54.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/11/18 Microcystins 56.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/21/18 Microcystins 56.3
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/22/18 Microcystins 58.9 GLSM
Grand Lake St. Marys is the only location hitting the 60s
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/17/18 Microcystins 60
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/30/18 Microcystins 60
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/15/18 Microcystins 61.7
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/31/18 Microcystins 62.4
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/5/18 Microcystins 63.9
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 7/29/18 Microcystins 65.6
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/26/18 Microcystins 65.9
Grand Lake St. Marys, L-1 5/30/18 Microcystins 66.2
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/25/18 Microcystins 67.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/14/18 Microcystins 67.96
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/8/18 Microcystins 68.8
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/7/18 Microcystins 69.3 GLSM
Grand Lake St. Marys is the only location hitting the 70s
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/12/18 Microcystins 71.36
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/24/18 Microcystins 74.5
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/13/18 Microcystins 76.1
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 8/13/18 Microcystins 77.64
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/19/18 Microcystins 77.9 GLSM
Grand Lake St. Marys is the only location hitting the 80s
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/6/18 Microcystins 81.9
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/14/18 Microcystins 82.3
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 5/20/18 Microcystins 82.7
CELINA CITY-TP-LT2001-Raw 6/18/18 Microcystins 83.2 GLSM
There is a legal opinion that supports the fact that Gov. Kasich's Dept. of Agriculture, Dept. of Natural Resources and OH EPA have knowingly ignored the pollution of Ohio lakes.
Vertical Divider
WHERE ARE THE FUNDS TO CLEAN UP
GRAND LAKE ST. MARYS?
(SEE OH EPA'S ANNOUNCEMENT BELOW)
PUBLIC INTEREST CENTER, (614) 644-2160
CITIZEN CONTACT: Mary McCarron
Ohio EPA Sets Record Year with Nearly $1 Billion to Improve Water Quality in 2017$1.7 Billion Set for 2018Ohio EPA issued more than $936 million this year to finance projects that upgrade drinking water infrastructure and improve the quality of Ohio’s lakes, rivers and streams — more than ever before in the 28-year history of the state’s revolving loan programs. All Ohio EPA loans are provided to communities at below market rates, and this year resulted in a combined savings of more than $150 million for Ohio’s counties, cities and villages.
“It’s important for Ohioans to know that Ohio EPA is helping communities and business with compliance, technical and financial assistance,” Ohio EPA Director Craig W. Butler said. “We were able to make this nearly billion dollar investment in water quality improvements because these funds are carefully managed, and we are meeting frequently with county commissioners and mayors to understand their community needs and build positive working relationships between state and local governments.”
Notable for 2017:
A summary of the projects may be viewed on Ohio EPA’s Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance web page. For 2018, Ohio EPA has already approved a plan to finance more than $1.7 billion in projects for further improving the quality of the state’s surface water.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1972 to consolidate efforts to protect and improve air quality, water quality and waste management in Ohio. Since then, air pollutants dropped by as much as 90 percent; large rivers meeting standards improved from 21 percent to 89 percent; and hundreds of polluting, open dumps were replaced with engineered landfills and an increased emphasis on waste reduction and recycling.
CITIZEN CONTACT: Mary McCarron
Ohio EPA Sets Record Year with Nearly $1 Billion to Improve Water Quality in 2017$1.7 Billion Set for 2018Ohio EPA issued more than $936 million this year to finance projects that upgrade drinking water infrastructure and improve the quality of Ohio’s lakes, rivers and streams — more than ever before in the 28-year history of the state’s revolving loan programs. All Ohio EPA loans are provided to communities at below market rates, and this year resulted in a combined savings of more than $150 million for Ohio’s counties, cities and villages.
“It’s important for Ohioans to know that Ohio EPA is helping communities and business with compliance, technical and financial assistance,” Ohio EPA Director Craig W. Butler said. “We were able to make this nearly billion dollar investment in water quality improvements because these funds are carefully managed, and we are meeting frequently with county commissioners and mayors to understand their community needs and build positive working relationships between state and local governments.”
Notable for 2017:
- Improvements to wastewater infrastructure (which affect the health of Ohio’s surface waters flowing into Lake Erie and the Ohio River) received $861 million this year;
- $65 million was directed toward improving Ohio’s public water systems;
- $10 million was issued for projects that restore wetlands and counter the loss of Ohio’s natural water resources;
- $36 million was provided in principal-forgiveness financing at zero percent interest (meaning borrowers are not required to repay the loans);
- $13 million was distributed across 51 counties for home sewage treatment system (septic) replacement and upgrades;
- 17 loans were issued for large projects of $10 million or greater including combined sewer overflow projects in Cuyahoga, Hamilton, Franklin, Lorain, Lucas, and Summit counties along with large wastewater treatment plant improvements in Miami and Henry counties; and
- $258 million was awarded for projects to separate combined sewer overflows in the Lake Erie watershed.
A summary of the projects may be viewed on Ohio EPA’s Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance web page. For 2018, Ohio EPA has already approved a plan to finance more than $1.7 billion in projects for further improving the quality of the state’s surface water.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1972 to consolidate efforts to protect and improve air quality, water quality and waste management in Ohio. Since then, air pollutants dropped by as much as 90 percent; large rivers meeting standards improved from 21 percent to 89 percent; and hundreds of polluting, open dumps were replaced with engineered landfills and an increased emphasis on waste reduction and recycling.
THIS IS IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Harmful Algal Blooms Implications for Tap/Drinking Water
and Recreational Waters
Recreational Public Health Advisories
Beachguard provides a current listing of public health advisories and water quality information for certain recreational waters which are monitored for E.coli and cyanobacteria also known as harmful algal blooms.
Ohio has developed a recreational response strategy to provide a unified statewide approach to address harmful algal blooms in recreational waters and to protect people from cyanotoxins produced by cyanobacteria. The strategy identifies numeric thresholds for cyanotoxins and advisory recommendations for recreating in the water. This video presentationdescribes the strategy actions and recommendations. More information on HABs can be found at www.ohioalgaeinfo.com.
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)
Cyanobacteria, often called blue-green algae, are commonly found in Ohio lakes, ponds, and slow-moving rivers. Although many species of blue-green algae do not produce toxins, some species of blue-green algae can cause Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs).HABs occur when there is a shallow body of fresh water, warm temperatures, sunlight, and excessive amounts of nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) in the water. Phosphorus and nitrogen are commonly found in animal and human wastes and in fertilizers.
Under the right conditions, the numbers of blue-green algae can dramatically increase or "bloom" in a body of water. Some of these HABs are visible as thick mats or scum on the surface of the water. These mats can vary in color, including bluish-green, bright green, or even red or maroon.
HABs Can Produce Harmful Toxins, Including MicrocystinS
HABs can produce toxic chemicals in the form of neurotoxins (which affect the nervous system), hepatotoxins (which affect the liver), and dermatoxins (which affect the skin).
Type of ToxinS
Anatoxin - a
Neurotoxin
Cylindrospermopsin
Hepatotoxin
Lyngbyatoxin Dermatoxin
Microcystin Hepatotoxin
Saxitoxin Neurotoxin
These toxins can potentially impact the health of people who come into contact with water contaminated with these toxins, depending upon the type and levels of toxins in the water, and the type of contact with the contaminated water.
Common Ways for Contact with HABs
The most common ways to come into contact with HABs are:
Some of the blue-green algae produce odor-generating by-products that are not toxic but have a very unpleasant smell which can cause sensitive individuals to become nauseated (upset stomach, vomiting) and develop headaches.
Health Problems Exposure to HABs Can Cause in People & Pets
Contact a veterinarian immediately if pets show signs of illness.
Advisories for HABs-Contaminated Drinking Water
Ohio communities and/or public water systems issue two types of Drinking Water Advisories depending upon the level of HABs toxins in the finished drinking water:
Type of Advisory
Microcystin
Anatoxin-a
Cylindrospermopsin
Saxitoxin
Do Not Drink Advisory for:
0.3 μg/L 20 μg/L 0.7 μg/L 0.2 μg/L
Do Not Drink Advisory for:
During a drinking water advisory, an alternative water source, such as bottled water, should be used for:
Children five years old and younger should be supervised when bathing to prevent accidental ingestion.
Skin irritation, such as a rash may occur from exposure when washing hands and bathing.
Providing a final rinse of skin with uncontaminated water is recommended, especially for items that go into the mouths of infants and children under the age of six years (i.e., teething rings, nipples, bottles, toys, silverware).
Do not boil the water. Boiling the water will not remove the toxins.
Advisories for HABs-Contaminated Recreational Waters
The Ohio Department of Health issue two types of Recreational Water Advisories depending upon the level of HABs toxins in such waters:
Click here for a list of current public health advisories and water quality information for recreational waters.
Type of Advisory
Microcystin
Anatoxin-a
Cylindrospermopsin
Saxitoxin
Recreational Public Health Advisory
A sign is posted on beaches when toxin levels exceed the recommended threshold and warn that an algal bloom is present and/or algal toxins have been detected. Swimming or wading is not recommended for children, pregnant or nursing women, those with certain medical conditions and pets.
6 μg/L 80 μg/L 5 μg/L 0.8 μg/L
Elevated Recreational Public Health Advisory
A sign is posted on beaches when toxin levels exceed the recommended threshold warning that all contact with the water should be avoided and algal toxins at unsafe levels have been detected.
20 μg/L300 μg/L 20 μg/L 3 μg/L Note that values are reported in μg/L (microgram per cubic liter), which is equal to one (1) part per billion (ppb).
How to Treat People and Pets Exposed to HAB Toxins
If you come into contact with HAB-contaminated water, rinse off with clean, fresh water as soon as possible.
Thoroughly rinse of your pets with clean, fresh water.
Pets that have been in HAB-contaminated water may ingest toxins by drinking the water and/or licking their fur afterward.
Seek immediate medical attention if you think that you, your pet or your livestock might have been poisoned by HAB toxins.
Healthcare providers can visit the ODH Blue-Green Algae/Cyanobacteria Harmful Algal Bloom Physician Reference for more information.
Veterinarians can visit the ODH Harmful Algal Blooms Disease In Animals fact sheet for more information.
Eating Fish Caught in HABs-Contaminated Waters
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife works closely with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and ODH to monitor fish tissue.
Preliminary fish tissue monitoring and research indicates that fish caught in areas affected by HABs should be safe to eat as long as the Ohio Sport Fish Health and Consumption guidelines are followed. There is minimal evidence in scientific literature suggesting the accumulation of microcystin toxins in fish fillets with transmission to people who eat them. Fish appear to metabolize microcystin toxins relatively quickly, although evidence suggests that the toxins may concentrate in fish livers.
It is recommended that fish and fish fillets be rinsed with clean water before consumption as a precaution. DO NOT eat internal organs since microcystin toxins and other contaminants have the potential to concentrate in them.
How to Report a Suspected HABs Illness to ODH
Individuals who are concerned that they may be experiencing HABs illness symptoms after exposure to contaminated water should contact their healthcare provider. Healthcare providers who rule out other potential causes of the symptoms and suspect a HABs illness, should notify their local health district.
Local health districts should complete forms for reports of human illnesses associated with either recreational or public water supply exposure to HABs toxins, and then fax completed forms to the ODH Bureau of Environmental Health and Radiation Protection secure fax: 614-466-4556.
Pet and livestock owners who are concerned that their animal may be experiencing HABs illness symptoms after exposure to contaminated water should contact their veterinarian.
Veterinarians who rule out other potential causes of the symptoms and suspect a HABs illness, should complete an animal illness report form and fax it to the ODH Zoonotic Disease Program secure fax: 614-564-2437.
References and Additional Information
Please contact the Bureau of Environmental Health and Radiation Protection, Recreation Program at 614-644-7464 for questions or additional information.
Page Updated: 8/8/2017
and Recreational Waters
Recreational Public Health Advisories
Beachguard provides a current listing of public health advisories and water quality information for certain recreational waters which are monitored for E.coli and cyanobacteria also known as harmful algal blooms.
Ohio has developed a recreational response strategy to provide a unified statewide approach to address harmful algal blooms in recreational waters and to protect people from cyanotoxins produced by cyanobacteria. The strategy identifies numeric thresholds for cyanotoxins and advisory recommendations for recreating in the water. This video presentationdescribes the strategy actions and recommendations. More information on HABs can be found at www.ohioalgaeinfo.com.
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)
Cyanobacteria, often called blue-green algae, are commonly found in Ohio lakes, ponds, and slow-moving rivers. Although many species of blue-green algae do not produce toxins, some species of blue-green algae can cause Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs).HABs occur when there is a shallow body of fresh water, warm temperatures, sunlight, and excessive amounts of nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) in the water. Phosphorus and nitrogen are commonly found in animal and human wastes and in fertilizers.
Under the right conditions, the numbers of blue-green algae can dramatically increase or "bloom" in a body of water. Some of these HABs are visible as thick mats or scum on the surface of the water. These mats can vary in color, including bluish-green, bright green, or even red or maroon.
HABs Can Produce Harmful Toxins, Including MicrocystinS
HABs can produce toxic chemicals in the form of neurotoxins (which affect the nervous system), hepatotoxins (which affect the liver), and dermatoxins (which affect the skin).
Type of ToxinS
Anatoxin - a
Neurotoxin
Cylindrospermopsin
Hepatotoxin
Lyngbyatoxin Dermatoxin
Microcystin Hepatotoxin
Saxitoxin Neurotoxin
These toxins can potentially impact the health of people who come into contact with water contaminated with these toxins, depending upon the type and levels of toxins in the water, and the type of contact with the contaminated water.
Common Ways for Contact with HABs
The most common ways to come into contact with HABs are:
- Drinking/Swallowing – Drinking HABs-contaminated water from a public water system during a drinking water advisory or the incidental/accidental swallowing of contaminated water such as during water-related recreational activities.
- Skin Contact – Swimming, skiing, tubing and other recreational activities in HABs-contaminated waters.
- Inhaling – Breathing aerosolized water droplets (misting) of HABs-contaminated water from recreational activities such as jet-skiing or power boating.
Some of the blue-green algae produce odor-generating by-products that are not toxic but have a very unpleasant smell which can cause sensitive individuals to become nauseated (upset stomach, vomiting) and develop headaches.
Health Problems Exposure to HABs Can Cause in People & Pets
- Drinking/Swallowing HABs-Contaminated Water
- Skin Contact with HABs-Contaminated Water
- Inhaling HABs-Contaminated Water
- Severe diarrhea and vomiting
- Liver toxicity (abnormal liver function, abdominal pain)
- Kidney toxicity
- Neurotoxicity (weakness, salivation, tingly fingers, numbness, dizziness)
- Difficulty breathing
- Death
- Rashes
- Hives
- Skin blisters (especially on the lips and under swimsuits)
- Runny eyes and nose
- Sore throat
- Asthma-like symptoms
- Allergic reactions
Contact a veterinarian immediately if pets show signs of illness.
Advisories for HABs-Contaminated Drinking Water
Ohio communities and/or public water systems issue two types of Drinking Water Advisories depending upon the level of HABs toxins in the finished drinking water:
- A Do Not Drink Advisory for bottle-fed infants and children younger than school age, pregnant women, nursing mothers, individuals with pre-existing liver conditions, and individuals receiving dialysis treatment.
- A Do Not Drink Advisory for all people of all ages as well as for pets and livestock.
Type of Advisory
Microcystin
Anatoxin-a
Cylindrospermopsin
Saxitoxin
Do Not Drink Advisory for:
- Bottle-fed infants and children younger than school age
- Pregnant women
- Nursing mothers
- Individuals with pre-existing liver conditions
- Individuals receiving dialysis treatment
0.3 μg/L 20 μg/L 0.7 μg/L 0.2 μg/L
Do Not Drink Advisory for:
- All people of all ages
- Pets
- Livestock
During a drinking water advisory, an alternative water source, such as bottled water, should be used for:
- Drinking
- Making infant formula
- Making ice
- Preparing food
- Brushing teeth
- Washing hands
- Bathing
- Washing dishes
- Doing laundry
Children five years old and younger should be supervised when bathing to prevent accidental ingestion.
Skin irritation, such as a rash may occur from exposure when washing hands and bathing.
Providing a final rinse of skin with uncontaminated water is recommended, especially for items that go into the mouths of infants and children under the age of six years (i.e., teething rings, nipples, bottles, toys, silverware).
Do not boil the water. Boiling the water will not remove the toxins.
Advisories for HABs-Contaminated Recreational Waters
The Ohio Department of Health issue two types of Recreational Water Advisories depending upon the level of HABs toxins in such waters:
- A Recreational Public Health Advisory when toxin levels exceed the recommended threshold, and beach signs warn that an algal bloom is present and/or algal toxins have been detected. Swimming or wading is not recommended for children, pregnant or nursing women, those with certain medical conditions and pets.
- An Elevated Recreational Public Health Advisory when toxin levels exceed the recommended threshold. Beach signs note that all contact with water should be avoided and algal toxins at unsafe levels have been detected.
Click here for a list of current public health advisories and water quality information for recreational waters.
Type of Advisory
Microcystin
Anatoxin-a
Cylindrospermopsin
Saxitoxin
Recreational Public Health Advisory
A sign is posted on beaches when toxin levels exceed the recommended threshold and warn that an algal bloom is present and/or algal toxins have been detected. Swimming or wading is not recommended for children, pregnant or nursing women, those with certain medical conditions and pets.
6 μg/L 80 μg/L 5 μg/L 0.8 μg/L
Elevated Recreational Public Health Advisory
A sign is posted on beaches when toxin levels exceed the recommended threshold warning that all contact with the water should be avoided and algal toxins at unsafe levels have been detected.
20 μg/L300 μg/L 20 μg/L 3 μg/L Note that values are reported in μg/L (microgram per cubic liter), which is equal to one (1) part per billion (ppb).
How to Treat People and Pets Exposed to HAB Toxins
If you come into contact with HAB-contaminated water, rinse off with clean, fresh water as soon as possible.
Thoroughly rinse of your pets with clean, fresh water.
Pets that have been in HAB-contaminated water may ingest toxins by drinking the water and/or licking their fur afterward.
Seek immediate medical attention if you think that you, your pet or your livestock might have been poisoned by HAB toxins.
Healthcare providers can visit the ODH Blue-Green Algae/Cyanobacteria Harmful Algal Bloom Physician Reference for more information.
Veterinarians can visit the ODH Harmful Algal Blooms Disease In Animals fact sheet for more information.
Eating Fish Caught in HABs-Contaminated Waters
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife works closely with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and ODH to monitor fish tissue.
Preliminary fish tissue monitoring and research indicates that fish caught in areas affected by HABs should be safe to eat as long as the Ohio Sport Fish Health and Consumption guidelines are followed. There is minimal evidence in scientific literature suggesting the accumulation of microcystin toxins in fish fillets with transmission to people who eat them. Fish appear to metabolize microcystin toxins relatively quickly, although evidence suggests that the toxins may concentrate in fish livers.
It is recommended that fish and fish fillets be rinsed with clean water before consumption as a precaution. DO NOT eat internal organs since microcystin toxins and other contaminants have the potential to concentrate in them.
How to Report a Suspected HABs Illness to ODH
Individuals who are concerned that they may be experiencing HABs illness symptoms after exposure to contaminated water should contact their healthcare provider. Healthcare providers who rule out other potential causes of the symptoms and suspect a HABs illness, should notify their local health district.
Local health districts should complete forms for reports of human illnesses associated with either recreational or public water supply exposure to HABs toxins, and then fax completed forms to the ODH Bureau of Environmental Health and Radiation Protection secure fax: 614-466-4556.
Pet and livestock owners who are concerned that their animal may be experiencing HABs illness symptoms after exposure to contaminated water should contact their veterinarian.
Veterinarians who rule out other potential causes of the symptoms and suspect a HABs illness, should complete an animal illness report form and fax it to the ODH Zoonotic Disease Program secure fax: 614-564-2437.
References and Additional Information
- State of Ohio Algae Information Website
- CDC Environmental Hazards & Health Effects, Harmful Algal Blooms
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2015 Drinking Water Health Advisories for Two Cyano=bacterial Toxins, Office of Water 820F15003, June 2015
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency Harmful Algal Bloom Bulletin
Please contact the Bureau of Environmental Health and Radiation Protection, Recreation Program at 614-644-7464 for questions or additional information.
Page Updated: 8/8/2017
Finally, the SWCD is acknowledging the misuse of federal funds in the GLSM watershed. How far does this abuse go?
Friday, April 7th, 2017
SWCD's resolution supported
By Nancy Allen
A state organization that protects soil and water resources has endorsed a local resolution to discourage misuse of federal funds and ag conservation structures, Mercer County Soil and Water Conservation District board members learned Thursday.
The state delegate body of Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts in February endorsed the resolution submitted by the Mercer SWCD. The resolution authorizes the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service to fine and collect refunds when producers use structures and buildings financed with Environmental Quality Incentives Program funds for anything unrelated to manure management.
The resolution states that a farmer must use the structure as intended for the life of the practice rather than the life of the contract. Contracts typically span 3-6 years while the lifespan of structures are typically 10-15 years, leaving significant time when NRCS has no authority over structures built with its funds, the resolution says.
If the resolution is approved, it could become part of federal NRCS guidelines, said Nikki Hawk, Mercer SWCD district administrator/education specialist. The process could take 18 months or more before the new regulation is in place, Hawk said.
The Mercer SWCD board in December first discussed submitting the resolution. At that meeting, Ryan Kemper, NRCS district conservationist for Mercer County, said he had received complaints about producers who had received federal funds to construct dry-stack manure storage buildings and then later used them to store farm equipment or house livestock. Mercer SWCD technician Matt Heckler said he had received similar complaints.
The resolution would cover any structure installed using EQIP funds, including feed lot covers and holding ponds. Locally officials have received the most complaints about misuse of dry-stack manure storage buildings, Heckler said.
EQIP funds help farmers pay to install practices designed to stem runoff from manure that can pollute water bodies.
The resolution says "if it is determined that an EQIP funded structure is being utilized for a purpose other than the original intent resulting in a resource concern, the producer will be required to pay liquidated damages and will not be eligible for a new EQIP contract to address the same resource concern for the lifespan of the existing structure."
"The concern is that people could use the buildings to store farm equipment or other uses it wasn't intended for and pile their manure outside," district technician Matt Heckler said. "That can cause a resource concern."
Heckler noted that the Farm Service Agency has a similar mechanism to issue fines for infractions.
"Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director James Zehringer says over time conditions have started to improve....The algae was really bad back in 2011 and 2010 and every year it’s gotten better,” Zehringer said. “We have a long way to go.”... Zehringer says it’s not the algae that’s the only problem."
- Statement made May 31, 2016 on WDTN
- Statement made May 31, 2016 on WDTN
Guardians protested the "Permit to Operate" application by John Fleck & Sons. The application rolls various farm comments on the " Permit to Operate" permit by the John Fleck and Sons organization. permit to operate application due to the OH Dept. of Agriculture mishandling of the application. ODA has allowed a bundling of several farms under one PTO application. The Ohio law states that this is allowed only if the properties are adjoining which they don't. The current application is illegal according to Ohio code and endorsed by the ODA.
June 20, 2016
Kate Anderson, President
Guardians of Grand Lake St. Marys
247 E. Sycamore St.
Columbus, OH 43206
Ohio Department of Agriculture
Division of Livestock Environmental Permitting (DLEP)
8995 East Main St.
Reynoldsburg, OH 43068
To Whom It May Concern:
The Guardians of Grand Lake St. Marys (GOGLSM) is strongly opposed to the draft Permit to Install (PTI) and the draft Permit to Operate (PTO) that has been issued to Pine Valley Ranch, LLC, 8704 St. Rt. 274, New Bremen, OH, Auglaize County, Jennings Township in the Auglaize and St. Marys Watershed.
GOGLSM recommends that there be a moratorium on any additional livestock coming into in polluted watersheds from farm run-off by family farms, AFOs, CAFOs or MCAFFs until the pollution problem is permanently resolved in Grand Lake St. Marys (GLSM), Lake Erie and other Ohio bodies of water.
We also ask that all farms with livestock be permitted regardless of size. The size of a farm should not matter when it comes to permitting. We believe this is important since many of Ohio’s waterways are polluted by such..
GOGLSM is opposed to the permits for Pine Valley Ranch, LLC based for the following concerns.
Health
Attached is a copy of a letter by John Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health regarding the public health concerns with a facility of 1.7 million-layer capacity poultry operation. The health concerns stated in the letter, include the following:
“1. Infections resulting from the potential transmission of pathogens (disease-causing organisms, including bacteria that can infect people) from poultry operations to nearby residents, for example, via flies or contaminated air or water;
2. Health effects, including asthma, bronchitis and allergic reactions with exposure to air pollution from poultry operations; and
3. Health effects (e.g. thyroid problems, methemoglobinemia, neurological impairments (see attached 2011 lawsuit Cooper Farms facility causing permanent brain damage), liver damage) associated with exposures to nitrates, drug residues and other hazards that may be present in ground/or surface waters contaminated by manure from poultry operations.”
GOGLSM Recommendations
There should be a fly trapping program to establish a baseline for the average number of flies present prior to the start-up of the MCAFF to establish if a fly nuisance problem exists in the area prior and after the construction and management of the MCAFF. Neighboring properties within a ten-mile radius should be thoroughly compensated for any nuisance created by flies.
Decline in Real Property Values
The potential for real property valuation loss is possible. A recent study by John A. Kilpatrick, "Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and Proximate Property Values", The Appraisal Journal, July, 2001, p. 306. Describes the impacts of the nearby real estate stemming from the development of enterprises such as the proposed MCAFF PTI and PTO by Pine Valley Ranch, LLC.
Below is the summary of their findings.
Demonstrated Economic Losses—The Evidence
The magnitude of the economic loss suffered by the neighbors of a CAFO can be significant. The costs shifted to the residents of the region by a CAFO adversely affect the value of neighboring properties. This, in turn, lowers the taxable value of these properties and shifts costs to all other residents of the region. Palmquist et al., in a 1995 study in North Carolina, found that neighboring property values were affected by large hog operations based on two factors: the existing hog density in the area and the distance from the facility. The maximum predicted decrease in real estate value of 7.1 percent occurred for houses within one-half mile of a new facility in a low hog farm density area. 1997 and 1998 updates of this study found that home values decreased by $.43 for every additional hog in a five-mile radius of the house. For example, there was a decrease of 4.75% (about $3000) of the value of residential property within
1/2 mile of a 2,400 head finishing operation where the mean housing price was $60,800.8
A 1996 study by Padgett and Johnson found much larger decreases in home value than those forecast by Palmquist. In Iowa, hog CAFOs decreased the value of homes in a half-mileradius of the facilities by 40%, within 1 mile by 30%, 1.5 miles by 20% and 2 miles by 10%.
In addition, an Iowa study found that while some agricultural land values increased due to an increased demand for “spreadable acreage,” total assessed property value, including residential, fell in proximity to hog operations.
An eighteen months study of 75 rural land transactions near Premium Standard's hog operations in Putnam County, Missouri conducted by the departments of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at the University of Missouri found an average $58 per acre loss of value within 3.2 kilometers (1.5 miles) of the facilities. This study primarily evaluated farmland without dwellings. These findings were confirmed by a second study at the University of
Missouri-Columbia by Hamed, Johnson, and Miller that found that proximity to a hog CAFO does have an impact on property values. Based on the averages of collected data, loss of land values within 3 miles of a hog CAFO would be approximately $2.68 million (US) and the average loss of land value within the 3-mile area was approximately $112 (US) per acre.1
Real estate appraisers have also noted the problems associated with property values and large hog operations. In an article in the July, 2001 Appraisal Journal, John Kilpatrick found that "[w]hile the appraisal profession has only begun to quantify the loss attributable to CAFOs,….diminished marketability, loss of use and enjoyment, and loss of exclusivity can result in a diminishment ranging from 50% to nearly 90% of otherwise unimpaired value."
Tax Impacts of Reduced Property Values
A compilation by the Sierra Club of tax adjustments by county assessors in eight states documented lower property taxes for neighbors of facilities like those run by Premium Standard Farms. Local property tax assessments were lowered in Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri by ten the thirty percent due to their close proximity to the corporate hog CAFOs.
Diminishment effects continue to be considered when tax valuations are determined around large CAFOs. On September 14, 2001, the Clark County, Illinois Supervisor of Assessments announced the county has established an assessment abatement for the fifty residential homes around the Welsh Farm (a hog CAFO) in northeast Clark County. For those homes within a half-mile of the hog production facility, there is a 30 percent reduction in the property assessment; 25 percent reduction within three-quarters of a mile; 20 percent within one mile; 15 percent within one and one-quarter miles; and 10 percent for one and one-half miles.
GOGLSM Recommendations
1. Due to the potential loss of real property value near the Pine Valley Ranch, LLC laying facility, GOGLSM recommends that the owners and operators in this draft permit application be required to pay for an independent real property assessment within a ten-mile radius of the proposed facility to establish current real property values as a benchmark.
2. We also recommend that another independent real property assessment be conducted every year for the five years of these permits with any loss in real property values in the ten-mile radius be paid to the real property owners for their loss by owners of the Pine Valley Ranch, LLC.
Concerns with the Misleading and False Information in the PTO and PTI Permit Application
There are many issues GOGLSM has with the Pine Valley Ranch, LLC PTO and PTI Permit Application and based on the errors and the incompleteness of the permit application and according to Ohio Revised Code 901:10-1-03 – “Criteria for decision-making” by the Director
901:10-1-03 – (A)(1) -) The permit application contains misleading or false information.
Items of Misleading and False Information in the Permit Applications
901:10-1-03 – (B) - The director may deny, modify, suspend or revoke a permit to install or permit to operate if the applicant, owner, operator or persons associated in the operation of concentrated animal feeding facilities, have a history of substantial noncompliance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, as defined in section 6109.01 of the Revised Code, any other applicable state laws pertaining to environmental protection or environmental laws of another country that indicates that the applicant or owner or operator lacks sufficient reliability, expertise and competence to operate the facility in substantial compliance with Chapter 903. of the Revised Code and this chapter.
- Pine Valley Ranch, LLC has Brian J. Winner identified as the Certified Livestock Manager
901:10-1-03 - ((B)(1)(b) If the applicant or permittee is a sole proprietor or any other business concern, provide the full name, date of birth, and business address of each individual or business concern holding more than fifty per cent of the equity in the applicant or permittee;
- All businesses have not been listed for the people listed in the PTI, PTO. For example Chris Rindler has registered in Indiana at 2104 E. 300 South, Portland, Indiana 47371. Cooper Farms also has this address listed as one of their “Commercial Table Egg Layer Flocks. Several facilities have not been listed for Brian Winner and Ralph Rindler.
Green Valley Ranch Notice of intent
Saturday, May 30, 2015 1:47 PM
Public Notice
Notice of Intent
Public Notice - Green Valley Ranch LLC, being the developers of Layer Houses and Egg Processing Building, located in the Southeast and Southwest Quarters, Section 35, Township 23 North, Range 14 East, Jay County, Indiana is submitting Notice of Intent to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management Office of Water Quality for our intent to comply with the requirements of 327 IAC 15-5 (Rule 5) to discharge storm water from Construction Activities associated with the new development. The project will discharge water into the Salamonie River.
Questions or comments regarding this project should be directed to:
Chris Rindler, Owner
2104 E. 300 South
Portland, IN 47371
Chris Rindler - Businesses
Businesses in Ohio:
h\p://www5.sos.state.oh.us/ords/f?p=100:2:0::NO:RP::
Business Name: RW FAMILY FARMS, LLC DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
10/06/2014 Active - - -
2366909 Agent/Registrant/Incorporator Name
CHRIS RINDLER
Business Name: R VALLEY FARMS LLC DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
02/12/2015 Active - - -
2366934 Agent/Registrant/Incorporator Name
CHRIS RINDLER
Business Name: RB FAMILY FARMS LLC DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
02/12/2015 Active - - -
2366969 Agent/Registrant/Incorporator Name
CHRIS RINDLER
Business Name: RW PULLETS LLC DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
02/12/2015 Active
Other Businesses Registered By Brian J. Winner
https://www.statelog.com/brian-winner-farms-llc-new-weston-oh
PINELAND LLC, NEW WESTON, OH
FOXTAIL RANCH LLC, NEW WESTON, OH
WINNER EGG LLC, NEW WESTON, OH
J STAR FARMS LLC, NEW WESTON, OH
RACE VIEW FARMS LLC, NEW WESTON, OH
http://www.bizapedia.com/addresses/6183-ST-RT-705-NEW-WESTONOH-
45348.html
Prairie Star Farms LLC
Brian Winner Farms LLC
Winner Livestock Farms LLC
5 W Farms, LLC
Ralph Rindler Businesses
RALPH RINDLER Business Name
http://www5.sos.state.oh.us/ords/f?p=100:2:0::NO:RP::
RINDLER FARMS, LLC DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY 11/24/2010 Active
1421757 Agent/Registrant/Incorporator Name
RALPH RINDLER Business Name
RINDLER FAMILY REAL ESTATE, LLC DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY 11/06/2003 Active
1421916 Agent/Registrant/Incorporator Name
RALPH RINDLER Business Name
RINDLER POULTRY, LLC DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY 11/06/2003 Active
1447870 Agent/Registrant/Incorporator Name
RALPH RINDLER Business Name
RINDLER GROUP LLC DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY 03/10/2004 Active
2155733 Agent/Registrant/Incorporator Name
RALPH RINDLER Business Name
INDIAN TRAIL PULLETS, LLC DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY 12/03/2012 Active
2307007 Agent/Registrant/Incorporator Name
RALPH RINDLER Business Name
RINDLER FARMS INDIANA, LLC DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY 06/27/2014 Active
HIllandale Farms Violations and Lawsuits (by Association with current permit applicants)
Hillandale Farms, Inc. has an agent John Hicks 5424 Watkins Road address same as RB Family Farms, LLC, Rindler Poultry. Below websites show Hillandale is a subsidiary to Cal Maine Foods who has violations listed below. (by Association)
Hillandale Farms of PA subsidiary of Cal Maine Foods
http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=4489960
Hillandale Farms, Inc.
http://www.ohiocorporates.com/corp/909951.html
http://www.manta.com/c/mtw4rk1/hillandale-farms-inc
at the 5424 Watkins Road St. Henry, OH (Rindler Poultry, RB Family Farms, LLC address on PTI PTO)
PILAR M. DE CASTRO & CO., INC. et al v. CAL-MAINE FOODS, INC. et al
Filed: January 8, 2009 as 2:2009cv00101
Plaintiff: PILAR M. DE CASTRO & CO., INC., DONN CAMLIN, PATRICIA TARRANCE and others
Defendant: CAL-MAINE FOODS, INC., DAYBREAK FOODS, INC., HILLANDALE FARMS OF PA, INC. and others
Cause Of Action: Federal Question
Court: Third Circuit › Pennsylvania › Pennsylvania Eastern District Court
Type: Other Statutes › Plaintiff
COUNTRY FOODS v. HILLANDALE FARMS OF PA, INC. et al
Filed: October 23, 2008 as 2:2008cv05078
Plaintiff: COUNTRY FOODS
Defendant: HILLANDALE FARMS OF PA, INC., CAL-MAINE FOODS, INC., DAYBREAK FOODS, INC. and others
Cause Of Action: Federal Question
Court: Third Circuit › Pennsylvania › Pennsylvania Eastern District Court
Type: Other Statutes › Plaintiff
Cooper Farms Violations and Lawsuits (by Association with current permit applicants)
PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS, INC., ET AL. V COOPER, ET AL.
Plaintiff:
PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS, INC., ANIMAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND, CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY, FOOD & WATER WATCH, FARM SANCTUARY and GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT
Defendant:
ROY COOPER and CAROL L. FOLT
Case Number:
1:2016cv00025
Filed:
January 13, 2016
Court:
North Carolina Middle District Court
Office:
NCMD Office
County:
Alamance
Referring Judge:
JOI ELIZABETH PEAKE
Presiding Judge:
THOMAS D. SCHROEDER
Nature of Suit:
Constitutionality of State Statutes
Cause of Action:
42:1983
Jury Demanded By:
None
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. Violations and Lawsuits (by Association with current permit applicants)
http://violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/parent/cal-maine-foods
Grubbs v. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
Filed: March 31, 2016 as 5:2016cv00255
Plaintiff: Jonia L. Grubbs
Defendant: Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
Cause Of Action: Diversity-Employment Discrimination
Court: Eleventh Circuit › Florida › Florida Middle District Court
Type: Labor › Other Labor Litigation
United States of America et al v. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
Filed: April 13, 2015 as 3:2015cv00278
Plaintiff: United States of America , STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
Defendant: Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
Cause Of Action: Clean Water Act
Court: Fifth Circuit › Mississippi › Mississippi Southern District Court
Type: Other Statutes › Environmental Matters
Popoca v. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. et al
Filed: November 12, 2014 as 8:2014cv02824
Defendant: Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. , One Balance, Inc.
Plaintiff: Noe Popoca
Cause Of Action: Job Discrimination (Race)
Court: Eleventh Circuit › Florida › Florida Middle District Court
Type: Labor › Other Labor Litigation
Valle v. Wharton County Foods, LLC et al
Filed: September 4, 2014 as 4:2014cv02556
Defendant: Cal-Maine Foods, Inc, Wharton County Foods, LLC
Plaintiff: Marlon Valle
Cause Of Action: (a) Fair Labor Standards Act
Court: Fifth Circuit › Texas › Texas Southern District Court
Type: Labor › Fair Labor Standards Act
Popoca v. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. et al
Filed: February 18, 2014 as 8:2014cv00412
Defendant: Professional Management Services Group, Inc., One Balance, Inc. , Adolphus Baker and others
Plaintiff: Noe Popoca
Cause Of Action: Denial of Overtime Compensation
Court: Eleventh Circuit › Florida › Florida Middle District Court
Type: Labor › Fair Labor Standards Act
Warner v. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
Filed: September 21, 2013 as 2:2013cv14378
Plaintiff: Rahmin Warner
Defendant: Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
Cause Of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act
Court: Eleventh Circuit › Florida › Florida Southern District Court
Type: Labor › Fair Labor Standards Act
Marquez v. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
Filed: May 21, 2013 as 8:2013cv01354
Defendant: Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
Plaintiff: Alma Marquez
Cause Of Action: Fed. Question: Fair Labor Standards
Court: Eleventh Circuit › Florida › Florida Middle District Court
Type: Labor › Labor: Fair Standards
Equal Employment Opportunity Commision v. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
Filed: May 2, 2013 as 5:2013cv00382
Plaintiff: Equal Employment Opportunity Commision
Defendant: Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
Cause Of Action: Employment Discrimination
Court: Fifth Circuit › Texas › Texas Western District Court
Type: Civil Rights › Civil Rights: Jobs
KRAFT FOODS GLOBAL, INC. et al v. UNITED EGG PRODUCERS, INC. et al
Filed: January 9, 2012 as 2:2012cv00088
Plaintiff: KRAFT FOODS GLOBAL, INC. , THE KELLOGG COMPANY , GENERAL MILLS, INC. and others
Defendant: UNITED EGG PRODUCERS, INC. , UNITED STATES EGG MARKETERS, INC. , CAL-MAINE FOODS, INC. and others
Cause Of Action: Clayton Act
Court: Third Circuit › Pennsylvania › Pennsylvania Eastern District Court
Type: Other Statutes › Antitrust
- The preparer of this permit application has greatly underestimated water use calculations.
Ohio Revised Code Section 1521.16 requires that any owner of a facility, or combination of facilities, with the capacity to withdraw more than 100,000 gallons of water daily, register such facilities with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Soil and Water Resources. 100,000 Gallons Per Day (GPD) = 0.1 Million Gallons Per Day (MGD) = 4200 Gallons Per Hour (GPH) = 70 Gallons Per Minute (GPM) is required to obtain a “Withdrawal and Consumptive Use Permit” by Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources.
90% production
2,220,000 chicks /1000 = 2,200 hens
2,200 x 71gals = 157,620 gals/day
157,620 gals x 365 days = 57,531,300 gals/yr. livestock consumption
Poultry Science Assoc., 2005 report, states average water use in an egg washing facility uses 2,100/day
2,100 gals X 365 days = 766,500 gals/yr. egg washing facility
Total daily water usage
57,531,3000+766,500 = 58,297,800gals./yr. or 159,720 gals./day not 91,000 which would not require a permit.
901:10-1-03 – (A)(3) - (3) The plans for the manure management plan, the insect and rodent control plan and any other plans governing the operation fails to conform to best management practices and to rules of this chapter.
5. Annual manure produced from the layer operation.
=Manure/year x No. of layers x portion of year building is occupied
=32 lb manure/layer x 60,000 layers x 50 weeks in production/52 weeks in a year x 1 ton/
2,000 lb
=(32 x 60,000 x 50/52)/2000
=923 ton manure/year
=923/12 = 77 ton/month
=923/365 = 2.53 ton/day
(SOURCE: Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service and Indiana Soil Conservation Service)
90% PRODUCTION
32 lbs./yr X 2,220,000 X 52weeks = 71,040,000 actual tons/yr.
Per Application
Manure Trucks – 15/week @ 80,000 lbs.= 15trucks/week X 52 weeks X 80,000 = 62,400,000lbs/yr = 31,200 tons/yr.
Diff in Actual tonnage vs. Application calculated tonnage
71,040,000/yr. – 31,200tons/yr.= diff of 71,008,800 tons/yr.
6. The draft permit calls for composting dead animals in the manure lagoons which are designed to store manure for 353 days for manure storage and 615 days for liquid manure. This is an improper number of days for storing dead animals that can only be stored for 10 days according to the Ohio EPA regulations and then moved to a secondary composting facility.
7. There is no septic plan for human waste. What are the laws or regulations on combining human and animal waste be combined, drag-lined or irrigated?
901:10-1-03(A)(5) - The facility is not designed or constructed as a non-discharge system or operated to prevent the discharge of pollutants to waters of the state or to otherwise protect water quality;
- Page 89. States the proposed facility is in the boundaries of a Sole Source Aquifer designated by USEPA that may be a violation of 901:10-2-02.
- Page 106 states that the lagoon will be 20 feet deep, page 108 states it should be dug 10 feet beyond or 5 feet wider. Maps do not include the 10 feet beyond or 5 feet wider.
- Well logs show that the lagoon will be built in the static water level of nearby well 217627 that is 11 feet. There is also a well at 25 feet static water level, well number 2007381.
- Page 148 does not state where the pump station will be pumping to?
- Page 176 shows 18,333 tons. This appears to be false due to the amount is underestimated and should be closer to 33,000 tons.
- Will human waste be put in the egg wash water lagoon? How many employees?
- The permit requires a “Construction Storm Water NPDES Permit” as required under (Rules 901-10-2-04 [E] and 901:10-3-11) because more than one acre will be disturbed.
- There is no plan for air quality monitoring should be conducted monthly by an independent party with owners of Pine Valley Ranch, LLC being assessed fines to the fullest extent for any violations under federal and state laws.
- With water usage estimated at 157,720 gallons per day there is no guarantee that water usage will NOT interfere with other farm operations in the watershed. A hydrology report should be included and a financial reimbursement plan for any neighbor or neighboring farms in the watershed.
- Can ODA explain why the soil boring page facility map on the WDC Eggs, LLC page 41 of their PTI, PTO is the map for the Pine Valley Ranch, LLC on page 101 of their PTI, PTO?
- Attached are maps from USDA that show this location as VERY LIMITED for Irrigation, Lagoons, Manure, and Wastewater by Rapid Infiltration. ("Very limited" indicates that the soil has one or more features that are unfavorable for the specified use. The limitations generally cannot be overcome without major soil reclamation, special design, or expensive installation procedures. Poor performance and high maintenance can be expected.)
GOGLSM Recommends the Following Action
Due to the numerous misleading and false in this application there is just cause to DENY this permit application for PTO and PTI by Pine Valley Ranch, LLC.
GOGLSM would like to receive the Department of Agriculture’s ruling and the public hearing transcript on this Livestock Permit for Pine Valley Ranch, LLC. We would also like to know the specific process the ODA uses to research for violations, lawsuits and the full extent of corporation ownership and by proposed CAFOs. The attached violations are primarily Ohio EPA and the Department of Agriculture.
Respectfully submitted,
Kate Anderson, President
Guardians of Grand Lake St. Marys
WDC EGGS, LLC ANNOUNCES - THEY WILL NOT LOCATE THEIR MEGA-CHICKEN LAYING FACILITY IN THE GRAND LAKE ST. MARYS WATERSHED!!!
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