To: The Ohio State House, The Ohio State Senate, and Governor Mike DeWine
400,000 Ohioans Were Without Water and Factory Farms Are the Culprit
I urge you to protect the waters of Ohio from agricultural pollution by passing legislation with clear and enforceable standards for manure and fertilizer. Ohio's recently passed "fertilizer bill" does little to solve the ongoing problem of toxic algae blooms in Ohio's lakes, and, recently, 400,000 Ohioans in the Toledo area suffered under a "do not drink, do not boil" water advisory when bacteria from the algae blooms in Lake Erie breached the local water filtration system.
Why is this important?
Lake Erie is the source of drinking water for 11 million people. Like most areas with large factory farms that apply huge amounts of manure to farm lands, the soil in Ohio is supersaturated with nutrients. And when rains come, that excess is carried away by the water and ends up in Lake Erie. There, the nutrients feed algae, creating large algae blooms.
The algae can produce powerful toxins that can cause everything from rashes, to gastroenteritis, to neurotoxicity. Clearly it’s a major problem — a public health hazard.
Earlier this year, when Ohio lawmakers had the chance to fix the problem, they passed a bill that fell dangerously short of meaningful reform. No surprise, it was a bill championed by Big Ag. It’s a story we see across the country — waterways in trouble and agribusiness offering false solutions.
We know why false solutions like this keep on being offered — the corporate interests that benefit from creating large amounts of fertilizer in the form of animal manure refuse to take responsibility for the pollution that manure creates. Instead, they seek to give the appearance of action while residents bear the burden of unclean water: drinking water bans, aquatic dead zones and lakes closed to swimming.
It has never been more apparent that the state needs to update standards for disposal of animal waste from factory farms, which is a huge source of the phosphorus that is causing the algae blooms. In lieu of setting up clear, enforceable standards that would address the overabundance of phosphorous in the soil and rein in runoff from factory farms, the new law simply creates a fertilizer certification program that exempts manure. The law also includes a voluntary, not mandatory, nutrient management plan program. This must change. Strong laws in Great Lakes states are key to protecting our water and agricultural resources, and new legislation could set the bar for our neighboring states.
Tell Governor Kasich and the Ohio state legislature to pass sensible legislation to protect Ohio’s water from factory farms!
The algae can produce powerful toxins that can cause everything from rashes, to gastroenteritis, to neurotoxicity. Clearly it’s a major problem — a public health hazard.
Earlier this year, when Ohio lawmakers had the chance to fix the problem, they passed a bill that fell dangerously short of meaningful reform. No surprise, it was a bill championed by Big Ag. It’s a story we see across the country — waterways in trouble and agribusiness offering false solutions.
We know why false solutions like this keep on being offered — the corporate interests that benefit from creating large amounts of fertilizer in the form of animal manure refuse to take responsibility for the pollution that manure creates. Instead, they seek to give the appearance of action while residents bear the burden of unclean water: drinking water bans, aquatic dead zones and lakes closed to swimming.
It has never been more apparent that the state needs to update standards for disposal of animal waste from factory farms, which is a huge source of the phosphorus that is causing the algae blooms. In lieu of setting up clear, enforceable standards that would address the overabundance of phosphorous in the soil and rein in runoff from factory farms, the new law simply creates a fertilizer certification program that exempts manure. The law also includes a voluntary, not mandatory, nutrient management plan program. This must change. Strong laws in Great Lakes states are key to protecting our water and agricultural resources, and new legislation could set the bar for our neighboring states.
Tell Governor Kasich and the Ohio state legislature to pass sensible legislation to protect Ohio’s water from factory farms!