Court, lawmakers neglecting Lake Erie
Campaign 2018’s hurly-burly masks the stymied quest to protect Lake Erie from the pollution the Maumee River’s watershed pumps into the lake — and two other lakelinked developments.
Development One: A Sept. 21 Ohio Supreme Court ruling against a pollution-fighting Lake Erie Bill of Rights that revealed what looks like a prickly split inside the court.
The justices kept off November’s ballot a “Lake Erie Bill of Rights” amendment to Toledo’s city charter to “(declare) that Lake Erie and ... (its) watershed ‘possess the right to exist, flourish, and naturally evolve,’ ” and subjecting polluters to penalties.
The Supreme Court decision resembled its earlier rulings against similar measures. But Justice Sharon L. Kennedy, a Hamilton Republican, said the court’s rulings on the subject are a mish-mash that demands correction. And Justice Patrick Fischer, a Cincinnati Republican, said the court should stop dodging a review of Substitute House Bill 463’s constitutionality. The lame-duck bill requires Boards of Elections to keep off the ballot voter-initiated measures the board (not a court) finds unconstitutional.
A bystander’s prediction: With the right facts and persuasive arguments, community environmental bills of rights might eventually get on Ohio ballots.
The other development: A pointed Oct. 3 statement about Ohio’s brazen indifference to Lake Erie’s health by Senior U.S. District Judge James G. Carr, of Toledo, in a Clean Water Act case: “A result of (Ohio’s) inattention
... the risk remains that sometime in the future, upwards of 500,000 Northwest Ohio residents will again, as they did in August 2014, be deprived of clean, safe water for drinking, bathing, and other normal and necessary uses.”
As if to confirm Carr’s viewpoint, consider obstacles Gov. John R. Kasich’s administration has faced. In July, Kasich designated a number of Maumee River tributaries as “distressed” watersheds — distressed by phosphorous pollution. The more phosphorous in water, the faster that algae grows. (That 2014 mess that Carr referred to was a gigantic algae bloom in Lake Erie).
The Ohio Soil and Water Conservation Commission must approve Kasich’s watershed plan. But 13 weeks ago, on July 19, the commission sent Kasich’s proposal to a subcommittee for study. At the Statehouse, “study” means “stall.”
Meanwhile, agribusiness lobbyists and their General Assembly pals rushed so fast to weaken Kasich’s plan you’d think someone had stocked an open bar inside the Statehouse. House Speaker Ryan Smith, a Republican from Gallia County’s Bidwell, and his fellow Republican, Senate President Larry Obhof, of Medina, said in so many words that Kasich needed to defer to legislators because, hey, they need to be part of “the process.” (“Process,” another Statehouse Flubber word, means “hear everybody out — then do what your campaign contributors want.”)
So eight weeks ago, on Aug. 20, Obhof and Smith appointed (attention, George Orwell) a “Toward a Cleaner Lake Erie” Working Group, which has met ... twice. A General Assembly working group is a repair shop for the status quo. And Kasich leaves office on Jan. 14.
There’s no mystery about what threatens the lake. Lake Erie Waterkeeper, part of the Lake Erie Foundation, says this: “Currently the Maumee River watershed is targeted for the massive amounts of sediments — over 50 percent of Lake Erie’s sediment load — that flow into Lake Erie. In addition, the Maumee watershed provides over 40 percent of the phosphorous load to Lake Erie, which Heidelberg University states is predominately from agriculture (which includes manure).”
Repeat: More than 50 percent of the sediment reaching Lake Erie, more than 40 percent of the phosphorous. You don’t have to be Julia Child to know what that’s a recipe for — unless you’re a member of the Ohio General Assembly.
The Ohio Soil and Water Conservation Commission must approve Kasich’s watershed plan. But 13 weeks ago, on July 19, the commission sent Kasich’s proposal to a subcommittee for study. At the Statehouse, ‘study’ means ‘stall.’