Ohio Farmers Union

Serving Family Farmers and Consumers Since 1934



United to Grow Family Agriculture Since 1934

  • About
    • The Farmers Union Triangle
    • Vision
    • OFU Leadership
  • Issues
    • 2020 Virtual Lobby Days
    • OFU Policy & NFU Policy
    • 2019 Lobby Day Registration
    • Get Involved!
    • NFU Climate Leaders
  • Education
    • 2019 OFU Essay Contest
    • Ohio Farmers Union Scholarships
    • Farm Safety
    • Renewable Energy Curriculum
  • Insurance
    • Hastings Mutual Insurance Co.
    • Health & Other Offerings
    • Ohio BWC Group Coverage
  • Join Us
    • Online Sign-Up
    • Member Benefits
    • Insurance
  • Blog
  • Events

Ohio Farmers Union offers comments on proposed water quality legislation

April 9, 2013 By Ron Sylvester 1 Comment

Proposed bill has no sponsor, may be held in reserve if Lake Erie algae problems worsen

Lake Erie's 2011 algal bloom, satellite view.

Lake Erie’s 2011 algal bloom, satellite view.

With Grand Lake St. Mary’s essentially dead, increasingly frequent and enlarged algal blooms in the western basin of Lake Erie and problems of varying degrees in other Ohio bodies of water, the Kasich Administration has passed proposed nutrient management legislation around to several environmental and agricultural organizations in the state.

Comments were requested to be submitted to the directors of the Ohio Departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The Ohio Farmers Union submitted comments from President Roger Wise.

“We understand that historically state government has been reluctant to intervene in the business operations of Ohio’s agricultural producers. We are however dealing on another historic level regarding water quality in Ohio when one considers the devastating algal blooms in the western basin of Lake Erie and the de facto death of Grand Lake St. Mary’s,” wrote Wise.

Wise pointed out that OFU has entered into a strategic partnership with the Ohio Environmental Council and is providing high quality farmer education sessions throughout northwest Ohio regarding nutrient management and agriculture’s place in the problems of the Lake Erie Watershed.

“On the other hand, I am compelled to point out that the water quality issues taken up by the proposed legislation are also the responsibility of the several other stakeholders including the City of Detroit, other Lake Erie area municipal water treatment districts, homeowners and lawn treatment professionals,” Wise wrote.

Wise also highlighted the importance of including manure from confined animal feeding operations within the Ohio Revised Code’s definition of fertilizer, stating that all sources of nutrients need to be managed.

Specific comments included in OFU’s submission:

  • Support for legislative changes to law outlining the definition of fertilizer, but OFU believes the definition should be expanded to included manure from CAFOs.
  • OFU urges ODA to increase the tonnage fee for fertilizer in order to cover the costs associated with any reforms in the state’s nutrient management education and regulatory operations.
  • OFU supports language in the draft that would add fertilizer to the list of potential pollutants and states that critics are missing the point: Agricultural interests must understand that fertilizer can be a pollutant when mishandled or over-used.
  • OFU supports proposed new authorities in ORC 1511.023.
  • OFU supports the confidentiality protections afforded in ORC 1511.024.

Click here for the Legislative Services Commission draft of the proposed bill.

It should be noted that the proposed legislation has no sponsor or bill number. A longtime Statehouse watcher of ag and environmental policy believes the legislation may sit on the shelf unless or until Lake Erie has another large and damaging algal bloom.

OFU will co-sponsor at least another two farmer education sessions over the next few months around the Lake Erie Watershed. The first two sessions in the northwestern corner of the state were well-attended and farmers heard from various ag and environmental experts on best practices like the “4 Rs” and how and why Lake Erie has experienced the problems with algae over the past few years.

 

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Algae, Lake Erie, Nutrient Management, Ohio Farmers Union, Phosphorous

Trackbacks

  1. Coming This Fall: Ohio General Assembly Work on Nutrient Management Proposal says:
    June 23, 2013 at 3:22 pm

    […] may recall that earlier this year three state agencies floated a proposed bill to address agriculture’s perceived part in combating the contamination of Ohio’s […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • YouTube

Latest News from the Ohio & National Farmers Union

2022 OFU Special Orders

Annual Policy Priorities For the eighty-eighth year, the Ohio Farmers Union has established the organization's public policy priorities at the … Read More

Ohio County Fair Schedule 2022

It's looking great for the first full, uninterrupted Ohio fair season since the beginning of the pandemic. Of special note, the Ohio State Fair will … Read More

Rural Broadband Gets Win in Ohio Budget

State Senators Matt Huffman, R-Lima, and Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, tried to kill $90 million for rural broadband expansion, yet the Ohio … Read More

State Legislators Listen – Rural Broadband Back in Ohio Two-Year Budget

In a pleasant surprise for rural Ohio, the biennial budget was agreed to Monday with Gov. Mike DeWine's full $250 million funding request for rural … Read More

Check Out the Entire Blog

NATIONAL FARMERS UNION

Click to Take Action



Contact

Ohio Farmers Union
P.O. Box 363
1011 N. Defiance Street
Ottawa, Ohio 45875
Phone: (419) 523-5300
Toll Free: (800) 321-3671

Copyright Ohio Farmers Union© 2023 | Site by: RCS Communications

 

Loading Comments...