Federal judge issues injunction on Lake Erie Bill of Rights

A federal district court has granted a temporary injunction on the City of Toledo’s recent action that gives Lake Erie its own legal rights. Known as the Lake Erie Bill of Rights, the measure was approved by Toledo voters March 13, amendning the city charter in a way that gave the lake and its waters the right to “exist, flourish and naturally evolve.”Supporters saw the bill of rights as a way of protecting the lake from farm nutrient runoff and harmful algal blooms, that result from too much phosphorus entering the lake and its tributaries. But farmers, and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, have warned that the definitions are too loose, and that giving a lake its own legal standing through one city’s laws, is likely unconstitutional.