Algae plaguing Ohio lakes could force Gov. Kasich to take executive action

Algae blooms for the past decade or more have invaded Ohio’s lakes and rivers, turning the waterways to a thick green color, killing fish — and in some case leaving the water toxic to humans. The state has spent billions of dollars on solutions to fix the water quality problem and put in place rules to decrease what some scientists say is the No. 1 culprit of the algae blooms — runoff from farm fields and land near waterways. A forthcoming bill in the Statehouse will propose more regulations to clean up Ohio’s waterways but Gov. John Kasich may not wait for the bill to get to his desk.Instead, Kasich is considering using the powers of his office to address concerns raised by an Ohio EPA study released in April, said Jim Lynch, Kasich’s communications director. The study revealed there has been “no clear decrease” in the amount of nutrients flowing from farmlands into Lake Erie and other state waters.“It’s been a high priority for the governor since he’s been in office,” Lynch said. “We keep looking for what more we can do and what we can do through executive action is our next step.” The “single biggest thing” that Ohioans can do to prevent algal blooms is to stop fertilizer runoff from getting into lakes in the first place, Kasich said.  Not only do the water quality issues pose a problem for beach-goers but they are threatening an bi-national Great Lakes agreement struck in 2015.The governors of Ohio and Michigan and the premier of Ontario, Canada have all signed the Western Basin of Lake Erie Collaborative Agreement. It calls for substantial reductions in nutrients runoff into Lake Erie and its source watersheds, including a 40 percent reduction in phosphorous by 2025, according to a copy of the agreement.Ohio has invested $6 billion statewide to improve water quality since 2011, according to the Ohio EPA. Even with that investment though, Ohio, Michigan and Ontario are nowhere near reaching that 2025 goal, said Heidi Grismer, spokeswoman for the Ohio EPA.