The Columbus Dispatch reports that in the Kasich administration’s plan for reducing toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie, changes for farmers aren’t included, at least based on what was revealed May 25. The plan is the result of an agreement made last summer to reduce phosphorus runoff by 40 percent by 2025.
According to the source, the plan calls for the state Department of Environmental Protection to identify watersheds around the Maumee River that could add large amounts of phosphorus to the river, monitor sewers and septic systems for overflows and create a voluntary certification program for farmers wishing to implement conservation practices on their farmland. Currently, Ohio farmers have to complete a runoff management course but they are not required to implement changes on their farms.
Read more: The Columbus Dispatch > Ohio plan to restore Lake Erie won’t mandate farming changes
Related:
- Nutrient management is changing not just for 2016 but beyond as well – May 19, 2016
- Could water quality trading help solve Ohio’s nutrient issues? – May 16, 2016
- Ohio Farm Bureau, NRCS unveil water quality demo farms – April 22, 2016
- USDA says voluntary water quality efforts are working – March 29, 2016
- Lake Erie study says farmers need to do more, or plant grass – March 24, 2016
- Nutrient field studies starting to show results – Feb. 1, 2016
- Severe algal blooms aren’t going away – Jan. 4, 2016
