VAN WERT, Ohio — A rare legislative algae hearing on a large farming operation drew a standing-room-only crowd of about 80 people Thursday to Cooper Farms north of Van Wert, where the Ohio House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee took testimony from a dozen or so witnesses with ties to the state’s farming industry.
Though the impetus for the hearing was the algae-induced water crisis that made Toledo’s tap water unsafe for its nearly 500,000 metro customers the first weekend of August, the committee’s chairman, Ohio Rep. Brian Hill (R., Zanesville), said at the start he was limiting that day’s testimony to members of the farming industry
A second hearing is scheduled for Feb. 12 in Sylvania, when testimony will be taken from Toledo-area officials and others with nonfarming ties to the issue, such as charter boat fish captains and environmentalists.
The decision to meet at Cooper Farms, a 77-year-old large livestock facility almost halfway between western Lake Erie and Grand Lake St. Marys, was made to encourage more participation from western Ohio farmers, Mr. Hill said.
Those two bodies of water are the ones most hurt by algae in Ohio. Scientists have said at least two-thirds of the algae is likely from manure and commercial fertilizer runoff.
The consensus of those who spoke said farmers are willing to continue doing their part to reduce algae, but want to make sure sound science goes into any bill that emerges from the committee.
Mr. Hill said the committee is working on a new version of House Bill 390, which was approved by that chamber but ultimately died because the Ohio Senate never acted on it after it was bogged down with riders and amendments for issues other than algae. House Bill 390 called for a ban on winter application of manure. Some farmers said it is not necessary for such a measure to be imposed statewide.
“We recognize there is a need to balance voluntary measures with government regulations,” Chris Henney, Ohio AgriBusiness Association president and chief executive officer, testified.
Water quality “has moved to the forefront of our most pressing challenges,” added Adam Sharp, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation vice president of public policy.
The ag industry has committed more than $1 million to edge-of-field research intended to quantify what comes off farms, especially those in the western Lake Erie watershed, Mr. Sharp said.
The Ohio Environmental Council and the National Wildlife Federation issued statements urging the hearings to drive legislative action.
“While the OEC certainly supports and applauds voluntary actions, Ohio cannot rely on them alone to prevent another water crisis or prevent toxic algae from once again threatening Ohio’s shoreline communities and Lake Erie’s billion dollar tourism industry. We need stronger laws to protect us from harmful algal blooms and the deadly toxins they produce,” the statewide environmental council said.
Contact Tom Henry at: thenry@theblade.com, 419-724-6079, or via Twitter @ecowriterohio.
First Published January 30, 2015, 5:00 a.m.
