Cleveland, OH (February 13, 2020) – Earlier today, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the draft 2020 water quality report required by the Clean Water Act. In it, the agency announced its plans to develop a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the western basin of Lake Erie. Western Lake Erie is plagued annually by harmful algal blooms, threatening the lake’s ecosystem and human health. A TMDL is essentially a pollution diet, setting forth a plan to reduce the pollutants that cause the lake’s harmful algal blooms.
In response to Ohio EPA’s announcement, Alliance for the Great Lakes Director of Policy and Strategic Engagement Crystal M.C. Davis release the following statement:
“We applaud today’s announcement by Ohio EPA that it will develop a Clean Water Act TMDL for western Lake Erie. The Alliance for the Great Lakes, along with thousands of concerned Ohioans, have called for the development of a TMDL for the past several years. A TMDL for western Lake Erie will provide the state with another tool to reduce the pollution causing the lake’s harmful algal blooms that threaten human health and the environment.
A TMDL, coupled with a $172 million investment through the new H2Ohio program, is building a strong strategy for preventing harmful algal blooms in western Lake Erie. We need every tool available to solve this problem.
Today’s announcement is just the beginning of the process. We will be paying close attention to the details as the TMDL is developed to ensure it is a strong tool for protecting Lake Erie.”
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Media contact: Jennifer Caddick, (312) 445-9760, jcaddick@greatlakes.org