Latest news with #H2Ohio
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Efforts to reduce toxic algae in Lake Erie appear to be making progress. Now they face budget cuts
Photo of a 2009 algal bloom in Lake Erie | NASA This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here. Cuts to a major water-quality program in Ohio's biennial budget will likely weaken efforts to control the spread of toxic blue-green algae in Lake Erie. The program in question, H2Ohio, has invested millions of dollars in improving water quality throughout the state. Much of that money has gone toward cutting off the supply of nutrients to the aforementioned algae, also known as cyanobacteria, which bloom in massive quantities every summer. The new state budget, which Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law on July 1, drastically cuts funding for those efforts. Large blooms of cyanobacteria cause problems for pretty much everything that isn't algae. They block sunlight and create aquatic 'dead zones' where there isn't enough dissolved oxygen for other organisms to survive. They also release toxins that pose significant health risks to humans, especially to people with pre-existing conditions. David Kennedy, a professor of medicine at the University of Toledo, described a case of a 7-year-old girl with asthma who was exposed to cyanobacteria while swimming in Maumee Bay. 'Her asthma was exacerbated to the point where she needed to be intubated and had a very long, complicated stay in our medical center,' Kennedy said. The girl did eventually recover. By reducing the nutrients entering the lake each year, scientists and environmental stewards hope to limit how big the algal blooms get. The main culprit is phosphorus, a key component in agricultural fertilizers, both commercially produced and via manure. 'Whenever it rains, that water goes into the soil, it dissolves the phosphorus just like your sugar in a coffee, and then that water leaves the field carrying the dissolved phosphorus,' said Chris Winslow, director of the Ohio Sea Grant College Program at the Ohio State University. Some of that water finds its way to the Maumee River, then into western Lake Erie, where the phosphorus it carries becomes food for cyanobacteria. The more phosphorus the Maumee brings into the lake, the bigger the bloom that year. Nathan Manning of the National Center for Water Quality Research at Ohio's Heidelberg University said as of June 16 this year, researchers had measured 227 metric tons of dissolved phosphorus flowing out of the Maumee. That puts the likely total for the summer around 235 to 273 metric tons. 'The target … for dissolved reactive phosphorus is 240 metric tons. So there's a good chance that we will stay below or right at that target, which is good news,' Manning said. Winslow said that's a sign everyone's efforts are paying off, though he cautioned that it's impossible to say for sure unless those efforts are scaled back. 'We assume these things are doing great jobs to trap nutrients, but the only way you know is to stop doing it. So if we go next year, and see that the dissolved phosphorus goes up and these programs are no longer there, it's a good indication that they were working,' Winslow said. With the cuts to H2Ohio, that proof may come sooner rather than later. Since its inception in 2019, the program has tackled the phosphorus problem in two ways: by incentivizing farmers to change their practices, and by funding the construction and maintenance of wetlands. On the agricultural side, the Ohio Department of Agriculture uses H2Ohio money to help farmers limit how much fertilizer runs off their fields. That includes testing soil to determine how much fertilizer a farmer should apply in the first place, as well as training on things like manure management and overwinter cover crops. Thanks to H2Ohio, farmers don't have to pay for those changes themselves. Wetland management, which falls under the purview of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, plays an equally important role. When water passes through a wetland, the plants there act as natural filters, absorbing some of the nutrients before they reach a larger river or lake. Under the new budget, the Department of Agriculture's yearly H2Ohio budget is going from $60.8 million to $53.6 million. The Department of Natural Resources is getting hit even harder: Its H2Ohio budget is dropping from $46.6 million to $21.2 million. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency also gets H2Ohio dollars, mostly to protect drinking water; its budget is falling from $27.5 million to just $7.5 million. Nate Schlater, senior director of ecological restoration at the environmental and economic development nonprofit Rural Action, is overseeing the construction of a new wetland near the Auglaize River in northwestern Ohio, which feeds into the Maumee. He and his team are using H2Ohio dollars for the project. The land was previously owned by a farmer, who sold it to Rural Action because it was prone to flooding. Constructing could mean various things depending on the wetland. In some cases, it may be necessary to redirect where a stream flows. In the Auglaize project, the team discovered three cars buried along the stream bank in an effort to control erosion, which will have to be removed. After that, there's seeding the appropriate plants and ensuring nothing invasive takes root in the new ecosystem. The Ohio State University's Winslow said it's also important to keep monitoring the wetland after it's finished. That also falls within ODNR's now-reduced H2Ohio budget. 'You can build a wetland and think it's gonna work, but then when you step back and monitor it, you're like, 'Oh, it's not working as good as it should, let's go in and do X, Y and Z,'' Winslow said. Schlater said the money for this particular wetland has already been allocated and won't be affected by the new budget. However, he worries the cuts may make it harder to find funding for new projects in northwest Ohio and elsewhere. 'There's a lot of great water in the state, and there's also a lot of impaired water in the state,' Schlater said. 'The H2Ohio funding opportunity for the state was really providing a lot of money directly impacting water quality, and any reduction in that is essentially less water that's gonna be improved, preserved or maintained.' The H2Ohio cuts are not the only setback this year in the effort to contain Lake Erie's harmful algal blooms. The Trump administration's staffing cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have forced that agency to suspend its deployment of Environmental Sample Processors, or ESPs, for the rest of the year. An ESP is a device that automatically collects and processes water samples from a body of water—in this case, Lake Erie—and gives researchers back home an almost real-time glimpse of how much toxin is present in a given part of the lake. Monica Allen, director of public affairs for NOAA Research, wrote in an email that the organization's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory will train other staffers on ESPs during the winter months, with the goal of resuming ESP deployment in 2026. Winslow said the cuts may force scientists to scale back how many places in Lake Erie they can sample. Those samples, which are spread over a large area, are how scientists understand what's actually happening in the lake. 'The data will never be inaccurate. A scientist or an academic institution, if they take a water sample, they are using the highest level of rigor to analyze those samples,' Winslow said. 'The one thing that you might see is the number of places that we can sample is not as broad.' Some monitoring is done with satellites, which Winslow said should continue operating as normal. It's understanding the chemicals in the water that may become more challenging. 'I don't think you'll see a hit in where the bloom is at and how thick it is, but you may see a delay in our ability to predict toxin in those blooms,' Winslow explained. Exacerbating the problem in the long run is climate change, which is bringing increased rainfall and higher temperatures to the Great Lakes region. 'We're seeing warmer temperatures, so the lake tends to warm up faster. This type of organism that causes these harmful algal blooms likes warmer water … so they could start showing up earlier,' Winslow said. However, Winslow stressed that the relationship between the algal blooms and the warming climate is complex. No matter how conducive the weather is, the overall size of the bloom still depends on how much phosphorus enters the lake. What the weather does affect, he explained, is the timing and duration. 'It's showing up early and lasting longer this time, but the maximum peak that it reaches is less than when it was cooler,' Winslow said. Exactly what that means for people in the long run remains to be seen, according to Winslow. It does raise the probability that members of the public will see the blooms, but the peak won't be as severe. What could become a problem, Winslow said, is if the earlier blooms come when cyanobacteria are producing the highest amount of toxins. That depends on another nutrient that also leeches out of the soil and into the lake: nitrogen. Nitrogen levels in Lake Erie are highest around the end of June and early July, he said. 'And so what we don't want is the peak to fall there, because then it means you have a bloom that's huge and crazy and very, very toxic,' Winslow said. Climate change also poses a potential threat to the mitigation efforts themselves. 'When you're designing a wetland, you're designing a wetland based on a certain river dumping into it, how much water's coming from that river. Well, if we're seeing more rainfall, we may have designed the wetlands not big enough, or maybe in the wrong place,' Winslow said. 'And for farmers, they lose their nutrients when it rains. So the more rain we're gonna get, the harder it is for them to keep their nutrients on their fields. So all of these solutions, wetlands and what we pay our farmers to do, … they're gonna be just harder to do because of climate change, because of more precipitation.' Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio lawmakers pass $60 billion budget. Here's what's inside.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio lawmakers sent the state's $60 billion operating budget to the governor's desk on Wednesday. The budget bill spends billions of dollars, creates tax cuts and includes policy items. Gov. Mike DeWine does have the authority to line item veto any provision in the budget. The budget passed on party lines without any Democratic support. Senate Democratic Leader Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood) said it's the first time since 2001 that all Senate Democrats voted against the state operating budget. Here are some highlights. One of the focal points of the budget debate has been an income tax cut. It phases the state income tax down to a flat tax over two years. The state income tax reduction is estimated to save Ohioans who make over $100,000 about $1.7 billion. 'The house is agreeing with the Senate to rescind a lot of small income and sales tax exemptions,' Ohio House Finance Chair Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) said. 'Individually, it's not that much money at issue, but when you put them all cumulatively together, it's a sizable amount of money that we're going to return to the state.' '[Republicans] are choosing to serve a sliver of the state and it's the sliver that needs the least support,' Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) said. 'And so, it is possible to have a bipartisan budget if we serve the majority of the people in Ohio. But when we serve such a small sliver of the state, it lends itself to a partisan line vote.' The budget will phase down the state income tax to the flat rate of 2.75% over two years. For tax year 2025, it reduces the top bracket from 3.5% to 3.125%. For tax year 2026, everyone reaches the 2.75% rate. Lawmakers have been at odds about property tax relief during this budget cycle too. The budget creates a 'carry-over cap' for school districts. Under the bill, schools can only carry over 40% of their budget, otherwise it will be returned to the property tax payer. It is estimated to save property owners billions of dollars. Isaacsohn called it 'fake property tax relief.' 'What we need is real property tax relief where the state shoulders the burden. The state is the entity that can afford to the provide the relief, the responsibility should be on the state,' he said. 'So, any policy or proposal that doesn't have the state providing direct tax relief to the people of Ohio is just not going to cut it.' 'I think people lose track of the fact that state government gets zero dollars in property taxes,' Stewart said. 'And so, when we're trying to talk about where relief is going to come from, it's going to come from the local level.' While the budget makes cuts, it also spends big. For example, the budget spends $53,600,000 in both fiscal year 2026 and 2027 on the H2Ohio program. The program was created by DeWine's administration and is run by three state agencies to achieve one goal: ensuring Ohioans have access to clean and safe water. The governor was asking for more money in the program, but lawmakers fell short of appropriating that extra money. 'This has been a program that we believe is, is, is very important. Clean water in the state of Ohio is essential to us,' DeWine said. 'H2Ohio has been expanded beyond a focus on Lake Erie, continues to have a major focus on Lake Erie, but it also has a focus on all clean water throughout the state. If you look at the big picture about water, you certainly have to have to include the lead pipes that we have in the state of Ohio.' The budget also allocates a one-time $10 million for school bus safety efforts in the state. The Ohio Deaf and Blind Education Services is also seeing an investment of more than $65 million over two years. A highly debated portion of the bill has been whether the state should give the Cleveland Browns $600 million to help the team by a new stadium. And if so, how? Ultimately, state lawmakers ended on a proposal that will get the $600 million to the Browns through the state's unclaimed funds program. Right now, the state has $3.7 billion in unclaimed funds. $1.7 billion of that will be taken out now, to be used for the 'Ohio Cultural and Sports Facility' fund. Under this budget, $1 billion will be put into the fund: $600 million for the Cleveland Browns and $400 million to be used on other projects. The proposal, if signed into law by DeWine, is already facing a lawsuit. DannLaw plans to file class action lawsuit challenging the provision if it does take effect. 'The Ohio Supreme Court has been crystal clear: unclaimed funds are not state property — it's private property,' attorney and former state representative Jeffrey Crossman said. 'This case is about protecting Ohioans' constitutional rights and stopping the legislature from liquidating private property and turning it into a billionaire's building fund. Ohioans shouldn't have to race the clock to reclaim what's already theirs.' A provision known as the 'fair school funding plan' will not fully be phased in under this budget. School funding for public schools has been a contentious part of this budget. While Ohio public schools may see an increase in fiscal years '26 and '27, advocate worry that abandoning the fair school funding plan will only hurt schools in the long run. 'This budget makes a choice not to deliver,' Ohio House Finance Ranking Member Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake) said. According to Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima), if the fair school funding plan was fully phased in, schools would have seen a $1.8 billion increase. But Huffman said that 'pretty much would've wiped out other funding we did for daycare, a whole number of other things.' The budget also asks schools to update their funding data, which, due to rising property values, some argued might make local governments look wealthier than they may actually be. The budget also creates new laws in the state, despite no price tag being attached. Here are a few: The budget bill 'establishes state policy recognizing only two sexes, male and female, which are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.' Previously, Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said this simply lays out guiding policy in the state. 'This simply ends the discussion in the state of Ohio which I think most voters, most citizens of Ohio agree with, and it also prevents us from having months and months and weeks of arguments if we do it in a bill or otherwise,' Huffman said. The bill also prohibits a government entity from placing menstrual products in the men's restroom of a public building. Previously, Chairman Stewart said a provision like this is just 'common sense.' The bill also includes restrictions on what SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, can be spent on. The state's operating budget requires Ohio's director of job and family services to submit a request to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a waiver to restrict SNAP benefits from being used to buy 'sugar-sweetened beverages' in Ohio. If the wavier is not approved, then the state is directed to resubmit for the waiver each year until it is. Stewart said the measure solely impacts soda pop; he said drinks like milk, juice or Pedialyte will not be impacted by the waiver should the state receive it. The governor must enact the budget by July 1. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Landen-Deerfield Park set for major change with creek project
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – The Warren County Park District has announced construction will begin mid-June on the Simpson Creek Headwaters Restoration project at Landen-Deerfield Park. The park is on U.S. 22 and 3 in Deerfield Township, near Maineville. Warren Co. Park District said this project will improve water quality, reduce flooding risk and expand public access. It will change the aging manmade pound into a stream and wetland system. This will transform the area and enhance habitats for native wildlife. By changing it into a stream, this will strengthen the health of the Little Miami River Watershed, and in turn reduce the flooding risk. Glen Helen Nature Preserve needs your help after weekend storm damage There are also plans to improve the park itself – new trails, a nature play area, educational signs and a half-acre fishing pond. The park district said the main benefits of the project will be the following: Cleaner Water and Healthier Habitat: The wetland system will filter pollutants more effectively and support a greater variety of plants than artificial ponds. New and Improved Recreation: Visitors will enjoy expanded trails, nature play features and a redesigned fishing pond. Lower Maintenance and Less Flooding: It will remove the need for future dredging, reducing long-term maintenance costs and lessening the risk of downstream flooding. Educational Value: The newly restored area will support field trips, volunteer programs and environmental learning. The park district is hosting a temporary 'Catch and Keep' fishing opportunity at the existing pond. No license or registration is required. This is because the fish currently in the pond will not survive the transition. The park district said turtles and other mobile wildlife will self-relocate as the conditions change. What3Words app helps Brookville Fire Department find lost individuals Crews will drain the pond and move vegetation and soil. This might cause noise and unpleasant smells. This is normal for a wetland restoration project. The Landen-Deerfield Park will remain open throughout construction. There will be a fence placed around the construction site. Visitors will be asked to stay out of the construction zone for their safety. 'While we recognize that construction can be inconvenient in the short term, the long-term benefits for the park and the environment will be substantial,' said Matt Latham, CEO of the Warren County Park District. 'We appreciate your patience as we complete this important restoration effort.' Illustrations of the future water system via the Warren County Park District. This project is funded by H2Ohio initiative and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grants. It is expected to be finished by late 2025. The native plants and habitat stabilization efforts will continue into 2026. To see project updates, plans, and FAQs, click here. For general information on the Warren County Park District, which manages over 1,700 acres in 12 parks across the county, call (513) 695-3980, email parks@ or click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Program for Ohio's water health could face dramatic cut in funding
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A program created in 2019 for Ohio's water health, called H2Ohio, could face a dramatic cut in funding. H2Ohio was created by Gov. Mike DeWine. The program is run by three state agencies to achieve one goal: ensuring Ohioans have access to clean and safe water. 'We've got a lot of water,' Director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture Brian Baldridge said. 'But we need to make sure we have quality.' Baldridge works alongside the directors of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to keep H2Ohio effective. But right now, the state budget slashes its funding. Columbus' Leveque Tower to covert apartments into for-sale condos 'In many ways, they've already achieved a lot of the things they wanted to do,' Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said. 'Not at all,' Baldridge said in response to Huffman's comment. 'This is a continuation.' The past two fiscal years, H2Ohio received a combined $53 million to continue its work. DeWine wanted a slight increase of about $1 million for the next two. But Ohio House members cut it by about 46%, funding it at about $14 million for fiscal year's 26 and 27 each. In a statement, the Ohio EPA said in fiscal years 24 and 25, 400 H2Ohio grants were awarded statewide to support things like water, infrastructure, dam removal and chloride reduction. With the funding cut the EPA spokesperson tells me only 20-30 grants will be issued the next two years. They say H2Ohio has been 'instrumental in helping communities, especially small and disadvantaged ones.' Huffman said not only does he think H2Ohio could go without all of that money, but he said the state has other priorities. 'I think there's money I that fund that we could use for many of the other programs, so it's really just a balancing,' he said. 'This is a long-term program, this is a long term vision,' Baldridge said. 'It's just all about water quality here in our state because it is so important in our state.' The budget does still need to go through the Ohio Senate before it passes the Statehouse. Baldridge and the Ohio EPA said they are going to continue pushing for the programs funding to come back up. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Ohio farmers: enroll in H2Ohio to protect waterways and reduce pollution
REYNOLDSBURG — Farmers in 10 counties within the Western Lake Erie Basin can now enroll in H2Ohio's agriculture incentive program, according to an announcement from the Ohio Department of Agriculture. The program, which launched March 24, allows producers in Crawford, Erie, Huron, Marion, Ottawa, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, Shelby and Wyandot counties to enroll or re-enroll their land in best management practices aimed at improving water quality. To participate, farmers must have an up-to-date soil test and develop an approved Voluntary Nutrient Management Plan. Available practices include overwintering cover, subsurface phosphorus placement and manure incorporation and utilization. To date, more than 3,200 producers have enrolled 2.2 million acres in H2Ohio statewide. In northwest Ohio, approximately 43% of cropland in the Western Lake Erie Basin is enrolled in the program. 'The agricultural community in Ohio has shown us time and time again they are dedicated to doing their part to improve water quality,' ODA Director Brian Baldridge said in the release. 'We are asking farmers to step up once more and continue their commitment to reducing nutrients and protecting Ohio's waterways for future generations, and we strongly encourage farmers who have not enrolled in H2Ohio before to talk with their county SWCD.' Farmers interested in applying should contact their local Soil and Water Conservation District and provide up-to-date soil tests. Those who enroll will receive support to develop and implement Voluntary Nutrient Management Plans, which encourage better utilization of nutrients applied. The Ohio Department of Agriculture works closely with county Soil and Water Conservation Districts to administer participant contracts, provide technical assistance and support producers with the implementation of best management practices. H2Ohio, launched in 2019, is a statewide water quality initiative designed to address complex issues impacting Ohio's waters. The program uses a comprehensive approach guided by science and data to reduce algal blooms, stop pollution and improve access to clean drinking water. This story was created by Jane Imbody, jimbody@ with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at or share your thoughts at with our News Automation and AI team. This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Farmers in 10 counties can enroll in H2Ohio agriculture program
