Lake Erie’s Political Waters

• “Which Side Are You On?” read the banner being held aloft as picketers demonstrated outside One Government Center, prior to a Toledo City Council Water Quality Committee hearing. Eventually Mike Ferner, a member of the Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie (ACLE), made his way inside to speak, but the banner was promptly removed due to a ban against printed propaganda in Council chambers. Concerned about algae blooms from agricultural runoff, Ferner believes the sign’s message— pushing Toledo government to consider if they are on the side of a clean lake or Big Ag— was delivered.
• Catawba Island Club in Port Clinton is hosting a Lake Erie Improvement Association forum on Friday, December 2 at 8:30am. Knowledgeable presenters will discuss sediment and other issues. More information can be found at LakeErieFoundation.com.
• The State of Michigan is the latest ally in the push for a clean Lake Erie, as the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) made a declaration of “impaired” for their portion of Lake Erie.
• An “impaired” designation would allow for a complete pollution inventory of the Lake, hold polluters accountable as well as provide access to federal money allowances for cleanup.
  “The Deputy Director of the Ohio EPA in charge of Lake Erie policy, Karl Gebhardt, was not only an Ohio  Farm Bureau lobbyist for 19 years, but also a registered lobbyist for Vreba Hoff Dairies, the first CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) owners in NW Ohio. Again we ask our public officials, which side are you on?” demanded a strongly-worded letter senter to Toledo’s mayor from the ACLE. “The people you work for want to know if you are waiting for another poisoned water crisis in Toledo before telling Ohio’s EPA to do the same (as Michigan).”
• Agencies tasked with cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, which carries the “impaired” designation, received over $1 billion in aid money from various government agencies over the past two years. Still don’t think Lake Erie needs a similar designation?

The ACLE hosts meetings every third Wednesday from 6:30-8pm.
At Grace Lutheran Church (4441 Monroe St.).
Stop by the gathering and pick up a yard sign. (No December meeting). advocatesforlakeerie.wixsite.com/acle

• “Which Side Are You On?” read the banner being held aloft as picketers demonstrated outside One Government Center, prior to a Toledo City Council Water Quality Committee hearing. Eventually Mike Ferner, a member of the Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie (ACLE), made his way inside to speak, but the banner was promptly removed due to a ban against printed propaganda in Council chambers. Concerned about algae blooms from agricultural runoff, Ferner believes the sign’s message— pushing Toledo government to consider if they are on the side of a clean lake or Big Ag— was delivered.
• Catawba Island Club in Port Clinton is hosting a Lake Erie Improvement Association forum on Friday, December 2 at 8:30am. Knowledgeable presenters will discuss sediment and other issues. More information can be found at LakeErieFoundation.com.
• The State of Michigan is the latest ally in the push for a clean Lake Erie, as the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) made a declaration of “impaired” for their portion of Lake Erie.
• An “impaired” designation would allow for a complete pollution inventory of the Lake, hold polluters accountable as well as provide access to federal money allowances for cleanup.
  “The Deputy Director of the Ohio EPA in charge of Lake Erie policy, Karl Gebhardt, was not only an Ohio  Farm Bureau lobbyist for 19 years, but also a registered lobbyist for Vreba Hoff Dairies, the first CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) owners in NW Ohio. Again we ask our public officials, which side are you on?” demanded a strongly-worded letter senter to Toledo’s mayor from the ACLE. “The people you work for want to know if you are waiting for another poisoned water crisis in Toledo before telling Ohio’s EPA to do the same (as Michigan).”
• Agencies tasked with cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, which carries the “impaired” designation, received over $1 billion in aid money from various government agencies over the past two years. Still don’t think Lake Erie needs a similar designation?

The ACLE hosts meetings every third Wednesday from 6:30-8pm.
At Grace Lutheran Church (4441 Monroe St.).
Stop by the gathering and pick up a yard sign. (No December meeting). advocatesforlakeerie.wixsite.com/acle