Farmers say they weren’t consulted in watershed regulation conversations
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Ohio farmers are questioning the transparency of yesterday's executive order from Governor John Kasich.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture considers eight watersheds as “Watersheds in Distress” due to high levels of phosphorus runoff, the order says. Those areas include about 7,000 farms and more than two million acres in northwest Ohio.
The Ohio Soil and Water Conservation must approve the Governor’s watershed plan. Once that permission is granted, state agencies will be “directed to recommend a rules package that establishes nutrient management requirements for all nutrient sources,” the executive order says.
Lake Erie’s water quality has improved, but not enough to meet Ohio’s goal of reducing phosphorous in Lake Erie by 40 percent by 2025, a report says, Cleveland.com reported.
Producers say they were in the dark about the specific regulations and how they were agreed upon.
“Because the agricultural community was not included in the process, farmers are left with frustration, questions and uncertainty on both the process and implications of this order,” Adam Sharp, executive vice-president of the Ohio Farm Bureau, said in a statement yesterday.
The Farm Bureau is also questioning other industry-related measures Governor Kasich has taken.
The State has invested more than US$3 billion since July 2011 into Lake Erie to help with water quality issues, but it appears lawmakers only directed a small amount of money to ag related initiatives.
“Cleveland Public Broadcasting station found that only 1 percent of that money was used to address agriculture’s portion of the water quality challenge,” Sharp said in the statement. “If we weren’t a priority for state resources, why are we a priority for state regulation?”
Gov. Kasich is confident local farmers already operate with the interests of the environment at top of mind.
“We love the farmers and they’re great people,” he said yesterday, Cleveland.com reports. “And I believe that most of them do not want to engage in anything that’s going to be destructive to the environment.”
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