Tell your legislators loud and clear: water is not a commodity

If you've been following this blog you know that I've written extensively about HB 231, that ill-conceived piece of legislation that made a mockery of the Great Lakes Compact and which Governor Kasich thankfully - and wisely - vetoed.

Tom Henry, writing for Great Lakes Echo, recently posted a brilliant and timely editorial piece about the Great Lakes Compact and how the Ohio General Assembly tried to exploit one of the most serious problems facing the Great Lakes region for the short-term benefit of some influential business lobbyists. (See: Gov. averts Great Lakes attack; I'm still embarrassed to be a Buckeye). Tom talked about how he's still embarrassed to be a Buckeye.

We should all be embarrassed to be Buckeyes.

While all the lakes are equally precious and needing of our careful and caring stewardship, Lake Erie is particularly vulnerable to the kind of short-sightedness and stupidity we saw with the introduction of HB 231. Erie is the smallest of the Great Lakes in volume (119 cubic miles) and is exposed to the greatest effects from urbanization and agriculture. The average depth of Lake Erie is only about 62 feet. The drainage basin covers parts of Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario. Because of its fertile soils, the basin is intensively farmed and is the most densely populated of the five lake basins. All of these factors create enormous pressures on the health of the lake and we haven't even talked about the greed factor.

Tom Henry writes: "If HB 231 had become law, Ohio businesses would have been allowed to drain Lake Erie to the tune of 5 million gallons a day and take up to 2 million gallons a day from groundwater that replenishes the lake." In other words, he points out, virtually use of one of our most precious resources.

As is clear from the HB 231 fiasco, we can't afford to sit by passively and trust our elected officials in Columbus (or Washington, for that matter) to operate in our best interests without constantly looking over their shoulders. I guess they are like little kids that way. And with a political system awash in money, the game of "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" is only going to get worse. (Our broken election system is only going to change through massive reform, such as the institution of public funded elections, but that's a subject for another day.)

As tempting as it might be, I'm not going to try to analyze the thought processes or pathology of the mental midgets who crafted this piece of legislation. Life has taught me that the simplest explanation is usually the right one, and the simple explanation is that they do what they do because they see their oath of office not as a sacred trust but as a means to an end, that end being to further the interests of those to paid to get them elected. I know, I know; in Civics 101 we learned that an elected representative is sworn to represent the interests of all the people and to provide the greatest good. But these guys don't think like that, as they've shown during their first six months in office.

To say that the system is broken and just give up is a cop out. Things are the way they are because we allowed them to get that way. There's no one else to blame but us. But the good news is, something that is broken can always be fixed. It only takes will and determination.

When it comes to something as precious as our water supply and the future of our children, we can't afford to let our politicians screw this up. Let them know water is not a commodity, it's a precious resource to be shared by all.

And let them know that, from now on, you'll be watching.

Governor facing new pressure to veto HB 231

Ohio Governor John Kasich is facing mounting pressure to veto a bill that would allow factories to withdraw far more water from Lake Erie than currently allowed. I hope he does.

The bill in question, HB 231, which I discussed in a recent post (Sad times ahead for Lake Erie), was intended to bring the state into alignment with the Great Lakes Compact. It passed the Republican-led state Legislature last month over the objections of two former Ohio governors and a former state natural resources director, as well those of newspapers across the state and a network of environmental organizations. Governors of the states of New York and Michigan are also expressing concern about the potential impact of HB 231. Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said a decision will be announced today.

How Ohio's new governor handles this situation will tell us a lot about not only his future style of governance but also the way he views Lake Erie issues. Will he simply rubber stamp his legislative colleague's work and sign the bill? Or will he veto it and tell them to go back to the drawing board?

When he gave his brief remarks Monday in Port Clinton on the occasion of Fish Ohio Day, the governor came off as ill-informed about critical issues facing the lake. Or maybe he was just disinterested.

We'll see what happens today.

Governor says he's 100% committed to Lake Erie; so far his actions show otherwise

Gov. John Kasich pledged that he is “completely, totally, 100 percent committed” to Lake Erie and that he wants to see the lake and its attributes promoted aggressively, the Toledo Blade reports.
The governor's remarks about the lake came on Monday in Port Clinton where he was on hand for the 33rd annual Fish Ohio Day. In the morning, fifteen charter boats fanned out into Lake Erie, each with six anglers on board, guests of the Lake Erie Charter Boat Association. But these were no ordinary fishermen; they were public officials, being treated to a genuine lake fishing experience, while the fisherman got a rare opportunity to promote sports fishing in Lake Erie.
“What we have here is just magnificent,” Kasich said, in what the Blade characterized as a "somewhat disjointed" address during his short visit. He said some of the right things. He stressed the need to step up promotion of Ohio tourism and take commercial advantage of the lake. At one point, according to the Blade, he even said that the state “never has taken good advantage of this lake.”
We're not sure what the governor meant by that exactly. He is poised to sign House Bill 231, which would allow companies to remove five million gallons of water from the lake with zero oversight. If that what he means by "good advantage," the lake is in for a rough ride.
The governor made brief reference to two critical issues facing Lake Erie right now, the threat of Asian carp, which are poised to enter Lake Michigan, with Erie not far behind, and "dumping and dredging" being carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of the Toledo harbor  and other commercial waterways, which threatens to increase the already disastrous algae bloom on the lake.
Kasich said it is “a high, high priority” to maximize commercialization of business on Lake Erie, citing among other things tax credits for small businesses dealing with fisheries. In the same breath, according to the Blade, he took credit for “plugging an $8 billion hole [in the state budget] without tax increases,” thanks also to his “partners in the Legislature.”
After the governor's address, Rick Unger, LECBA president, was skeptical. “He thinks solutions are happening, and I don’t see solutions happening.”
Fish Ohio Day is sponsored by the Ohio Division of Wildlife and its parent Department of Natural Resources, LECBA, whose skippers donate boats and guidance, the Ohio tourism agency, and Lake Erie Shores & Islands.

Sad times ahead for Lake Erie

It hasn't been a good week for Lake Erie. The Ohio legislature just passed, and Governor John Kasich is about to sign, House Bill 231, which was supposed to bring the state into compliance with the federal law known as the Great Lakes Compact. But some say the law will do exactly the opposite and two former Ohio governors, both republicans, spoke out against the bill, saying it could harm Lake Erie by allowing companies to draw too much water from the lake without any oversight.

The bill would require a permit only if the operator in question drew more than 5 million gallons of water a day from the lake, more than 2 million from rivers or groundwater, or more than 300,000 from designated "high quality streams." It would give Ohio the dubious distinction of have the most generous water-use regulation of any state in the compact.

Former Governor George Voinovich said the bill prevents the state's natural resources department from using scientific standards to determine if increased water usage has a harmful impact. He urged lawmakers to add protections "to ensure that this resource is available for future generations." Lawmakers ignored him.   After all, future generations don't fund the next election, do they?

Sam Speck, a former Republican state legislator who also headed up the Ohio Department of Natural Resources from 1999 to 2006, said the changes would give Ohio "the weakest water supply protection of all of the Great Lakes states." In a letter to Senate members, Speck named at least six areas in which the Ohio law would violate the compact.

The bill's primary sponsor, Republican Lynn Wachtmann, accused those who raised concerns about damage to Lake Erie of "fear mongering." Wachtmann owns a water bottling company and sits on the board of Culligan.

There was time in this state when, on critical issues like this, when it really counted, politics would get left at the door and the good of the state was all that mattered. Sanity ultimately prevailed.

But that was then, this is now. Now it's about doing the most for your friends who helped get you elected.

Sanity has left the building.