The citizens of Toledo, Ohio, have gained the right to sue anyone who “causes harm” to the lake’s ecosystem.
It’s making farmers nervous.
“It’s one of those things if it wasn’t so serious it would be laughable,” said Joe Cornely, director of corporate communications at the Ohio Farm Bureau.
“And any citizen of Toledo who feels that something they see on a farm might be damaging Lake Erie is empowered to sue those farmers and the City of Toledo would collect the penalties.
“Of course, farmers would also end up paying all the legal costs for himself or herself and the city,” Cornely said.
Toledo had a water safety scare in 2014 when Lake Erie water was declared unsafe to drink.
It took five years for angry citizens to persuade the legislature to pass the new law.
Ohio already had laws regulating how farmers apply manure and fertilizers, but now power is in the hands of its citizens, both the informed and uninformed of on-farm practices.
Ontario has initiatives to stop farm pollution of Lake Erie, but so far none are mandatory.
