Judge slams EPA delays on Lake Erie cleanup

SANDUSKY — A federal judge said the U.S. EPA must clean up Lake Erie and combat algal blooms. U.S. District Judge James G. Carr said he wants to see indications the federal agency is complying with the Clean Water Act and ordered the agency to turn in status reports by May 15.The judge's order, issued this week, was in response to a lawsuit filed by the Environmental Law and Policy Center and Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie. The environmental groups told the judge he should order the U.S. EPA to declare the open waters of Lake Erie as "impaired" under the Clean Water Act.Since the lawsuit was filed, many of the actions the groups sought have been overtaken by other events.The U.S. EPA essentially admitted it was in the wrong when it previously approved an Ohio EPA report that failed to determine if all of Lake Erie's waters are impaired.And last month, the Ohio EPA released a draft report declaring Lake Erie's open waters are indeed "impaired." The judge's order scolded both agencies for failing to take action. The Ohio EPA should have determined years ago whether the waters of Lake Erie are "impaired" under the Clean Water Act, and the U.S. EPA should have insisted the state agency follow the law, the judge wrote in his 25-page opinion.The judge also complained that the U.S. EPA never told anyone it was going to withdraw approval of the state's previous water quality report. Its action at the last minute, which prevented the judge from making a final ruling, was a "whiff of bad faith," the judge wrote.The judge wrote that he's waiting to see what the final actions of U.S. EPA officials will be and will then review the decision.A local environmentalist, Rick Graham of Monroeville, said he's pleased the judge is pushing officials to clean up the lake. Graham is chairman of the Great Lakes committee of the Izaak Walton League, a national environmental group that held its convention in Erie Countyi last year.After reading the judge's decision, Graham commented, "The overview of his discussion of the lack of actions indicates a lack of good faith on the part of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and United States Environmental Protection Agency. It appears that he is ready to hold people accountable for doing their jobs in accord with the Clean Water Act. The fact that he wants an update on or before May 15 is a good sign. I think that he is not going to allow any more delaying tactics."Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, also was happy."We're pleased that the federal district court directed U.S. EPA to comply with the Clean Water Act and make a clear determination within 30 days that Lake Erie's open waters are impaired by pollution," Learner said. "The court agreed with our legal position that U.S. EPA and Ohio EPA have improperly dragged their feet for years instead of stepping up to take prompt and necessary actions to protect Lake Erie from toxic algae blooms."Reach reporter Tom Jackson at jackson@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @jacksontom.Waves roll onto the beach at Nickel Plate Beach in Huron on Friday, April 13, 2018.U.S. District Judge James Carr.