Local health department presses for open lake dumping ban

SANDUSKY — The Erie County Health Department has filed an appeal with the Ohio EPA, demanding an agency ban on dumping of dredging materials in Erie County harbors.Erie County's health commissioner, Pete Schade, said Wednesday he believes the state agency should ban lake dumping by the Army Corps of Engineers, which carries out dredging in shipping channels to enable commerce on Lake Erie to continue.Ohio can't afford to damage Lake Erie, which is more important to the economy than ever, Schade said."There is an alternative to open lake dumping. That would be onshore application," Schade said.Dumping dirt back into the water makes the water cloudier and also encourages the growth of harmful algal blooms, Schade said.A state law bans open lake dumping by 2020. Schade contends that the Ohio EPA should try to impose an immediate ban.In March 2016, Robert England, the chief environmental public health officer for the Erie County Health Department, wrote to Craig Butler, director of the Ohio EPA, and asked Butler to ban the Corps of Engineers from doing open lake disposal for dredging in Sandusky's and Huron's harbors.The EPA ruled against the local department on Feb. 3, 2017, allowing open lake dumping in Huron's harbor.So on Monday, the Erie County Health Department filed an appeal to the Environmental Review Appeals Commission, the group the reviews Ohio EPA decisions.The department's appeal, filed by Erie County assistant prosecuting attorney Mark Smith on the department's behalf, says that the Ohio EPA erred in claiming that open lake dumping does not help feed harmful algal blooms.A state EPA document, used to justify open lake dumping, says, "Many factors contribute to the formation and duration of HABS. A causal relationship between open-lake disposal and HABS has not been identified in any study to date."In response, Smith filed a scientific paper, published back in 2012 in the Journal of Water Resources and Protection, "Role of Suspended Sediments and Mixing in Reducing Photoinhibition in the Bloom-Forming Cyanobacterium Microcystis," authored by Justin D. Chaffin and three other scientists. Microcystis is the cyanobacteria most often identified with harmful algal blooms.The paper states that while nutrients are known to play a role in growing harmful algal blooms, suspended sediments also play a role, because cyanobacteria does well when the amount of light in the water is reduced by dirt."Because suspended sediments can be an important factor in promoting buoyant cyanobacteria such as Microcystis, future efforts to reduce blooms may include components aimed at reducing suspended sediments combined with reducing nutrient loading," the paper says.Butler's spokeswoman, Heidi Griesmer, did not respond to an email from the Register asking for comment on the health department's appeal.Reach reporter Tom Jackson at jackson@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @jacksontom.Erie County Health Department health commissioner Pete Schade contends the Ohio EPA should impose an immediate ban on open lake dumping by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Ohio EPA director Craig Butler