GREAT OUTDOORS: Earth Day a reminder to protect the environment

As the U.S. celebrates Earth Day on April 22, with its 2026 theme of "Our Power, Our Planet," it is important to remember where we were back in 1970 when the movement was founded. For those who are old enough to remember, conditions that were prevalent back then compelled 20 million people to gather in protest of the industrial and municipal pollution that was commonplace. Unfortunately, there has been some backsliding of hard-earned environmental protections such as EPA funding, the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act, and wetlands protections. It is important to not allow history to repeat by allowing pollution to become acceptable. Many of the toxic messes that were left behind for taxpayers to clean up still remain to be remediated. The Clean Water Act of 1972 included provisions that allow any citizen with "standing" to sue those who are causing our waterways harm by polluting them. To have standing you must be able to prove that you are adversely affected. Suits may be brought against any person or relevant state and/or U.S. government agency administrator for causing injury or failing to perform any duty required under the Clean Water Act. Injuries can be aesthetical, conservational, recreational or physical. Plaintiffs can be awarded attorney's fees. Citizen initiatives initiated by the Lake Erie Waterkeepers and Environment Ohio led to a closer look at the Campbell's Soup factory in Napoleon, which admitted to violating its discharge limits of phosphorus, ammonia, bacteria, oil and grease and suspended solids into the Maumee River. According to surveys, Americans overwhelmingly support protecting our water supplies under the Clean Water Act. Yet, under the pretext of streamlining the Clean Water Act permitting processes and reducing bureaucratic delays for infrastructure projects that farmers, builders and other industries face, the PERMIT Act (H.R. 3898) weakens Clean Water Act protections. It has been approved by the House of Representatives. If passed by the Senate and signed by the President as anticipated, this bill would allow federal agencies to remove Clean Water Act protections and ignore science-based water quality risk standards that safeguard public health and wildlife. Is there any reason why any thinking person would support repeating the obvious mistake of allowing the improvements to our air and water quality to be reversed? We should not compromise clean water and healthy air so businesses can operate more cheaply. In Ohio, legislators have wisely continued to fund the H2Ohio Program. It has built and restored an impressive list of wetlands; improved municipal drinking water and sewage treatment infrastructure across the state; and promoted nutrient management on farms. However, they foolishly eliminated protection for Ohio's ephemeral headwater wetlands, which in many cases are where the state's streams begin. Also, any potential water quality gains realized by using the H2Ohio Program to reduce nutrient use on farms are being erased by millions of additional tons of untreated chicken, hog and cattle manure pollution washing into Lake Erie by Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). Under the direction of the last two governors, Ohio's Departments of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency continue to allow rogue operators to add animal factories and pollute streams unfettered in the northwest portion of the state that affects Lake Erie the most by creating massive algal blooms. While they profitably pollute our streams, downstream users pay for more expensive water treatment necessary to remove algal toxins from our drinking water.