(Toledo, OH) Farmers are facing more than $30,000 in fines for Northwest Ohio fishkills.
Ohio farmers are banned from putting manure on their fields before heavy rains under a recent law aimed to combat Lake Erie algae. That new law is getting a big test after the Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued fines against three farmers state regulators say put ammonia-laden manure on their fields ahead of August storms that washed into creeks and caused the fish kills.
Regulators say the manure spills killed close to 67,000 fish in creeks in Williams, Allen and Hardin counties. That law was put into place because manure also contains phosphorous that feeds toxic algae blooms in the shallow western lake basin.
The Ohio EPA and Department of Agriculture are still investigating the incidents.