Contact Your Legislator

This form will send out to the following representatives (or you can print a letter to send via post mail here):

James Zehringer, Ohio 77^th District Representative
John Adams, Ohio 78^th District Representative

Keith Faber, Ohio State Senator, 12^th District

To contact these representatives you must visit their site or print the letter here and send it via snail mail to their respective addresses:

John Boehner, 8th District Ohio US Representative
1011 Longworth H.O.B. Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-6205 voice
(202) 225-0704 fax
Jim Jordan, 4^th District Ohio US Representative
515 Cannon House Office Bldg. Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-2676 voice
(202) 226-0577 fax

Sherrod Brown, United States Senator; Ohio
713 Hart Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-2315 voice
(202) 228-6321 fax
George V. Voinovich, United States Senator; Ohio
524 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3353 voice
(513) 684.3269 fax

If your legislator is not listed above you can click here to locate your legislator

Name: *

Phone: *

Street Address: *

City: *

State: *

Zip Code: *

Email Address: *

Your Message:

Dear Representative:

Well, it has happened! The perfect storm of no wind, bright sunlight, warm water, and 90 degree plus outside air temperatures that combined with excessive nutrients in the water virtually exploded an algae bloom that covered the entire 13,000 acre Grand Lake St. Marys Lake. It is way past time for the State of Ohio and the Federal Government to take effective action to stop the continued destruction of Grand Lake St. Marys.  I am sure that you are aware that Ohio EPA has advised the public to totally avoid the waters of the lake which contains extremely high levels of dangerous algal toxins which can cause minor to severe health issues for humans and animals.

The lake is hypereutrophic and the Wabash River watershed that includes Grand Lake St. Marys has been determined by the OEPA to be the most degraded in the State of Ohio. A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study indicates that 85% of the nutrients are from agricultural activities which dominate the land use within the watershed. The excessive phosphorus levels in the lake have resulted this year in producing a new and more toxic variety of blue-green algae containing cylindrospermopsin and saxitoxin which released liver and neuro toxins into the water.

Since the effluent from the Grand Lake St. Marys watershed flows both north and south, it directly impacts the conditions of Lake Erie, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico.  As such, nutrient contamination is not limited to just being a local issue, but an issue that impacts the entire nation and ultimately the globe. 

Economic catastrophe has now stricken local businesses for the second straight summer and the impact not only threatens more business closures, but with the loss of most area manufacturing jobs, tourism jobs are now also being jeopardized. In the past annual tourism income for the area communities has been estimated at $150 million and without immediate action on your part; countless tourism related jobs may also be lost forever.  And sadly, some business owners are now being forced to use their personal savings to keep their doors open. However, hundreds of shovel ready jobs can be created if funding can be appropriated for many of the recommended mechanical remedies; including, 

1. Enact and fund the Army Corp of Engineers dredging and island building proposal dating back to 1985.

2. Rip Rap all shorelines and feeder creeks.

3. Restore roadside ditches to legal easement boundaries.

4. Construct wetlands to help filter farmland nutrient inflow.

Your prompt action is urgently needed and I appeal to you to exhibit the sound leadership rightfully anticipated by your constituency and that should include legislation to restrict the continued abuse of proper land management practices. We all must all be good stewards of our land and our environment, and we must fully recognize just how our habits affect others. My vote counts, too!

Sincerely,

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