By Lisa Wozniak, the executive director of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. For several years, Lake Erie summers have meant the resurgence of toxic algal blooms that force beaches to close and commercial fishing operations to halt, creating both a void for recreational opportunities as well as a loss of livelihood and profit for many. Two years ago, the problem was amplified when the city of Toledo and portions of Monroe County lost access to clean drinking water due to the blooms, making the annual algae concerns not only an economic and recreational concern, but a threat to human health. For most Michiganders, water crises of this magnitude have seemed impossible given the 21 percent of the world's freshwater supply that surrounds us. The Great Lakes are the lifeblood of our region, but a myriad of factors — including unprecedented levels of phosphorous — are putting enormous stress on our waterways leading to large swaths of toxic algae. While scientific research points to a number of contributing factors, there is one solution that would definitively point our state in the right direction: listing Michigan's portion of Lake Erie as impaired — a step the state Department of Environmental Quality could take today. The decision-making authority for moving Lake Erie towards impairment status lies with the new DEQ director, Heidi Grether. Since assuming her position, Grether has consistently voiced her interest in rebuilding the DEQ, an agency mired in problems stemming, most recently, from the Flint water crisis. When asked about the philosophy she brings to her new appointment, Grether stated, "Let me be perfectly clear on this. This is not a job of public relations. It's about protecting the environment and human health. (Rebuilding trust) will come from all of our deeds and by being stewards of our environment ... words alone will not get us there." Grether is correct: actions speak much louder than words. As this year has shown, agency decisions can and do have a profound and lasting effect on our families and our communities. We would like nothing better than to have the new DEQ leadership transform the agency into a trusted body that boldly embraces its core mission: the protection of public health and the health of our environment. Grether has an important opportunity to build a new legacy of environmental leadership for the State of Michigan, and she can begin by listing Michigan's portion of Lake Erie as impaired. An impairment status makes Lake Erie eligible for federal expertise and investment, helping curb the continued growth of harmful toxic algal blooms that affect drinking water, charter fishing and recreation. Grether has a perfect opportunity to take bold action to save a Great Lake that is on the verge of collapse and, in so doing, protect the hundreds of thousands of Michigan and Ohio residents who depend up Lake Erie for their livelihoods and drinking water. http://www.mlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/10/lisa_wozniak_an_opportunity_to.html
