Ohio's signature program to protect its waterways is figuring out its next move after getting $100 million cut from its budget.
Ohio’s General Assembly voted in June to reduce funding for the state’s H2Ohio program by more than $100 million
The program was founded in 2019 by Gov. Mike DeWine, after toxic algal blooms threatened Toledo's water supply. The goal of H2Ohio is to improve and protect the state’s freshwater resources through a network of organizations across the state.
Those organizations include the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, and Ohio Department Natural Resources.
"That includes the ag industry and includes private septic systems. It includes municipality septic systems, industrial discharge and then working on our best filters that are out there and those are those natural wetlands," said Brian Baldridge, director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Ohio's farms are included in the conversation because a major part of that program is helping farmers by giving them money to help reduce their runoff from crop fertilization.
Baldridge said farmer participation has been linked to a decrease in algae blooms due to a reduction in phosphorus runoff from fertilizer.
"The 2023 data, we know the projected and modeling decrease reduction in phosphorus was about 232,000 pounds. And then we take that in 2024, that number continues to grow because of the increase in acres we have participating," he said. "In 2024 that takes our projected reduction in phosphorous to about 420,000 pounds."
By the numbers: H2Ohio currently has about 3,200 farmers and producers enrolled, accounting for over 2.5 million acres of farmland across the state and that number is expected to grow.
Joy Mullinex, executive director of the Ohio Lake Erie Commission, who helps coordinate the H2Ohio program, said these numbers seem to be backed by the U.S. EPA who did research into reductions of phosphorus since 2008.
"They have seen an 8% to 10% reduction in phosphorus going into Lake Erie. So their work doesn't indicate exactly what it is that has led to that reduction but without a doubt the agricultural BMPs and wetlands efforts are part of that equation as well" she said.
Baldridge said multiple members of the ag commodity community advocated for the program. The General Assembly, however, still voted to reduce H2Ohio’s budget from $270 million to just shy of $165 million.
But Baldridge said this is still a better number than earlier versions of the budget which would have cut funding to $150 million.
"Being a past legislator, I've lived through those processes a few times and it's different chambers, different conversations, different levels of support," he said. "But first off I have to say, the state legislature has been tremendously supportive of the H2Ohio program."
As part of this year's funding cut, the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s budget was reduced by 11%, pushing them to decrease payments made to farmers in the program.
Despite these cuts, Baldridge said they are still in a good spot.
“The challenge becomes as we envision the growth in the future," he said. "So you take an 11% decrease on this budget cycle and we still have high goals to continue to pull in and engage more producers.”
"While we are seeing progress and it is fantastic, just know that it took us many years to get to the situation where we have harmful algal blooms recurring out on the lake and it will take a few more years before we will have results out in the lake where you can see a reduced algal bloom size."
Beyond the ag sector, other state programs have had to shift operations to meet this reduced budget. Mullinex said certain types of work have been scaled back or eliminated to get "the best bang for their buck."
"We scaled back a little bit on some of the acid mine drainage work being funded through H2Ohio," she said. "Some of the data collection on sentinel species in the rivers, we have done some muscle monitoring, so some of that work has been scaled back. Some of river coastline restoration work, preservation work, will be scaled back."
With other programs taking a backseat, Mullinex said she believes they can still make a lasting impact on Ohio's water quality over time.
The program is also looking for other funding sources including the Ohio EPA who have utilized federal EPA funds through the state revolving loan fund.
"One [other] great federal investment has been the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative," Mullinex said. "It has received somewhere between $360 million and $400 million from Congress for several years and so, they've been a great collaborator and partner."
Going forward, Mullinex said they are grateful for the public's patience as they sort through the details of a new funding cycle for H2Ohio.
"While we are seeing progress and it is fantastic, just know that it took us many years to get to the situation where we have harmful algal blooms recurring out on the lake and it will take a few more years before we will have results out in the lake where you can see a reduced algal bloom size," she said.
