ODNR chief: lifting distressed designation possible

CELINA - The head of the state agency responsible for Grand Lake said he believes the local watershed's distressed designation will eventually be lifted.

"I hope we are both around when we remove the designation," Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Jim Zehringer on Wednesday told a Daily Standard reporter. "It's certainly a goal we are working toward and a goal of mine. Right now we have all farmers in compliance and they are working toward that goal, too."

Zehringer, a Fort Recovery native, discussed the lake and other issues during a visit to Celina. He said he's confident Grand Lake will once again become a popular recreational destination, calling it "one of our important parks."

"We're seeing improved fishing, we're going to continue dredging, to continue to work with the agriculture community, to continue rough fish removal, to continue lake level management and continue treatment trains," he said. "We have to keep that multifaceted approach for dealing with the situation."

The lake's toxic blue-green algae are mainly fed by phosphorous that runs off farmland, the biggest land use in the livestock-heavy Grand Lake Watershed.

The state in January 2011 designated the watershed distressed after animals and humans were sickened by algae toxins in the lake. The designation required most livestock farms in the watershed to create a nutrient management plan by Dec. 17, 2012, to prevent pollution from manure. The plans and soil tests must be updated every three years and a manure analysis is required every year.

Six watershed farmers initially were issued chief's orders from the Division of Soil and Water Resources for missing the 2012 deadline. Five eventually came into compliance without penalties. The sixth case involving Gary Homan of St. Henry was referred to the Ohio Attorney General's Office. Homan pleaded guilty Oct. 28 to a misdemeanor charge in Celina Municipal Court, agreed to pay $3,000 in restitution and signed an implementation schedule for his plan, ODNR spokeswoman Bethany McCorkle said.

Homan now has an approved plan. The state has approved 135 of the 147 plans submitted, McCorkle said.

Zehringer said the state will continue to fully pay for four employees based in the Mercer County Soil and Water Conservation District to help farmers update their plans while the watershed remains distressed.

"We're committed to making sure those positions are funded," he said.

Zehringer said he believes the lake's water quality is improving based on "visual observation," but offered no water quality data.

The state has placed a recreational water quality advisory on the lake the past six years due to dangerous algae toxin levels.

Increased dredging, removing rough fish such as carp that contribute to poor water quality, and farmers' efforts to contain nutrients are helping, he said.

"I think we add all those together and get a lot of promotion going on. I think we can bring Grand Lake St. Marys back to its glory days," he said.

Zehringer also said the state is committed to paying the landowners who are suing ODNR for damages caused by flooding due to the West Bank spillway. A case was filed in the Ohio Supreme Court in 2009 by more than 80 property owners along Beaver Creek and the Wabash River downstream from the lake's state-owned and operated spillway.

The Ohio Supreme Court in December 2011 ruled in favor of the property owners, agreeing the newer, larger spillway increased flooding. The High Court ordered trials to determine compensation amounts. In December 2012, the Ohio Supreme Court found ODNR in contempt for failing to pay the landowners in a timely manner. In November, the Ohio Supreme Court denied an ODNR appeal asking the state be allowed to use its discretion in paying landowners.  

"ODNR remains constricted as to its ability to comment in much detail as to litigation matters," Zehringer said in a written statement. "Nonetheless, the department is outward in its commitment to pay landowners who were impacted by the 1997 spillway modification. We are committed to paying for changes in property values that result from the spillway change. But these payments must consider the fact that this area historically flooded. The state cannot pay for property losses that it did not cause."
    According to McCorkle, ODNR in April 2013 hired the West Chester law firm of Frost, Brown, Todd LLC to assist with the lawsuit. To date, the state has paid the firm $1.7 million for its legal services.

Zehringer also said the state feels treatment trains around the lake are worthwhile and the state "hopes" to fund more of them.

One has been constructed at Prairie Creek in Montezuma. The $2.5 million system diverts a portion of water from the creek and treats it with alum, a chemical that deactivates phosphorous. The water is then funneled through two retention ponds and six manmade wetland cells before entering the lake. Its construction was funded with Ohio EPA grant money, the Lake Restoration Commission and in-kind work. Tests continue to show that water leaving the treatment train has less phosphorous, nitrogen and algae toxins.

The Lake Facilities Association board in August agreed to build a second treatment train on Coldwater Creek, south of Celina. ODNR last year earmarked $2.1 million for the project.

The LFA is seeking another grant for a treatment train on Beaver Creek on 50 acres of land owned by Mercer County between Guadalupe Road and Montezuma. The project may be funded through an Ohio EPA 319 program grant. A cost estimate has not yet been announced.

Plans also are in the works to establish treatment trains along the Big Chickasaw and Little Chickasaw creeks.

The director said the state will dredge more hours on the lake this summer to remove phosphorous-laden sediment.

"We look for dredging funds to remain the same and increase dredging hours," Zehringer said. "Continued dredging is part of the successes of turning Grand Lake St. Marys back to the way it was."

The state's new lake drawdown policy also seems to be working, the director said. Following intense flooding in past years along Beaver Creek and the Wabash River, the state spurred the creation of a local group to conduct lake level tests and create a drawdown policy. The policy involves releasing water from the lake prior to spring rains to lessen downstream flooding later in the year.

"Sometimes we are at the mercy of Mother Nature," Zehringer said referring to a possible drought year following a drawdown. "Sometimes we can look very intelligent with our decisions and sometimes not so."

The state plans to update restroom and shower facilities at Grand Lake St. Marys State Park and other state parks. State funds for a splash pad and larger cement pads for bigger campers at the campground in St. Marys also are possible, he said.

"We are getting estimates," he said of the splash pad. "If that happens, we hope to have that in yet for this season."

The state continues to work to entice visitors to Grand Lake through promotional videos and other means, he said. The once hugely popular recreational lake has suffered the loss of visitors and millions in tourism dollars due to water quality concerns.

The state is creating regional videos highlighting Ohio's state parks, including a segment on Grand Lake, Zehringer said.