Lake Erie Toxic Algae Bloom Builds; Oklahoma Civil Forfeiture Rules
This Aug. 3, 2014 file photo shows Algae near the City of Toledo water intake crib, in Lake Erie, about 2.5 miles off the shore of Curtice, Ohio. Haraz N. Ghanbari / AP File Photo
Also: Tennessee vs. the feds and Sacramento overgrown-weeds fees double.
Here’s what we’ve been reading this weekend ...
TOLEDO, Ohio: A strong algal bloom in western Lake Erie has been building this summer and is continuing to spread toward the Toledo area.
According to NOAA, this summer’s algae severity index for Lake Erie is expected to hit 8.7 on a scale of 10, compared with last year’s measurements that reached 6.5. The algae outbreak is hardly a new phenomenon. However, scientists said recent heavy rains across northern Ohio have washed more nutrients into the lake – nutrients that cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, thrive on.
Last summer, authorities discovered that the toxic algae made its way into Toledo area’s drinking water supply and the public was warned not to consume the water for a few days in August. [WHIO-TV]
NORMAN, Oklahoma: The Sooner State’s civil forfeiture laws, which allow law enforcement to seize property and assets believed to be used in a crime regardless of whether charges are filed. If owners fail to end up filing claims to reclaim the seized assets, they either stay with the law enforcement agency or with prosecutors. As KGOU reports, the state doesn’t always follow the law on civil forfeiture, including the use of civil forfeiture funding for things like student loans. One state senator wants a law requiring prosecution for assets to be seized through civil forfeitures. [KGOU]
BALTIMORE, Maryland: County officials in Maryland are reviewing how a recent circuit court ruling in Montgomery County might impact the legality of their own stormwater impact fees that are assessed on property owners to help reduce runoff in local waterways. "My concern is that we may be in a similar situation," Vincent Gardina, Baltimore county’s director of environmental protection and sustainability, told The Sun. Stormwater management fees are use in the city of Baltimore and the state’s nine-largest counties. [The Sun]
SACRAMENTO, California: After a grass fire that started on a vacant lot in California’s capital city, municipal authorities have doubled the fines for property owners who don’t have overgrown weeds and dry grasses mowed, according to The Sacramento Bee. “It is really a serious situation,” city spokeswoman Linda Tucker told the newspaper. “With this hot, dry weather, it’s too dangerous to be waiting around for someone to mow their property.” [Sacramento Bee]
NASHVILLE, Tennessee: Attorney General Herbert Slatery announced last week that his stat was joining Ohio and Michigan in opposing a federal environmental rule that gives the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers broad power over smaller streams and wetlands, according to The Tennessean:
That, the complaint said, is a “sweeping” overreach that could burden farmers and other landowners with extra bureaucracy — though on Friday, Slatery's office could not provide a specific example of a waterway or wetland that they believe would now fall under federal authority.
Michael Grass is Executive Editor of Government Executive's Route Fifty.
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