A federal district court has granted a temporary injunction on the city of Toledo’s recent action that gives Lake Erie its own legal rights.
Known as the Lake Erie Bill of Rights, the measure amended the city charter in a way that gave the lake and its waters the right to “exist, flourish and naturally evolve.” Supporters saw the bill of rights as a way of protecting the lake from farm nutrient runoff and harmful algal blooms. But farmers, and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, have warned that the definitions are too loose, and that giving a lake its own legal standing through one city’s laws, is likely unconstitutional. District Judge Jack Zouhary granted the injunction in a March 18 decision, effectively putting any enforcement of LEBOR on pause, until further review. | READ MORE
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