New Ohio rules aimed at reducing manure run-off

COLUMBUS (AP) — Some farmers will be banned from spreading manure on frozen land under new rules put in place today by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

The new regulations stem from a summer outbreak of toxic algae that led to water warnings and a decline in tourism at the state’s largest inland lake.

Grand Lake St. Marys in western Ohio is one of the state’s most polluted because of run-off of manure and fertilizer from nearby farms.

The natural resources agency today designated the lake a distressed watershed, triggering the new rules on manure.

Farmers in the lake’s watershed area will have two years before they are banned from putting manure on their fields during the winter months. In the meantime, they’ll now have to follow federal guidelines that had been suggested best practices for manure.