September 8: Kaptur Welcomes EPA Projects in Lucas County Under Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

The University of Toledo will study the feasibility of tile drain caps as a way to reduce contamination of waterways by contaminants from biosolids that are applied to farm fields in northwest Ohio.

Another project ($250,000) will enhance plant and wildlife habitat in western Lake Erie through the beneficial use of dredged sediment. The Toledo Harbor Sediment Management Plan will also be completed, resultingin detailed plans to manage all material that is dredged from the Toledo Harbor shipping channels.

A third project, totaling $168,000, will reforest Maumee Bay State Park in Lucas County and Mary Jane Thurston State Park, which is located on the south bank of the Maumee in both Henry and Wood counties. The ash tree populations at both parks have been decimated by an invasive species, the emerald ash borer. At least 500 replacement trees are needed to replace damaged trees that have been removed at Maumee Bay State Park.