Gov. John Kasich today signed a bill aimed at protecting Lake Erie and Ohio’s water quality. 

He signed Senate Bill 1 at Maumee Bay State Park in Oregon.  

The House and Senate on March 21 unanimously approved the bill, which restricts spreading manure and other fertilizers that contribute to toxic algae blooms, moves away from open-lake dumping of dredged material, and increases monitoring at water-treatment plants.

The bill prohibits spreading manure and other fertilizers with phosphorous and nitrogen when ground is frozen, snow-covered, or saturated. It also prohibits spreading manure if the forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of half an inch of precipitation over 24 hours or, for granular fertilizers, an inch over 12 hours.

It also requires public water treatment plants handling 1 million or more gallons a day to monthly monitor phosphorous levels beginning Dec. 1, 2016.

It was sponsored by Sens. Randy Gardner (R., Bowling Green) and Bob Peterson (R., Sabina) and takes effect 90 days after the governor signs it.

First Published April 2, 2015, 6:30 p.m.