A Lucas County-sponsored report will be released today that looks at using federal and state agencies, legislation, and legal resources for solutions to the harmful algae blooms in Lake Erie that shut down the city of Toledo’s water supply.

Two legal experts — a University of Toledo law professor and a Montana lawyer who specializes in public-interest environmental litigation — were commissioned by the county commissioners to develop the report, which gives recommendations for tackling the phosphorus load that contributes to the summer algal blooms in the lake.

The commissioners will release the report, “Moving Forward: Legal Solutions to Lake Erie’s Harmful Algal Blooms,” during a news conference today at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in East Toledo.

The report suggests using the 1972 federal Clean Air Act and state water pollution laws coupled with the authority of agencies such as the Ohio and U.S. Environmental Protection Agencies, and the Ohio Department of Agriculture and Ohio Department of Natural Resources to address regulating the sources of nutrients going into the lake.

It also recommends a regional approach involving Ohio and other states in the Maumee River watershed to work on the problem, and uses the multistate efforts and executive orders that are being used to reduce phosphorus in Chesapeake Bay.

“The suggestions that emerge from this report is that by a regional approach utilizing the legal tools at hand and possibly developing new legislation and executive orders to make long-term improvements to the lake,” County Commissioner Carol Contrada said.

A conference hosted by the commissioners will follow with the legal experts who developed the report and recommendations in attendance.

“There will be an executive summary and detailed description of findings in the report with recommendations on what we can do regionally to address water quality in Lake Erie,” Mrs. Contrada said.

The authors of the report are Jack Tuholske, a visiting professor at University of Montana Law School and Vermont Law School, as well as the director of the Vermont Law School Water and Justice Program, and Kenneth Kilbert, a UT law professor who is director of the Legal Institute of the Great Lakes.

“This report is really the first of its kind. It brings together the tools and things we can actually implement on a regional basis,” Mrs. Contrada said.

Contact Mark Reiter at: markreiter@theblade.com or 419-724-6199.

First Published April 15, 2015, 4:00 a.m.