Lake Erie Bill Of Rights Invalidated By Federal Judge

TOLEDO, OH — A federal judge invalidated the Lake Erie Bill of Rights last week, saying the body of water's health falls outside municipal jurisdictions. A Toledo farming collective had sued to stop the lake-protection measure from being enforced, and the state of Ohio — led by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost — joined the case to stop the legislation from being enacted.

The Lake Erie Bill of Rights was an anti-pollution legislative package approved by the voters of Toledo, giving residents and city officials the right to sue anyone who polluted the lake.

The ruling to invalidate the legislation was rendered Thursday by U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary. His ruling was praised by Yost and derided by the citizen-led Toledoans for Safe Water.

“Today we find that Zouhary’s ruling lacks the courage needed to create a just system and thriving community,” said Crystal Jankowski of Toledoans for Safe Water. “In the words of Howard Zinn, ‘Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience.’ Our children's future is on the line, and you have the choice to remain willfully ignorant or take action. ”

History of Lake Erie's Bill of Rights

Residents in Toledo began agitating for safer, cleaner drinking water after toxic algae blooms rendered municipal water undrinkable for three days in 2014, Zouhary notes in his decision. Over several years, citizens groups lobbied for a Lake Erie Bill of Rights, which stated that the lake had a right to flourish, unpolluted.

Organizers collected more than 10,000 signatures to place the Bill of Rights on the city ballot in February 2019. Residents passed the measure, with nearly 60 percent of the vote favoring the measure.

One day after the election, the Drewes Farms Partnership, which operates in four counties around Toledo, sued to stop the legislation from going into effect. On Dec. 9, Zouhary issued a preliminary injunction to stop the city from enforcing the Lake Erie Bill of Rights.

According to Zouhary's decision, the Lake Erie Bill of Rights invalidated state laws, regulations, licenses and permits that conflicted with the legislation. It also made rules for a body of water that extended beyond Toledo, beyond Lucas County and beyond Ohio. He saw this as municipal overreach. Toledoans for Safe Water said the state's claim actually validates what organizers have been saying: Legal pollution, permitted by the state, has damaged Lake Erie.

"Judge Zouhary is helping to expose the truth about who and what the laws protect," said TSW organizer Hilary Tore. "It's not people and communities. It's not nature. This decision will help fuel momentum as more and more people understand what is at stake — and the system that is trying to stop us. As our values evolve as a society, our laws will follow."

Yost said Zouhary was correct when he assessed the Lake Erie Bill of Rights as being outside the scope of a municipality's power.

“Let’s save Lake Erie — but do it legally,” said Yost, whose office represented the state in the case. “As Judge Zouhary said, the Lake Erie Bill of Rights is ‘a textbook example of what municipal government cannot do.’”

Toledoans for Safe Water issued a full statement on Facebook following Zouhary's decision. That statement is below.