Twenty new rules pertaining to manure and fertilizer runoff could be in effect by the end of this month.  Several media entities have covered the story:

From WCSM:

Mike Shelton from ODNR discusses
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From the Daily Standard:

A legislative committee on Monday cleared the way for new rules restricting some farmers from spreading manure on frozen land to prevent it from running off into Grand Lake and other waters.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources hopes to have the rules in place before the end of the year. It can now move forward with the plan after the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) determined the agency has the authority to do so.
 
Mike Shelton of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) said of the 20 new rules, ODNR will not be able to require two of those – one that requires watershed farmers to have a nutrient management plan and another banning manure application between Dec. 15 and March 1 – until the Ohio Soil and Water Conservation Commission places a "distressed" designation on the Grand Lake Watershed. Shelton said the commission is expected to meet Jan. 18 to take that action.
 
The manure spreading ban would be phased in over the next two years, during which time farmers would be required to follow what are currently voluntary best management practices outlined by the USDA between Dec. 15 and March 1. The complete ban between those dates would become affective Jan. 18, 2013.

From Businessweek:

…Environmental advocates on Monday told the committee that the winter ban was critical to stopping the manure from flowing into the Grand Lake St. Marys’ watershed after the snow melts, the ground thaws and the spring rainfall begins.

The 13,500-acre lake is used for recreation and drinking water. Its watershed covers more than 59,000 acres.

"Without a change in the current system, it is not hard to believe that the worst is yet to come," said Bill Ringo, vice president of the Friends for the Preservation of Ohio State Parks Association.

Once the department’s regulations take effect, farmers in the areas impacted by manure run-off would have two years before they would be banned from putting it on their fields. During that two-year period, they would be required to follow federal guidelines for manure application and develop a plan for how to get rid of and apply manure in the future.

Currently, the federal guidelines are only suggested best practices.

Ringo took issue with the timing of winter manure ban, saying it should be in place more immediately. Another advocate, Thomas Rampe, said the restrictions should extend from Nov. 15 to April 1, instead of the Dec. 15 to March 1 period the department outlined.

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