Governor Pence Lauds Environmental Progress on Lake Erie Basin

Administration has made great progress in first two years, says Gov. Mike Pence

Indianapolis – Governor Mike Pence issued the following statement regarding the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers 2015 Leadership Summit.

“I commend Lieutenant Governor Ellspermann for her leadership in representing Indiana at the summit in Quebec City, and I am proud of Indiana’s efforts to clean up our waterways and protect the Great Lakes. 

“Since the beginning of my administration, Indiana has made great progress in reducing the amount of phosphorus entering the Lake Erie basin. Multiple state agencies, including the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management have worked tirelessly with the Indiana Conservation Partnership and our local stakeholders to implement voluntary programs designed to reduce phosphorus in our waterways.

“Since 2013, the Indiana Conservation Partnership has implemented more than 7,400 projects along the six Indiana counties lying within the Western Lake Erie Basin. These projects have resulted in an estimated reduction of more than 112,000 pounds of phosphorus in the Lake Erie Basin. These efforts represent only part of the broader 2.5 million pounds of phosphorus reduced statewide since early 2013. We are proud of the progress of these programs and look to build on them in the coming years.

“Indiana remains committed to reducing the amount of phosphorus entering our waterways and I applaud those involved because their efforts have produced results.”

The Canadian Province of Ontario as well as Michigan and Ohio entered into the Western Basin of Lake Erie Collaborative Agreement today that uses 2008 phosphorus data as a baseline to reduce phosphorus entering Lake Erie’s western basin by 40 percent by the year 2025. Because Indiana does not have sufficient phosphorus data for 2008, the state opted to decline in signing the agreement.

The Indiana Conservation Partnership is comprised of eight federal and state partner agencies: the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service, the State Soil Conservation Board, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.