...dense populations of algae, which contain toxins and can harm fish and humans, have especially been growing in the western basin of Lake Erie, around bays in Ohio, prompting a Pennsylvania senator to ask the Environmental Protection Agency for help. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey sent a letter to the EPA in December, encouraging the agency to work to improve the water quality in Lake Erie.
"I am greatly concerned about the status of the algae and its potential effect on the commonwealth of Pennsylvania," Casey said in the letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.
An EPA regional administrator responded with a letter this month saying Jackson shares Casey's concerns. Susan Hedman wrote that in Jackson's capacity as chairwoman of the Great Lakes Inter-Agency Task Force, she recently identified "the reduction of algae blooms" as a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative priority.
