The message is loud and clear from Gov. Mike DeWine—investing in water quality makes good business sense.
In early February, Gov. DeWine rolled out the State of Ohio’s FY 2022-2023 biennial budget. On water quality, he was crystal clear when he said, “You’re going see H2Ohio fully funded.”
“…it includes not only the building of more wetlands, […] money for farmers to use best practices […] and the Ohio EPA is getting additional funds so we can help some of our smaller communities that are having a difficult time having good water, clean water, good sewage systems. It’s a continuation of what we started before the pandemic”
The proposed increase for H2Ohio brings funding to about $250 million for FY 2022-2023 across four agencies: Ohio Department of Agriculture, Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Agency and Lake Erie Commission. The goal of the additional funding is to “address critical water quality needs and innovative solutions for some of the state’s most pressing water challenges,” according to the Executive Budget Summary released in February.
Ohio Water Partnership and our members are extremely encouraged by this announcement and look forward to discussing this and other water related policies initiatives as budget talks continue.