Plan unclear on paying for cleaner Ohio water

   COLUMBUS, Ohio --

Ohio environmental regulators want the state to take steps over the next 10 years to reduce pollution they say is creating lake algae and threatening drinking water, fish and recreation.

   But a draft of a clean-water plan released Tuesday by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency doesn't explain who pays for measures to curb farm runoff and improve sewers and storm drains, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

   The proposal would weigh possible remedies against the costs. The EPA writes that the expense cannot be overlooked, especially in the current economic climate.

   Anthony Sasson with the Nature Conservancy in Ohio said the costs of not acting also are big.

   The Dispatch reports that pollution is harming almost half of Ohio's waterways, and said Lake Erie and inland lakes have been plagued by algae.