Every year, Chuck commits to traveling to all62 counties in New York to meet with constituents.
On May 5, 2014 Schumer visited the Erie Basin Marina to discuss the effects of Blue Green Algae on drinking water and tourism. He urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to act quickly to curb the threat that toxic algae in Lake Erie is posing to Western New York drinking water. Schumer explained that conditions are ripe for a record algae bloom in Lake Erie and that the toxins that this algae produces, cyanotoxins, have the potential to contaminate local drinking water because local water treatment plants do not have direction about how to test for the presence of cyanotoxins or how to filter them out. Schumer noted that cyanotoxins have been listed on the EPA's list of potential contaminants to regulate since 2011, but since it still has not been added to the official contaminant list, the EPA has not provided the direction that local water treatment plants need to effectively prevent cyanotoxins from entering drinking water. Schumer explained that over a dozen countries including Canada currently test drinking water for cyanotoxins, but to date the EPA has not issued guidance on testing in the United States. Therefore, Schumer urged the EPA to regulate cyanotoxins and provide guidance to local water treatment plants. Schumer also urged the USDA to designate the Great Lakes as a Critical Conservation Area, a new designation authorized in the 2014 Farm Bill, which would give farmers dedicated funding and assistance to help prevent the runoff that is one of the causes of the algae growth.