A Chance to restore the Chesapeake Bay
The EPA considers new pollution limits
This could be a game-changing year for the Chesapeake Bay. On May 12, President Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies to create a new plan of action to restore the bay to health. To capitalize on this moment, federal officials will have to turn from the largely voluntary measures of the past to accountability for polluters and enforcement of strong standards.
Environment Maryland reached out to tens of thousands of people across Maryland, collected more than 7,000 postcard petitions in support of enforceable pollution limits, and mobilized 435 bay residents to attend an impassioned town hall meeting in August with senior EPA officials.
On Sept. 10, the EPA released their draft report, the first step in the planning process. We were excited to see a commitment to stronger implementation of the EPA’s currently authorized regulations, as well as to better enforcement of state and federal policies to crack down on pollution.
Environment Maryland will also be pressing Congress to act. Sen. Ben Cardin is taking the lead with a bill strengthening accountability for bay restoration. We are working with our partner groups in other bay watershed states to build the votes for this essential legislation.
A natural treasure
Home to blue crabs, bald eagles and thousands of other native species, the bay is our state’s treasure and a beautiful destination to boat, fish, swim, hike and camp.
But big chicken companies like Tyson and Perdue, developers like Ryan Homes and sewage treatment plants are polluting the bay without consequence—turning up to a third of the bay every summer into a dead zone where almost nothing can survive.
Due to a lack of effective accountability, nitrogen pollution is still 40 percent higher than what the bay can handle—despite 25 years of largely voluntary cleanup measures.
We should continue supporting farmers who plant buffer zones and helping finance sewage treatment upgrades. But we also need to hold all polluters accountable to strict pollution limits.
