Restore the Chesapeake Bay
Our members helped us convince Gov. Martin O'Malley to compose a tough new plan to restore the Chesapeake Bay. It's our best chance in years to restore the Bay — and it's time for the rubber to hit the road.
It's our chance to finally clean the Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the world's most productive estuary — but the volume of pollution entering its fragile ecosystem is staggering. In fact, every summer, up to one-third of the Bay's water becomes a "dead zone," where almost nothing can survive.
Last year, after mobilizing public support, we were able to convince Gov. Martin O'Malley and the EPA to compose a promising new plan to clean the Bay and cut pollution back to safe levels by 2020.
But the restoration plan can only with of Gov. O'Malley stands strong and enforces the new rules.
With your help, we'll keep pushing to make the Bay cleanup a success.
Real solutions for the Bay
The new cleanup strategy is simple. The EPA has set the pollution limits, and states need to write, implement and enforce plans to achieve and maintain those limits. Under the new framework, states, including Maryland, will need to meet biennial benchmarks for pollution reduction practices. This is a smart approach we should have been using all along — and it's crucial we're finally doing it.
In short, Maryland's new plan to restore the Chesapeake Bay requires all polluters to significantly reduce waste flowing into the Bay and its source waters. If we're ever going to truly restore the Bay, we need the governor to properly enforce the plan. And today, well-connected agribusinesses and politically powerful developers are fighting the cleanup plan in federal court.
With your activism and our advocacy, we can protect the Chesapeake Bay
We refuse to let developers and agribusinesses foul our natural heritage — and we have a plan to make sure Gov. O'Malley's cleanup plan gets fully implemented and enforced, loophole-free. We're bringing together Marylanders from all walks of life to protect the Bay. All of us — fishers, swimmers, tourism businesses and Marylanders across the state — have something to fight for.
Our citizen outreach staff has been knocking on doors across the state since May to educate Marylanders about what's at stake. We're also testifying in Annapolis, educating lawmakers, and shining a splotlight in the media on the need to curb the flow of polluted runoff into the Bay from factory farms.
Click here to join our campaign, and urge Gov. O'Malley to get serious about restoring the Bay.
As polluters protest the new rules, urge Gov. Martin O'Malley to enforce his Bay restoration plan in full.
Key Facts
- Every summer, pollution creates a dead zone in up to one-third of the Bay, where almost nothing can survive.
- 300 million chickens are raised in Maryland every year, resulting in 600 million pounds of manure in the Bay every year.
- The Bay is the world's most productive estuary, home to bald eagles, blue crabs, and thousands of other species.
- Thanks in part to our advocacy, Gov. Martin O'Malley crafted a strong cleanup plan for the Bay in 2010.