Chesapeake Bay News

A series of public forums will be held throughout December on the recently released draft strategy for restoring the Chesapeake Bay, a document required by a Presidential Executive Order issued in May 2009.  The public forums will feature officials from multiple federal agencies including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Public feedback is important and valuable to the federal agencies. Comments may be submitted online at http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net by clicking on “provide comments.” The public comment period runs through January 8, 2010. The draft strategy, also available on the website, will evolve through public comments, state consultations and agency revisions before the final strategy is published in May 2010.

The public can also submit questions about the draft strategy by recording a 30-second or less video and uploading it to YouTube with a tag of “chesapeakebayeo.”  A selection of these video questions will be used at the public forums and for an online question-and-answer session with federal officials in January. People can also join conversations about the draft strategy on Facebook by visiting the Chesapeake Bay Executive Order page and clicking on discussions. Additionally, updates on Executive Order news are available through Twitter by following @chesapeakebayeo.

Public Forum Schedule

District of Columbia: Tuesday, December 1 – 7:00-8:30 pm

Penn Quarter Conference Center, 701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20004

Watch a live webcast at http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net

Maryland: Wednesday, December 2 – 7:00-8:30 pm

National Aquarium in Baltimore (Auditorium), 501 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202

Delmarva Peninsula: Thursday, December 3 – 7:00-8:30 pm

Wicomico County Civic Center (Midway Room), 500 Glen Avenue, Salisbury, MD 21804

West Virginia: Tuesday, December 8 – 7:00-8:30 pm

Holiday Inn Martinsburg, 301 Foxcroft Avenue, Martinsburg, WV 25401

New York: Thursday, December 10 – 7:00-8:30 pm

Holiday Inn Binghamton-Downtown Hotel, 2-8 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13901

Pennsylvania: Tuesday, December 15 – 7:00-8:30 pm

Farm Show Complex & Event Center (Banquet Hall), 2301 North Cameron Street, Harrisburg, PA 17110

Virginia: Thursday, December 17 – 7:00-8:30 pm

Nauticus National Maritime Center (Auditorium), One Waterside Drive, Norfolk, VA 23510

On May 12, President Obama issued Executive Order 13508 on Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration, the first-ever presidential directive on the Bay and the first environmental Executive Order by President Obama. The order established a Federal Leadership Committee, chaired by the U.S. EPA, and with senior representatives from the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Interior and Transportation. These agencies generated seven draft reports in September 2009 that contained recommendations for addressing key challenges facing the Chesapeake Bay and watershed.

These draft reports were integrated into a draft strategy that was released on November 9. The draft strategy contains a package of federal initiatives to restore clean water, conserve treasured places, protect fish and wildlife, and adapt to the impacts of climate change. These objectives will be accomplished by empowering local efforts, making decisions based on science and forging a new era of federal leadership and accountability. Close collaboration of efforts with the six states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the District of Columbia is also critical.

source: EPA press release

The U.S. EPA will hold a public meeting next Monday, Nov. 16, from 10 a.m. to 12: 30 p.m. in Washington, D.C. to outline the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) – a strict “pollution diet” to restore local waters and the Chesapeake Bay.

The meeting, the third in a series of public meetings between early November and mid-December, will be held at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, 777 North Capitol St., NE, Suite 300. For more information on the full meeting schedule, visit www.epa.gov/chesapeakebaytmdl.

Expanded action and increased accountability by the federal government are the focus of a draft strategy for restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay required by President Obama’s Executive Order. To accelerate efforts and track progress, federal agencies are committing to meet milestones every two years, leading to all activities needed to restore the Chesapeake Bay and watershed being in place no later than 2025.

The draft strategy, released, 11/9/2009, contains a comprehensive package of federal initiatives to restore clean water, conserve treasured places, protect fish and wildlife, and adapt to the impacts of climate change. These objectives will be accomplished by empowering local efforts, making decisions based on science and forging a new era of federal leadership and accountability. Close collaboration of efforts with the six states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the District of Columbia will also be critical.

“President Obama has declared that the Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure and committed to a robust cleanup effort. Setting two-year benchmarks for progress will ensure that our actions are getting the results the President and the public expect,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “This is the broadest and most publicly accountable cleanup effort ever seen on the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. It’s time for a new era of decisive federal leadership, and new partnerships with state government, nonprofits, the private sector and residents who have all been working to create a cleaner Bay.”

Public comment on the draft strategy is important to the federal agencies and will shape the final strategy. The formal public comment period is from November 9, 2009 to January 8, 2010. The draft strategy can be accessed at http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net and the public can click on “provide comments” to formally submit feedback through www.regulations.gov. The draft strategy will evolve significantly through public comments, state consultations and agency revisions before the final strategy is published in May 2010.

To restore clean water, EPA will create a framework for performance and accountability to guide federal and state pollution control programs, and expand regulatory tools to reduce pollution from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and urban and suburban runoff. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will intensively target voluntary conservation incentives at high priority areas. New emphasis is also placed on improving stormwater management on federal land and reducing polluted runoff from transportation infrastructure.

“Maintaining healthy, sustainable farms and forests is an essential component to protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “Our focus is on increasing economic viability, strengthening markets for local foods, improving water quality and protecting the natural landscape.”

The draft strategy contains numerous initiatives to conserve natural places, animal habitats and fish and wildlife. For example, the Department of the Interior will pursue development of a Chesapeake Treasured Landscapes Initiative to support state and local efforts to conserve and restore the environmental, historic, cultural and recreational value of many of the region’s wetlands, river corridors and open spaces. The department will look for opportunities to expand or create new units of the National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, National Wild and Scenic Rivers system and National Historic Trails system.

“Our proposed initiative will build upon the existing partnerships with states, local communities, conservation organizations and other stakeholders to undertake projects that will not only conserve the Chesapeake Bay but will lead to its restoration as one of the great natural wonders of our country,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “We have a big toolbox full of conservation actions and we plan to use it.”

One challenge to restoration is climate change, which scientists project will have a variety of impacts on the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed, including rising sea levels, warmer water and air temperatures, and stronger storms. NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey are leading the development of the federal strategy for adapting to climate change impacts in the Bay.

“Science shows that Chesapeake Bay habitats and living resources are already being affected by climate change,” said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator. “We need to adapt to climate change to ensure that the places and things we care about – like wetlands that serve as nurseries for fish and crabs and coastal communities that are vulnerable to sea level rise – can be addressed in our restoration efforts.”

NOAA and the Army Corps of Engineers will also lead a revitalized effort to recover native oyster reefs and establish self-sustaining native oyster reef sanctuaries in key tributaries by 2020.

The draft strategy emphasizes the need to empower local efforts because local governments, watershed organizations and residents have a great interest and ability to restore the environment. Federal agencies will expand technical assistance and resources, and support development of innovative technologies to reduce pollution and economic markets for ecosystem services. A Chesapeake Conservation Corps will be pursued to increase citizen stewardship, and public education will engage people in protecting local waterways.

Federal agencies have also developed a suite of accountability and transparency measures, led by ChesapeakeStat, an online tool that will identify restoration projects, funding and progress, and be publicly accessible. The draft strategy also calls for an annual plan for spending; reporting on environmental health and restoration progress, potentially through the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Bay Barometer; and an independent evaluation of federal efforts.

On May 12, President Obama issued Executive Order 13508 on Chesapeake Bay Restoration and Protection, the first-ever presidential directive on the Bay and the first environmental Executive Order by President Obama. The order established a Federal Leadership Committee, chaired by EPA, and with senior representatives from the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Interior and Transportation. These agencies generated draft reports in September 2009 with recommendations for addressing issues such as water quality, public access, landscape conservation, climate change, scientific monitoring and the protection of living resources. These draft reports were integrated into the draft strategy, which must be finalized by May 12, 2010.

The Chesapeake Executive Council has announced a new course for recovery of the Chesapeake Bay that will use short-term goals to dramatically accelerate the cleanup, increase government accountability and provide clean water in streams, creeks and rivers throughout the watershed. Restoration will also be greatly intensified by an Executive Order issued by President Barack Obama, who has declared the Chesapeake Bay a national treasure and deepened the federal commitment to restoring the estuary.

The new course for the restoration effort was announced at Historic Mount Vernon, Virginia, at the annual meeting of the Chesapeake Executive Council, which establishes the policy agenda for the Chesapeake Bay Program. Participating in the meeting were top executives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Department of Agriculture; the states of Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, West Virginia; the District of Columbia; and the Chesapeake Bay Commission.

Instead of pursuing a distant deadline, the Chesapeake Bay Program will now focus on short-term goals every two years for reducing pollution, called milestones, with the first milestone on December 31, 2011. Many states will significantly increase the pace of cleanup. Watershed-wide, the rate of progress in reducing nitrogen will accelerate by 77 percent, for a projected reduction of 15.8 million pounds. The rate of progress in reducing phosphorus will increase by 79 percent, for a projected reduction of 1.1 million pounds. By meeting biennial milestones, all pollution control measures necessary for a restored Bay will be in place no later than 2025.

“We have charted a new course for the Chesapeake Bay’s recovery that will succeed because it includes the short-term goals necessary to make steady progress and is backed by federal and state leaders who share a profound conviction to protect our environment,” said Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine, chairman of the Executive Council. “It is our obligation to invest in clean water for communities today and future generations.”

President Obama’s Executive Order makes restoration of the Chesapeake Bay a greater national priority and contains many provisions, which include establishing a Bay federal leadership committee, directing EPA to fully use its Clean Water Act authorities, reducing water pollution from federal property, developing a Chesapeake Bay climate change strategy, improving agricultural conservation practices and expanding public access to the Bay.

Further federal action is coming from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is creating the Chesapeake Bay TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load). The TMDL is essentially a pollution diet for the Bay that will drive the six states and D.C. to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus entering waterways. Under the Executive Order, the EPA will also be developing strategies to ensure compliance and enforcement with pollution laws throughout the watershed. Additionally, the Clean Air Interstate Rule will reduce nitrogen pollution to the Bay by an estimated 10 million pounds annually beginning in 2010.

“This Executive Order is a strong signal of the President’s commitment to restoring this national treasure which is so vital to the environment, the local economies and the way of life for millions of people,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We are bringing the full weight of this partnership to bear on this challenge, and I am extraordinarily hopeful about what we can accomplish working together.”

The restoration effort will also be invigorated by an unprecedented level of funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Farm Bill, which are providing hundreds of millions of dollars to federal agencies involved in restoration and states in the watershed.

Government accountability is a critical component of the new approach to restoration. Progress can be tracked through the two-year milestones, Chesapeake Bay TMDL and Bay Barometer, the partnership’s annual report on Bay health and restoration efforts. Also, the Executive Council has requested an independent evaluation of the Chesapeake Bay Program and the National Academy of Sciences was selected to fill this role.

At the meeting, Executive Council members called for support from local governments, watershed groups and the region’s 17 million residents. Restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and the watershed’s thousands of streams, creeks and rivers will not be possible without everyone taking personal responsibility for their impact on the water. The public can help reduce pollution by taking simple actions, such as not fertilizing lawns, installing rain barrels and rain gardens, planting native trees, picking up after pets and volunteering for watershed groups.

“Partners of the Chesapeake Bay Program have launched an ambitious new course to restore the Chesapeake Bay and, most importantly, to hold ourselves accountable for progress,” said Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. “We are also calling on our citizens to work at the local level to improve water quality by reducing pollution from their property and neighborhoods. Each of us reaps the benefits of this magnificent estuary, and each of us has a responsibility to contribute to its recovery.”

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), the Virginia State Waterman’s Association, the Maryland Watermen’s Association, the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen’s Association, former Maryland Governor Harry Hughes, retired Maryland Senator Bernie Fowler, former Virginia legislator and Natural Resources Secretary Tayloe Murphy, and former Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams today notified the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that they intend to go to federal court to force EPA to require pollution reduction in the Chesapeake Bay. Today’s notice letter is required for any citizen lawsuit against EPA to enforce the Clean Water Act.

“Over the last 25 years Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts have been littered with promises broken and commitments unfulfilled,” said CBF President William C. Baker. “It is time that EPA either step up to the plate, or be held legally accountable for its failure to comply with the law and fulfill the commitment to reduce pollution sufficiently to have the Bay removed from the federal “dirty waters” list by 2010.”

“When I signed the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement, I believed that the goal of removing the Bay and its tidal tributaries from the Clean Water Act impaired waters list by 2010 was a binding commitment of all the signatories including the United States,” Anthony Williams said.

EPA has admitted that with current programs and policies in place, the goal will not be achieved. Officials are now discussing pushing the Bay clean-up goal back another 12 years.

“There have now been three agreements and three failures, and while government may be well intentioned, more delay is unacceptable,” Bernie Fowler said. “It hurts my heart that we may be standing by at the deathwatch of this national treasure.”

CBF and its allies are calling on the EPA Administrator to establish a deadline of 2010 to have programs and funding in place to achieve the pollution reduction goal, to achieve 80 percent of the goal by 2012, and to complete the task by 2015. In addition there must be serious consequences for missing those deadlines.

“If the signatories to the numerous Chesapeake Bay agreements, especially the 2000 agreement, are not held accountable for the commitments made in those agreements, the Bay will never be saved,” Tayloe Murphy said. “Contracts are made to be performed, not ignored.”

Bay scientists have determined that in 2008 the Bay suffered the fourth worst “dead zone” since 1985. Pollution is also a major factor in the decline of the Chesapeake Bay’s crab population, which is near historic lows. As a result, Maryland and Virginia have had to severely limit the commercial crab harvest, putting many watermen out of work.

“The continuing degradation of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries has reached the point that it is imperative that dramatic measures be taken to improve water quality,” said Virginia Watermen’s Association President Ken Smith. “Over the last 35 years, the number of working watermen in Virginia has dropped from 8,000 to less than 3,000. Pollution is robbing us of our livelihood, our way of life, and the ability of our children to carry on a proud tradition.”

It’s not just watermen who are affected. When the broader impact on restaurants, crab processors, wholesalers, grocers, and watermen is all added up, the decline of crabs in the Bay meant a cumulative loss to Maryland and Virginia of more than 4,400 jobs between 1998 and 2006 (the most recent year for which this economic data is available). That doesn’t include 2007 and 2008, both poor years for crab harvests.

“Economic health and the health of the environment go hand in hand,” said former Maryland Governor Harry Hughes. “What is needed now is a sense of urgency, not more delay.”

The legal action targets the EPA because it is the lead agency in enforcement of the Clean Water Act. It is being taken now to offer the EPA one last opportunity to take responsibility for the water quality commitments made in the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement. If EPA fails to respond, the issue will be front and center for the next administration.

“We are doing this because we’re backed into a corner. We’ve all been preaching to clean the bay up, with no results,” Larry Simns said. “We’re at a crucial point here, unless we do something now we’re going to lose the Bay completely.”

source: Chesapeake Bay Foundation press release