Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who has been critical of Pennsylvania’s performance on meeting Chesapeake Bay cleanup goals in the past, has again prodded the Keystone State to do more to reach clean-water goals.
In a letter addressed to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, Hogan wrote that Maryland has “alarming concerns” regarding Pennsylvania’s progress on meeting clean-water goals by 2025.
Specifically, Hogan wrote that Pennsylvania’s plans fall “far short” of the federally established nitrogen levels, achieving just 73% of the required reduction. Hogan said that Pennsylvania’s plan features what he called “a troubling funding gap of over $300 million annually.”
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation issued a statement supporting Hogan’s call for Pennsylvania to do more. The source of pollution from Pennsylvania is generated by agricultural operations, according to the foundation.
Pennsylvania isn’t alone in contributing to problems with water quality in the Bay. The foundation said that most pollution affecting the watershed comes from Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania, though Pennsylvania has lagged in meeting benchmarks to cut pollution.
WTOP has contacted Wolf’s office for comment.
Hogan is chair of the Chesapeake Executive Council, a group comprising the governors of the six states within the Chesapeake Bay watershed (Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York and West Virginia), the EPA administrator and the D.C. mayor.
The council will meet Sept. 5 in Oxon Hill.
