The clock is ticking on a 2025 deadline for a cleaner Chesapeake Bay, and while some regional spots have not fully met their goals, an EPA official said “overall, things are moving in the right direction.”
Every two years, the Chesapeake Bay Program — a partnership between Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York and West Virginia — issues a “milestone report” to document progress on its bay cleanup goals.
According to the latest report, there’s “incremental progress” across the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed.
But Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz told WTOP there are some standout signs of progress: “The University of Maryland put out a report a month ago, and our report confirms that Pennsylvania farmers have been stepping up. And the water has been getting cleaner in that upstream area.”
Ortiz was referring to the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and Watershed Report Card released in July. That report card gave the bay a C+, the highest grade since 2002.
Progress by Pennsylvania is important, said Ortiz, because, “that means that the downstream area’s cleaner.”
“We’re seeing improvements in the Chesapeake Bay,” he said, adding that the impact oysters, mussels and the bay grasses have been critical to the health of the bay.
Ortiz said in the past, there was a “blame game” among jurisdictions, and that Pennsylvania had been singled out.
Pennsylvania has invested more than $200 million toward reducing pollution into the bay, he said. The state has also passed a bill that sets standards on the use of fertilizer, which contributes to creating algal blooms that can generate “dead zones” in the bay.
Virginia and Maryland have made progress, said Ortiz, adding that, “In Virginia, they have fully funded their farm conservation programs, Maryland has had a very robust program for a long time.”
“I also don’t want to be Pollyannaish about it. We still have some work to do,” he said. “The toughest area is the area where most of us live. So, these are the urban and suburban areas.”
“Everybody can do something. Native plants help on our lawns, reducing or eliminating our use of fertilizers, and trying to control stormwater coming from our gutters or our driveways can also help in these more suburban areas here in the DMV,” Ortiz added.
When asked about favorite areas and where he’s personally noted progress, Ortiz mentioned Terrapin Run Nature Park on Kent Island and the Anacostia River: “I’m a big fan of all the improvements on the Anacostia River. Kingman Island is a real success story.”
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