New, Stricter Federal Policy to Protect Chesapeake Bay

By Desiree Parker Saturday, May 15, 2010

This week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a new, stricter and enforceable policy on cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Called the Strategy for Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, the plan began with an executive order issued by President Obama in May 2009, which declared the Bay a national treasure. The Federal Leadership Committee for the Chesapeake Bay was established, chaired by the administrator of the EPA and comprised of representatives from various government agencies. The group was tasked to create the strategy, released Wednesday, which aims to protect and restore the areas around the 64,000-square-mile watershed and its thousands of streams, creeks and rivers.

The strategy includes using rigorous regulations to restore clean water, implementing new conservation practices on 4 million acres of farms, conserving 2 million acres of undeveloped land and rebuilding oysters in 20 tributaries of the bay. To increase accountability, federal agencies will establish milestones every two years to make progress toward measurable environmental goals. These will support and complement the bay states’ two-year milestones.

“It’s critical for the Administration to focus on Chesapeake Bay restoration activities,” Virginia Congressman Rob Wittman, who represents the First Congressional District, said in a statement on the federal strategy. “For the last year, the executive branch agencies have been developing this new strategy to clean up the Bay. Today’s announcement lays out a comprehensive federal effort to restore water quality, fish and wildlife and protect habitat. Coordination and execution is key to achieve meaningful progress in these efforts. While this is a significant milestone in clean-up efforts, much work remains for localities, states and the federal government to restore the Bay.”

“This strategy outlines the broadest partnerships, the strongest protections and the most accountability we've seen in decades. It's a new era for our work on the Chesapeake Bay,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, who chairs the Federal Leadership Committee for the Chesapeake Bay. “Through President Obama's leadership and the commitment of many active stakeholders, we have an historic opportunity to restore the environmental health of these waters and the vibrant economy of this community.”

The new federal strategy includes a plan to restore cleaner water by implementing a total maximum daily load program for the bay watershed (like a “pollution diet”, according to the EPA, which limits the amount of pollutants allowed in the water) and to expand regulation of stormwater and agricultural operations.

The plan also includes conserving 2 million acres of land under a Chesapeake Treasured Landscape Initiative, which will offer some federal funds and community assistance.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will launch an oyster restoration strategy in the bay.

Enforcement and funding for state regulatory programs are also included in the strategy.

The announcement of the new strategy comes one day after the Chesapeake Bay Foundation announced the end of a years-long lawsuit which will require the EPA “to take specific actions by dates certain to ensure that pollution to local rivers, streams and the Chesapeake Bay is reduced sufficiently to remove the Bay from the federal ‘dirty waters’ list,” according to a CBF statement.

Though the CBF statement says the EPA had for years been dragging its feet with enforcement issues, “the settlement between EPA, CBF, and the co-plaintiffs raises the bar for governmental commitment to restore the Bay,” according to Jonathan Cannon, director of the University of Virginia’s Law School’s Environmental and Land Use Law Program and former EPA general counsel. “The settlement helps ensure, on an ongoing basis, that EPA will play its essential role in setting targets for Bay restoration and holding the states accountable.”

As far as the new federal strategy is concerned, the CBF “fully supports the integrated ecosystem approach articulated in the plan,” according to CBF President William Baker. “It is what science tells us is needed. And many of the details in the plan give us something against which to measure.

“That being true, we have seen many plans before… So, while we were very pleased by President Obama’s Executive Order last year and by the work since then by the Federal Leadership Committee, we know from experience that a plan alone will not deliver this nation’s promise of safe, clean water to the Chesapeake Bay.

“We were therefore very pleased that, complementing the federal plan, CBF and its partners reached an enforceable agreement with EPA two days ago to take many of the steps outlined in the plan we see today. And, we will continue to work diligently to pass what has been dubbed the Chesapeake Clean Water Act so that reducing pollution is matter of law and not, only, a set of commitments.”

Also the day before the federal plan was released Virginia’s Governor Bob McDonnell announced the state would issue $116 million in bonds to fund wastewater treatment and sewer projects. A principal focus of the projects will be to provide system upgrades to reduce nutrient pollution being discharged into tributaries that feed the Chesapeake Bay.

“The Chesapeake Bay is one of Virginia’s great treasures, and the dollars generated by these bonds will have a meaningful impact on protecting this wonderful resource for our children, grandchildren and many generations to come,” said McDonnell.

Though James City County stormwater officials and County Administrator Sandy Wanner aren’t sure yet how the new Chesapeake Bay policies might affect the county, Wanner did say if any federal or state dollars come available, the county will certainly apply for them.