EPA unveils new federal strategy for cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay

Today, after several weeks of obtaining public comment, officials from EPA released a final strategy to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay. The strategy follows an Executive Order from President Obama in June that challenged federal agencies to better assist states in cleaning up the streams and rivers that feed into the Chesapeake Bay.

Despite decades of work and billions in spending, Bay states have not yet met water-quality goals. Nutrient pollution from lawns and parking lots, agricultural crop production and large-scale animal feedlots and sewage continue to leave Bay waters unsafe for fishing, drinking and swimming. New landscape conservation techniques, monitoring technologies and adaptation and research on the effect of climate change on the Bay are needed to restore and protect the watershed. The past has shown us that states can't do it without the assistance and leadership of the federal government. Today's draft strategy outlines a strong new framework for cleaning up our waters and better targeting federal dollars to assist Bay states.

Accountability is a core component of EPA's plan. For too long, clean up efforts have been largely incentive-based and voluntary, so participation has been low. In other cases, there has been little or no enforcement - so pollution controls have gone ignored without penalty. Under the new strategy, states would create specific implementation plans with clear, enforceable deadlines along the way to ensure that our waterways are clean by 2025. Publicly available tracking and reporting programs would help rebuild public confidence while focusing resources on strategic priorities. Failure to make progress would bring consequences.

Another key provision of the plan would require aging stormwater systems and factory farms - leading sources of Bay pollution that have not been required to clean up - to modernize their operations to use plants and soils to soak up contamination that now runs into waterways untreated.   

Finally, the strategy includes important new technical, scientific and financial assistance to help states and municipalities meet the clean up goals. Already, states receive significant federal funding through the Clean Water Act and the farm bill to help restore the Bay. Today's strategy would ensure that funding is used efficiently and effectively to deliver long-overdue results. New legislation, the Chesapeake Clean Water and Ecosystem Restoration Act, is a strong complement to the administrative strategy and provides over $2 billion more in funding to help states meet Clean Water Act requirements, while expanding market-based programs to reduce costs of compliance.

The Chesapeake Bay Restoration and Protection strategy is sensible and overdue - finally providing the federal leadership we need, with funding to back it up, to clean up this national treasure. You can raise your voice in support of the plan by submitting your own comments here.

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