Chesapeake Bay: The Good News and the Bad News

By: Lowell
Published On: 12/3/2007 8:57:57 PM

Two pieces of news on the Chesapeake Bay, one good and one realyl bad.

First, the good news from Gov. Kaine:

GOVERNOR KAINE ANNOUNCES PROGRESS IN BAY CLEANUP EFFORTS

~ Virginia expects to meet Bay nutrient reduction goals for wastewater by end of 2010 ~

RICHMOND - Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced Virginia's largest wastewater treatment facilities and industries within the Chesapeake Bay watershed expect to meet their nutrient reduction goals by the end of 2010. Facilities will reduce the amount of nutrients in wastewater by participating in Virginia's nutrient trading program and installing pollution control technology.

Nutrient reduction goals will be met through a combination of aggressive state cost-share funding, innovative legislative tools and efficient local government planning.

"This will be a huge step forward for Virginians and the Chesapeake Bay," Governor Kaine said. "I am pleased that industry and state and local government officials have worked together to meet this important commitment. We have made a significant investment to protect the Bay, we have spent the money wisely and we are accomplishing what we set out to do."

Now, the bad news from the Washington Post:

The Chesapeake Bay's health slipped slightly in the last year, meriting a score of just 28 out of 100, as spring rains brought increased pollution, and the blue crab population fell toward new lows, according to a report from the nonprofit Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

The annual "State of the Bay" report, unveiled this morning at the foundation's bayside headquarters near Annapolis, lowered the Chesapeake's score one point from last year. The foundation also gave the bay a letter grade of D, as it has every year since the reports began in 1998.

The question is, does the good news outweigh the bad news here?  Not as far as I can tell, especially when you consider the pressures the Bay is under from pollutants, global warming, overfishing, etc. It's really sad, because this is one of the most amazing ecosystems in the world, and we've completely screwed it up.  Sigh.

Comments



The Bad News. (Bubby - 12/4/2007 11:05:55 AM)
Well, I've seen the numbers, and I'm less optimistic than Governor Kaine.  The point-source dischargers (industry) are coming into compliance (but will still exceed modeled goals).  However non-point source pollution; urban run-off, agriculture run-off, land-applied sewage sludge, and construction sediments have not been tackled.  It will take some truly brave political efforts to confront these many stakeholders that are currently under little regulation, and happy to see it stay that way.  The hard work of cleaning up the bay is ahead of us.  But keep on the sunny side Governor!  With firm resolve, we can do it.  


The bay needs a kidney replacement if it wants to sustain itself (floodguy - 12/4/2007 12:37:10 PM)
Thanks to the state of MD and the city of Baltimore for interferring with the function of the bay's primary marshlands, during the entire last century.