Press Statement
Legislation focused on improving Maryland’s water quality will support Chesapeake Bay health and resilience against climate change
Today, Maryland Governor Wes Moore secured a cleaner future for Maryland’s waterways with the passage of several significant environmental bills.
The state is at a critical point in its work to reduce pollution in the Bay and meet its 2025 water quality goals. The latest science suggests we can better optimize these efforts, specifically reducing polluted runoff from agriculture and adapting urban stormwater management practices to match increased storm intensity.
Several bills signed today, which include top priorities for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), Citizens’ Campaign for the Environment, and other partners, will directly address the water quality challenges that Maryland faces. The key bills now signed into law include:
- The Whole Watershed Act (SB 969/HB 1165), which is a direct response to the Comprehensive Evaluation of System Response (CESR) report released last year by the Chesapeake Bay Program, will create an innovative five-year pilot program targeting five Maryland watersheds. The watersheds will undergo holistic and collaborative restoration practices under the support and guidance of a multi-agency management team. This targeted approach is designed to rapidly improve habitat and water quality and is based on a successful model from Pennsylvania.
- SB 1074/HB 991 will create stronger regulations in Maryland for the storage and land application of industrial sludge, particularly dissolved air flotation (DAF) material, through a new permitting program. DAF residuals are leftovers from the protein rendering process that are often applied to farmland as an agricultural fertilizer. Until now, Maryland had much weaker regulation over this material than neighboring states, allowing over-application and mishandling that caused runoff into local waterways. Moving forward, state permits will assure safe and effective use of the sludge. Local government approval will also be required for a permit to be issued, ensuring communities and localities are notified before new DAF facilities and users are permitted.
- The Clean Water Justice Act (SB 653/HB 1101) allows communities harmed by illegal water pollution to enforce state law. The U.S. Supreme Court recently removed more than half of the nation’s streams and wetlands from federal Clean Water Act protection. Fortunately, Maryland law still protects these waterways. This bill protects communities’ rights to sue when the rules are broken, retaining the power of the people most directly threatened by pollution.
Allison Colden, CBF’s Maryland Executive Director, said in a statement:
“The Maryland General Assembly and Moore Administration have taken notable action towards improving Maryland’s water quality. By adopting these bills and signing them into law, state leaders are putting the best available science into action to get Maryland closer to its pollution reduction goals.
“The effects of climate change, such as increased rain and flooding and warmer water temperatures, make meeting our water quality goals even harder. These new environmental laws prioritize on-the-ground, partnership-driven solutions that are key to keeping Maryland as resilient as possible to the climate change threats we face while meeting our obligations to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.”
As the partnership to clean up the Chesapeake Bay nears its 2025 deadline, EPA Administrator Michael Regan today renewed the agency’s commitment to leading the many federal agencies working together to restore the Bay into the next chapter of cleanup effort.
Regan spoke in response to a question from Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) at today’s Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on EPA’s fiscal year 2025 budget request.
Cardin asked if Regan and EPA would commit to reinstating the EPA-led Federal Leadership Committee, which was created in 2009 under a Chesapeake Bay restoration executive order signed by President Obama. The Committee developed and coordinated the work of the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Interior, and Transportation under what became the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.
Regan said EPA would “absolutely” reconstitute the committee “for a fall meeting.” Regan added, “We see it as a huge opportunity to get all the executives around the table and be sure that we’re pursuing those goals that you and others would like us to pursue.”
Since 2010, the federal government, the six Bay states, and the District of Columbia have been working to meet the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint’s 2025 deadline for adopting the policies and practices to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution to the Bay and its waterways. Despite significant water quality improvements, the partners are unlikely to meet most of these goals by 2025.
EPA administers the federal Chesapeake Bay Program, which coordinates the cleanup effort. The Bay Program also provides grant funding for restoration and research activities among a wide range of federal, state, and local government agencies, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations across the Bay’s six-state watershed.
EPA’s fiscal 2025 budget calls for Congress to continue funding the Bay Program at $92 million annually.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) President and CEO Hilary Harp Falk issued the following statement:
“CBF thanks Administrator Regan for his commitment to reviving the Federal Leadership Committee. Fifteen years ago this month, the panel first charted the course for coordinating among the federal Bay cleanup partners. It can again play an indispensable role guiding the federal partners into the next chapter of restoration.
“The Chesapeake Bay restoration effort has reached a crossroads. Determining where we go from here will require bold leadership and expertise from across the federal government. The task is bigger than tackling water quality issues. We must also reimagine how we care for the Bay’s plants and wildlife, address toxic contaminants, fight climate change, and ensure clean water and benefits for all of the 18 million people in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.”
The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) announced new results yesterday, derived from its Watershed Model, that estimate jurisdictions in the Chesapeake Bay watershed have made progress towards meeting their 2025 pollution reduction goals.
Since 2010, the federal government, the six Bay watershed states, and the District of Columbia have been working to meet the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint’s 2025 deadline by adopting policies and practices to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution entering the Bay and its waterways. Despite significant water quality improvements, most partners are unlikely to meet most of these goals by 2025.
But CBP’s recent estimates show progress. According to the model, as a result of an increase in pollution reduction practices being put into place and favorable environmental conditions, pollution loads are estimated to have decreased watershed-wide between 2022 and 2023, with nitrogen falling 3.3 percent, phosphorus falling 4.5 percent, and overall sediment levels decreasing by 1 percent.
Alison Prost, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Vice President for Environmental Protection and Restoration, issued the following statement:
“Now more than ever, we need strong state and federal leadership, committed partners, and a clear path forward for restoring a healthy, productive Chesapeake Bay. Despite significant gains estimated by the model’s data, including the largest year-to-year reduction from agricultural sources in Virginia and Pennsylvania, 2025 pollution reduction goals will not be met. These most recent model results are encouraging but on-the-ground outcomes don’t match up and the latest science tells us we can better optimize our efforts. Climate change is also making reducing pollution harder.
“The next phase of Bay cleanup will require bold thinking grounded in sound science and built on a foundation of accountability. Federal and state investments must be increased and implemented toward the most effective and efficient projects. Fortunately, the partnership has decades of experience to guide us. Acknowledging and learning from the lessons of the past is critical to building a resilient future for the Bay and its waterways.”
The effects of the Chesapeake Bay menhaden fishery on osprey sparked discussion at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board’s April 30 meeting.
Based on recent scientific data and citizen concerns, Maryland’s delegation, which includes CBF’s Maryland Executive Director Allison Colden, requested the Board be briefed on the latest data on osprey abundance, nesting success, and when and where osprey spend time and nest in the Chesapeake Bay.
The request aims to help gather initial information to ensure that menhaden can play their critical role in the Bay’s food chain. The presentation is expected to occur at ASMFC’s summer meeting from August 6 to 8.
Osprey nests in parts of the lower Chesapeake Bay were failing at the highest rate ever recorded last year, according to data released in July 2023 by the College of William & Mary’s Center for Conservation Biology. Similar concerns have also been noted in Maryland.
Osprey abundance is tightly linked to menhaden abundance. The ASMFC’s ecosystem models indicate that osprey and other fish-eating birds are the most sensitive species to changes in menhaden fishing – even more so than striped bass, the species that serves as the basis for the Commission’s current management.
Menhaden, due to their high oil content, are the target of a major industrial fishery in the Virginia portion of Chesapeake Bay. More than 70% of the total harvest of menhaden coastwide is harvested by Ocean Harvesters, formerly Omega Protein, for reduction into other commercial products.
While the ASMFC currently considers how the menhaden fishery affects the food supply for striped bass, existing reference points do not explicitly take into account impacts to birds or marine mammals that feed on menhaden.
Unfortunately, a key opportunity to better understand the connections between menhaden and its predators in Chesapeake Bay was missed when a Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee unanimously pushed consideration of House Bill 19 into 2025.
HB 19, introduced by Delegate R. Lee Ware, would have funded a robust study of the population of menhaden. The subcommittee’s vote in January followed state-led efforts by a broad group of stakeholders, which included Ocean Harvesters, to develop a suite of priority research recommendations to determine the health of the menhaden population in the Bay.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) Virginia Executive Director Chris Moore issued the following statement:
“Following recent discouraging setbacks for menhaden conservation, the ASMFC can take an important next step for ecosystem-based management of the menhaden population and fishery. Obtaining additional information about the forage needs of avian predators such as osprey will continue our efforts to manage menhaden based upon an ecosystem approach. CBF hopes these efforts will be complemented by full funding and implementation of the menhaden study developed by Virginia.”
Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) Maryland Executive Director Allison Colden issued the following statement:
“Menhaden play a key role in the Bay’s food chain, but there is a critical data gap in understanding the needs of predators in the Chesapeake Bay. By considering impacts to other species of concern like osprey, the ASMFC is on a path toward more holistic management of the menhaden fishery.”
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is applauding Pennsylvania House passage of House Bill 1166 on Tuesday, which prohibits the supply, sale, and application of coal tar sealants containing high amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on driveways or parking lots. The measure was sponsored by Rep. Mandy Steele (D-Allegheny).
Scientific research has found that high PAHs from sealants can pose significant risks to the health of humans, pets, and wildlife.
According to a study in the American Chemical Society’s Environmental Science and Technology, people living near pavement sealed with coal tar can be exposed to PAHs in soils and household dust at concentrations found to elevate the risk of lung, skin, bladder, respiratory, and urinary tract cancers.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports that children younger than six years old are particularly at risk.
In fish populations, PAHs in runoff have been found to cause lesions, liver abnormalities, tumors, and decreased juvenile growth. A study in Washington State found that seven months post-application, runoff from coal tar sealed areas killed 55 percent of juvenile salmon within 96 hours.
PAHs also contaminate the air. Newly coal tar-sealed pavement rapidly volatilizes into the air, raising the risk of human, pet, and wildlife exposure. The USGS reports that three to eight years post-application, PAH releases to ground level atmosphere from sealed parking lots was an average of 60 times higher than unsealed pavement.
CBF Pennsylvania Executive Director Julia Krall issued this statement applauding passage of House Bill 1166. It now proceeds to the Senate for consideration.
“The health concerns of coal tar-based sealants are so great that communities across the United States have banned or restricted their use.
“Twelve states and Washington D.C. have enacted bans, and 17 others have restrictions on its use. CBF helped to champion a bill banning coal tar sealants that passed the Virginia General Assembly and will become effective in July.
“We thank legislators in the House for passing House Bill 1166 to protect the health, wellbeing, and quality of life for all Pennsylvanians. This decision is also good for our local waters. We urge members of the Senate to do the same.”
New EPA limits on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from dirty power plants will help our region fight climate change and its effects, reduce excess nitrogen polluting the Bay and its tributaries, and protect people’s health from dangerous air pollution.
The GHG standards were one of four new rules aimed at cleaning up the power sector that EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced this morning. The carbon emissions standards apply to existing coal-fired power plants and new power plants that burn natural gas.
Power plants are the second largest source of domestic GHG emissions. Damage caused by climate change impact such as extreme weather, sea level rise, and “sunny day” flooding are already wreaking havoc on the Bay ecosystem and communities across our region. But environmental justice communities, which are more likely to be located in low-lying areas and lack tree cover than other neighborhoods, bear a disproportionately heavy burden.
Lower carbon emissions limits will also improve air quality by reducing other pollutants power plants emit, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide, and soot. Dirty power plants, like other sources of harmful pollution, are disproportionately sited near environmental justice communities where residents already experience high rates of heart and lung conditions. Reducing emissions of these other pollutants should better protect the health of vulnerable communities.
Reducing NOx emissions can also help clean up the Bay and its waterways. Roughly one-third of excess nitrogen in our waters comes from the air. Power plants that burn fossil fuels produce half the nitrogen pollution responsible for creating algae blooms that spawn oxygen-deprived dead zones that suffocate underwater grasses, crabs, fish, and other marine life in the Bay and its tributaries.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation Federal Director Keisha Sedlacek issued the following statement:
“The Bay region is ground zero for the destructive effects of climate change. EPA’s new limits on carbon emissions from dirty power plants are a welcome tool in the fight to mitigate climate change and the damage it is already doing to our local communities and the Bay ecosystem.
“Reducing carbon emissions will also ratchet down emissions of other dangerous pollutants like nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and soot. Cleaner air is especially important to safeguard the health of people living closest to these harmful polluters. Lower nitrogen emissions can also help restore water quality in the Bay and its tributaries.
“The Chesapeake Bay Foundation commends EPA for taking this important step toward cleaning up the power sector. We urge the agency to move quickly to the next step of tackling air pollution from the country’s many existing gas-fired plants.”
Maryland Takes Action for Environmental Education
In a win for Maryland students this Earth Day, Governor Wes Moore signed an executive order to establish the Maryland Outdoor Learning Partnership. The program will strengthen Maryland’s commitment to environmental literacy and expand access to nature for all students.
Led by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Maryland State Department of Education, and in collaboration with nonprofits like Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), the Maryland Outdoor Learning Partnership will drive ambitious statewide initiatives focused on climate education and equity. Research shows that outdoor learning helps students improve resilience, problem solving, critical thinking, leadership, and teamwork, and leads to higher test scores and stronger engagement in school.
The executive order declares Maryland’s commitment to implementing the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and the shared priorities of the Chesapeake Bay Program. That includes enhanced climate curriculum and allocated time for students to engage outdoors in their local environments.
Tom Ackerman, CBF Vice President for Environmental Education, said in a statement:
“Governor Moore and his administration’s continued commitment to environmental education will help us leave Maryland better than we found it. Humanity’s future, currently threatened by climate change, relies on how we educate the next generation of environmental problem solvers. This must include support for our teachers and school systems, both financially and through professional development.
“Through our education program, CBF has provided meaningful watershed experiences for over 50 years to more than 1.5 million students, teachers, and other participants. There’s nothing like getting a student learning outside on the water. It’s proven time and time again to not only teach key skills, but also spark a lasting love for the Bay. It’s something every student in Maryland deserves to experience.
“CBF is proud to be a member of the Partnership, where we’ll work alongside other nonprofits and state agencies to keep Maryland at the forefront of environmental education.”
Tree Canopy Expansion Cited as Critical to Meeting Climate Change Targets
An association representing hundreds of Washington, D.C.-area local and state leaders adopted a new regional tree canopy goal April 11, signaling tree cover as a natural asset to achieve sustainable, equitable, and healthier communities.
Officials with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) set a minimum target of maintaining 50 percent tree canopy coverage across the metropolitan Washington region. The COG is comprised of 300 elected officials from 24 local governments, the Maryland and Virginia state legislatures, and U.S. Congress.
COG cited the objective as critical to their work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. While many localities have established tree canopy targets, this goal, COG officials said, can support progress toward regional targets.
According to COG, in 2023, Chesapeake Bay Program data indicated that an estimated 49.6 percent of the region’s 2.2 million acres of land was covered by tree canopy, down from 51.3 percent coverage in 2014. COG experts noted that an average of 4,383 acres of tree canopy are lost each year in the region due to development and other factors. If this trend continues through 2050, COG noted that the region’s tree canopy coverage would drop to 44.4 percent.
In Virginia alone, development, hotter wildfires, road widenings, invasive species, and increased energy infrastructure have all contributed to a net loss of 9,548 acres of urban and forest canopy between 2014 and 2018.
Ann Jurczyk, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Virginia Manager for Urban Restoration, issued the following statement:
“Trees are indispensable, free, natural infrastructure. We applaud this much needed aspirational goal to not only reduce pollution and protect communities against climate change threats, but also support healthier neighborhoods, property values, and equity goals.”
Julieta Rodrigo, CBF’s Urban & Community Resilience Manager in Maryland, issued the following statement:
“Tree canopies are particularly important in urban landscapes like the DC area that have more impervious surface—keeping streets cooler and communities more resilient against the effects of climate change.”
Talbot County Council agreed yesterday to review the Lakeside at Trappe development project at each phase of development.
The proposal for additional oversight (Resolution 338, Amendment No.1) passed at the Council’s April 9 meeting, enabling Talbot County to ensure the project’s progress is consistent with the county’s comprehensive plan and minimizes harm to the surrounding environment and community.
For years, Eastern Shore residents have sought assurance from local leaders that the project will not negatively impact schools, roads, emergency services, and other investments paid for by taxpayers. The council’s action demonstrates that county leaders share those concerns. It also aligns local oversight with state wastewater permit requirements, which include a major permit modification for any future expansion at Lakeside.
Last year in Talbot County Circuit Court, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) challenged Lakeside’s wastewater permit issued by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). Ruling in favor of MDE, the court cited the agency’s broad discretion to set and administer wastewater permit terms, even though CBF provided evidence that those terms violate state and federal law.
CBF appealed the decision in September and legal briefs were filed with the Appellate Court of Maryland earlier this year. The briefs describe how MDE’s permit for Lakeside does not ensure compliance with state water quality standards and could further degrade Talbot County’s streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay.
The current discharge permit enables Lakeside to spray about 100,000 gallons per day of treated wastewater onto farm fields, an amount generated by an estimated 400 homes. MDE originally proposed to permit discharges up to 540,000 gallons per day, but that volume was scaled back after MDE received immense pushback from the community, CBF, and other groups.
More than 100 homes have already been constructed at Lakeside, which are being served by Trappe’s existing sewage treatment plant until the new spray irrigation system that is being constructed comes online. Concerns remain over that system, which is planned to treat the waste from more than 2,000 additional homes yet to be built. The review provisions adopted by the county council this week provide additional oversight of the impacts Lakeside may cause to the community and the environment.
CBF’s Maryland Advocacy Director Alan Girard said in a statement:
“Lakeside is no longer being left up to chance. Talbot County Council’s decision to conduct limited oversight of the project is a positive step to protect residents and the environment.
“The authority to periodically review Lakeside will give county officials an essential opportunity to evaluate the project’s impacts to the environment and public investments like schools, roads, and emergency services.
“Questions remain over whether plans to spray treated wastewater from the project on farm fields will result in zero discharge of nitrogen to local waterways, as the Maryland Department of the Environment claims. Citizens, businesses, and CBF members who have long sought greater oversight for Lakeside appreciate the Talbot County Council’s decision to provide it.”
EPA released tighter tailpipe limits on greenhouse gases today that require automakers to by 2032 make the largest gross reduction of greenhouse gas emissions ever required in the United States by a single rule.
The new standards cover passenger cars, SUVs, pickup trucks, and some heavier commercial vehicles manufactured from model year 2027 to model year 2032. They also clamp down on tailpipe emissions of smog-forming ozone, soot, and nitrogen oxides (NOx).
Roughly one-third of excess nitrogen in the Bay and its tributaries comes from the air, much it of in the form of NOx from vehicle exhaust and fossil fuel-fired power plants. When airborne NOx is deposited into waters, it fuels the growth of agal blooms that block sunlight and absorb oxygen that underwater grasses, crabs, oysters, fish and other marine species need to live.
Auto emissions can be especially damaging to local waterways and people living near busy roads because the pollution does not travel far from its source. Communities of color and low-income communities are more likely than affluent white neighborhoods to be located near busy roadways. Environmental justice communities also suffer disproportionately from heart and lung disease.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) Federal Director Keisha Sedlacek issued the following statement:
“Cutting carbon and nitrogen emissions from vehicles is essential to a cleaner Bay, more resilient local waterways, and healthier communities across our region. We can already see how the damaging effects of climate change and dirty air are taking their toll.
“Sea-level rise and more frequent, intense storms threaten low-lying cities such as Annapolis, Md., and Hampton Roads, Va. Rising temperatures mean unpredictable growing seasons for Pennsylvania farmers. And vehicle exhaust deposits excess nitrogen into the Bay and its tributaries as it chokes under-resourced communities near congested highways in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
“The Chesapeake Bay Foundation welcomes EPA’s stronger tailpipe emission limits on greenhouse gases and other pollutants. They are an important tool in the fight against climate change impacts and unhealthy air that already plague too many of our region’s 19 million people.”
