Bay Journal
MDE taking fewer enforcement actions against water pollution
Maryland regulators have been taking significantly fewer enforcement actions for water pollution violations lately, a drop that environmentalists call part of a worsening nationwide trend. State officials, though, say the decrease reflects an increased effort to work with violators and prevent minor infractions from becoming major ones.
In a report submitted earlier this year to lawmakers, the Maryland Department of the Environment said that in fiscal year 2017, its water and science administration took 771 enforcement actions. That’s a 46 percent decline from the number reported the previous year, and the fewest since fiscal year 2008.
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Timothy B. Wheeler-
April 18, 2018 
Politics + Policy, Pollution
Solar power’s new look: more landscape-friendly siting - Timothy B. Wheeler | 04/16/18
Forest protection, air pollution, foam container bills fall by wayside in Maryland General Assembly - Timothy B. Wheeler | 04/13/18
Groundwater: the next frontier of concern on Virginia’s Eastern Shore - Whitney Pipkin | 04/12/18
States will have to account for climate change in cleanup plans - Karl Blankenship | 04/11/18
States to collaborate on implementation plan for Conowingo - Karl Blankenship | 04/10/18
Money doesn’t grow on trees, so small town found ways to turn its streets green - Whitney Pipkin | 04/09/18
New federal budget does not contain funds to build oyster reefs in Maryland or Virginia - Timothy B. Wheeler | 04/06/18
Managed grazing cultivates new believers among watershed farmers - Whitney Pipkin | 04/05/18
- Long-buried oyster shells show how the Bay sustained early Americans
What can a bunch of old oyster shells tell you about the Chesapeake Bay’s past, and maybe its future? More than you’d think,... - Timothy B. Wheeler | 03/08/18
- Panel with Virginia governor will detail state’s opposition to offshore drilling
A coalition of Virginia officials now opposes federal leasing plans that would permit oil drilling in waters off the coast of the state.... - Whitney Pipkin | 03/01/18
- Two members of MD fisheries panel replaced who’d questioned crab regulator’s firing
The replacement of the chair and another member of a key Maryland fishery advisory body has surprised some observers and led others to... - Timothy B. Wheeler | 02/28/18
- Hogan urges U.S. Senate to reject curb on EPA role in Bay cleanup
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan this week sent a letter urging Senate leaders to oppose a House-passed measure that would strip the U.S.... - Karl Blankenship | 02/16/18
Grasses the cure for Chesapeake’s ills, once we save the SAV
In the shallows of the Chesapeake Bay, underwater Bay grasses sway in the aquatic breeze of the tides and currents. Also known as submerged aquatic vegetation, or SAV, Bay grasses are an indicator of the health of the...Kathy Reshetiloff | Bay Naturalist 04/13/18
- Fall in love with these waterfalls! - Kathleen Gaskell | Chesapeake Challenge 04/12/18
- Thanks to migratory bird act, laughing gulls making a comeback – no joke - Michael Burke | On the Wing 03/30/18
- Sink your teeth into this quiz! - Kathleen Gaskell | Chesapeake Challenge 03/23/18
- You know spring is around the corner when… - Kathy Reshetiloff | Bay Naturalist 03/16/18
- Look Ma, no teeth! - Kathleen Gaskell | Bay Buddies 03/08/18
- Eagle provides a ‘golden’ moment to crown a day of birding - Michael Burke | On the Wing 02/21/18
- Save the date(s) for 2018! - Kathleen Gaskell | Bay Buddies 01/19/18
- Listen for the haunting call of loons on Bay’s frigid winter waters - Kathy Reshetiloff | Bay Naturalist 01/08/18
- Seedy birdie! - Kathleen Gaskell | Chesapeake Challenge 12/21/17
A Chesapeake portrait, painted by almost a thousand words
Combing the beach, I stoop to pick up an essay for my upcoming college nature writing class. It’s a reddish, roundish pebble, tumbling in the clear lapping waves during a campout to the vanished community of Holland...Tom Horton | Chesapeake Born 04/17/18
- What does the Bay TMDL Midpoint Assessment mean to you? - Jim Edward | Around the Watershed 04/10/18
- African Americans have navigated Bay’s waters since Jamestown - Darius A. Stanton II | Forum 04/03/18
- Orth’s work with Bay’s grass has led to high expectations for its recovery - Donald Boesch | Forum 03/29/18
- How much woods would a woodpecker need if it’s to succeed? - Tom Horton | Chesapeake Born 03/27/18
- In case anyone is asking: Warmer temperatures hurt the Bay - William C. Baker | Forum 03/20/18
- Project Clean Stream collects future stewards as well as trash - Ted Wolfe | Message from the Alliance 03/13/18
- MDE must rethink lease of 46 years for Conowingo - Scott Budden & Johnny Schockley | Forum 03/09/18
- Ajax Eastman cared more for planting seeds of conservation than earning laurels - Tom Horton | Chesapeake Born 03/06/18
- MD’s Forest Conservation Act need to be revisited - Ben Alexandro | Forum 03/02/18
‘Forgotten’ Nassawango returns to its natural state
We seem to be alone under the canopies of bald cypress and black gum. Hawks soar overhead. Leaves on the rose bushes rustle. Remnants of a beaver lodge hide among the brambles. An old truck, possibly from the 1950s, sits...Rona Kobell | Bay Journeys Article 04/20/18
- C&O Canal quarters are locked in a time warp - T.F. Sayles | Bay Journeys Article 04/06/18
- Set sail to turn back in time at Spocott Windmill Village - T.F. Sayles | Bay Journeys Article 03/23/18
- Waterfowl break winter silence at VA wildlife refuge - Whitney Pipkin | Bay Journeys Article 03/09/18
- Catch the spring action at a vernal pool near you - Donna Morelli | Bay Journeys Article 02/08/18
- Kayaking course helps paddlers get their feet wet - Timothy B. Wheeler | Bay Journeys Article 02/01/18
- The past is alive in former mill town of Waterford, VA - Timothy B. Wheeler | Bay Journeys Article 12/11/17
- Cove Mountain forests offer refuge for animals, people - Donna Morelli | Bay Journeys Article 12/04/17
- Explore lesser-known preserves on Virginia’s Northern Neck - Leslie Middleton | Bay Journeys Article 11/29/17
- De Gast Chesapeake photo exhibit expands viewers’ horizons - Lara Lutz | Bay Journeys Article 11/07/17
