Bay Journal

Topics: Politics + Policy

Four of 6 states in the Chesapeake Bay region cut funding or staff to their main pollution control agency over the last 10 years, says a report released today by the Environmental Integrity Project.

Environmental agencies in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York each saw budget reductions, even after adjustments for inflation, between 2008 and 2018, according to the report, The Thin Green Line: Cuts in State Pollution Control Agencies Threaten Public Health. Those states, as well as Maryland, also reduced their environmental workforce during the same time period.

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Ad Crable
December 05, 2019
Fisheries,Politics + Policy,Pollution
0 Comments

Will the private sector get a crack at reducing nutrient pollution in PA?

Pennsylvania, which is badly lagging in meeting its Chesapeake Bay cleanup goals, may become the first state to rely heavily on the private sector to help solve its pollution ills. After 5 years of failed attempts, a bill is moving forward that...

Ad Crable
November 20, 2019
Politics + Policy,Pollution
1 Comment

Forest conservation bills rippling through Maryland counties

Forest conservation efforts are slowly gaining traction in Maryland, one county at a time. After holding multiple public meetings and debating dozens of amendments, the Anne Arundel County Council on Nov. 18 unanimously passed legislation to...

Timothy B. Wheeler
November 20, 2019
Conservation + Land Use,Politics + Policy
1 Comment

Next phase of MD phosphorus regulation may be delayed another year

The Hogan administration is weighing a one-year delay in restrictions on fertilizing farm fields with animal manure after a Salisbury University professor said the state is not prepared to deal with the impact of the pollution-prevention...

Timothy B. Wheeler
November 18, 2019
Politics + Policy,Pollution
1 Comment

Politics + Policy: Archives

Maryland leaders at odds over fees for livestock operations

When Maryland vastly expanded the number of farms with large numbers of animals that would require stormwater permits, it offered a grace period on fees to encourage farmers to enroll. That was in 2009. After 10 years and two governors...

Jeremy Cox
November 08, 2019
Politics + Policy,Pollution
0 Comments

VA wants to boost its environmental agency, but will it get the money?

Ralph Northam campaigned for Virginia’s highest office on his Chesapeake Bay roots, and he seemed to be making good on those promises when he made reforming the state’s environmental agency his sixth order of business last year. A...

Whitney Pipkin
November 04, 2019
Politics + Policy,Pollution
1 Comment

East Coast fishery managers order 18% cut in striped bass harvest

Acting to stem serious declines in the striped bass population, East Coast fishery managers have ordered an 18% harvest reduction for the coming year. How that will be done in the Chesapeake Bay remains to be seen. The Atlantic States Marine...

Timothy B. Wheeler
November 01, 2019
Fisheries,Politics + Policy
0 Comments

Exelon agrees to $200 million settlement for impact of Conowingo Dam

The owner of Conowingo Dam has struck a deal with Maryland to resolve a dispute over the hydropower facility’s role in polluting the Chesapeake Bay and how much, if any, it should be required to pay to help with the cleanup. In a...

Timothy B. Wheeler & Jeremy Cox
October 30, 2019
Politics + Policy,Pollution
1 Comment

Action against Virginia pending for violating menhaden catch limit in the Chesapeake Bay

Note: This article was updated on Nov. 1, 2019, to include more information about the commission's vote and its possible consequences. Harvests of Atlantic menhaden in Virginia waters risk being shut down after a fishing fleet...

Timothy B. Wheeler
October 29, 2019
Fisheries,Politics + Policy
5 Comments

Forest conservation bill weakened as debate rages in Maryland county

After a contentious public hearing over a forest conservation bill in one of Maryland’s most populous counties, local lawmakers have scaled back a proposal to tighten requirements for developers to preserve trees or replace those they...

Timothy B. Wheeler
October 23, 2019
Conservation + Land Use,Politics + Policy
2 Comments

Low salinity wallops oysters in Chesapeake

The rains have finally let up, but they’ve dealt a serious blow to the Chesapeake Bay’s oysters — and to the people who make a living harvesting, cultivating or restoring them. Oysters need at least a little salt in their...

Jeremy Cox & Timothy B. Wheeler
October 03, 2019
Fisheries,Politics + Policy
2 Comments

Path to a clean Chesapeake poses problems for key Bay states

Must Chesapeake Bay states achieve the impossible to reach Bay cleanup goals by 2025? That’s unclear. But their work must certainly achieve the unprecedented. Most of the latest state cleanup plans, released in August, call for levels...

Karl Blankenship
September 30, 2019
Politics + Policy,Pollution
6 Comments

Chesapeake restoration goals a greater challenge for PA

Perhaps it was fitting that on a morning when he felt an illness coming on, and a marching band was creating an unrelenting din outside the window, Pat McDonnell sat down to explain Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan. After all,...

Karl Blankenship
September 30, 2019
Politics + Policy,Pollution
0 Comments

Maryland proposes 30% cut in commercial oyster harvest

Acting to curtail overfishing, Maryland natural resources officials proposed new oyster harvest restrictions Monday night that they said could reduce commercial landings by about 30% in the upcoming season. The proposed cutbacks, which...

Timothy B. Wheeler
September 10, 2019
Fisheries,Politics + Policy
3 Comments

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