Bay Journal

Topics: Politics + Policy

Amid concerns that Chesapeake cleanup efforts are lagging and that meeting future goals will be even more challenging, Bay leaders met Tuesday in Baltimore, vowing to stay the course and pump up the effort to help farmers establish water quality projects on their land.

The Chesapeake Executive Council signed a directive urging each state to increase technical assistance — the “boots on the ground” that provide assistance to farmers — to help them install runoff control practices on the more than 83,000 farms located in the Bay watershed.

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Karl Blankenship
August 08, 2018
Conservation + Land Use,Politics + Policy
0 Comments

Southern Maryland county considers limiting dock access for oyster farmers

Oyster farming has grown rapidly in Maryland in recent years — too rapidly, in the eyes of some. Last week, spurred by complaints from waterfront homeowners and others, local elected officials in St. Mary’s County moved to put the...

Timothy B. Wheeler
August 06, 2018
Fisheries,Politics + Policy
4 Comments

PA bill seeks fraction of a cent fee for largest water users

Pennsylvania could generate up to $500 million annually to help clean polluted streams and the Chesapeake Bay by charging large users of water a fraction of a cent per gallon. That’s the findings of a report released June 6 by a joint...

Donna Morelli
August 06, 2018
Politics + Policy
0 Comments

Manure management questions stall plans for MD poultry farm

Maryland has withdrawn a permit for a large organic chicken farm in Cecil County after its neighbors appealed the decision, saying it would leave manure-laden runoff unchecked. The Maryland Department of the Environment notified Zion Acres...

Jeremy Cox
July 31, 2018
Politics + Policy,Pollution
0 Comments

Politics + Policy: Archives

States must focus on how much is left to do, not how much has been done (Opinion)

This is a critical time for Bay restoration. At the halfway point between 2010 and 2025 the question is: Are we on track? The Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s midpoint assessment focused on the principal Bay states’ progress in...

Alison Prost
July 26, 2018
Politics + Policy,Pollution
0 Comments

Virginia to monitor water quality at three controversial chicken farms

Virginia environmental officials are setting out to answer a question that has long dogged Delmarva’s poultry industry: Do industrial-size chicken farms foul streams and other waterways with polluted runoff? The Department of...

Jeremy Cox and Whitney Pipkin
July 24, 2018
Politics + Policy,Pollution
0 Comments

Supporters rally to save Eastern Neck wildlife refuge from closure

A national wildlife refuge that attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year to the Chesapeake Bay may be forced to close to the public soon. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering shuttering the Eastern Neck National Wildlife...

Jeremy Cox
July 23, 2018
Politics + Policy,Wildlife + Habitat
2 Comments

Environmental group warns PA to protect forests or get sued

An environmental organization that put the teeth in Pennsylvania’s Environmental Rights Amendment is turning its sights on the state agency that manages 2.2 million acres of public forestland. A lawyer for the Pennsylvania Environmental...

Donna Morelli
July 16, 2018
Energy,Politics + Policy
0 Comments

Exelon sues MD, calls Conowingo requirements an ‘unfair burden’

The owners of the Conowingo Dam and the state of Maryland have come to legal blows over whether the utility can be forced to pay potentially billions of dollars over the coming decades to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay. The Maryland...

Karl Blankenship
July 09, 2018
Energy,Politics + Policy,Pollution
1 Comment

Midpoint assessment for Bay cleanup: only 40% of nitrogen goal met

The Chesapeake Bay region has reached the halfway mark toward its Bay cleanup goal in terms of time — but not in terms of accomplishments. July 1 marked the midpoint to the 2025 deadline for taking all actions needed to stem the tide of...

Karl Blankenship
July 09, 2018
Politics + Policy,Pollution
0 Comments

Feds give qualified OK to dredge oyster shells from Man O’ War Shoal

After years of scrutiny, federal regulators have given a qualified green light to a controversial Maryland plan to dredge old oyster shells from an ancient reef near Baltimore — a project intended to enhance oyster habitat elsewhere in...

Timothy B. Wheeler
June 18, 2018
Fisheries,Politics + Policy
5 Comments

After judge’s ruling, MD regulators reverse Eastern Shore poultry permit

UPDATE (July 16): The Maryland Department of the Environment has rescinded the guidance document it issued last year that allowed farmers to begin operating without manure sheds and other required infrastructure. The agency had done so after...

Jeremy Cox
June 14, 2018
Politics + Policy,Pollution
2 Comments

New VA governor calls review of DEQ the first step in rebuilding it

It’s been 25 years since four Virginia agencies coalesced to form the department charged with protecting the environment and public health. Now, one of the new governor’s first orders of business suggests it might be time for a...

Whitney Pipkin
June 11, 2018
Politics + Policy
4 Comments

‘Stopping rules’ would say when it’s time to shift from debating to acting (Opinion)

Science is hard, environmental policy is complicated and regulatory science can seem endlessly confounding. It does not have to be. Earlier this year, the Chesapeake Bay partners stepped into a time-worn trap, heeding calls from overly...

David Flores
June 08, 2018
Politics + Policy,Pollution
0 Comments

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