Last week, governors from six states, including our own
Governor Tom Corbett here in Pennsylvania, signed a new Chesapeake Bay Agreement- the fourth such
agreement in 31 years.
The Bay Agreement establishes goal and outcomes for the restoration of the Bay, its tributaries and 64,000 square mile watershed. When the first draft of the agreement was released early this year, many environmental groups were shocked. There were no goals to reduce or even research toxic contamination, even though toxic contamination in some areas is severe enough to lead to fish consumption warnings. Climate change was also not addressed despite it being one of the biggest environmental challenges we face.
The Bay Agreement establishes goal and outcomes for the restoration of the Bay, its tributaries and 64,000 square mile watershed. When the first draft of the agreement was released early this year, many environmental groups were shocked. There were no goals to reduce or even research toxic contamination, even though toxic contamination in some areas is severe enough to lead to fish consumption warnings. Climate change was also not addressed despite it being one of the biggest environmental challenges we face.
Environmental groups like the Choose Clean Water Coalition,
the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, PennFuture, and many others submitted comments
to the Chesapeake Bay Program, urging them to include goals for toxic
contamination and climate change in the final agreement -- and it worked! Reducing toxic contamination and increasing
the resiliency of the Bay watershed to withstand the impacts of climate change
are two of the ten goals in the final agreement, along with increasing public
access and environmental literacy, and improving water quality and protecting
healthy watersheds, to name a few. Each goal is linked to a set of outcomes
that are measurable and have target dates.
Sounds good, right?
Well, if you happen to read the agreement, you’ll find something not so
good. Like previous Bay Agreements, this
new version is voluntary and depends on funding, so states can opt out without repercussions. This fatal flaw remained
in the agreement despite outcry from many organizations.
Even though the agreement is voluntary, the Bay states have committed to draft plans, within 90 days, detailing how they will achieve the agreement’s goals and outcomes. We will have to wait and see just how committed they are to cleaning up our waters.
Jennifer Quinn is central Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Harrisburg. She tweets @QuinnJen1.
Even though the agreement is voluntary, the Bay states have committed to draft plans, within 90 days, detailing how they will achieve the agreement’s goals and outcomes. We will have to wait and see just how committed they are to cleaning up our waters.
Jennifer Quinn is central Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Harrisburg. She tweets @QuinnJen1.
