Reboot state efforts, restore the Chesapeake Bay

In the wake of the Flint crisis, all eyes are on water quality, including here in Pennsylvania. Nearly half the state of Pennsylvania is within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and people are starting to realize the state’s shortcomings on Bay restoration efforts. 

"Polluted runoff from urban and agricultural areas, along with wastewater, degrades water quality here and downstream," said Jacqui Bonomo, vice president and COO of PennFuture. "The state has a key role to play in the health of the Chesapeake Bay." 

Faced with mounting pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state environmental groups, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced an interdepartmental strategy to “reboot” the state’s efforts towards restoring our local waters and, ultimately, Chesapeake Bay water quality. 

The plan, jointly developed by DEP and the departments of Agriculture and Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), outlines six areas of improvement:

1.  Address pollutant reduction by: (a) meeting the EPA goal of inspecting 10 percent of farms and municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) in the watershed annually, (b) ensuring that farmers develop and follow manure management and erosion and sediment control plans, and (c) enforcement for non-compliance

2.  Quantify undocumented Best Management Practices (BMPs) in watersheds impaired by agriculture or stormwater and put more high-impact, low-cost BMPs on the ground

3.  Improve reporting, record-keeping, and data systems to provide better documentation and obtain maximum credit toward Bay pollution reduction goals

4.  Identify legislative, programmatic, and regulatory changes to provide additional tools and resources necessary to meet federal pollution reduction goals by 2025

5.  Establish a DEP Chesapeake Bay Office to coordinate development and implementation, of Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay efforts

6.  Obtain additional resources for water quality improvement

Jim Hershey of Hershey Farms shows Sec. Redding the engineering in farm equipment that will help meet Federal Clean water standards and help to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Photo via: Commonwealth of PA 

Although the pollution reduction targets set for Pennsylvania by the EPA (mentioned on this post) will not be met by the interim milestone of 2017, the state is working hard to meet the final goals for 2025. 

To get there, the DEP hopes the reboot will intensify regulatory presence, increase funding for inspections and staff, and improve the documentation of pollution reduction within the state. Additionally, it seeks to create a culture of compliance among all the land-users within the watershed. 

As John Quigley, Secretary of the DEP, said in the webinar announcing the reboot: “It’s clear that the DEP cannot do this work alone and be successful.”

Sam Boden is a Messiah College student interning at PennFuture in Harrisburg. He is passionate about sustainable and effective environmental policy at the state and federal level.

Conservation critical

Conserving our nation's public lands, parks and waterways is critical right now, and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell forcefully made the case for immediate action in her first major policy address as secretary.

"We cannot and will not hold our breath forever," Sec. Jewell noted in her remarks on the increasing need for action following the forced government shutdown. The 16-day shutdown last month only worsened the financial situation for America's national parks and wildlife refuges, already hard-hit by sequestration cuts. Additionally, the last Congress was the first since World War II not to designate even one new national park, wilderness, or monument.

Here in Pennsylvania, many of our public lands, including those managed by the Commonwealth, are also under stress. You've followed our ongoing legal and organizing work on the Loyalsock State Forest and the fight for a robust public process regarding any gas drilling planned for this special forest and its clear headwater streams. We're also part of a six-state coalition working to safeguard the nation's largest estuary -- the Chesapeake Bay -- by making our thousands of miles of Pennsylvania streams and rivers cleaner for all of us in the public who use and enjoy them. Yet the challenges are great, as we have known for a long time.

Laurel Run State Park

President Theodore Roosevelt was responsible for the conservation of at least 230 million acres of land -- places that today, a century on, are ingrained as a part of who we are. One hundred and five years ago, Roosevelt was prescient as he opened a gathering of conservationists with these words:

"We have become great because of the lavish use of our resources. But the time has come to inquire seriously what will happen when our forests are gone, when the coal, the iron, the oil, and the gas are exhausted, when the soils have still further impoverished and washed into the streams, polluting the rivers, denuding the fields and obstructing navigation."

VICTORY: Huge win for clean waterways, in Pennsylvania and beyond

In a major win for the health of local waterways, a federal judge ruled on September 13 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to set limits on pollution entering the Chesapeake Bay. PennFuture was part of a coalition of public interest groups that joined the lawsuit to help defend the EPA’s cleanup plan and the decades-long, collaborative process that led to its development. We are also the Pennsylvania state lead for 40-plus members of the Choose Clean Water Coalition (CCWC).

Read on for what happened and why this is so significant. This blog entry is reposted courtesy of the Choose Clean Water Coalition and is authored by CCWC director, Hilary Harp Falk.


http://choosecleanwater.org/press-room/blog/chesapeake-bay-clean-up-wins-big-in-court-a-time-to-celebrate-and-a-time-to-move-forward/

Chesapeake Bay cleanup wins big in court: A time to celebrate and a time to move forward

Friday afternoon around 3:30 p.m., the emails started rolling in with two words: “We won." The history of the Chesapeake Bay clean up is long, with many twists and turns, but on Friday a judge in Pennsylvania confirmed that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to develop a pollution limit for the Chesapeake Bay and that history, science and law all support its development. This is a huge win for the Chesapeake Bay and the 17 million people in the region who rely on clean water.

From our friends at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, National Wildlife Federation, Defenders of Wildlife, Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy, and PennFuture to Jefferson County (WV) Public Service District, the National Associations of  Clean Water Agencies, the Maryland Association of Clean Water Agencies, the Virginia Association of Clean Water Agencies and the Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association, interveners in the case helped EPA demonstrate that pollution limits for the Chesapeake Bay established in December 2010 are within the Agency’s authority, based on sound science, and that the Farm Bureau and Homebuilders - the industry groups that had brought the suit in 2011 - had ample time to review and comment on the proposed limits.

Judge Rambo said in her decision that the Chesapeake Bay Partnership undertook significant efforts to preserve the framework of cooperative federalism as envisioned by the Clean Water Act, and that EPA did not unlawfully infringe on the Bay states’ rights because the Clean Water Act is an “all-compassing” and “comprehensive” statute that envisions a strong federal role for ensuring pollution reduction. After 31 years, the Clean Water Act has been proven to be the right way to go and, once again, this partnership between federal and state governments has stood up as the best way to get clean water.

Now, it is time to move on and get back to work. We still do not have the results that people want and deserve: Clean water, fishable rivers and streams, and the economic and environmental benefits that they bring. With pollution limits firmly in place, we can go back to taking the necessary actions to reduce pollution and protect the water on which millions of people depend.

The Farm Bureau may appeal this ruling. We hope not. Money would be better spent implementing conservation practices. We need to move forward with the work ahead of us so that future generations will have clean water.

We've received the following celebratory statements from interveners in the case:

Will Baker, president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation: “This is a great day for clean water in the region, there could be no better outcome. CBF and our partners respectfully salute the thoughtful legal decision-making by Judge Rambo, the presiding federal judge in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.”

Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation: “As one of the 17 million people who live near a river or stream flowing to the Chesapeake Bay, I am thrilled that the court ruled in favor of clean water, fishable rivers and safe places for children to swim. The court made it clear the agency is authorized to continue doing what is necessary to reduce pollution entering the Chesapeake Bay and protect the water that sustains people, wildlife and livelihoods. The science-based standards create accountability and are leading to real results.”

Tim Junkin, executive director of the Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy: “Everyone -- farmers and homeowners, rural and urban -- all realize clean water is vital to their community and to their economy. Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy joined this lawsuit to represent the voice of rural areas and small towns. We don’t know what purpose this suit was meant to serve but it was not in most people’s interests. We are thrilled that EPA has prevailed. It is a critical time and the clean water blueprint offers a new approach and requires that everyone does their fair share to clean up our local waters.”

Michael Senatore, vice president for conservation law at Defenders of Wildlife: “The court’s decision is great news for fish and wildlife that depend on a healthy Bay for their survival. If implemented properly, the rule has the potential to significantly improve the ecological health of the Bay for the benefit of wildlife and people alike.”

Jim Abernathy, interim president and CEO of PennFuture: "Friday’s federal court decision clears the way for EPA and the states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to carry out their responsibilities to clean up our polluted streams. We will continue our work to protect streams and rivers in Pennsylvania for the benefit of our state’s environment and citizens."