Chesapeake Bay Foundation Blog

Mechanicsburg Panel Discussion Rescheduled

Due to icy conditions, the panel discussion I mentioned Tuesday has been rescheduled for Tuesday, February 26. Same time, same place.

The debate is hot in PA

Pennsylvania newspapers are filled with articles about municipalities who are frustrated about the costs of cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. The cleanup is federally mandated--but unfunded, and if a 2010 deadline for meeting these mandatory water quality standards isn't met, the federal government could come down harder with even stricter standards. But local jurisdictions don't know how they're going to come up with the hundreds of millions of dollars it will take to comply. CBF has joined the call for the Rendell administration to provide funds to municipalities struggling to meet sewage treatment upgrade requirements.

If you live near Harrisburg, you might want to attend tonight's panel discussion on the Chesapeake Bay cleanup and its effects on sewage bills. The discussion will be held from 5 - 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn West, 5401 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg. Panel participants include Kathleen McGinty, secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection; John Brosius, deputy director of the Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association; and Scott Wyland, lawyer for the Capital Region Council of Governments.

Report Bad Water Quality

1.866.666.9260
Write that number down.

The news this summer has been dismal. Three-hundred-thousand fish dead in Mattox Creek off the Potomac River in July. Twenty thousand in Weems Creek in June. A six-mile-long algal bloom in the Potomac.

We want to know more about what's going on in our rivers and Bay, and we need your help to do it.

If you see or hear about something troubling on the water —like an algal bloom, fish kill, or "crab jubilee"—inform the proper authorities and call CBF'S Bad Water Strike Force Hotline at 1.866.666.9260.

When you call, you'll be asked for some basic information, including:

• Where and when did the event happen?
• What did the water look like?
• Were there dead fish? If so, how many, what kind, big or small?
• What were the weather conditions?
• Have you or can you take a picture of the event?
• Have you contacted the appropriate state agency?

At the end of the summer, CBF will use your data to develop a report on bad water events in the region.  We will share the report with government officials and urge them to support funding for Bay restoration. We'll also share the report with you.

VA Legislature Makes Clean Water A Priority

CBF’s top legislative priority in the 2007 Virginia General Assembly session was approving up to $250 million in additional funding for cleaning up Virginia’s streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay. On February 24th, the General Assembly authorized the funding. CBF congratulates the legislators for continuing to make clean water a priority.

Septic upgrade grant funding available for Charles County residents

One more strike against nitrogen, one more point for the Bay.

The Charles County Commissioners and the Charles County Department of Health today announced that grant funding will be available to homeowners wishing to upgrade their on-site sewage disposal system with nitrogen removal capability. The grant funding will also pay for the first five years of maintenance. These funds are made available through the fees paid to the Bay Restoration Fund by owners of on-site sewage disposal systems. (Southern Maryland Headline News)

Anne Arundel homeowners can get funds for septic systems

Starting February 20, 2007, a property owner can submit a grant application to the Anne Arundel County Department of Health to repair or upgrade their septic system.  Funds for these grants come from the "flush tax" or the Bay Restoration Fund, and the county has enough funds to pay for about 130 systems.  Projects involving the repair or upgrade of an existing septic system in the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area will be ranked the highest priority and, if funds are available, recommended for immediate approval.  For more information and an application to fill out and mail, see: http://www.aahealth.org/a2z.asp?id=208  The application must include a site plan showing the size and shape of the property, house location, well and septic system on the property.  You also need to include a legal description of your property, which should be on your property tax bill, or you can look it up online here: http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/rp_rewrite/  then choose Anne Arundel, Street address, and enter your house number and name of your street without the Rd, St, etc.

For any questions not answered on the web page, contact Kim Roy, Environmental Program Supervisor, at 410-222-7193.

National budget cuts funds for the bay

The bay has been getting a lot of support from local lawmakers so far this year, but federal support has gone south. Today's Annapolis Capital reports that President Bush's proposed budget includes more than $75 million in cuts to Chesapeake Bay programs.

"If the president's budget were enacted, it would be devastating for the bay," said Senator Ben Cardin.

The proposed cuts reduce funding for sewage plant upgrades, education, oyster restoration, land preservation, as well as cutting $1.6 million from the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office in Eastport.

What have we been doing for 19 years?

An article in today's Washington Post includes the following quote from J. Charles Fox, a former head of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources about efforts over the past 19 years to clean up the Chesapeake Bay:

"We have done a truly tremendous job of defining the problem, and we have done a truly tremendous job of defining the solution. But we have not yet succeeded in actually implementing the solution."

National and local legislators throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed will be tackling tough questions during this session. Keep David Fahrenthold's article in mind when the time comes to decide what efforts need your support.

More from the Washington Post:

• A picture is worth a thousand words. What will you do to protect the beauty of the Bay?
• Staggering amounts of work and funding are still needed.

Rivanna Steps Up to Reduce Nitrogen/Phosphorus

WCAV-TV reports that Virginia's Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority approved a $35 million plan for removing nitrogen and phosphorous from waste water at its Moores Creek plant. The next step is approval by the state's Department of Environmental Quality.

What's next for Blue Plains?

In December, EPA issued a draft pollution discharge permit for the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant that mandated an annual load limit of 4.689 million pounds, the cap needed to meet Chesapeake Bay restoration goals – the new limit would require a reduction of more than 1 million pounds from their existing annual loads. Blue Plains will need to upgrade its plant in order to comply with the new, more stringent limits.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that EPA did not include a compliance schedule -- timelines and milestones for the plant upgrade -- in the draft permit that has been out for public review (the comment period ends today). Instead they have indicated they will put the schedule into "another legally enforceable document," likely by modifying the existing consent decree between EPA and the DC Water & Sewer Authority. A consent decree cannot be challenged the way a permit can. Therefore, EPA has cut the public out of the opportunity to review and comment on either Blue Plains' schedule for upgrading or on the interim limits to be set (if any) until the upgrade is complete.

Did you know… The Blue Plains wastewater treatment plant, located in Washington, DC is, by far, the largest point source of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  In fact, according to EPA, it is the largest advanced wastewater treatment plant in the world. The plant has a design capacity to treat 370 million gallons of sewage per day and on average, it discharges more than 6 million pounds of nitrogen per year into the Potomac River.

Municipalities engage in improving water quality standards

Maryland state employees met with local planners Wednesday to hash out steps for improving water-quality standards. "As populations grow, it's that much more difficult to get control of the nutrients," said Jim George of the Maryland Department of the Environment. "The key concept here is that we need to offset the new sources of pollution. Neither the state nor the local government can do this alone."

Charles Town OKs Wastewater Plan

In West Virginia, the Charles Town City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a strategic plan to make Charles Town compliant with Chesapeake Bay wastewater requirements. The Wastewater Strategic Plan is the first of its type in the state.

Busch, O'Malley Pledge to Revive the Bay

Maryland House Speaker Michael Busch said the restoration of native oysters would be a top environmental priority this year. Besides more money for oyster restoration, lawmakers pledged to join other states in requiring cleaner emissions from new cars, and would consider ways to encourage renewable sources of energy.

"With the Chesapeake Bay's very survival imperiled by poorly planned sprawl and a multitude of other manmade ills -- from stormwater runoff to broken sewer systems -- we have a possibility of rescuing this natural jewel," O'Malley said. O'Malley's choice to lead the state environmental agency, Shari T. Wilson, also reaffirmed that the administration would usher in a "BayStat" program to monitor water quality and instill accountability.