New State Plans Reveal Tough Path to 2025 Cleanup Goals ≈ PA Plan Admits It Falls Short of Nia, Which Submitted a Draft Plan to the Programs to Implement Them
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M ay 2019 Volume 29 Number 3 New state plans reveal tough path to 2025 cleanup goals ≈ PA plan admits it falls short of nia, which submitted a draft plan to the programs to implement them. the Bay’s most important habitats for goal; NY hints it may not follow U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The agency has the ability to take juvenile crabs, fish and waterfowl. When that falls far short of its cleanup goal. New action against states that fall behind on the algae die, they draw oxygen from the theirs; ag and stormwater runoff York submitted a plan, but suggested it their goals, and pressure is mounting for water, leading to oxygen-starved dead bedevil almost all jurisdictions. did not intend to fully implement it. Pennsylvania to face consequences if it zones that put large areas of the Bay BY KARL BLANKENSHIP Other states drafted plans that meet continues to come up short. off-limits for everything from fish to In April, states submitted yet another their goals on paper. But in many cases, The region has been working to clean bottom-dwelling worms. round of roadmaps outlining how they require a nearly unprecedented up the Bay since 1983 and set its first After earlier goals were missed, the they intend to reach Chesapeake Bay increase in the amount of on-the-ground voluntary cleanup goal in 1987. It then EPA imposed a regulatory plan, called cleanup goals by 2025. But, 36 years actions that reduce polluted runoff from repeatedly established and fell short of the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum after the region committed to cleaning farms and developed lands. goals to control nitrogen and phospho- Daily Load or “pollution diet,” in 2010. up the nation’s largest estuary, the latest The EPA is reviewing the drafts to rus, two nutrients that spur algae blooms It established enforceable limits on the draft plans still won’t get them over the determine whether they meet pollution in the Bay. amount of nutrients entering the Bay finish line. goals for each state and whether states The blooms block sunlight, kill- That’s largely because of Pennsylva- have adequate funding, staffing and ing underwater grass beds — one of WIPs continues on page 22 This is the view of the Susquehanna taken from above Highpoint Scenic Vista near Wrightsville, PA, in the Susque- hanna National Heritage Area. (Susquehanna Heritage) New National Heritage Area to highlight Susquehanna ≈ Designation likely to attract more history, and it is such a special place. I think it visitors to York and Lancaster counties’ deserves it,” said Mark Platts, president of Susque- hanna Heritage, a nonprofit coalition of partners natural, historical and cultural features. from both counties that pushed for the designation BY AD CRabLE and will guide its moving forward. The majestic Lower Susquehanna River, its vistas, “It was part of our vision to be a national destina- wooded hills, sculpted potholes — in the river rocks, tion,” he said. “The heritage area is seen as a vehicle not roads — and its place in shaping U.S. history will to do that. We would like to see a combination of get more attention now that it has earned a seat among more recreation and interpretation.” the nation’s other 54 national heritage areas. That means more programs and experiences for The Susquehanna National Heritage Area was visitors and the area’s residents alike. recently created by Congress and President Donald The designation brings the heritage area under the Trump, after 11 sometimes frustrating years in umbrella of the National Park Service and its familiar the making. It includes 53 miles of the river at its brown logo. Local officials hope the increased recogni- A kayak launch at the Zimmerman Center for Heritage widest and deepest point and all of Lancaster and tion and visibility will mold the two counties into a provides access to the Susquehanna River as part of York counties to the Maryland line. the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic “The Susquehanna is so significant to American Heritage continues on page 24 Trail. (Dave Harp) Bay Journal • M ay 2019 2 Editor’s Note BAY JOURNAL is published by Bay Journal Media to inform the public about ecological, scientific, historic and cultural issues Can we WIP Chesapeake into shape? Only time will tell and events related to the Chesapeake Bay. The Bay Journal, circulation 35,000, is published monthly except in midsummer It was a momentary declared that it will keep doing the same and midwinter. It is distributed free of charge. Bundles are available lapse. I recently called things, even if it doesn’t get to the goal. for distribution. Material may be reproduced, with permission someone and asked about a For many of the other states, meeting and attribution. Publication is made possible by grants through “tributary strategy.” goals would require the implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay “What?” they wondered. runoff control practices on farms at rates far Program Office, the Campbell Foundation, the National Oceanic It’s a term that’s not greater than have been seen in the past, and and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay Office, the been actively used in Bay they require continued over-performance by Sumner T. McKnight Foundation, the Rauch Foundation, the circles for many years. wastewater treatment plants to cover likely Fair Play Foundation, the Shared Earth Foundation, the Virginia Tributary strategies were the original Bay shortfalls from the stormwater sector. Environmental Endowment, anonymous donors, and by reader cleanup plans — making the foundational The EPA is reviewing plans to determine contributions. Views expressed in the Bay Journal do not connection that cleaning up the Bay means if they are feasible and adequately show necessarily represent those of any funding agency or organization. cleaning up the rivers that flow into it. They how remaining gaps should be filled. If not, were first written by states in 1992, with a it could potentially set the stage for future For mailing list additions/changes, please use the form on this couple of iterations over the next decade. agency action. The public is encouraged to page or contact: Bay Journal, P.O. Box 222, Jacobus, PA 17407-0222 The strategies laid out what states had review the plans as well. E-mail: [email protected] to do to meet the Bay nutrient reduction WIPs were supposed to make the Bay BAY JOURNAL MEDIA goals as they were written at the time, the cleanup efforts “real” in a way the tributary first of which was set in 1987. Obviously, strategies never did. Soon, we’ll find out if Bay Journal Media is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with they were not totally effective, as we are still that’s the case. a mission to further public education and awareness of issues talking about meeting Bay water quality affecting the Chesapeake Bay and the mid-Atlantic environment goals. Today, though, our strategies are called Stream ‘An Island out of Time’ by creating and distributing journalistic products. In addition “watershed implementation plans.” These The latest film sponsored by Bay Journal, to producing the Bay Journal, Bay Journal Media operates the documents are not only more specific than “An Island out of Time,” premiered to on Bay Journal News Service, which distributes Bay Journal their predecessors, but potentially more Maryland Public Television in April. articles and original op-eds about the Chesapeake Bay or regional enforceable under the Bay’s Total Maximum The half-hour documentary, produced environmental issues to more than 400 newspapers in the region, Daily Load, established by the U.S. by the filmmaking team of Sandy Cannon- reaching several million readers each month. Environmental Protection Agency in 2010. Brown, Dave Harp and Tom Horton, tells In the coming months, we’ll get an idea the story of a seafood-harvesting family Karl Blankenship, Executive Director about whether the WIPs are indeed more on Smith Island, MD, their vanishing Andrew Nolan, CPA, Chief Financial Officer effective. The drafts released April 12 were heritage and culture — and the difficult STAFF supposed to be something of the endgame decisions made by their children to break — the plans that would show how the with that tradition. Based on Horton’s 1996 Editor: Karl Blankenship ([email protected]) remaining nutrient reduction gap would book, the film is an elegy for a place beset Managing Editor: Lara Lutz ([email protected]) be closed between now and 2025, thereby with erosion, dwindling population and CONTACT US Associate Editor/Projects: Timothy B. Wheeler ([email protected]) restoring healthy conditions throughout vanishing economic opportunities. by mail: Bay Journal News Service Editor: Tim Sayles ([email protected]) the Chesapeake. Feedback has been overwhelmingly The Bay Journal Copy/Design Editor: Kathleen A. Gaskell ([email protected]) Frankly, it’s not encouraging. positive. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can 619 Oakwood Drive Staff Writer: Jeremy Cox ([email protected]) Pennsylvania’s plan doesn’t add up, and its watch it on our website. Visit Seven Valleys, PA Staff Writer: Ad Crable ([email protected]) task is beyond daunting. New York, which bayjournal.com and click on “Films.” 17360-9395 Staff Writer: Whitney Pipkin ([email protected]) has made relatively little progress, has — Karl Blankenship Staff Writer: Sarah Vogelsong ([email protected]) by phone: Photographer: Dave Harp ([email protected]) 717-428-2819 ADVERTISING Sign Up for the Bay Journal or Change your Address TheBay Journal is distributed FREE by Bay Journal Media, Inc. If you would like to Marketing & Advertising Director: Jacqui Caine ([email protected]) be added to its mailing list or need to change your present address, please fill out this form To inquire about BOARD OF DIRECTORS advertising, contact and mail it to Bay Journal, P.O.