September 2018 Volume 28 Number 6 Washed away? Torrential rains threaten Bay Many restoration gains localities in ≈ Scientists are waiting to see Maryland if recent progress will help the are struggling Chesapeake more easily bounce with the back from July storms. daunting task BY JEREMY COX of curbing Up to her chest in muddy water, stormwater Cassie Gurbisz had a clear realization. runoff, a “When I just went down, it was source of pitch-black at the bottom,” said pollution that Gurbisz, a coastal ecologist with continues Maryland’s St. Mary’s College, as to grow she prepared for another dive into the across the Upper Bay. “I’ve never been in water Chesapeake this murky before.” Bay The chocolate-colored water was watershed caused by an unusual summertime even as deluge that dumped a foot or more of progress is rain in parts of Maryland and Pennsyl- being made vania over a five-day span beginning on other July 21. Just as water levels began fronts. falling, a smaller sequel roared into (Dave Harp) northern Pennsylvania and southern New York, adding another 2–6 inches of rainfall. The health of the Chesapeake has MD county took on runoff challenge, still fell short shown signs of improvement in recent ≈ Montgomery, a leader in since gotten similar marching orders, ity to struggle with the daunting task of years, with underwater grass beds addressing stormwater, could as did Baltimore city and the State curbing stormwater runoff, a source of reaching levels not seen in decades, Highway Administration. pollution that continues to grow across and dissolved oxygen levels ticking face penalty for missing goal. But in April, Montgomery County the Chesapeake Bay watershed even as upward in deepwater areas. The persis- BY TIMOTHY B. WHEELER signed a consent decree with the Mary- progress is being made on other fronts. tent storms could be a setback, at least There’s a price to be paid, some- land Department of the Environment MDE officials say that while Carroll in the short term, for recovery efforts, times, for being at the head of the acknowledging it had fallen far short of County, Baltimore city and the state though it will take weeks, if not pack. In the case of Montgomery the 20 percent goal. The county pledged highway system are “close” to comply- months, of monitoring for scientists to County MD, the price is $300,000. to catch up over the next two years. ing with the 20 percent requirement, fully assess the potential damage — or That’s the penalty the Washington, It also agreed to either pay a penalty the rest are lagging. even know the amount of water-fouling DC, suburb agreed earlier this year of $300,000 or spend that much on a “Stormwater [control] is not in the nutrients and sediment that were to pay for its failure to curb pollution pollution-reduction project that would place it needs to be,” acknowledged flushed into the Bay. sufficiently from its streets, side- go beyond what’s already required. Lee Currey, director of the MDE’s The pollution could spur late- walks, parking lots and buildings. “You can always tell the pioneers, water and science administration. As summer algae blooms, bury bottom Under a municipal stormwater because they have the arrows in state officials draw up plans for get- habitats in silt and contribute to permit issued by the state in 2010, their backs,” said Frank Dawson, ting the rest of the way to the 2025 oxygen-starved “dead zones,” advo- Montgomery was the first county in chief of watershed capital projects Bay cleanup goals set by the U.S. cates fear. It is one of the biggest tests Maryland required to capture or treat for Montgomery’s Department of Environmental Protection Agency, he the ecosystem has faced since the runoff from 20 percent of its pave- Environmental Protection. “We’re recently said that they’re looking at state-federal Bay Program partnership ment and buildings. Eight other coun- not the only jurisdiction, I think, how to keep making progress while kicked off a new 15-year restoration ties — Anne Arundel, Baltimore, that’s having trouble.” giving localities more leeway in effort in 2010. Carroll, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Montgomery may be the first held to “We hope the Bay has recovered Howard and Prince George’s have account, but it’s far from the only local- Struggle continues on page 26 Flood continues on page 18 Bay Journal • September 2018 2 Editor’s Note BAY JOURNAL is published by Bay Journal Media to inform the public about ecological, scientific, historic and cultural issues Many talked about a better Bay, Batiuk helped to make it happen and events related to the Chesapeake Bay. The Bay Journal, circulation 35,000, is published monthly except in midsummer No one is learning new things and figuring out and midwinter. It is distributed free of charge. Bundles are available irreplaceable, how to take cool new information and for distribution. Material may be reproduced, with permission or so they say, explain it in a story. Batiuk, though, used and attribution. Publication is made possible by grants through but some people that information to make a difference. the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay are raising that “It wasn’t science for science sake, it Program Office, the Campbell Foundation, the National Oceanic question when was translating it into policy,” said Jon and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay Office, the it comes to Rich Capacasa, former head of EPA Region 3’s Sumner T. McKnight Foundation, the Rauch Foundation, the Batiuk, who water protection division. Fair Play Foundation, the Shared Earth Foundation, the Virginia retired from the More than once, I remember talking Environmental Endowment, anonymous donors, and by reader U.S. Environ- to Batiuk about how a particular initiative contributions. Views expressed in the Bay Journal do not mental Protec- he was working on might pan out, and I’d necessarily represent those of any funding agency or organization. tion Agency’s Bay go away thinking, “That’s an interesting Program Office at the end of July. concept, but I’m not sure it’ll work in real- For mailing list additions/changes, please use the form on this For me and for others, he was a ity.” But he usually found a way. page or contact: Bay Journal, P.O. Box 222, Jacobus, PA 17407-0222 valued source of information and, if he Batiuk was a driving force behind E-mail: [email protected] didn’t know something, he’d direct you developing the Bay’s unique system of BAY JOURNAL MEDIA to someone who did. Even though he water quality standards and the cleanup worked legendary long hours, he always effort. He would take science and figure Bay Journal Media is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with answered his phone if he was in, rather out how to mesh it into a policy frame- a mission to further public education and awareness of issues than letting it go to voice mail. work others hadn’t envisioned. affecting the Chesapeake Bay and the mid-Atlantic environment Though Batiuk announced his retire- That vision has left the Bay in a better by creating and distributing journalistic products. In addition ment plan a couple of years ago, I — like place than he found it and set a course to producing the Bay Journal, Bay Journal Media operates the many others — was more or less in to guide the region for years to come. Bay Journal News Service, which distributes Bay Journal denial until the months just before his articles and original op-eds about the Chesapeake Bay or regional departure. Although he never led the Thanks for your thoughts environmental issues to more than 400 newspapers in the region, Bay Program office, he was a fixture To the thousands of Bay Journal reaching several million readers each month. there since 1985 — starting work just readers who filled out and returned the a year after it opened. Ultimately, he survey we mailed this summer — thank Karl Blankenship, Executive Director became the most quoted person in Bay you! The response rate has far exceeded Andrew Nolan, CPA, Chief Financial Officer Journal history. (See Batiuk, the boy, our expectations — so much that it is STAFF knew Bay was his destiny; as a man, he going to take more time than we imag- helped change its fate, on page 12.) ined to tabulate all of them and read all Editor: Karl Blankenship ([email protected]) Batiuk was so thoroughly versed in of the comments. Managing Editor: Lara Lutz ([email protected]) the Bay, you might think he would bleed I know that readers are overwhelm- CONTACT US Associate Editor/Projects: Timothy B. Wheeler ([email protected]) its brackish water if cut. He worked his ingly positive about the Bay Journal, by mail: Bay Journal News Service Editor: Tim Sayles ([email protected]) way up from intern to associate director but we want to learn about your ideas The Bay Journal Copy/Design Editor: Kathleen A. Gaskell ([email protected]) for science, building solid relationships for fine-tuning our products as we plan 619 Oakwood Drive Staff Writer: Jeremy Cox ([email protected]) among a constantly changing array of for the future. I’ll keep you posted as we Seven Valleys, PA Staff Writer: Donna Morelli ([email protected]) state officials and stakeholder groups. analyze the information. 17360-9395 Staff Writer: Whitney Pipkin ([email protected]) I like going to science meetings, — Karl Blankenship Photographer: Dave Harp ([email protected]) by phone: ADVERTISING 717-428-2819 Sign Up for the Bay Journal or Change your Address Marketing & Advertising Director: Jacqui Caine ([email protected]) TheBay Journal is distributed FREE by Bay Journal Media, Inc.