EPA Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Plans Fail To Appease Environmentalist Critics

摘要

Despite a top EPA official's statements about the agency's plans to ensure the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay, environmentalists say EPA's position falls short of what is necessary for a successful cleanup and that EPA is making it all but certain the agency's critics will file a Clean Water Act (CWA) suit to force stricter steps. During an Aug. 18 public meeting of the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council, EPA Associate Deputy Administrator Doug Benevento acknowledged there is still much to do to ensure the nutrients and sediment targets in the bay's total maximum daily load (TMDL) are met by 2025, and he said the agency will "take appropriate action" within its authorities when necessary. But Benevento did not outline specifics of what the agency might do to address the fact Pennsylvania continues to lag far behind the other jurisdictions in the watershed in meeting its interim cleanup target, despite Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) saying his state cannot achieve a cleaner bay all on its own. "Once again this year, bay restoration leaders ignored the elephant in the room," Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) President William Baker said in an Aug. 18 statement. "Pennsylvania's plan to meet the goals that all agreed on is woefully inadequate and implementation is seriously off-track." Unless the state "finds a way to meet its commitments, the investments that the other Bay states are making will improve local water quality, but the Bay will not be restored," he said.