Governor Martin O'Malley conducts a boom deployment demonstration with MDE staff at the June 29th Oil Spill Roundtable in Ocean City, Maryland.

 

I want to congratulate Maryland Senator Ben Cardin and thank him for his leadership on one of the most urgent issues of our time  the protection and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. The ongoing devastation in the Gulf of Mexico continues to remind us that we cannot take our natural resources for granted; all of us in Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay region are fortunate to have Senator Cardin leading this charge in Washington on our behalf.

 

This spring we have been heartened by news that blue crabs and underwater grasses are improving in response to our Bay restoration efforts. 

In addition to continuing our strong efforts to improve and restore conditions in the Bay, we need to guard against the possibility of catastrophic events that could overwhelm the good progress we are making. The science tells us that the oil currently spewing into the Gulf of Mexico is not likely to reach Maryland's coastline in any measurable form. But a similar spill off the Mid-Atlantic coast could have a serious impact, and we do not need to take the risk of that happening. That is why I have consistently fought against proposals to allow oil drilling off the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. Maryland is ready to respond to oil spills and other disastrous events, but some damage would be unavoidable.

A large oil spill close to our coastline would be a significant threat to the success we are having with restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and our Atlantic coastal bays. In addition to the damage such a spill would cause if the oil were to come into the Chesapeake Bay, blue crabs and many fish species would be harmed because they spend part of their lives in the ocean as well as in the Bay. The Bay's blue crab population rose in 2009 to its highest level since 1997, and we want to build on that gain, not lose it.

Instead of continuing our dependence on oil, we are moving Maryland forward to increase wind, solar, and other green energy production. In late May I wrote to Secretary Salazar requesting a ban on offshore drilling along the Mid-Atlantic coast. Recently, Maryland became one of ten states to form an offshore wind energy consortium. We are installing solar energy systems on government and private buildings, and installing a network of charging stations for electric cars that are expected to come on the market soon. All of these efforts put Maryland in the forefront of the new energy economy and the new jobs that come with it  installing, operating, and manufacturing new types of equipment. We are doing all we can to position Maryland to lead at the forefront of green energy, biotech, cybersecurity, and other growing parts of the economy, and our efforts are paying off as Maryland is adding jobs at about twice the rate of the rest of the nation.

In the meanwhile our Maryland beaches are open, and our seafood is fresh and safe. I hope you will enjoy our beaches, seafood and water-based recreational opportunities as the summer progresses.