Your October 2010 BayStat: Maryland on Target for Chesapeake Bay Cleanup

From the desk of...

Martin O'Malley, Governor of Maryland

Governor O'Malley addressing the 27th Chesapeake Bay Executive Council.

Governor O'Malley addressed the 27th Chesapeake Bay Executive Council on June 3, 2010.

We recently learned that Maryland's Draft Watershed Implementation Plan has received a very positive assessment from Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson. EPA's response demonstrates that our hard work over the past four years has laid the groundwork for moving forward to restore our cherished Chesapeake Bay. The plan represents the best science from the region's best experts to move the Bay off of life support, and off of the nation's dirty waters list.

When we took office, we saw that many state agency efforts were operating in isolation, without the coordination and targeting needed to make the efforts efficient and effective. During the first year of BayStat, we examined each of those agency efforts in detail and initiated changes to focus them on Bay restoration and make them work more efficiently. We redesigned Maryland's CREP program and obtained federal approval. We targeted septic upgrades where they provide the greatest benefit to the Bay, replacing failing septics in the Critical Area along the Bay's shoreline. After we worked with our colleagues in the General Assembly to create the Chesapeake Bay 2010 Trust Fund, we targeted the use of that fund towards the subwatersheds whose improvement provides the greatest benefit to the Bay as a whole.

We also moved solid science back into the forefront of decision-making. We collected data that identifies the areas of land that have the greatest ecological value to the health of the Bay, and now use that to decide which lands merit investment of state land preservation funds. The results are displayed for everyone to see on the GreenPrint website. In 2008 we followed the advice of fisheries scientists and put in place the new strategy that led to the resurgence of blue crab populations in the Bay. We have now adopted a scientifically-backed strategy for oysters and expect that new strategy to lead to a resurgence of oysters in the Bay as well.

Those are just some of the actions that helped us submit a plan that will significantly reduce pollution in the Bay by 2020, the deadline we set for ourselves, a full five years ahead of the target set by the EPA and the other Bay States. The actions proposed in the plan will improve our environment and public health, and help create jobs to protect the enormous economic value of the Chesapeake Bay. Now we look forward to hearing from Marylanders, via our website and at regional public meetings, as we work to finalize our Watershed Implementation Plan and the Bay TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) report by the end of this year.

We can be proud that all of our efforts have combined to make the Chesapeake Bay at least a little bit healthier today than it was four years ago. I hope that you will join us in renewing our commitment to continue the effort until the Chesapeake Bay is restored as a vital centerpiece of bounty, beauty, recreation and commerce for our generation and for generations to come.

Sincerely,