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From the desk of...
Martin O'Malley, Governor of Maryland
 | | Governor O'Malley and his family search for the perfect holiday tree. |
As 2010 comes to a close, I am very pleased to report that Maryland has submitted a final Phase 1 Watershed Implementation Plan to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The plan we submitted assures that Maryland will meet EPA's Bay cleanup goals and significantly reduce pollution by 2020.
The BayStat process was key to our ability to prepare the plan and our team was especially appreciative of the citizen participation the process received. More than 315 people attended four public meetings to discuss the draft plan, and 1,750 citizens provided comments. We considered every suggestion seriously and the great public input we received ultimately helped us improve the draft plan.
Our goal for Maryland is to achieve the needed reductions in nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment by 2020, five years ahead of the federal government and the other Bay states. With your continued support and the overwhelming support for Bay restoration by all Marylanders, we will be able to take the actions needed to accomplish our accelerated goal.
Development of the final plan was led by the Secretaries of the Environment, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Planning. I particularly want to acknowledge Secretary Shari Wilson, who, after four years of extraordinary work has decided to pursue new professional opportunities. Her leadership has been key to our progress on this plan and many other environmental accomplishments, and we will miss her dearly.
I invite you to review the full plan and our submission letter to EPA at www.mde.state.md.us and look forward to working with you as we move forward with our plan next year.
We wish all of you and your families a safe, restful and joyous holiday season.
Sincerely,
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