From the desk of...
Martin O'Malley, Governor of Maryland
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Governor Martin O'Malley at the Chesapeake Executive Council Meeting in Richmond, where he presented an update on Maryland's Bay restoration progress. |
At last month's Chesapeake Executive Council meeting in Richmond, I was pleased to present an update on our Bay restoration progress. Thanks to our work together, we are now 99 percent of the way toward meeting our first 2-year milestone for Maryland's part in restoring our Chesapeake Bay. Together with our agriculture community, we planted a record number of cover crops last year, exceeding our 2011 Bay cleanup goal by 20 percent.
We have upgraded 23 of our largest wastewater treatment plants to remove more nitrogen and phosphorus from the water that passes through them, and another 15 upgrades are underway. Our blue crab population is rebounding, thanks to our work with our partners in Virginia, and our oyster population is beginning to rebound.
We are also making progress in reducing stormwater runoff, adopting a plan that will help us guide development to cause fewer problems for the Bay, and implementing our new law that will reduce the excess nitrogen and phosphorus that washes off of lawns and into the Bay.
Looking ahead, we are working on Maryland's Phase II Watershed Implementation Plan, and setting our goals and milestones for the next two years. Our local governments have already begun looking at actions they can take to help, and they will receive detailed targets for nitrogen and phosphorus reduction later this month.
Your help and support has been essential to our progress and will remain so as we continue to move forward, to change the way we manage our land, our resources, and the way we grow and develop. Thank you for helping us revitalize our Chesapeake Bay and creating the smarter, greener, more sustainable future we all prefer.
Sincerely,