From the desk of...

Earlier this month the BayStat team met to review Maryland's progress toward our Chesapeake Bay Program two-year milestones. I am very pleased to note the Environmental Protection Agency has confirmed that we have already achieved our 2013 nitrogen and sediment targets and are within 1 percent of reaching our phosphorus goal by the end of the reporting period in December.

Leading to this success, during 2012 Marylanders planted 408,000 acres of cover crops (115% of our goal), retrofitted stormwater management on 72,000 acres of urban land (93% of our goal) and exceeded our Wastewater Treatment Plant goals for nitrogen and phosphorous reduction by 2 million pounds and 27,000 pounds respectively. We also permanently preserved more than 25,000 acres of land, greatly exceeding our goals in four out of five programs.

Thanks to the work of the 2013 General Assembly, new and expanding efforts will help us continue our steady progress. The Landmark Forest Preservation Act will ensure we maintain or increase our existing forest cover, which stands at 40 percent. A new agriculture certainty program will provide incentives for farmers to adopt restoration practices and a new phosphorus management tool will identify agricultural areas at risk of contributing excess phosphorus loads to the Bay. Our Fiscal Year 2014 budget includes $68 million to accelerate both State and local efforts to improve Bay health through the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays Trust Fund. And finally, MDE is issuing permit revisions to implement the Bay Total Maximum Daily Load in Anne Arundel, Prince George's and Baltimore counties.

These are among the better choices we are making together that are garnering better results for our citizens and our Bay.