Critical Environmental Programs list, 2002

Critical Environmental Programs: There are three environmental issues that are critical to restoring the Chesapeake Bay and protecting Maryland’s environment. The first is upgrading sewage treatment plants, the second is controlling run-off from agriculture, and the third is ensuring that Maryland continues to lead the effort to meet the commitments of the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement • Upgrading Sewage Treatment Plants: Nutrient pollution, most notably nitrogen and phosphorous, is the most urgent threat to the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The most deadly for bay health of these nutrients is nitrogen pollution. Nitrogen comes from a variety of sources; however, agricultural run off and sewage treatment plants are the two largest sources contributing about 60 percent of the nitrogen to the Bay. Maryland has 66 major municipal sewage treatment plants that discharge about 30% of the annual nitrogen load to Maryland waters. Recently, Maryland committed to reducing; the overall load of nitrogen by an additional 7.5 million pounds per year. Governor Glendening issued an Executive Order requiring the upgrade of all of Maryland’s sewage treatment plants to achieve a nitrogen discharge concentration of 3 milligrams per liter where feasible. We were very encouraged by Governor-Elect Ehrlich’s strong commitment to reducing nitrogen from sewage treatment plants and his statement during the campaign that he would seek federal funding for the upgrades. CBF Recommendation: In order to reduce nutrient pollution; obtain federal and state funding to ensure Maryland’s major sewage treatment plants are upgraded and achieve a nitrogen discharge concentration of 3 mg/lit. • Agriculture: Undoubtedly, agriculture is one of the best land uses for the bay. CBF is committed to incentive-based environmental programs for Maryland’s farmers. In 1997, the Water Quality Improvement Act was passed, which called for farmers to have nutrient management plans written by 2001. Due to a variety of reasons, including lack of technical assistance availability, only 24 percent of farmers submitted their plans by the deadline. During the 2002 General Assembly, CBF worked closely with the Maryland Farm Bureau, the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MElA) and others to pass a bill that would have provided some flexibility to farmers to obtain nutrient management plans. Even though there was unanimous consensus on this bill from all stakeholders, the bill was held over at the last minute of the Session. CBF Recommendation: Reconvene interested stakeholders including CBF, the Farm Bureau, MDA and Governor-Elect Ehrlich to champion a bill this year with provisions that would achieve water quality improvement while providing farmers \with flexibility.