Chesapeake Bay Foundation Comments On EPA's Bay TMDL

“EPA’s actions today reflect a historic change in how government will restore water quality in local rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay and protect the hundreds of thousands of jobs that rely on clean water," said Chesapeake Bay Foundation President William C Baker said. "This plan includes science-based limits, clear expectations, and accountability, and is the result of years of public involvement and close cooperation between EPA and the Bay jurisdictions.
“It is clear, however, that the hardest work is still to come. The states and the District of Columbia must implement the plans through new laws, regulations, funding, and enforcement, and EPA must hold all jurisdictions accountable.
“As we saw in the development of the Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs), EPA’s threat of serious consequences resulted in significant improvements to the state plans. It is essential that EPA stand firm and impose consequences if the states and the District of Columbia do not achieve the 2009 milestones due to be met by 2011, as EPA stated they would in a briefing today.
“If EPA and the jurisdictions implement the WIPs and the TMDL, history will record December 29, 2010 as the turning point in the restoration of this national treasure.”
CBF's Pennsylvania Agriculture Program Manager Lamonte Garber added, “The Bay TMDL offers the new Administration an opportunity to place Pennsylvania in a leadership role by ensuring compliance with PA's comprehensive pollution control laws. By making this a priority, as reflected in the state's TMDL clean-up plan, Governor-Elect Corbett can dramatically reduce pollution not only to the Bay but also the Commonwealth’s rivers and streams.”