Randie is a Sierra Club Volunteer and resident of Poquoson
By: Randie Trestrail
For our November program, we have assembled a panel of local officials who work on the Chesapeake Bay Agreement implementation from Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, York County, and NASA Langley Research Center. We will learn about plans and phases of the plan that will enable the water quality to improve and bring back health to the Bay.
Prior to 2010, there were voluntary interstate agreements to save the Chesapeake Bay. These agreements were ineffective in restoring the Bay. According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), the failed agreements put human health at risk, destroyed wildlife habitat, and weakened local economies. In 2007, when states agreed they had failed again to clean up the Bay, CBF took action. CBF and partners sued the EPA in 2009 for its ineffective enforcement of the Clean Water Act. They won.
As a result, a provision of the Clean Water Act known legally as a Total Maximum Daily Load or TMDL was created. TMDL is a calculation of the maximum amount of pollutants a body of water can receive and still safely meet water quality standards. The Bay TMDL puts limits on the amount of nitrogen, phosphorous, and sediment that are allowed to flow into the Bay. As water runs off our lawns, roads, and other surfaces it picks up bacteria, nutrients, and chemicals and carries them directly into our streams and rivers. These pollutants cause a variety of problems for living things – including humans. For example, extra nutrients from fertilizers cause too much algae to grow, which robs the water of oxygen and makes it a bad place for fish, and other stream dwellers to live. If the water isn’t a healthy habitat for these creatures, this in turn affects animals that are higher up in the food chain, like mammals and birds.
Our program presenters will discuss their plans for reducing polluted runoff from entering the Bay. The EPA uses scientific modeling to determine the limits of pollution that can enter the Bay. The localities, with guidelines and assistance from the DEQ, are responsible for developing and implementing those plans at the local level.