Download - Revision 2 Cosmos Club presentation 9.24.15
THE CHESAPEAKE BAY:
What Ails It and What is Being Done About It
Cosmos Club
September 24, 2015
• Largest estuary in the country
• 64,000-square-mile watershed
• 11,684 miles of shoreline
• 17 million people and growing
The Chesapeake Bay Watershed
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Nutrients• Primarily nitrogen and phosphorus• Promote growth of algae
– Decaying algae deplete dissolved oxygen, creating “dead zones” and killing marine life
– Algae block sunlight, killing sub-aquatic vegetation (“SAV”)
Fish Kills4
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• Block sunlight • Smother benthic organisms
Sediments
Main Sources of Pollution to the Bay
Stormwater
Industrial and
Municipal
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What Are We Doing?
What Are We Doing?To clean up the Bay we need to change behavior:
Of developers Of farmers and CAFO operators Of wastewater treatment operators Of municipalities Of the rest of us
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The Pollution Diet (EPA 2010)
Baywide Caps (per year) Reduction from 2009 Nitrogen 185M lbs 25% Phosphorus 12.5M lbs 24% Sediment 5.5B lbs 20% Achieve 60% by 2017Achieve 100% by 2025
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MilestonesGoal is to have all measures necessary to
meet water quality standards in place by 2025
WIPs contain schedules of when each step is to be accomplished
Biannual reports to EPA
Mid-point assessment in 2017
Targeting the Main Sources
Farm Runoff, esp. factory farms
Contaminated Stormwater
Wastewater Treatment Plants
Harmful Land Use
Others
Discharges from “point sources”
(Clean Water Act Regulates)
Discharges from “non-point sources”
(Clean Water Act Does Not
Regulate)
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Many PlayersState, County and Local
Governments
NGOs and Choose Clean Water Coalition
Riverkeepers
Individual citizens
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Big or Small, They All Need Lawyers
Federal and State Laws and Regulations; Permit Requirements; Zoning Codes; Ordinances; Guidelines; Contracts, and more . . . .
Who Ya Gonna Call?
Chesapeake Legal Alliance“Lawyers for the Bay”
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We are UniqueCLA is the only organization whose only mission is to provide pro bono legal services on cases relating to the restoration or protection of the
Bay or its watershed
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CLA ResourcesPool of 160 volunteer lawyers and growing
Annapolis Office: 4 people
Board of Directors
In 2014 we handled 85 cases
Annual budget of $250k produces nearly $2 million worth of legal services
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The Cases We HandleAgriculture and Contaminated Stormwater
Illegal discharges - Permit violations
TMDL Implementation
Local zoning and Land use
Programmatic solutions, e.g., incentives for farmers to reduce runoff
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Plans for GrowthDemand exceeds supply
Additional staff attorney needed
Need to serve broader area than MD,VA, DC and a few PA
Big need for help in PA; some in W.Va., Del and NY
Training and Education – big demand
Questions and Discussion