Virginia leading Chesapeake Bay restoration

We spent more than a year developing a strong, science-based clean water blueprint that will achieve necessary nutrient pollution reductions

As the new chairman of the Chesapeake Executive Council, I understand the urgency of saving the Chesapeake Bay from the pollution that has threatened it for so many years, as well as the magnitude of the challenges we face in the bay watershed, which includes six states and the District of Columbia.

It will be my job to ensure we have strong leadership on bay issues, and that all of our partners are working together toward the same goal as we approach our 2025 bay restoration deadline. That deadline was set in 2010, after 26 years of restoration efforts, and if states can’t meet it on their own, the EPA will step in and set requirements for us — not something any bay state wants to have happen. Virginia and all of our partner states must pick up the pace to meet that deadline, as a recent Chesapeake Bay Foundation report on the bay cleanup effort makes clear.

Virginia is ready to lead by example. We spent more than a year developing a strong, sciencebased clean water blueprint that will achieve necessary nutrient pollution reductions and account for the impacts of climate change. We are implementing that plan, and while progress is challenging, we can find solutions by working together.

For instance, we worked with a wide array of stakeholders on legislation that will require livestock to be fenced out of streams in Virginia’s bay tributaries, and fertilizer to be applied according to an approved plan. This will take effect after 2025.

We must do all we can to support farmers and food production as we reduce excess nutrients flowing into our rivers and streams. We will continue supporting good agricultural stewardship, starting with a commitment of nearly $50 million this year, and more than $30 million next year for agricultural best management practices.

We are also working to reduce the pollution put out by some older wastewater treatment plants. Some of these plants discharge effluent containing three times more pollution than what is achievable with standard modern technology. We are developing regulations to clean up these plants and providing $50 million in state funding to help. We are also dedicating another $50 million to help localities upgrade stormwater infrastructure, and $10 million to accelerate oyster reef restoration.

It is a myth that only Virginia and Maryland benefit from the

Chesapeake Bay. New York anglers come to Virginia to catch red drum and cobia, and Pennsylvania diners enjoy Maryland oysters and crabs. Conservation efforts that have direct benefits to jurisdictions upstream are also important to restoring the bay. I am committed to actively engaging all our watershed partners to understand and promote work that garners local support and advances the bay cleanup. After all, while water quality in the estuary remains the central goal, conservation and restoration of forests, wildlife and streams are also critically important.

We will also take the lead in ensuring that our federal partners hold up their end of the bargain. While federal clean water and other environmental standards have moved backward in recent years, I am confident that the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden will have an Environmental Protection Agency that upholds its responsibilities and uses its authority to hold states to their Clean Water Act commitments.

Finally, we will work to make the bay program more diverse, equitable, inclusive and just. I am proud that the Executive Council recently committed to this effort, and as chairman, I will ensure that we follow through. This requires reevaluating everything from our hiring practices to our conservation policies.

The right to clean water, clean air, abundant fish and wildlife, and access to the outdoors should be universal. Protecting these rights will help save the Chesapeake Bay. And while rights are important, our responsibilities are key. We are doing our part in Virginia, but the bay needs everyone’s help. I look forward to leading the broader bay partnership as we all work together toward meeting the 2025 Chesapeake Bay restoration deadline.