The Bay Needs More Money

according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Maryland's bay restoration strategy is underfunded and may not get the job done as promised, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation said Tuesday.

Alison Prost, the foundation's Maryland Executive Director, said Maryland is more than halfway to its bay restoration goals, but said lawmakers must provide more money and make policy changes "or we risk further disappointment after decades of unfulfilled promises to restore a national treasure."

Those steps include dedicated funding for upgrading sewage treatment plants and storm water systems. Policies also must be changed to manage pollution from sprawl development, Prost said.

My view is that the Bay Diet is going to be an incredibly expensive undertaking, and when all is said and done (likely long after my lifespan), the results will turn out to be disappointing. Individual counties are being asked to make changes costing billions of dollars, each.  So, sadly, while I think the Bay Foundation is right, the effort does need more money to succeed, I don't think the region can support the funds required.  I hope I'm wrong.... But Wait!  The Federal Government rides to the rescue with money (in my best Dr. Evil Voice)  with 4 million dollars!

Shit. Oh hell, let's just do what we always do. Hijack some nuclear weapons and hold the world hostage. Yeah? Good! Gentlemen, it has come to my attention that a breakaway Russian Republic called Kreplachistan will be transferring a nuclear warhead to the United Nations in a few days. Here's the plan. We get the warhead and we hold the world ransom for... ONE MILLION DOLLARS!

Oh, not that's not it, this is....

Beneath the lighthouse at Havre de Grace, representatives of local governments signed in for a piece of $4 million. “We have plenty of projects on the shelf in need of funding,” said Harford County Councilwoman Mary Ann Lisanti.

The catch is those projects must also help improve the bay. The EPA is providing the $4 million in grants to be distributed by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Yeah, $4 million, that'll do it... Federal money is like heroin for local governments.  Get a little and you can't stop.  You have hired people with that money; you can't fire them.  That would be cruel, like big business.