Kent County Commish Clubs CBF over Conowingo

Fithian Blasts CBF, Says New Coalition Bringing Better Attention to Conowingo

Kent County Commissioner Ron Fithian on Tuesday blasted the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for its deafening silence and lack of advocacy in addressing pollution coming from the Susquehanna through the Conowingo Dam — a point where many experts, and even CBF, say is the single largest source of sediment and nutrient pollution into the Chesapeake.

Fithian also blasted CBF for criticizing the Kent Commissioners’ decision to join the Clean Chesapeake Coalition, a seven-county coalition dedicated to addressing a fix at the Conowingo before the operator, Exelon Power, is approved for relicensing in 2014.
...“We were heavily criticized by all the so called experts,” Fithian said at Tuesday’s Commissioners’ meeting. “I would get calls at 7:30 in the morning, still in the shower, from people like the Chesapeake bay Foundation, who tried to tell us not to join the coalition.”

“I found that extremely puzzling to me that [an organization] whose motto is to “Save the Bay” would not want to take a look at something that was so important,” Fithian said. “I can’t understand it, and I probably never will.”

I understand that the counties are desperately trying to find someone, anyone, to pay a much bigger share of the 'Bay Diet' costs, estimated at $25 billion (with a "B")  over ten years, but I think they're barking up the wrong tree here.  Conowingo has been a net benefit to the Bay in terms of pollution (never mind our stupid shad and herring), and the counties should be praying that Exelon finds a way to continue the dams nutrient trapping function that Conowingo has provided for so long.

Unfortunately, I don't see an easy solution arising soon.