States in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are working to have a new cleanup agreement ready by October. The Capital reports a new agreement is in the works with clearer goals and greater flexibility and transparency.
It would be the fourth Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement in 30 years intended to spur improvements. The last agreement was signed in 2000.
If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, this should qualify.
The new compact would reflect many of the same broad goals but also some changes. It includes strategies spurred by a 2009 presidential order for a "pollution diet" established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The order requires water pollution reductions by 2025.
For the first time, the agreement includes the "headwaters" states of New York, Delaware and West Virginia, in addition to Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.
The problem with the "headwater" states is that they're economic interests tend to align against the Bay; it's easier to let the nutrients roll on downstream than to fix them. They are almost certainly being forced into this pact by the EPA and will drag their feet every step of the way.
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