Virginia Get Tallies Whacked Over Bay Clean Up

Virginia needs to do more faster to restore the bay, analysis shows

Virginia needs to do more to restore the Chesapeake Bay and do it faster, according to a new analysis by environmental groups.

To meet cleanup deadlines, the state must accelerate reductions of polluted runoff from farms, suburbs and urban areas, the report said.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Choose Clean Water Coalition, a network of groups supporting the bay cleanup, released their analysis early today.
. . .
The analysis shows that Virginia is meeting only two of eight key “milestones” — specific cleanup goals set for every two years. The eight milestones show the progress, or lack of it, during 2012 and 2013.  . . The new analysis shows Virginia met its two-year goal for fencing cattle out of streams and restoring urban streams. But the state fell short on goals including:

• Creating forested buffers along streams to help block polluted runoff;
• Installing modern stormwater measures such as small wetlands and pavement through which rain can seep;
• Limiting fertilizer use in places like subdivisions and office parks; and
• Using no-till farming, which limits the runoff of fertilizer and soil.

I'm not sure how realistic these milestones are, or how they all relate to the "Bay Diet." My sense is that the NGOs like CBF and CCWC have similar end points in mind as the EPA, but don't necessarily share the same priorities as to how to get there.

As always, money is the big issue, and a lot of money will need to shelled out in tax money, and in enforced compliance before very much improvement is noted in the Bay's health. I have doubts that tax payers and consumers will be willing to bear the burdens long enough to see it through.