Gov. Hogan Names and Shames Pennsylvania Over Bay Pollution

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R)

Maryland Governor calls out Pennsylvania over pollution pouring into Chesapeake Bay

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan is calling for action from Pennsylvania over what he says has been a lack of progress on the part of the state to stop pollution that make its way into the Chesapeake Bay.

As part of his commitment to environmental partnership and stewardship, Gov. Hogan called for upstream states, specifically Pennsylvania, to take responsibility for pollution that is pouring into the Chesapeake Bay.

Governor Hogan did not hold back, sending a letter to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, saying the state “falls far short” in its Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) for the Chesapeake Bay.

“With the recent release of the final WIP to restore the Chesapeake Bay by 2025, Maryland continues to have alarming concerns regarding Pennsylvania’s progress on clean water,” Governor Hogan wrote. “The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s final WIP falls far short of the federally established nitrogen goal by only achieving 73% of the required reduction. Pennsylvania’s plan also includes a troubling funding gap of over $300 million annually.”

It's true that Pennsylvania hasn't exactly stepped up to the plate on the Bay. But I do understand that unlike Maryland and Virginia, Pennsylvania has exactly zero waterfront on the Bay. Perhaps Maryland and Virginia can find some way to sweeten the pot for the states in the watershed that do not have a presence in the Bay.

They do have a level of self-interest in cleaning up the freshwaters that run from Pennsylvania to the Bay, however.