Well, At Least It's an Idea

One of the problems with the plan for cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, the so called "Bay Diet" has been getting all 5 watershed states to do "their part" in cleaning up. While water from Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia come into the Bay, they do not have shoreline on it, and stand to benefit little from the cleanup, but are expected to control their waste water and agriculture for its benefit. The non-shoreline states, consequently, and Pennsylvania in particular have been lagging in their achievements to that end. Well, I'll give him credit, MD Senator Cardin (D) has a proposal to help balance that out. Balmer Sun:  In bid for cooperation, Maryland senator seeks Chesapeake Bay funding for Pennsylvania with his first out-of-state earmark

In an unusual approach to a long-standing problem, Democratic U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland told The Baltimore Sun this week that he wants to direct money to Pennsylvania farmers to help them curb damaging runoff that flows from the Susquehanna River into the Chesapeake Bay.

Cardin’s $2.2 million request to the Senate Appropriations Committee follows years of frustration by environmentalists that Pennsylvania isn’t doing enough to lessen the flow of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment into the bay. Last year, Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation separately sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in federal court, alleging it isn’t adequately enforcing cleanup targets for Pennsylvania and New York through the U.S. Clean Water Act.

With the suits still pending, Cardin is trying something different — a cooperative approach using the appropriations process to seek money for a project in a state other than his own.

“I can’t think of another example where I’ve done that. It’s kind of unique,” said Cardin, who has been in Congress for more than 30 years.

In a cleanup expected to cost $25 billion by 2025 (and which will end up not reaching most of the desired goals), $2 million is chump change, but at least some one is actually thinking about doing more than just shouting. Add a couple of zeros to that sum, and I would be more impressed.