Solutions
Maryland’s Strategies and Actions to Restore the Chesapeake Bay
In order to reach our Bay restoration goals, Maryland must reduce the amount of nitrogen entering the Bay annually by approximately 11 million pounds from 2009 levels – about a 21% reduction. As shown on the “Causes of the Problems” pages, this pollution comes from every type of land use – urban and rural, farms, cities, towns, houses, schools, parks and playgrounds. All Marylanders are part of the problem, and all Marylanders must be part of the solution. To that end, we have identified 46 specific, measureable actions and associated goals for reducing pollution, restoring habitats, and fostering smarter, greener growth and living in Maryland. All Marylanders play a role in implementing at least some of these actions, and we all must work together if we are to be successful.
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Identifying actions and setting goals is necessary if are to restore the Bay, but it is not a new approach. For over a quarter century, Maryland and the other states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed have followed this model. Although progress has been made, we have not achieved our goal. A big part of the reason has been that we have set goals to be met way off into the future – when someone else would be in the leadership position and would need to deal with the implications of another failed goal. To resolve this, in 2009 Governor O’Malley directed State agencies to develop “2-Year Milestones” – interim steps toward our ultimate goal, but designed to me met in the short-term, thereby forcing us to hold ourselves accountable for achieving them. Maryland met its first set of 2-Year Milestones in 2011, and now the US. EPA adopted this approach to the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed. The “Solutions” page of the BayStat website tracks Maryland’s progress in meeting its second set of 2-Year Milestones by June 30, 2013. |
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