The federal government has been undercutting state efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay by failing to enforce environmental laws. According to the report by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation the Environmental Protection Agency should impose a regulatory cap on the amount of pollution that can enter the nation’s largest estuary and enforce the Federal Clean Water Act. The report also said that Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania must also do more to control pollution from agricultural runoff.
William Baker, president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, informed that the most important thing right now is for the federal Environmental Protection Agency to do it’s job that will help the states reinforce the efforts of the states. The report, titled “Bad Water and the Decline of Blue Crabs in the Chesapeake Bay,” cites pollution and overfishing — particularly of female blue crabs — as the two causes of the problem.
Baker told that the scientific understanding of the bay’s woes is vast and all that’s lacking to revive its waters is the political will to do what’s necessary to reduce pollution. He also told that proper enforcement of current laws and help from a federal economic stimulus package under consideration could turn things around.
In September, the federal officials made a disaster declaration for the bay’s blue crab fishery, making watermen in Maryland and Virginia eligible for up to $20 million. It is said that the authority has been working to identify infrastructure projects that could receive a jump start, if federal money aimed at pumping new life into the economy becomes available.
