May 29, 2019 — A nonprofit that tracks pollution in the Chesapeake Bay lambasted Pennsylvania on Tuesday, saying that the state is failing to protect the nation’s largest estuary from farm manure and dirty stormwater.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation released a report saying Pennsylvania’s plan to reduce pollution from farms and cities is “woefully inadequate” and underfunded by about $250 million a year.
The foundation also warned that the Environmental Protection Agency has failed to keep Pennsylvania on track. It’s one of six states, along with the District of Columbia, federally required to significantly reduce bay pollution by 2025.
“If EPA does not hold Pennsylvania accountable, CBF and others must consider legal action,” foundation President William C. Baker warned in a news release.
Pennsylvania officials said the foundation’s assessment is inaccurate and failed to account for all of the state’s efforts. The EPA said in its own statement that Pennsylvania has made “significant” progress.
The foundation’s report is the latest note of caution about the Chesapeake Bay’s health, which appears to be improving after decades of unbridled pollution.
In recent years, the story of the 200-mile-long (325-kilometer-long) bay has mostly been about signs of recovery. Underwater grasses are spreading. Oxygen dead zones are shrinking. The latest survey of blue crabs showed the highest estimates in seven years.
But environmentalists say more work is needed and threats like climate change still loom. Last year, a punishing cycle of downpours led to increased pollution in the bay, according to a recent report from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.