By September 1st, the EPA received state-specific Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) reports from New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia and Washington, DC (the state of Virginia requested an extension). The EPA intends to create a Chesapeake Bay TMDL by the end of the year, encompassing all six states and DC, in order to create regulation governing pollution from point sources (factories, water and sewage treatment plants, etc.) and non-point sources (farms, construction projects, general use by the population). A successful end result would yield a regulatory document outlining enforceable policies that can be applied across state lines. Am I all in favor of improving water quality for the millions of people who live, work, and play in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed? ABSOLUTELY! Can it be done using this type of all-encompassing document? How will this new TMDL impact farmers and fishermen and men-on-the-street? Who will be responsible for enforcing the new policies and what sort of penalties will infractions elicit? These questions and more will be the focus of this blog as I follow the progress of the EPA in this epic endeavor.
The following video by the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio provides a glimpse at the scope of this project.
Do you think there's a chance it will be effective?
My question is how will it affect oyster and crab prices. I likes me some affordable shellfish when vacationing on the Eastern Shore.
ReplyDeleteJCC KiernanSeptember 23, 2010 at 10:18 AM
Think of it this way: improved water quality will improve the habitat and food sources of your crabs (bottom feeders) and oysters (filter feeders), thereby enabling you to enjoy high quality seafood with minimal concern. I envision the long term results lowering the cost of seafood from the Bay, as the populations will recover and the fishermen won't have to travel as far to get a solid catch (lower fuel costs).
ReplyDelete