Feds outline plans for restoring Chesapeake Bay

Arianne Teeple/For the Examiner (Examiner)

Stricter regulations of factory-farmed animals, securing federal funding for land conservation, and a comprehensive accountability framework are among the measures outlined in draft report from federal agencies on cutting pollution and restoring the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Chief among the concerns in all reports was the accountability framework, which would allow for greater regulatory oversight of Bay restoration efforts.

"Without increased commitment to accountability, no one changes operations," Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said in a conference call. "The message here is that there will be and is a commitment to increase enforceability."

The draft reports are the first step in the development of a new, comprehensive Bay restoration strategy as mandated by President Obama in an executive order in May.

Obama said the federal government would help take over part of the Bay cleanup, with a goal to have all plans in place by 2025. Other recommendations in the reports include agency specific policies for storm water runoff, the creation of a centralized program for climate change adaptation management, and increasing incentive-based conservation measures among farmers.

Ten federal agencies contributed to the reports, including the EPA and the departments of Defense, Commerce, Interior, and Agriculture.

As chair of the Federal Leadership Committee created by Obama's order, Jackson, along with the EPA, will be responsible for using the reports to create a coordinated bay restoration strategy, a draft of which must be released by Nov. 12.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which has long criticized the EPA's efforts for Bay restoration, released a statement that praised the EPA for pledging to strictly enforce regulations. But Bay Foundation president William C. Baker criticized the EPA for failing to outline "clearly identified, bold, specific and measurable pollution reductions EPA will pursue today."

The other departments have roles to play, CBF spokesman John Surrick said, but ultimately, the EPA has the legal authority to enforce pollution regulations.

Under the executive order, the reports were to include ideas for actions that could be taken immediately, beyond the planned deadline for the new strategy, which won't be completed until May 2010.

In its report, the EPA did list several measures to be taken as soon as possible, such as prioritizing high-impact watershed regions and coordinating volunteer programs from several federal agencies.