The Environmental Protection Agency released its first annual plan to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay, a $491 million effort that pushes a host of federal agencies to the forefront of what has historically been a state-led effort.
Among the plan’s highlights are $20 million to be given directly to states and the District for implementing stronger regulation of storm-water runoff and $72 million to provide incentives for voluntary conservation practices on farms. More than 78 percent of the funds will go toward water quality goals. There’s also $30 million for land protection.
However, funding for the plan depends on Congress passing a budget for fiscal 2011, a decision delayed until after the November elections. The $491 million figure is based on President Obama’s recommended budget, but it is unlikely the president’s proposal will pass without cuts.
Congress passed a continuing resolution on Thursday, which keeps budget funding at last year’s levels until Dec. 3. That means funding will be available to immediately implement some of the plan until a new budget is passed.
In previous years, federal funding for the Bay has averaged about $291 million, according to EPA adviser Chuck Fox.
A Federal Leadership Committee, established by the president’s executive order, will track the plan’s progress to determine what steps the agencies should take in the next annual plan.
Even before the plan was released, the EPA had begun to take a hard line on local plans to reduce Bay pollutants. Last week, the agency praised plans submitted by Maryland and the District, while threatening Virginia and four other tributary states with stricter conditions unless they correct serious deficiencies in their plans.
The plan fulfills Obama’s 2009 executive order for the federal government to expand its role in efforts to save the Bay. For environmental groups who have been advocates of the Bay for decades, the plan is the culmination of a decade-long effort by the states and the EPA to work together for the Chesapeake.
“The federal government is finally saying to the states, ‘We’re going to make sure that you put the mechanisms in place to reduce the pollution,’ ” said Doug Siglin, federal affairs director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Virginia and the EPA have been at odds recently over the federal plans. Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell has criticized the EPA for pushing regulation over his preferred method of better educating farmers on best practices for protecting the Bay.
