O'Malley On Health Of The Chesapeake Bay

GOVERNOR O’MALLEY, Governor Mcdonnell, MAYOR FENTY and epa representatives discuss health and future of the bay

O’Malley announces Millions of dollars in Grant money for restoration projects and the expansion of Marylanders Grow Oysters

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Martin O’Malley joined EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, Washington DC Mayor Adrian Fenty, and other state representatives for the 27th Chesapeake Bay Executive Council today to unveil a new accountability tool for measuring bay restoration progress, Chesapeake Stat, modeled after Maryland’s Baystat, and to highlight progress toward meeting two year milestones designed to accelerate Bay restoration.

“Together, we’ve made real progress in accelerating our bay restoration efforts while increasing our transparency and accountability to our citizens,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “Maryland is on target to hit the first of our two-year milestones that we put in place two years ago, reducing nitrogen by more than 1.3 million pounds. We are now starting to see some positive responses in water quality, bay grass and blue crab populations, but there is still much more work to do.”

Governor O’Malley also highlighted several of the Maryland’s accomplishments including:

o Maryland has protected more than 28,000 acres through Program Open Space, under the leadership of Gov. O’Malley (versus only 6,442 acres during a comparable period during the previous administration) and fully funded the program every year since 2007
o Maryland has established BaySTAT, StreamHealth, GreenPrint, AgPrint and Maryland’s Conservation tracker. These are interactive web-tools, enabling Maryland citizens to hold their government accountable.
o Maryland’s new stormwater program leads the region, now requiring the use of “environmental site design” that will dramatically reduce seditement and nutrient run-off from development.
o Maryland has a new concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) permit issued to control poultry litter at well over 500 of Maryland’s poultry operations for the first time.
o Maryland has worked together with Virginia to increase our blue crab population by 60% – its highest level since 1997.
o Maryland is on the verge of a implementing a new oyster plan that will expand aquaculture opportunities and establish a more effective network of science based sanctuaries, while maintaining a well-managed public fishery

At the Executive Council meeting, Governor O’Malley announced recipients of grants from the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund and the expansion of the Marylanders Grow Oysters program.

Six million dollars in grants from the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund, its highest appropriation to date, will help local communities and landowners reduce nonpoint pollution. This year’s budget sets aside a total of $20 million for the trust fund for the new fiscal year starting in July.

“These dollars are targeted in areas and ways that science shows us will have the best results,” said Governor O’Malley. “This process allows us to select those projects that will deliver the greatest possible benefits to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.”

The recipients of this year’s grants are: Howard County and Columbia Association; Anne Arundel County; Harford County; Talbot County; Kent County and Chester River Association; Queen Anne’s County, the Town of Centreville and the Corisca River Conservancy; and Baltimore City, Parks and People, and The Herring Run Watershed.

The Marylanders Grow Oysters program is adding 7 new tributaries – the Chester River, the Miles River, Harris Creek, the Wye Rive, Cox Creek, Bodkin Creek, and Swan Creek to the program. These new tributaries will add more than 2,000 oyster cages to the already successful program. More than 61,000 oyster cages are already growing in 12 rivers across the state.

“The Marylanders Grow Oysters program has become quite a movement” said Governor O’Malley. “It shows how committed Maryland citizens are to cleaning up the Bay and taking care of the tributaries that flow through their backyard. Only through the continued commitment of all levels of government, businesses, watershed organizations, citizens and the working men and women of Maryland will be able to achieve our goal of a restored Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries by 2020”.