Today the National Research Council of the National Academies issued a report “Achieving Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Goals in the Chesapeake Bay: An Evaluation of Program Strategies and Implementation.” In response, Environment Maryland Policy Advocate Tommy Landers issued this response:
“Today’s report is an important reminder that Maryland needs to carefully track our Chesapeake Bay cleanup actions, and that we need to get ahead of the curve in meeting our water quality goals. The report notes that many of our current measures are ‘low-hanging fruit,’ like cover crops and treatment plant upgrades. Very soon, we need to start implementing more innovative approaches.
“One of the most important things Gov. O’Malley can do is to reduce the amount of manure applied to farm land. Decades of over-application of manure have left many of our lands saturated with phosphorus, a key pollutant in the bay. The problem stems from a flawed test farmers use to determine when to apply manure, the so-called Phosphorus Site Index.
“Gov. O’Malley should prohibit manure application on soils that are already full of pollution. That would make him a leader in the Chesapeake Bay region in addressing one of the biggest, but least accounted for, impacts of industrial animal agriculture on our waterways.
“The report says that throughout the watershed ‘current accounting [of cleanup practices] cannot on the whole be viewed as accurate.’ A clear example of that is Maryland’s nutrient management plan for farmers. The program is a step above many other states. But more important than simply having a plan is first, ensuring those plans are strong enough to protect water quality and second, making sure farmers actually stick to them.”
This report is manure.
ReplyDeleteSTOP trying to blame the farmers for the problem.
If you keep increasing the regulation, there won't be any more farms.
Any chance the phosphorus is flowing off the beautifully-manicured lawns along the Bay watershed?
You betcha.
You get a handle on that, and leave the farmers (and my septic tank) ALONE!!
90% of the pollution comes from the WESTERN Shore and they keep making the Eastern Shore make the concessions.
ReplyDeleteKinda like Cap and Trade, 2:08.
ReplyDeleteThey're not going to stop polluting, so they'll just take our allocation.
were these test taken with there 500 hp motor exhausting into the bay, when they should be out in a rowboat
ReplyDeleteThese people need to look at some of NASA's imagery and they'll be able to see for themselves where the runoff is happening.
ReplyDeleteIf each farmer would plant 10 feet of mushrooms on the edge of their tilled fields, there would be no phosphorus detected. Mushrooms will injest it,oil,and many other so called envirmental hazzards. Do the reasearch, its true. You know the old saying,keep me in the dark, and feed me s--t. This is no joke. This process will take care of the runoff.
ReplyDelete