Diamondback University of Maryland Independent Student Newspaper

STAFF EDITORIAL Balancing finances and the Bay

The General Assembly may need to find less direct ways to protect the Chesapeake than farming regulations

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Posted: Sunday, February 8, 2015 10:30 pm | Updated: 11:11 pm, Sun Feb 8, 2015.

· by Diamondback Editorial Board

Last fall, this editorial board criticized the General Assembly for not doing enough to address the pollution-ridden Chesapeake Bay. With a new administration in the Government House and a handful of environmental regulations lifted, it looks as though there’s still room for criticism.

As The Baltimore Sun reported, Gov. Larry Hogan has prevented environmental regulations ­— such as limiting smog-forming air pollution from power plants and restricting the amount of phosphorus-rich fertilizer used by farmers — from going into effect. As one of his first moves in office, Hogan “ordered a comprehensive review of all pending regulations, opening them up for further ‘public input, public hearing and full due process’ before they can be finalized,” according to The Sun.

Though Hogan will propose a repeal of the controversial rain tax, which taxes surfaces that could create water contamination or drainage problems, many local environmentalists are most concerned with his decision to halt the phosphorus regulation. According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, agricultural runoff is responsible for 50 percent of the phosphorus entering the bay each year.

Claiming the regulation would hurt the poultry industry and other farmers who use phosphorus-rich fertilizer as an economically efficient resource, Hogan met criticism from environmental activist groups such as the Clean Agriculture Coalition.

It’s understandable that environmentalists would be concerned with the lifting of these regulations; however, Hogan is rightly following his campaign promise to ease any financial or bureaucratic burdens imposed on the state. To completely ignore the farming industry, which largely resides in the Eastern Shore, would cause conflict with many of the supporters who endorsed Hogan on the grounds of fiscal constraint and financial responsibility.

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