‘‘I think you could’ve probably come to that conclusion two years ago,” O’Malley (D) said.
So far, the states have met 44 percent of nitrogen, 60 percent of phosphorous and 57 percent of sediment reduction goals, reported the Chesapeake Bay Program, a regional partnership of the states.
‘‘Today we pledge to accelerate our efforts to have the remaining programs and policies in place by 2010,” said O’Malley, who was re-elected as chairman of the council.
One step forward ...
Time is of the essence, said William C. Baker, president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
On Monday, the foundation released its 2007 State of the Bay report, grading its health as a ‘‘D.” The watershed’s rating dropped one point to 28 on the foundation’s survey of 13 indicators, including the health of fish and marine plant life, the amount of dissolved oxygen and the presence of pollutants.
‘‘The Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure,” Baker said. ‘‘It is on life support, fighting for survival. Are we going to save it or are we going to let it die? Our elected officials will have to make that decision and time is running out.”
In a closed-door session of the Executive Council on Wednesday, Baker asked the council to set goals for nitrogen removal for each of the next three years.
Baker said afterward that he would like the states to commit to specific dollar amounts for stemming pollution from farmland.
Last month, the Maryland General Assembly approved $50 million to restore the Bay. Much of that money is intended for agricultural conservation practices to prevent pollution through runoff.
‘‘The bottom line is these are all major commitments that we’re moving forward,” said House Environmental Matters Chairwoman Maggie L. McIntosh. ‘‘We’ve really just begun to tackle it.”
In 2004, the General Assembly passed a ‘‘flush tax” that imposes a fee on water, sewer and septic users and goes toward upgrading wastewater treatment plants.
In 2006, the General Assembly passed the Healthy Air Act, which limits pollutants from coal-burning power plants.
This year, the legislature passed a ‘‘clean cars” law that calls for vehicles sold in Maryland to be more fuel-efficient and produce fewer carbon dioxide emissions by 2011.
... two steps back
Efforts to address Bay pollution began in 1983, with Gov. Harry R. Hughes (D) and Virginia Gov. Charles S. Robb (D) partnering, and the states later committing to reduce phosphates and nitrogen levels. The initial goal of 40 percent reduction by 2000 was not met, nor was a revised goal of 21 percent.
The goals are ‘‘a long way away and will take a lot of resources ...,” said McIntosh (D-Dist. 43) of Baltimore.
‘‘We know we have done a lot to clean up these bodies of water, and they’ve gone downhill again.”
While the states will not meet 2010 goals for water quality, they have met or exceeded goals in other areas, such as forest restoration, said Maryland Environment Secretary Shari T. Wilson. The states are confident that nutrient and sediment goals can be met.
‘‘We are making progress ...,” Wilson said. ‘‘There has been no other time when there has been such broad public support for environmental issues.”
One of the most promising developments from Wednesday’s meeting, Wilson said, is that the state leaders signed a letter urging congressional leaders to pass the federal agriculture bill by the end of the year.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a version that includes $150 million for the Chesapeake Bay watershed. A Senate version includes $165 million in watershed spending, which would go toward helping farmers with conservation efforts.
The other significant development is that the Executive Council plans to cooperate on securing federal funding for an $800 million upgrade of the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant on the Potomac River. The plant is the Bay’s largest single polluter.
A blueprint for the future
Maryland’s efforts to address the environment on a global scale took a step forward on Tuesday as the Maryland Commission on Climate Change released draft recommendations for reducing carbon emissions.
Suggestions include setting benchmarks for reducing carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2020 and by 90 percent by 2050.
Other recommendations focus on energy efficiency and encouraging more investment in renewable energy.
A final report to the governor and the legislature is due in April.
The draft report drew criticism that it did not adequately address the effects of transportation projects, most notably the Intercounty Connector, an 18-mile, $2.4 billion highway under construction between Gaithersburg and Laurel.
‘‘Despite the fact that transportation is one of the largest and fastest-growing sources of global warming pollution, the Commission’s report woefully lacks any significant discussion of the transportation problem and essential smart growth solutions,” Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, said in a statement.
Growth planning is essential to the Bay’s future, McIntosh said.
While stormwater management and wastewater treatment happen after land is developed, the state must stem overdevelopment in order to truly address the Bay’s health, she said. That involves big questions on the state policy.
‘‘Do you want to continue down this road?” McIntosh said. ‘‘Do you want to destroy every farm? Do you want to stress the tributaries and the Chesapeake Bay? Or do you want to stop?”
Staff Writer Alan Brody and Capital News Service reporter Kenneth R. Fletcher contributed to this report.
