According to a recent bi-partisan poll, the majority of Marylanders believe that cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers should be a funding priority. Almost two-thirds say they would be willing to pay an additional $20 per year to fund such programs. But there is no environmental funding in governor's revenue proposal being voted on during Maryland's upcoming special session.
So Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore City), chairwoman of the House Environmental Matters Committee, will introduce "Green Fund" legislation, which would levy a fee on nearly all new and existing construction in the state to fund existing programs and the Tributary Strategies plans Maryland has already developed.
In an article in the Daily Record, Senate Minority Leader David Brinkley (R-Carroll & Frederick) said a green fund discussion isn't relevant to the revenue debate, which is focused on the state's budget deficit. But how likely is it that the General Assembly will revisit what is, essentially, a revenue bill for environmental programs after the budget and tax decisions are made in the special session?
What really gets me is that the governors of Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and others signed a commitment in 2000 to take the actions necessary to get the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries off the Clean Water Act's list of impaired waters by 2010. In seven years we're only halfway there. This summer there were over 120 reported fish kills and the "dead zone" ran nearly the entire length of the Bay. That's 200 miles.
If not now, when?
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Comments: 6
I am the proud owner of a Bay plate :) Those funds go the Chesapeake Bay Trust which provides grants for restoration projects. Of the Bay plate fee, 1/2 goes to the Trust's admin costs (it is a non-profit) and 1/2 directly to funding community Bay projects.
The Chesapeake Bay Program is more administrative-like. It's a partnership--the same partners that signed the Chesapeake 2000 agreement. Their charter is to guide policy and work with states to implement restoration efforts.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is a nonprofit volunteer advocacy and education group.
Yes, I know, it all gets very confusing. :)
Anyway, as for the Green Fund, all funds raised would go straight to state cleanup efforts.
Jeez, my head is whirling! :)
The three states have "committed" to saving and/or protecting the Chesapeake Bay for decades. The 2000 agreement is just the latest in a series of agreements. Success can at best be considered debatable. But the cause is critical. The Bay is the lifeblood of the ecology - and the economy - of the region. To let it devolve into a polluted, overfished, overboated, overeelgrassed out would not just be an ecological and waterman disaster, it would destroy the tourist, fishing, crabbing, and even governmental/advocacy industries of the region.
Give my regards to Beth M.