Our Say: Any bay cleanup effort needs federal muscle

Our Say: Any bay cleanup effort needs federal muscle
Published 10/22/09
The Capital Editorial

It was cold at Sandy Point State Park on Monday when U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin announced his legislative plan to jump-start stalled cleanup efforts for the Chesapeake Bay.
 
It will be much colder in another place - one where the sign over the entrance advises new residents to "abandon all hope" - before bay-area states voluntarily meet long-range cleanup goals. Nothing important will happen unless the federal government is ready to step in and yank development permits or withhold aid if - or, more likely, when - states fail to meet their pollution-reduction goals. Cardin's well-intentioned and useful legislation won't alter that reality.

The senator was politely vague when asked Monday what enforcement of his bill might involve. He also acknowledged farmers' concerns about increasing the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency, and stressed that such regulation would be handled at the state level.

He must know that those farmers have political clout that makes it extremely hard for states to crack down on farm runoff. That's why, as he also noted, his bill calls for the EPA to step in if the states fail to meet their goals, which will be parceled out in two-year increments building to a target date of 2025.

But will the EPA step forward on cue to enforce either the provisions of Cardin's legislation or the "coordinated strategy" being assembled by federal agencies in answer to an order from the president? The EPA, after all, failed to exercise its full authority under current laws.

Even with that crucial uncertainty in the background, Cardin's bill would be an improvement over the current situation.

It would put steel into the currently unenforceable promises that bay watershed governors and the federal government have made about reducing nutrient pollution. It would allocate $1.5 billion for controlling stormwater runoff, require that 20 percent of grant money go to farmers and forresters, and set up a system allowing farmers to earn credits - which could be sold or traded - for making extra pollution reductions.

As noted by Rep. Elijah Cummings of Baltimore, who will be introducing companion legislation in the House of Representatives, the bay is one of the most studied bodies of water in the world. There's no mystery about what needs to be done to take care of its biggest problem - nutrient pollution. The federal government has had success with the hard-and-fast goals of the Clean Air Act, and needs to take exactly the same approach to waterways.

Federal intervention isn't the answer to everything - it often makes matters worse. But after a quarter-century of state-level fumbling and delays on bay cleanup, it's obvious that the Chesapeake needs more intervention from Washington. Cardin's bill can provide a way to accomplish this - but is there enough will?