Measure to weaken EPA enforcement of bay cleanup is up for House vote – again
The measure was introduced by
Such actions, referred to as "backstops," are triggered when a jurisdiction falls short of its pollution reduction goals or can't offer "reasonable assurance" that reductions will be met, according to the
But in
The remaining jurisdictions --
In an emailed statement Tuesday, Goodlatte said he supports bay cleanup, but his goal is to "(stop) the
"Through policies passed down by the
Goodlatte has introduced similar measures in the past that succeeded in the House, only to falter in the
Rep.
A spokesman for Rep.
And Rep.
At the
"A further attempt to undermine the bay's progress is at odds with overwhelming public opinion, and an end-run around the will of
Goodlatte's amendment is part of the
The CBP is a partnership of federal, state and local jurisdictions, academic and nonprofit groups to restore the bay.
After decades of failing on their own to reduce nutrient and sediment runoff, bay states agreed in 2010 to meet reduction targets, called Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), set by the
States devised their own plans to meet those TMDLs.
Each state was to have anti-pollution measures in place by 2017 that would achieve 60 percent of its reduction targets. By 2025, measures must be in place to meet all targets.
The CBP says bay states together achieved 87 percent of the phosphorus reductions in 2017, 67 percent of the sediment reductions, but only 40 percent of the nitrogen reductions.
Those reductions were achieved largely by upgrading wastewater treatment plants and adopting best management practices on farms to protect streams.
CBP Acting Director
And
"Reaching the half-way point and falling short of our nitrogen goals demands that we take the lessons learned and improved tools to accelerate reductions," Strickler said.
CBP computer simulations show that in all jurisdictions between 2009 and 2017:
* Phosphorus loads fell 21 percent, from 19.2 million pounds to 15.1 million pounds. That's 1.3 million pounds more than the target.
* Sediment loads fell 10 percent, from 8.7 billion pounds to 7.8 billion pounds, or 87 million pounds more than the target.
* Nitrogen loads fell 11 percent, from 283 million pounds to 253 million pounds. That's 15 million pounds above the target.
Contact Dietrich at 757-247-7892 or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter at DP_Dietrich
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