NORFOLK, Va. — The Chesapeake Bay Program released its annual "Bay Barometer" report of the Chesapeake Bay's health on Tuesday.
The science-based snapshot of the nation's largest estuary shows the bay continues to improve, especially when it comes to pollution from private homes. However, more needs to be done to cut down on agricultural runoff.
Additionally, record rainfall in 2018 brought more freshwater into the bay, impacting some of the marine life.
Since 1983, the Chesapeake Bay Program has directed the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. Bay Program partners include federal and state agencies, local governments, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions.
The Chesapeake Bay Program is separate from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which released its own biennial report earlier this year, which gave the bay's health a D+ grade.
In response to the Bay Barometer report, Beth McGee, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Director of Science and Agricultural Policy, issued this statement:
“The resilience we have seen over the last few years is one sign that progress is being made to reduce pollution. The Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint is working. But the recovery is fragile. With 58 percent of the Bay’s waters still designated as impaired, there is still a long way to go.
“The Bay Barometer points out the successes that have been achieved, including improved water quality, but also where the state/federal partnership has fallen short. Forest buffer plantings, one of the most cost-effective practices to improve the quality of water and habitats in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, are far short of the mark. Forest buffer plantings are being hurt even further because USDA’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (a key funding source for forest buffers) has been closed since September 2018 and is not expected to open until the fall.
“Monitoring environmental health and progress is just one of the many critical roles EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program plays in the historic federal/state cleanup. Now is not the time to gut EPA’s Bay Program funding, as the Trump administration has proposed. Only by working together to accelerate efforts will we reach the 2025 goal, especially as climate change is making finishing the job that much harder. And where there are shortfalls, EPA must hold the states accountable.”