Gov. Bob McDonnell announced on Friday that “significant
reductions” of phosphorous and nitrogen stemming from wastewater treatment
plants has put Virginia in line to reach pollution reduction goals towards
cleaning the Chesapeake Bay.[1]
According to Virginia’s secretary of natural resources, Doug
Domenech, progress towards cleaning the Chesapeake Bay “clearly shows that a
restored bay is possible.”[2]
How Domenech defines a “restored” Chesapeake Bay remained unclear. Restored to
what?
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, one the leading nongovernmental
groups pressuring Virginia’s government to clean the bay, praised McDonnell’s “recognition
of the importance of a healthy and productive Chesapeake Bay.”[3]
Despite the progress that has been made so far, though, the
University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science gave the bay a D+ on
a yearly report card issued in 2011. Thus, the Chesapeake Bay is clearly a ways
away from the level of clean that I have in mind.
It should also be remembered that the McDonnell
administration seemed reluctant to commit to the Chesapeake Bay clean up goals
set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), goals which McDonnell
is now boasting about having met.[4]
This is all to say that while the Chesapeake Bay appears to
be on the right path towards “restoration,” there are many pitfalls that could
sideline the progress that has been made so far, not the least of which are
political and financial snares.
With so much at stake in the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay, letting
our guard down now would be unwise and potentially devastating insofar as
reaching the bay’s cleanup goals are concerned.
The Chesapeake Bay is more than a body of water, it is the
hope of renewal after decades of malfeasance, a hope that can be transferred
over to other problems such as global warming and ecological devastation, among
others.
The Chesapeake Bay and its restoration is a reflection of
Virginia’s progress overall.
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