Executive Order on Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration
On May 12, 2009, the Office of the Press Secretary for the White House released Executive Order 13508, Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration. The goals elucidated in the Executive Order are to "protect and restore the health, heritage, natural resources, and social and economic value of the Nation's largest estuarine ecosystem and the natural sustainability of its watershed..."
To accomplish these goals, the Order directs various federal agencies to develop separate reports on key challenges to protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay. These draft reports are due to the newly established Federal Leadership Committee for the Chesapeake Bay on September 9, 2009.
The Environmental Protection Agency is charged with drafting the so-termed Section 202(a) Report; the goal of this report is to define the next generation of tools and actions to restore water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and describe the changes to be made to regulations, programs, and policies to implement these actions.
I attended a listening session between the EPA and several representatives of home builders and developers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed area on August 10 in Washington, D.C. to discuss stormwater issues.
Here are some of the most pressing concerns voiced during that meeting:
- The EPA has concluded that runoff from urban and suburban lands, including septic systems, is the only source of pollution that is increasing. Therefore, it's likely that the 202(a) Report will recommend that even higher standards be implemented for new construction projects in order to prevent runoff.
- The Report may recommend placing much of the burden for reducing pollution levels on new construction projects rather than implementing retrofitting policies for existing projects. It may be difficult to achieve the goals set by the Order if the runoff attributable to existing development is not being addressed.
- Recommendations made in the Report may result in even higher land approval and development costs than current market conditions support.
Feel free to give the EPA feedback , or post your comments here for discussion. There is also a Facebook Group that the EPA has set up as an alternate discussion forum.
Realistic and cost effective improvements to new construction methods should always be evaluated but the incremental improvement from improving new construction techiniques will be minimal. The real problem is with existing developments that pre-exist the improved standards required over the last decade or more. More attention should be paid to that problem. I am also not convinced that agricultural runoff is not an increasing problem.