The draft Phase III PA Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan showing how Pennsylvania will meet its obligations to clean up water pollution in the 43 counties in the Bay watershed was released for public comment on April 12 with a comment period running until June 7.  (formal notice)

An additional $1.5 billion in funding and 144 new staff would be needed over the next 6 years to achieve the Chesapeake Bay pollution reduction goals, according to the draft Plan.

More specifically, the draft Plan recommends providing funding for 4 priority programs-- Agricultural Compliance- $33.1 million, Soil Health- $32.9 million, Grass Buffers- $9.2 million and Forested Buffers- $41.4 for a total of $116.6 million of the $257 million annual obligation.

The Plan are recommends an increase in state agency staff from 32 to to 80 and for external agency staff from 93 to 189 for a total of 144 new staff.

If the Plan is implemented as proposed, there will be a reduction of 22.57 million pounds of nitrogen [the goal is 34 million pounds] and an 824,000 pound reduction of phosphorus [the goal is 760,000 pounds].

The Plan says Pennsylvania will achieve the other needed reductions “... through the completion of the remaining Countywide Action Plans and the remaining priority initiatives described in Section 2 that have not yet been quantified.”

With just the existing programs and resources, Pennsylvania would miss the 2025 nitrogen reduction goal by at least 19 years (2044).

“Pennsylvania is fortunate to have many state and local partners committed to improving the health of local streams and rivers and bringing their communities the benefits of better water quality,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “County level planning will be critical to this effort, and several counties are leading the way in identifying on-the-ground projects to reduce water pollution. DEP, DCNR, and the Department of Agriculture will continue to work with county and municipal governments as well as our agricultural community to identify and implement projects that prevent and reduce pollution in local streams and rivers.”

The Plan describes how Pennsylvania intends to move forward and accelerate progress towards meeting the nutrient reduction targets established by the Chesapeake Bay Partnership for the improvement of local water quality and the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay with the goal of having all practices in place by 2025.

The draft Plan was developed starting in March of 2017 with input from local government leaders, agricultural operators, community organizations, county residents, university researchers, federal agency partners, expert volunteers, and a steering committee led by DEP, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The draft Plan contains recommendations based on the workgroups established under the PA Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan Steering Committee in 4 major areas-- Agriculture, Stormwater, Forestry, and Wastewater Facilities.

The Plan also incorporates the county-level clean water planning adopted by the  Steering Committee in March for the 43 counties in the Pennsylvania portion of the Bay Watershed to complete the county-level clean water planning process to develop detailed plans for meeting county nutrient reduction goals.

Four pilot counties-- Adams, Franklin, Lancaster and York-- have completed or nearly completed their plans.  Lancaster and York, however, account for 25 percent of the reductions needed to meet Pennsylvania’s total reduction obligation.

The remainder of the 7 counties in DEP’s Tier 1 list of counties is responsible for 50 percent of the state’s Chesapeake Bay water pollution reduction goal would start the planning process in July and complete planning by February.

The planning process for the remaining 36 counties in Tiers 2, 3 and 4 responsible for the other half of the reductions would start in October and be due in late 2020.

Click Here for more on this county planning schedule.

Failing to restore Pennsylvania’s impaired waters will mean that our drinking water resources, outdoor recreation, wildlife, and public health and safety will remain impacted.

Local communities will continue to suffer from pollution-related problems such as stormwater and flood damage, contamination of drinking water sources, fouled waterways, and lost recreation opportunities.

The Plan notes EPA can also adopt a series of backstop measures and consequences already outlined in writing by the agency.

The final version of the Phase 3 WIP will be submitted to federal Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership on August 9, 2019.

Click Here for a copy of the draft Plan.

Submitting Comments

Public comments can be submitted through DEP’s online eComment webpage or by email to: ecomment@pa.gov.  Written comments can also be mailed to the Department of Environmental Protection, Policy Office, Rachel Carson State Office Building, P.O. Box 2063, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2063.

Reaction

Harry Campbell, Director of the Pennsylvania Office of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation issued this statement on Pennsylvania draft Plan--

The Commonwealth has 19,000 miles of waterways damaged by pollution and has been significantly behind in meeting its Pennsylvania Clean Water Blueprint commitments. The draft plan released today also comes up short in meeting those goals.

By cleaning up its rivers and streams, when achieved this final phase of Pennsylvania’s Blueprint (technically called a Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan) will also help to restore water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.

Finishing the job will have a significant, positive benefit for Pennsylvania’s economy and its environment.

Once the Blueprint is fully implemented, and the benefits fully realized, the value of the natural services provided would increase by $6.2 billion annually. 

Jobs will be created, farmland will be more productive, and residents will see reduced flooding, cleaner air, and improved recreational opportunities.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation will take a more detailed look at Pennsylvania’s Blueprint and efforts to overcome the shortfall, in order to ensure it is sufficient to meet clean-water goals.

“Science has developed a roadmap for restoring the Commonwealth’s rivers and streams and coming up short in reaching its Blueprint goals is unacceptable,” said Campbell. “Pennsylvania’s elected officials have repeatedly fallen far short in investing in the family farms and communities tasked with reducing pollution from agriculture and urban and suburban areas. That must change.

“If the shortfall in the plan released today is not adequately addressed so that Pennsylvania achieves its clean-water goals, EPA must impose consequences as it said it would.”

For more on Chesapeake Bay-related issues in Pennsylvania, visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA webpage.  Click Here to sign up for Pennsylvania updates (bottom of left column).  Click Here to support their work.

Next PA Bay Steering Committee Meeting

The next scheduled meeting of the Steering Committee is April 24 in Room 105 of the Rachel Carson Building from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.  Click Here to attend the meeting by webinar.  Participants will also need to call in 1-650-479-3208, PASSCODE: 644 234 728

For more information and copies of available handouts, visit the PA Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan Steering Committee webpage.

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[Posted: April 12, 2019]

4/15/2019