Delaware is first state to sign historic
Chesapeake Watershed environmental pact
Carper inks multi-state agreement to clean up
tributaries draining into Chesapeake Bay
KENTON - Governor Thomas R. Carper today signed a monumental memorandum
of understanding, putting Delaware at the forefront of agreeing to help
clean up the Chesapeake Bay.
Delaware became the first of the Chesapeake Watershed states to pledge
cooperative efforts in restoring the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries.
Through the agreement, Delaware will be joined by five other Chesapeake
Watershed states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to work cooperatively in achieving nutrient
and sediment reductions by 2010. Carper made the announcement at the
Webber Farm, where an innovative wetland system has been installed to
remove nutrients and sediments from agricultural field runoff.
Carper said, "This watershed-wide partnership will restore the
mighty Chesapeake Bay's living resources and help meet necessary water
quality standards. We want the Chesapeake Watershed to be healthy so
that blue crabs, rockfish, shad and underwater bay grasses can thrive
in these tidal rivers and in the bay. We have an obligation to make
sure that waterways originating in our state and flowing into the Chesapeake
contribute to a healthy bay. The citizens of Delaware will also benefit
from having cleaner rivers and streams for fishing and other recreational
activities."
Nearly 489,000 acres of Delaware land drains into the Chesapeake Bay
via the headwaters of the Chester, Choptank, Elk, Nanticoke, Pocomoke
and Sassafras rivers. Within the next two weeks, the governors of Maryland,
New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, along with the mayor
of Washington D.C. - representing all of the jurisdictions that have
lands draining into the Chesapeake or its tributaries - will sign this
agreement. The EPA Administrator will pen the historical pact as well.
The memorandum of understanding says that the partnering states, Washington,
D.C. and the EPA agree to:
- Work cooperatively to achieve the nutrient and sediment reduction
targets are necessary to achieve the goals of a clean Chesapeake Bay
by 2010, thereby allowing the Chesapeake and its tidal tributaries
to be removed from the list of impaired waters;
- Provide for an inclusive, open and comprehensive public participation
process; and,
- Collaborate on the development and use of innovative measures such
as effluent trading, cooperative implementation mechanisms and expanded
interstate agreements to achieve the necessary reductions.
"We are delighted to have strong support and cooperation from
the State of Delaware to improve the water quality of the Chesapeake
Bay and its tidal rivers over the next decade," said Bill Matuszeski,
Director of EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program. "The citizens of Delaware
will benefit from these cleaner streams and a healthier Bay for recreation,
seafood and a better quality of life."
"The portion of Delaware that drains to the Chesapeake is relatively
pristine and is home to a wide variety of habitats and rare and endangered
species," said Department of Natural Resources and Environmental
Control Secretary Nicholas A. DiPasquale. "We have an opportunity
to preserve this area in a way that supports biodiversity while protecting
and enhancing water quality."
Over the past year, the committee that will oversee implementation
of the agreement has been working to integrate the cooperative and statutory
programs of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The committee consists
of technical staff from all six Chesapeake Bay watershed states, the
District of Columbia, EPA, the Chesapeake Bay Commission, the Susquehanna
River Basin Commission and the Interstate Commission on the Potomac
River Basin.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has already
adopted a target for reducing nitrogen and phosphorous loadings into
the Nanticoke River and Broad Creek. Development of a strategy to meet
those targets is currently underway. In addition, the Delaware Nutrient
Management Commission is developing a statewide program designed to
comprehensively manage nutrient use and application in the agricultural,
commercial and residential sectors.
Doc. # 40-01/00/09/18
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