Clean Chesapeake Coalition Adds Queen Anne’s County
The Clean Chesapeake Coalition is pleased to announce the addition of Queen Anne’s County as its newest member. Queen Anne’s County joins nine other counties (Allegany, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Dorchester, Frederick, Harford, Kent and Wicomico) in an evolving association of Maryland local governments whose local elected officials have coalesced to pursue improvement to the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay in a prudent and fiscally responsible manner – through research, coordination and advocacy. The ten Coalition member jurisdictions now make-up over 40% of the State’s total land area and more than 40% of the State’s shoreline.
“As a county with considerable shoreline in the main stem of the Bay off of Kent Island as well as with two of the Bay’s larger tributaries in the Chester River and Eastern Bay, Queen Anne’s knows first-hand the environmental and economic implications that have resulted from an impaired Chesapeake Bay,” said Coalition Chairman Ronald H. Fithian. “Queen Anne’s County will bring an additional Eastern Shore jurisdiction to the Coalition that can provide valuable insight and expertise on its local efforts related to Coalition interests, especially so since the county has many communities and general aspects associated with the Bay and agricultural efforts,” added Fithian, who is also President of the County Commissioners of Kent County.
Queen Anne’s County’s involvement will further add to the growing number of Maryland local governments and other interested parties that are bringing attention to the current federal relicensing process of the Conowingo Dam and the once-in-a-generation opportunity to properly manage and control the vast quantities of nutrients, sediment and other contaminants that are scoured and discharged into the Bay from this source, according to the Coalition.
QAC Commission President Philip Dumenil said, “The Clean Chesapeake Coalition and its members have done an outstanding job in educating the public about the problems that result from the Conowingo Dam and the need to clean it up.”
Commissioner Dave Olds added, “It was my honor to finally get this done. Thanks for your constant reinforcement and a special thanks to George O’Donnell for guiding me through this process. Good luck to the coalition.”
In a three to two vote at the August 26, meeting the Board of Commissioners approved to allocate $25,000 to join the Clean Chesapeake Coalition. Commissioners David Dunmyer and Bob Simmons voted against joining the Coalition while Commissioners Philip Dumenil, James Moran, and Dave Olds vote in favor of joining.
The vote passed the Board of Commissioners with a caveat. Commissioner Moran amended the motion during the voting discussion. He said, “I move that we join the Coalition only to support the efforts surrounding the Conowingo Dam and that in no way our joining will jeopardize our local TMDL or WIP programs. I would also request that the Clean Chesapeake Coalition honor this by allowing the County to state our intent on their webpage.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets limits on the amount of nutrients and sediments that can enter the Chesapeake Bay. In addition to setting these limits, known as Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), EPA requires the Bay states to develop statewide Phase I Watershed Implementation Plans (WIP).