Great commentary piece in the Baltimore Sun today by Bob Gallagher, founder and chairman of the Board of Directors of West/Rhode Riverkeeper and Joanna Diamond, director of Environment Maryland.
Next governor must tackle agricultural pollution:
State's next leader will have just two years to curtail pollution or face federal consequences
It's not easy telling the next governor of Maryland that he or she needs to start thinking right now about manure, but the winner of this fall's election won't have any time to waste.
Toxic algal blooms and intersex fish are two examples of the threat the agriculture industry poses. We like to think of our farms as open space and natural operations that provide the food we need. But without proper pollution controls, not all 21st century farms are environmentally benign. Unfortunately, that threat is well documented in Maryland.
The state's farms are the biggest single source of pollution to the Chesapeake Bay. That's a fact. And as a result we continue to violate clean water standards set by the federal Clean Water Act. The next governor will have two short years to drastically curtail the pollution flowing into the bay or face federal consequences.