After years of advocating for new rules to stem the tide of manure fertilizer flowing into our waterways and the Bay, Sierra Club is pleased the Hogan Administration has agreed to close a loophole in its proposed manure management regulations that could have allowed for delay after delay. Getting rid of this loophole is a major accomplishment. By Dan Furmansky
Sierra Club Maryland lobbied Annapolis lawmakers to cosponsor legislation that went further than Gov. Hogan’s proposed regulations in terms of establishing firm deadlines for getting poultry manure out of our waters. The momentum behind these bills helped spur the Administration to negotiate, and environmental leaders worked with Senator Pinsky, Senator Middleton, Delegate Lafferty, the Hogan Administration and the agricultural industry to improve the regulations. Said the Maryland Clean Agriculture Coalition, of which Sierra Club Maryland is a part:
“Our organizations would have liked to have begun using the Phosphorus Management Tool four years ago, as Maryland promised, and as the science dictated. Nevertheless, these revised regulations represent progress toward reducing pollution from agriculture – which we absolutely must do to protect the Chesapeake Bay and local waterways, as well as public health.
The revised regulations are to include a 2022 implementation date. They still would allow the possibility of two one-year extensions, which could extend implementation until 2024.
The regulations would also create an advisory committee to evaluate whether any such extension is needed. It is a much more balanced committee that was originally proposed and includes two environmental organizations and other state agencies. Organizations working to protect the Chesapeake Bay and Eastern Shore waterways will strive to ensure that Governor Hogan’s regulations do what we hope they will and that they don’t get weakened or delayed in the months or years to come.
We will also be watching over the next seven years to ensure this long-overdue tool gets implemented as it is supposed to do. With levels of phosphorus pollution worsening on the Eastern Shore, this tool to better manage manure is needed more than ever before.”
Farm Forward Call Hosted by the Chapter Food & Farming Committee
On Monday, April 20th, Sierra Club Maryland's Food & Farming Committee hosts Farm Forward, which implements innovative strategies to promote conscientious food choices, reduce farm animal suffering, and advance sustainable agriculture.
Hear from Exec. Dir. Ben Goldsmith about how Farm Forward is working to reinvent the poultry industry, what “heritage” poultry is, how to make sense of terms like “free range,” “organic,” and “humanely raised,” and much more!
Click here for call-in information