Media Contact: Marissa Spratley
Email: mspratley@allianceforthebay.org
Phone: 443-949-0575 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Accountability is Key to Making Progress for A Cleaner Chesapeake Bay

(Annapolis, MD – August 20, 2020) Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay Executive Director Kate Fritz issued the following statement today in response to current news about Maryland and Pennsylvania wavering in their commitment to reach pollution reduction goals.

The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay believes that in order to reach the Chesapeake Bay cleanup goals by 2025, all jurisdictions in the watershed must work together to reduce their share of the pollution entering the Chesapeake Bay. The Alliance focuses on working with our state and local partners to leverage a variety of funding sources in order to build partnerships that implement work on the ground, resulting in cleaner water across the watershed.

Because Pennsylvania contributes over 50% of the freshwater, about half of the total nitrogen load, and more than a quarter of the phosphorus load flowing into the Chesapeake Bay, the Keystone State will need to undertake significant actions to meet the prescribed pollution reduction goals. The Alliance is engaged with many partners around the state to support these goals. We are committed to working with farmers in Pennsylvania to develop conservation plans and implement agricultural best management practices that reduce pollution loads. By engaging agricultural industry partners through programs like our Turkey Hill Clean Water Partnership, change can be inspired at all levels from the supply chain to the individual farmers.

Fortunately, the Alliance is not alone in focusing on priority areas like Lancaster County, Pennsylvania where nitrogen and phosphorus pollution loads are the highest due to a high concentration of farmland. Many industry partners, like Turkey Hill Dairy and the Maryland Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative, are seeking out collaborative partnerships to do their part to reduce the amount of pollution running into their local streams, rivers, and the Bay.

Because 53% of the main basin of the Chesapeake Bay exists within the state boundaries of Maryland, the Free State’s actions are vital to improving the health of the Bay. Through the development of strong partnerships with public and private organizations and landowners, the Alliance aims to help Maryland achieve the prescribed pollution reduction goals – especially in areas that are under-resourced in terms of technical support to do so, such as the southern and western parts of the state. We work with community based organizations, like homeowner associations and houses of worship, to implement large scale restoration projects that will directly improve the health of the Bay.

Every resident, farmer, business, organization, and community has a role in achieving a clean and healthy Chesapeake Bay watershed. We must continue to work together and build on the strength of the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership, which brings together federal and state agencies, local governments, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions. Our strength is in working together to achieve our goals.

About the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay:

The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (Alliance) is a regional nonprofit organization whose mission is to bring together communities, companies, and conservationists to improve our lands and waters. The Alliance implements local programs that connect people to their waterways and becomes directly involved in restoration efforts. The Alliance was founded in 1971 and has offices in Annapolis, MD, Lancaster, PA, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, VA. For more information about the Alliance, visit allianceforthebay.org.

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