The federal government and states have made some progress in efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, particularly when it comes to reducing sediment. But they are behind on commitments to reduce the nitrogen and phosphorus entering the waterway by the end of 2025, a likely topic officials will discuss later this month as they meet to discuss the bay's future.
The Environmental Protection Agency and state and local agencies have helped facilitate practices needed to meet sediment reduction targets for the end of next year, according to an EPA press release. But only 57% of the practices needed for nitrogen reduction commitments and 67% of practices needed to reach phosphorus reduction goals have been implemented throughout the watershed.
It’s likely Chesapeake Bay states will fall short of some commitments made in 2010 and 2014 agreements. Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania have not met statewide planning targets for sediment, according to Chesapeake Progress, an online tracker. Washington, D.C., and West Virginia have met nitrogen and phosphorus targets but progress has been slower in other states.
“The bottom line is that we are not going to meet all the goals and outcomes by the end of 2025,” Chesapeake Bay Foundation Federal Director Keisha Sedlacek told Agri-Pulse.
Keisha Sedlacek, Chesapeake Bay FoundationThe Chesapeake Executive Council — which consists of governors of the six Chesapeake Bay watershed states, the mayor of the District of Columbia, the chair of the Chesapeake Bay Commission and the administrator of EPA — will meet Dec. 10 to discuss goals.
A week ago, 15 lawmakers urged EPA Administrator Michael Regan in a letter to reinstate a Federal Leadership Committee this fall, led by his agency with representatives of the Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Interior and Transportation departments. President Barack Obama created such a committee to coordinate federal bay efforts in 2009.
In a statement last month, Alison Prost, CBF’s vice president for environmental protection and restoration, called for the executive council to “recommit to the bay restoration partnership and pledge to update the Chesapeake Bay Agreement’s goals by the end of 2025."
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science regularly scores bay conditions based on a combination of ecological, economic, and social measurements. In its 2023 and 2024 analysis, the bay was given a C+ score, its highest in more than 20 years. The watershed, however, was scored at a C.
The Chesapeake Bay "dead zone” has been near long-term average levels this year, according to data released this month by researchers. Measurements of low-oxygen areas created by high nitrogen and phosphorus levels showed similarities to an average taken from 1985 to 2023.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science analyzed hypoxia data collected on semi-monthly monitoring cruises and estimated “that the total volume of hypoxia was somewhat above the long-term average taken between 1985 and 2023, with higher peaks in mid-June and mid-July, but a lower volume of hypoxia in the water occurring in August."
"The past few years of near or below average bay-wide hypoxia levels are a good sign that Chesapeake Bay nutrient management actions are working, but these must be continued if we are to outpace water quality degradation due to climate change,” Marjy Friedrichs, research professor at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, said in a release.
Marjy FriedrichsDaily maximum hypoxic volume in the bay was greater in 2024 than most years while duration of hypoxia was shorter than most years, according to a Chesapeake Bay Dead Zone Report issued in November. Total annual hypoxic volume in 2024 was greater than most historical years, it said.
Progress has been made both through regulations and voluntary programs, with each state taking a different approach. Maryland, for instance, requires farmers to follow nutrient management plans tailored to their operations, while also offering cost-share programs for farmers to adopt practices like cover crops, said Hans Schmidt, assistant secretary for resources conservation at the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
While these efforts have helped improve water quality in the bay, there can be a lag time for the effects to be noticeable, Schmidt said. Nutrient applications can take years, or even decades, to move from farmers’ fields into the bay, he added.
“Some improvements in the bay now, I think, could be a result of things that we did several decades ago and as we move forward, I think we’ll see more,” Schmidt told Agri-Pulse. “I think we’ll see the bay improving as we go on.”
Schmidt was optimistic that Maryland’s agriculture would meet phosphorus and sediment reduction goals but was more skeptical about achieving nitrogen goals.
Schmidt said state agriculture leaders hope the executive council approves an agricultural advisory committee — with farmers in its ranks — for the first time to help guide decision-making. This, he said, would give farmers a voice in discussions that could lead to new programs or regulations.
“It’s just easier to have farmers at the table,” he said.
For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com.
