Tell Congress to protect the Chesapeake Bay

The U.S. Congress is debating a new farm bill and looking for ways to cut dollars that could impact the health of our streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay. Funding for conservation programs to reduce harmful nitrogen runoff is threatened. Since 39% of this pollution comes from agricultural sources, cutting these programs could have a devastating impact.

As you can see in the graphic there are many sources of pollution affecting our waters. Reducing urban/suburban runoff is critical. But since the largest chunk of nitrogen pollution comes from agricultural runoff, keeping these conservation programs in place is critical to the health of our beautiful rivers and majestic Chesapeake Bay.

Tell Congress to protect the Chesapeake Bay by fully funding conservation programs in the new farm bill.

Help save the Chesapeake Bay

Help save the Bay.
Click here to take action.

The menhaden is a very small fish, but its importance to the Chesapeake Bay is huge. Overfishing has left the population at its lowest level on record and since menhaden is primary food source that endangers the entire Bay ecosystem.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is pushing fair and reasonable limits and fishing rules:

A 25 percent reduction of the menhaden catch as a first step toward eliminating overfishing. 

Reducing the fishing rate further to achieve the target level within five years. 

To avoid undue financial harm to local fishermen catching menhaden for bait, the allocation plan should split the new quota 70:30 between the industrial fishery and the local bait fishery. 

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering new fishing rules to ensure long-term protection of this valuable fish. It's accepting public comment only until November 16 so take action now!

VA is the "Biggest Loser"... and that's a good thing!

Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Map Source

The Environmental Protection Agency's Region 3 has named Virginia the "Biggest Loser" for coming in first in the midAtlantic and second in the nation for reducing nitrogen pollution. In 2011 the Commonwealth's programs kept 2.5 million pounds of nitrogen out of our streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay.

Although there is more than a wee bit irony of a Republican governor touting an award from the EPA, that was just part of an announcement from Governor Bob McDonnell highlighting progress in cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay. Other key advances on restoring our water resources include included in the governor's press release include:

• In 2011 major wastewater plants exceeded pollution reduction goals by more than 2,000% for nitrogen and more than 450% for phosphorus,
• Virginia has allocated $92 million toward point and nonpoint water quality programs,
• Virginia reported more phosphorus and bacteria load reductions (216,000 pounds) than any other state in EPA’s Region 3 (Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia).

While much remains to be done to fully restore the Chesapeake Bay and all our precious state waters, this is especially good news for oysters and osprey, for striped bass and blue crabs, and for eagles and everyone who understands the economic and environmental benefits of clean water.

Many of the reductions were achieved by implementing 400 best management practices on over 340,000 acres of farmland. The Department of Conservation and Recreation gets about $3.5 million per year in Clean Water Act grants to reduce nonpoint pollution. The DCR works through the Soil and Water Conservation Districts and with responsible farmers to fence cows and other livestock out of streams, to reduce erosion and nutrients by planting vegetation along streams, and to upgrade out-of-date septic systems.

Plenty of kudos to the governor, the DCR the farmers, and everyone involved... it is great to be the "Biggest Loser." However, much remains to be done to assure clean water for future generations. There are probably tens of thousands of defective septic systems across the state. The Commonwealth has over 47,000 farms covering 8,100,000 acres (about a third of the Commonwealth's land area)... that's a lot of streams and creeks to fence and restore. Today is a good time for all Virginians to crow about these successes. Tomorrow is prime time to set new goals and and to start working on the other 7,776,000 acres and all those septic tanks.

Bobblehead Bob and the lunatic fringe

Bobblehead Bob Goodlatte (R-VA06) is at it again. Denying credible science, common sense, and any understanding of cooperative federalism "my congressman" (I may be a constituent but he certainly does not represent me or most of my friends) would throw oil in the waters of cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay.

Let's peek into Bobblehead Bob's Republican world.  It is a strange world in which he marches lockstep to whatever orders come down from the GOP "brain trust." It matters not what is practical, what works, what is for the good of the people. What matters is following the party line even when it is detrimental to folks in the Shenandoah Valley and Virginia. For Bob, it is all about politics and obstruction.

In an April 27 Washington Post column, Let's just say it: The Republicans are the problem, long time political analysts Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein conclude:

The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition. 

When one party moves this far from the mainstream, it makes it nearly impossible for the political system to deal constructively with the country’s challenges.

If Republicans are the problem, then their loyal lapdog, Bobblehead Bob, is like a pimple on a compound wart on the notion of American democracy, a clean environment, and human rights. A recent example -  "my representative" introduced H.R. 4153, which through the magic of deceptive Republican double-speak, he dubbed the "Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improvement Act." The Chesapeake Bay Foundation called this the "worst piece of legislation affecting the Chesapeake Bay ever introduced in Congress."

Bobblehead Bob Goodlatte has moved so far from the mainstream, even in the conservative Shenandoah Valley, that he is becoming a national embarrassment. This reactionary bill denies solid science, political reality, and any vestige of common sense. Why did he introduce it? Who knows? But is it pretty clear that Bobblehead Bob is beyond thinking for himself - the tea party wingnuts and the Eric Cantoristas pretty much tell him what to do.

Let Bob (or your congressman) know you oppose H.R. 4153 and other Republican bills (H.R. 4337) that will condemn the Chesapeake (and all the rivers and streams flowing into it) to increased pollution and a slow but sure death.

VA's Bay Watershed Plan Falls Short

Map from DCR website.

On March 30, the Commonwealth's Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) submitted Phase II of Virginia's Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan, (WIP Phase 2) to the EPA. WIP Phase II is intended to guide Virginia's bay restoration activities for the next 13 years, but it is so lacking in specifics, detailed data, and clear locality strategies for implementation that it is, as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Executive Director Ann Jennings said, "little more than a statewide wish-list of possibilities that, unless revised, falls far short of providing Virginia citizens with reasonable assurance Virginia can meet its Bay cleanup goals."

Although it runs some 80 pages, WIP Phase 2 (PDF) is filled with vaguely hopeful phrases like "seek opportunities," "promote," and "encourage" and is so lacking in specific implementation actions and targets that it is virtually meaningless. It is kind of like a fellow saying he will graduate from college but not having any specific plans as to how to pay for it, what courses he will take, what major he will pursue, or even what college he will attend. Perhaps this is by design and decree of the McDonnell administration? He and his party have resisted many of the EPA's bay cleanup targets and strategies from the beginning.

The public comment period runs through May 31 - contact DCR and tell them the plan lacks so many specifics it really isn't a plan at all. Tell DCR to describe specific locality-by-locality plans that will make Chesapeake Bay cleanup a reality rather than a pipe dream. You can email comments to vabaytmdl@dcr.virginia.gov or mail them to James Davis-Martin, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 900 East Main St., 8th Floor, Richmond, VA 23219. Be sure to include your name, address, and phone number in all correspondence.

About 60% of Virginia's land area and more than two-thirds of the state population live the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Major river watersheds draining into the Chesapeake include the Potomac (including Shenandoah), Rappahannock, York and James rivers as well as coastal lands on the bay's shoreline.

Bob, litter is part of the problem

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (VA-06) has introduced a bill to halt the EPA's Chesapeake Bay cleanup plans. Pointing to "more mandates and overzealous regulations," Goodlatte wants to turn the responsibility over to states and to rely on "voluntary efforts." He also calls for "nutrient trading" programs.

In response, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation issued a statement urging Congress to reject the legislation outright. The CBF said, in part, that the legislation will "undermine the pollution limits currently in place, derail cleanup efforts and undercut the federal government's role in making sure that all Americans have access to clean, swimmable, fishable waters."

Okay, let's keep it simple: Goodlatte's bill would result in uneven enforcement at best and a dirtier Chesapeake Bay. And a more polluted Bay impacts Virginia more than perhaps any other state.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed consists of 64,000 square miles and drains portions of six states (Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York) and the nation's capitol. Leaving enforcement up to each individual state could mean no enforcement at all - Pennsylvania, a major contributor of the Bay's fresh water, might decide there is nothing in it for them and the costs just aren't worth it. So even if Virginia and Maryland made heroic efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, it would all go for naught.

"Voluntary efforts" is laughable. Let's try voluntary speed limits on I-81. It is hard enough to keep trucks and cars at 70 mph with enforcement; can you imagine the chaos if it were voluntary. Drivers who voluntarily comply better have a huge and effective rear bumper! As someone who has waded streams collecting water and macroinvertebrate samples, I have personally visited farms that have voluntarily done wonderful things to stabilize stream banks and to keep excess nutrients and pollutants out of our waters. But, I've also seen that a few miles of protected stream can't make up for the others that continue to allow erosion and waste to spoil our precious water resources.

"Nutrient trading" programs may have some validity in the short term. Polluters who can't clean up as quickly or easily could, I imagine, buy/trade nutrient credits with others who have cleaned up their act. But, in the long term we need everyone to get it right and realize we can't keep treating our waterways as sewers. Besides, "nutrient trading" sounds a lot like "cap and trade" which I thought the congressman and his GOP colleagues detested. A bit of Republican hypocrisy and insincerity on display here?

Cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay will take the efforts of all 17 million Americans who live in the watershed. And I do mean all - while intensive agriculture is a major contributor to excess nutrients and pollution in the Bay we need everyone involved. That means enforceable regulations on homeowners (septic fields and overuse of fertilizers), municipal sewage systems, developers, manufacturers, and businesses large and small.

Want to get involved with water cleanup in the Shenandoah Valley? Check out these organizations doing good work in your community:

• Chesapeake Bay Foundation
• Friends of the Shenandoah River
• Friends of the Middle River
• Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River
• Izaak Walton League
• James River Association
• Valley Conservation Council
• and many more....

You can also contact Rep. Bob Goodlate and let him know you oppose his bill (it is probably more about grandstanding against the EPA and posturing for the election than it is about good public policy). I just squawked at at the old bird.

Chesapeake Bay Cleanup - voluntary won't get the job done

Always drink upstream from the herd.
                                                ~Will Rogers

Earlier this week, Governor Bob McDonnell's administration released its plans for the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay. To a large extent the plan relies on voluntary actions to clean up the bay. It also provides for a system of buying and selling the right to pollute in certain watersheds - a plan that sounds much like cap and trade, a concept lambasted by many Republicans who care more about protecting business than protecting the environment.

Representative Bob Goodlatte (VA-06) joined Virginia farm organizations in calling for a more "flexible collaborative Bay cleanup effort." In other words the congressman and farmers want a largely voluntary plan with a few economic incentives but without deadlines or meaningful enforcement.

Voluntary always sounds good and sometimes results in meaningful positive steps, but in this case (and in many others) the problem is too big, the number and sources of the pollution to great, and the consequences of inaction too dire for this great natural resource to be restored simply by flexible and collaborative efforts. Action is needed and all (not just those with a conscience) need to be part of the solution.

How well does voluntary action work to end human behaviors that negatively impacts others? Suppose we had a voluntary program to end to drunk driving - think that would be effective? Even mandatory programs, where some find ways to get around the law, eventually find the problem rearing its nasty head after we thought it to be ancient history. For example, some parents figure that if all other kids get their childhood vaccinations, their darlings will be safe even without them. When enough think that way disease can make a quick comeback. Pertussis (whooping cough) cases are on the increase all across the country including cases recently in Orange County, Virginia.

Cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay will require action from all involved - not just farmers, but also households with leaky septic tanks and overzealous lawn fertilization, municipalities with out-of-date sewage treatment plants, and factories and processors who use our waterways to flush away their waste products. With all due respect to Will Rogers, in today's world, there is no place that is upstream from from herd (or bad septic tank).

Having been involved in stream monitoring for the past several years I have come to the conclusion that responsible farmers who are doing the right thing by building livestock buffers, planting vegetation, and restoring steam banks should be saluted but the reality is those efforts are only minimally affecting water quality. Water laden with e-coli and other pollutants may improve but will not magically become clean because it passes through a mile or so of properly managed stream. Bad water in = bad water out. Plus, in our karst limestone region bad surface water can find it way into groundwater affecting private wells and municipal water sources. In short, a few farms (or homes or old sewage plants) can muck up the whole creek.

One impediment to farmers taking the steps to manage streams crossing their fields is cost of fencing and providing water to their livestock. Cost is even more prohibitive and there are economic disincentives if the land is leased. Many landowners wouldn't go through the hassle of getting a grant or putting up the bucks to pay for the fence - it isn't their cows in the stream and the costs probably couldn't be recouped in the rent. The farmer running the livestock on the land may want to keep cows out of streams to reduce hoof problems and keep them grazing, but he'll unlikely to pay for fencing and watering on land he doesn't own.

Nope Rep. Goodlatte, this is one of those cases where voluntary won't get the job done. Too many incentives to not volunteer. And just a few farmers, homeowners, or factories not cooperating for the common good will have a dramatic impact on all of us. I'm all in favor of grants, expert advice, and other assistance to farmers. Those incentives should be designed to move cleanup of our streams, our rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay along faster. There might even be a bit of economic stimulus in doing just that. But at the end of the day, if we are really serious about restoring the Bay, we'll need deadlines, mandates, enforcement, and a common set of rules for all who use (and will potentially abuse) our precious water resources.

Keep him center stage

In some ways I've been pleasantly surprised that Governor Bob McDonnell has been conservative, but relatively moderate, on some issues since taking office in January. He's a sharp politician and knows many Virginians are in the middle of the political spectrum and he has to work with a Virginia Senate controlled by the Democrats. But, CCC still believes McDonnell is a hard right conservative by ideology and he is being pulled towards stage right by the tea party whackos who are increasingly influential in the Virginia GOP and by "friends" like the extremist attorney general. Ken Cuccinelli is actually doing the governor a favor - as long as he's prowling the far right, McDonnell appears to be moderate by comparison.

So, in the hope that McDonnell will remain a somewhat pragmatic politician who knows the best political hay is in the middle of the field, I hopeful that his current town hall tour will fill his ears with more than right wing manure. Tonight (August 26) the governor will be at JMU Festival Conference and Student Center at 7:00 PM. In this format there will be time for only 12-15 speakers/questioners. If you plan on attending get there early and sign-up to speak - even so, it is likely his handlers will tilt the verbal questions to known conservative friends of the governor's policies.

If like me you cannot attend, or if you don't have the opportunity to speak, you can always leave comments at the governor's Reform Task Force website. Cluck, cluck... the site is slow loading today.

One issue the governor along with a local state senator will be pushing is privatization of the Commonwealth's liquor stores. I'm not opposed to the prospect of private liquor stores, but it is far from clear that this makes dollars and sense. There are two issues that I think are unresolved. The dollars don't seem to add up over time - it would be a real shame if a one-time cash infusion built a few roads and made the governor look like a hero only to have that funding stream dry up when he's out of office. Does it make sense to have more stores selling whiskey? Or would this lead to more DUIs or more hard liquor in underage bellies?

Earlier this year Governor McDonnell proposed closing five state parks and has sided with Ken Cuccinelli on the legal challenge to the EPA which questions global warming. Some right wingers want to privatize state parks. If we don't speak up, this administration may dismantle Virginia's parks and do nothing (or take steps backwards) on protecting our rivers, air, and the Chesapeake Bay. Here is what this bird is telling the task force:

• Do not privatize our state parks. Do not close state parks. Instead, assure adequate state funding to keep our parks some of the best in the nation. My family and many of our friends have too many fond memories of camping, of picnics, and of exploring our great state parks to let you or anybody shut them down or diminish their splendor.
• Get real about transportation by moving encouraging rail-freight solutions on I-81, smart investments in public transit including high speed rail, and encouraging local governments to have common sense regulations to end the sprawl that means more and more cars on the roads. VDOT must be fully accountable to all environmental regulations.
• Make Virginia a green model for the nation. A recent report indicates that many of Virginia's streams and rivers are impaired. Impaired rivers mean an impaired Chesapeake Bay. We need tougher regulations to assure our water supplies are going to be cleaner in the future than they are today. The governor supports off-shore drilling - now let's see enthusiastic support for off-shore wind energy and other green businesses. That's hard to do when your attorney general, to appease the right wing, is conducting witch hunts in his crusade against global warming.

The governor has shown he can be nudged to center stage on some issues. But only if common sense Virginians are willing to speak up... indeed, stand up... to keep Virginia moving forward.

Putting teeth in bay cleanup

Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-Maryland) has introduced legislation to put some teeth into cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. Among the provisions:

• Reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Program which is run by EPA;
• States in the 64,000 square mile watershed would have to devise more specific plans to reduce pollution;
• States would have to write stormwater permitting rules that protect the natural hydrology of an area under development
• States would have to abide with a watershed-wide "total maximum daily load" limit on nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment.

The legislation also provides $1.5 billion in grants to help states achieve these goals. Starting in 2014, the states would have to issue progress reports every other year. A failure to make adequate progress could result in loss of those funds. There's the teeth!

More about the legislation and cleaning up the bay at the Washington Post and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

News Affecting Valley Barnyards

Disaster Areas - Governor Tim Kaine announced that the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture has designated Albemarle, Buckingham, Caroline, Fluvanna, Franklin, Goochland, Greene, Hanover, Henry, Isle of Wight, Lunenburg, Powhatan and Rockbridge counties primary natural disaster areas due to reductions in farm production caused by drought and excessive heat that occurred this year. Farmers will be eligible for low-interest loans and any supplemental relief that might be provided by Congress in the future. Farmers in adjacent counties (in the Valley: Alleghany, Augusta, Bath, Botetourt, Page, Roanoke Rockingham) have received contiguous disaster status and also may be eligible for federal aid.

Waste Not - Poultry waste is a huge concern for the Chesapeake Bay. With 2007 sales of turkeys, chickens, eggs totaling $937 million, poultry is Virginia's #1 agricultural industry. Much of it is located in the central Shenandoah Valley. Raising poultry creates about 400,000 tons of waste annually. If not properly handled, nutrients from the waste get into the surface water, steams, and rivers eventually finding their way into the Bay. There, those nutrients cause algae booms that deplete oxygen in the water causing dead zones. Don't blame the birds for all this foul mess - nutrients come from other livestock, humans, and overuse of fertilizers on farms and front yards! Another major factor is the huge population growth along the Chesapeake's shores and tributaries in eastern Virginia, the D.C. area, and Maryland.

Valley farmers are already taking dramatic and expensive steps to better manage manure and fertilizers. Governments are enacting new policies such as limiting development along shorelines and tributaries so the natural processes can help break down the nutrients before they get into the Bay. Perdue Farms has a plant that burns the litter to generate electricity.

Learn more about the Chesapeake Bay.

Gas Tax? - The EPA has proposed a cow and pig gas tax? Yep, that right! Cows and pigs eat their feed which ferments during the digestive process creating methane and nitrous oxide which is released to the atmosphere in farts and burps. Under part of the Clean Air Act, the EPA is studying these emissions to determine if they are creating greenhouse gases that are hazardous to human health.

Under the proposed rules, a farm with more than 25 dairy cows or 50 beef cattle produces 100 tons of carbon equivalent each year and would need a permit and pay the gas tax - about $175 for each dairy cow. A Shenandoah Valley dairy farm milking 125 head would have tax of $21,875.

The EPA study will continue through 2009. For now, you can get more info at ProCon.org which has a Fart Chart where you can a state-by-state whiff of this breaking issue.

What's next.... a limit on how many beans I can put in my chili?

With Election Looming, Goodlatte Listens

By a vote of 318-106 the House of Representatives passed a $209 billion farm bill that includes crop subsidies, school lunches, and promotes ethanol. It also includes historic funding for cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay. Bob Goodlatte, whose hearing may have improved a bit with elections less than six months away, voted for the bill. The Virginia delegation supported the bill by a vote of 7-4  with Republicans Goode, Wolfe, Davis, and Cantor voting no. Agriculture is important in all of Virginia, nowhere more so than the 6th District.

The bill now goes to the Senate where it has bipartisan support. President Bush, saying the bill gives too much to farmers, is threatening a veto. If the House numbers stay firm, there will be sufficient votes to override. Goodlatte, who has rarely broken from the Bush position on anything, will be one to watch closely. Perhaps the increasing irrelevancy of the president combined with GOP setbacks in recent special elections and a strong challenge by Democrat Sam Rasoul have gotten Mr. Goodlatte's attention. 

Environmentalists have applauded the increased funding ($440 million) for bay cleanup efforts. "This is a win for everybody. It's a win for the farmers who are looking for help in their efforts to improve the Chesapeake Bay and it's a win for everybody in the region who loves the bay," said Doug Siglin, of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The funding would support various programs affecting farms - planting cover crops and forested buffer zones to help filter out contaminants before they get into streams and rivers that flow into the bay. It is estimated that about 40% of contaminants come from farms in the bay's watershed.

The bill retains the traditional commodity subsidies and includes $3.8 billion permanent disaster payment program for farmers hit hard by weather losses.

Any blog named Coarse Cracked Corn has an interest in a farm bill and especially in the ethanol provisions. The president has pushed ethanol as a partial solution to our energy needs but from my perspective corn-based ethanol is not the way to go. It is expensive to produce and puts energy and food in competition. On the positive side, the farm bill places new emphasis on other sources of ethanol including incentives for sugar and cellulosic (like wood chips) ethanol production - a good development that may make ethanol production more efficient and reduce its emphasis on corn. The bill cuts the tax credit for ethanol producers by 6 cents to 45 cents/gallon. On the other hand, the bill preserves some favoritism for corn ethanol and protects domestic ethanol production by maintaining a high tariff to keep Brazilian ethanol, which is made from sugar, out of U.S. markets. I hope this anti-competitive tariff is temporary. For more information on the energy provisions of the farm bill check out this article.

That's all from the barnyard for now. Peck. Peck.