Press Release - Governor Ehrlich Chairs Chesapeake Council Meeting; Announces New Watershed Agreements, Local Planning Asistance, POS Funding .....

Press Release - GOVERNOR EHRLICH CHAIRS CHESAPEAKE COUNCIL MEETING; ANNOUNCES NEW WATERSHED AGREEMENTS, LOCAL PLANNING ASSISTANCE, POS FUNDING THROUGH 2010

Ehrlich Selected to Chair 2007 Council

STEVENSVILLE - Standing on the shores of the world's second largest estuary, Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. announced four new watershed-wide initiatives adopted by the Chesapeake Executive Council, plans to assist local governments in addressing growth, and future plans for conserving Maryland's environment. Governor Ehrlich today chaired the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Council, the regional coalition charged with leading restoration efforts throughout the 64,000-square-mile Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Opening the public portion of the meeting in his role as Chair, Governor Ehrlich commended the region's Bay stakeholders and his fellow Council members - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson; Chesapeake Bay Commission Chair, Virginia State Senator Emmett W. Hanger, Jr.; Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine; Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell; and District of Columbia Mayor Anthony A. Williams - on Bay restoration progress over past six years.

"Under Chesapeake 2000, the Bay Program partners have continued to improve the health of the Bay and its watershed through innovative on-the-ground restoration programs," said Governor Ehrlich. "While we have made great progress over the past six years, we recognize the need to do more, quickly - especially in light of the looming 2010 deadline and the fact that more than 175,000 new people are moving into the watershed each year."

Four new watershed-wide initiatives adopted by the Council at today's meeting are designed to support and advance restoration efforts already underway.

A new Farm Bill Agreement will address funding, technical assistance and cooperation needed to ensure the watershed's 87,000 farms are able to develop environmentally sound practices, and make Farm Bill funding a priority for the states' federal legislative agendas. The Enhanced Role and Voice of Agriculture Resolution further commits each state's leadership to working more closely and collaboratively on agriculture and farm viability, funding issues and innovative technologies.

Acknowledging that forests are the best land use for water quality restoration, The Forest Conservation Directive, commits the Bay states to creating a regional forest conservation goal by 2007, including identifying the critical tools necessary to meet the goal.

"Maryland has long recognized the ecologic and economic value of forests," emphasized the Governor. "This commitment is particularly important given the somber realization that the Chesapeake Bay watershed is losing 100 acres of forest every day."

The Healthy Lawns and Clean Water Initiative calls for a 50 percent reduction in pounds of phosphorus applied through do-it-yourself lawn care products in the Chesapeake Watershed by 2009. In a public signing ceremony that included Scotts Corporation, LLC, and the Lebanon Seaboard Company, the Council also created a new public-private partnership to achieve nutrient reductions in lawn fertilizer.

"This unique agreement between industry and government will serve as a national model for accelerating and enhancing efforts to control nutrient losses from private lawns," said the Governor.

During the private portion of the meeting, the Council applauded Governor Ehrlich's aggressive pursuit to restore the Bay and selected Governor Ehrlich to serve as Chair for a second term.

Changing course to focus in on his home state, Governor Ehrlich spoke about Maryland's unprecedented efforts to improve water quality through a number of innovative programs, and outlined new steps the state is taking to accelerate momentum - and results.

"All told, Maryland has some major environmental strides in the past few years, with diverse environmental programs that complement and support each other," said Governor Ehrlich. "And today I am pleased to announce new efforts will take our Bay restoration work to the next level."

The Governor's announcements included: His intention to become more personally involved in the effort to garner federal support for a Regional Bay Funding mechanism; plans to allocate new money to assist farmers in planting cover crops - a management practice that clearly demonstrates nutrient reduction; and the state's development of a new program to help local governments fund effective growth management and nutrient reduction programs.

"I have charged my agency staff to work directly with Maryland's counties and municipalities to create a challenge grant program," explained the Governor. "This initiative will empower local governments to take action by providing funding for low/zero impact development, storm water retrofits and implementation of HB 1141."

Maryland's targeted watershed program - recently named the best watershed-based plan in the nation - is also moving into its next phase.

"Given the outstanding advances we are making to remove the Corsica River from the EPA's List of Impaired Waters, we are currently working to identify our next targeted watershed by the end of the year," announced the Governor.

Finally, Governor Ehrlich outlined his land preservation goals for the next four years.

"When I took office in 2003 I reviewed our land conservation policy to make sure we were protecting Maryland's most important landscapes - acreage that would also have a positive impact on water quality," the Governor said. "The expanded criteria we now use includes a comprehensive set of ecological indicators that allows us to make strategic decisions - based on science -- to protect our most valuable green infrastructure and the Chesapeake Bay. And that new criteria is going to get quite a work out over the next four years, as I am today committing to fully funding Program Open Space through 2010."

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http://www.gov.state.md.us/pressreleases/2006/2006GOVERNOREHRLICHCHAIRSCHESAPEAKECOUNCILMEETING.html