Virginia Lagging in Bay Cleanup Effort

(WHSV) – The EPA released a new report showing the two-year progress of the Chesapeake Bay Program partnerships.

While West Virginia and DC reached their milestones, the other six states, including Virginia fell short.

Dr. Kandis Boyd is the program director. She said one of the obstacles to reaching those goals is the fact that the Bay is a living-everchanging ecosystem that is impacted by other factors, some of which were not accounted for at the conception of this agreement.

“Thinking about the climatic impacts that we’ve seen just over the past couple of years. Just looking at the population increases, looking at storm water run-off, which 10 years ago we didn’t think was a driven, but now we’re seeing its the second major polluter behind agriculture,” she said.

Boyd added these new factors are helping the partners reshape the way they view the Bay and approach the improvement efforts.

Often times when the Bay is thought of, water quality is at the forefront of most minds. However, Boyd said water quality is a small portion of the overall issues with the Bay. There are 31 outcomes this program is working towards.

When considering quality, though, three factors are taken into consideration: sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus, all of which are impacted by outside sources.

“It’s water. It’s air. It’s land and the intersection of the three,” she added.

Virginia hit their target for sediment reduction statewide.

Boyd reminded us that every state is different as are its needs.

At the most recent executive council meeting, she said they started a conversation about 2025 and beyond. This conversation addressed the feasibility of the current goals being met and potential adjustments that need to be made.

She said Governor Glenn Youngkin’s dedication to the Bay encourages her that Virginia could meet its goal by 2025.