An October 30 Gazette.net article recounts a recent briefing by State officials to the Maryland Chamber of Commerce concerning total maximum daily load (TMDL) implementation efforts. 

Maryland was the only jurisdiction of the seven within the bay’s watershed to submit a “watershed implementation plan” to the Environmental Protection Agency by the Sept. 1 deadline that met statewide limits for nitrogen, phosphorous and sediment pollution, although some river basins still exceeded their individual allocations. …

“We all have to go on nutrient diets,” said Frank Dawson, assistant secretary for aquatic resources for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

The proposed regulations have been met with skepticism from the business community, which is wary of the costs it could be facing to upgrade wastewater systems and retrofit developments for stormwater management.

But Alison Prost of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation cautioned the 15 or so chamber members in the audience that further delays in the bay’s cleanup would only drive up future costs.

Maryland businesses also have a stake in the health of the bay, which is worth about $1 trillion to the state’s economy, said Robert Summers, deputy director of the Maryland Department of the Environment.

“What would it cost not to do this?” he asked.