On January 12 MACo sent a letter to Maryland’s congressional delegation, that raised concerns over the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) process.  The letter focused on four areas of concern:  (1) the need for federal aid to help counties meet the significant implementation costs; (2) that Maryland should not be punished if the State cannot meets its TMDL goals because of the actions of other states; (3) addressing accuracy concerns with the Chesapeake Bay Model and ensuring that county nutrient reduction target numbers do not change substantially; and (4) granting counties flexibility in meeting their nutrient reduction goals.

The letter concludes:

Restoring the Chesapeake Bay is an important goal that will take considerable effort and resources to achieve.  Despite its arguable shortcomings, the Bay TMDL is currently the primary method for achieving that goal.  MACo does not wish to see the counties and State of Maryland go through such an extreme effort only to have that effort fall short due to failures of the TMDL structure.  MACo hopes that its concerns can be addressed and would be happy to meet with you or provide more information if needed.