With the 2024 Legislative Session rapidly approaching, MACo is profiling some major issues that stand to gather attention in the General Assembly.
The single most defining feature for the state of Maryland is the Chesapeake Bay. Its waters shape our geography, flow into our culture, and provide a source of sustenance and cuisine. Unfortunately, Maryland cannot act alone in cleaning and preserving the bay – Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, & West Virginia all lay within the greater watershed and also contribute to its pollution. Securing the health of the Chesapeake Bay is an issue that runs to the core of being a Marylander and one that will likely see some attention in this legislative session.
According to the issue papers:
Achieving the Goal: Progress and What Lies Ahead
Maryland’s Phase III WIP originally projected that the State would achieve (and possibly exceed) statewide nutrient and sediment pollution reduction goals by calendar 2025, although more recent modeling suggests that these goals may be more difficult to meet than anticipated. EPA has also raised concerns regarding whether the Phase III WIP includes sufficient detail regarding the actions that must be taken to achieve pollution reduction goals, the feasibility of the State’s 164 Department of Legislative Services continued reliance on the wastewater sector to meet pollution reduction goals when other sectors fall short, and whether adequate resources to implement necessary agricultural practices are available. In addition, Maryland’s Phase III WIP acknowledges that pollution loading resulting from climate change, population growth, and the Conowingo Dam may impact the achievement and sustainability of restoration beyond calendar 2025.
In its October 2022 evaluation of Maryland’s 2020-2021 completed and 2022-2023 projected milestones, EPA noted that Maryland did not achieve its 2021 targets for nitrogen and phosphorus but did achieve its target for sediment. The evaluation specifically flags the State’s handling of expired municipal storm sewer system permits and implementation of agricultural best management practices as areas for improvement. Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia also fell short on their projected milestones, prompting the EPA Administrator to acknowledge that the plan and timeline for meeting remaining pollution reductions will likely need to be revised.
In May 2023, the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Science and Technical Advisory Committee released a report titled Achieving Water Quality Goals in the Chesapeake Bay: A Comprehensive Evaluation of System Response (CESR), which assesses why progress toward meeting the TMDL has been slower than anticipated. The CESR report presents findings and recommendations based on the following conclusions: (1) achieving pollutant reductions and water quality improvements is more challenging than expected; (2) the bay-system observed in the past will not be the same in the future due to permanent and ongoing changes in land use, climate, population growth, and economic development; and (3) while opportunities to improve the effectiveness of bay restoration exist, new approaches are needed.
In response to the CESR report, in July 2023, Governor Wes Moore announced a major policy shift in how Maryland will deploy State resources to improve the water quality of the bay and other State waters. It is anticipated that the State will take a more deliberate approach in focusing water quality improvement measures in areas with the most potential to show improvement, such as shallow water habitats in specific regions of the bay. In addition, to strengthen coordination and accelerate restoration of State waters, Governor Moore signed Executive Order 01.01.2023.11, which restructures a former bay-related council to create the Governor’s Council on the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays Watershed.
Just as Chesapeake Bay is Maryland’s most defining feature, the Blue Crab is at the heart of local cuisine and culture. Longtime readers will know that due to climate change, populations of this crustacean are declining and they are starting to be found as far north as Maine.
Blue Crabs
In June 2023, the Department of Natural Resources published new restrictions on harvesting blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay, including a limit on harvesting male crabs for the second consecutive year. These restrictions followed the release of the 2023 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey, which estimated the blue crab population to be 323 million crabs, an increase above a record low of 227 million crabs in 2022. While the number of spawning age female crabs increased from 97 million crabs in 2022 to 152 million in 2023, the population fell short of the target of 196 million. Results also showed the adult male crab population to be 55 million crabs in 2023, an increase from a record low of 28 million in 2022. Although recruitment – the number of juvenile crabs – increased from 101 million in 2022 to 116 million in 2023, this is the fourth consecutive year of below average recruitment. The blue crab population is naturally variable and impacted by multiple factors, including habitat availability, bay and oceanic conditions, disease, and predation, including by red drum and invasive blue catfish.
On June 27, 2023, the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC) issued its annual blue crab advisory report, recommending precautionary management measures to maintain a healthy spawning stock and protect juvenile and male crabs. To improve understanding of blue crab population dynamics and the fishery, CBSAC is preparing for a benchmark stock assessment that accounts for new data and alternative model structures to evaluate and revise the management framework. The assessment is expected to be completed by late 2025.
