Register for E-mail alerts. Comment on articles. Sign up today, it's easy.
Close
The Washington Times Online Edition

Obama’s aid with Bay sought

Area leaders (from left) Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley speak to reporters in the District after a Chesapeake Bay restoration meeting. (Katie Falkenberg/The Washington Times)Area leaders (from left) Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley speak to reporters in the District after a Chesapeake Bay restoration meeting. (Katie Falkenberg/The Washington Times)

The leaders of Maryland, Virginia and the District said Thursday that they will ask Barack Obama when he officially becomes president for federal assistance in cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, after years of failing to meet goals and deadlines.

“We are going to approach the new president by Inauguration Day with a precise, targeted plan that we hope the federal government will assist in partnership with states and localities in Bay restoration areas,” said Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat.

The District joined the two states and Pennsylvania in 1983 to create the Chesapeake Executive Committee with the goal of finding new strategies for cleaning up the Bay.

Members announced four years ago that they planned to restore the Bay to health by 2010, then said last year that goal would not be met.

The Bay, which was once one of the most productive estuaries on Earth, is now deteriorating because pollution and climate change.

Mr. Kaine, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said Thursday that they will set short-term goals to ensure the maximum amount of progress in cleaning up the Bay.

Mr. Kaine said the deadlines will keep everyone focused on the environment. The committee also will enlist independent scientists to track the cleanup process.

“It’s now our moral imperative to try a new course for our Bay by restoring it to leave it in a much better condition for our children and our children’s children,” said Mr. O’Malley, a Democrat.

The leaders also committed themselves to promoting the production of biofuels that do not rely on food crops but can be grown throughout the Bay as the restoration process moves forward, Mr. Kaine said.

Mr. Fenty, a Democrat, said he would work aggressively to make sure the outflow from the Anacostia River, which flows into the Bay, is clean.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation - a privately funded nonprofit dedicated to protecting and restoring the Bay - has called the river the D.C. area’s “greatest source of toxic pollution” to the Bay.

“We have a ton of goals, most importantly to protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which everyone knows … is a tremendous environment for economic, recreational and historic value,” Mr. Fenty said. “Not just to the three states we represent or just to the region, but to the entire country.”

Comments
blog comments powered by Disqus
You Might Also Like
  • President Obama speaks Feb. 13, 2012, about the "Community College to Career Fund" and his 2013 budget at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Va. (Associated Press)

    Obama unveils fiscal 2013 budget proposal

    By Dave Boyer - The Washington Times

  • President Barack Obama speaks about the "Community College to Career Fund" and his 2013 budget, Monday, Feb. 13, 2012, at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Va. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

    Social Security reserves forecast to run dry in 2022

    By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times

  • **FILE** This photo from Dec. 13, 2011, shows workers inside Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. (Associated Press)

    Arizona lawmakers: No more teachers’ dirty words

    By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

  • In Case You Missed It
    Happening Now

          Independent voices from the TWT Communities

          Appalachian Chronicles

          Enjoy the musings of this irreverent and humorous Appalachian American student of life, using her own unique experience as the springboard.

          The Sports Philosopher

          A statistically slanted view of sports, brought to you by a disciple of the Bill James movement.

          Egypt: Pyramids and Revolution

          Egypt is filled with first hand accounts about Egypt - sharing stories, culture and news.

          Pakistan: The Untold Story of Trauma, Transition, and Opportunity

          This is story of a beleaguered nation which, on the strength of its heroes, talent, geo-politics and history, can see light at the end of the tunnel.