Maryland Stormwater Symposium
A discussion with elected officials and public works and planning staff from Maryland counties and Baltimore City to discuss innovative and cost-effective practices to manage stormwater runoff as part of the cooperative effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay and our local waterways. Learn more...
Reclaim the Chesapeake
Bay Public Awareness Campaign
All of us who live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are linked to the Bay by many pathways. Whether we live right on the water or miles from the Chesapeake, our actions have a profound effect on the Bay. Learn more...
Governor Martin O’Malley Announces Maryland Meets Milestone Goals to Protect and Restore Chesapeake Bay
Governor Martin O’Malley announced at the Chesapeake Executive Council Meeting announced that Maryland met its 2009-2011 milestones to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay. As part of our Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP), the State is on track to achieve the next two-year milestone goals and Maryland’s 2017 interim target. Read more…
Healthy Air Act
The Healthy Air Act has resulted in a reduction to the nitrogen load to the Bay that is conservatively estimated at over 330,000 pounds annually. These environmental benefits are comparable to those realized by upgrading a large wastewater treatment plant, but required no government expenditures. Most of the reduction occurred during the first Bay milestone period, which ended in June 2011.
2012 Executive Council Meeting
The Chesapeake Executive Council announced progress under the first set of Chesapeake Bay cleanup milestones at its annual meeting on July 9 at Gunston Hall, near Lorton, Virginia.
They discussed the benefits of this system of short, two-year milestones and how, in the future, it will help partners meet the requirements of the Bay “pollution diet”. The Council also announced the 37 recipients of technical support under the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s “Local Government Green Infrastructure Initiative” and elected Mayor Vincent C. Gray of the District of Columbia as its new Chair. Read more…
Maryland’s 2-Year Milestones
Programmatic Accomplishments, 2009-2012
Maryland met its 2009-2011 two-year milestone goals, even after accounting for expected growth (150,000 pounds nitrogen). We are halfway through the second two-year period, and making considerable progress, taking the actions necessary to reach our goal of a cleaner healthier Bay. Read more…
Proposed Changes to Maryland's
Nutrient Management Regulations
The following presentation outlines the proposed update for Maryland’s Nutrient Management Regulations. In crafting these updates, Maryland has considered recommendations of a University of Maryland scientific panel as well as concerns raised by environmental, agricultural and municipal stakeholders. These regulations strike a balance between maximizing water quality benefits and practical needs of implementing requirements in the field and assuring economic impacts are manageable.
Welcome to BayStat
We created BayStat in 2007 to assess, coordinate and target Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay restoration programs and to provide citizens with a way to track our progress. BayStat has served us well over the past five years, helping us identify strategies, actions and short-term milestones to restore the world’s greatest estuary.
A healthy Bay benefits Maryland's tourism, recreation, agriculture and fisheries industries; improves the value of our homes, farms and businesses; and creates green jobs.
The Bay’s problems are manmade. So too are its solutions. Thank you for visiting BayStat and for your commitment to creating a smarter, greener, more sustainable Maryland that includes a restored Chesapeake Bay at its heart.
Martin O’Malley
Governor
What is BayStat?
- Baystat is a collaborative performance managment system for Bay restoration.
- BayStat is a team, led by Governor O’Malley, that includes the Secretaries of Agriculture, Environment, Natural Resources, and Planning, scientists from the University of Maryland and other key staff.
- BayStat is a process through which Maryland State agencies develop restoration goals and strategies, and assess their effectiveness and adjust actions as necessary.
- BayStat is a tool that allows Marylanders to track — and most importantly — participate in — Bay restoration.
Causes of the ProblemsWater pollution comes from our land — urban and rural, farms and towns, houses and schools, parks and playgrounds — traveling through the watershed’s rivers and streams into the Bay. |
Get InvolvedAll Marylanders play a role in implementing at least some of these actions, and we all must work together if we are to be successful. |
SolutionsTo return the Bay to good health, Maryland must reduce the amount of nitrogen entering the Bay each year by about 21% from 2009 levels. We have identified the 10 most significant actions — such as planting cover crops and upgrading sewage treatment plants — that will help us reduce pollution, restore natural habitats and foster smarter, greener growth. The Environmental Protection Agency has required that the Bay jurisdictions submit Watershed Implementation Plans — detailed, specific plans to reduce our Total Daily Maximum Load — the amount of pollution we send into the Bay. |
2-Year MilestonesIn 2009, the Bay jurisdictions committed to accelerating restoration actions over 2-year cycles. As of December 31, 2011 Maryland exceeded our first 2-year milestone — implementing best farming practices, upgrading wastewater treatment plants and restoring natural filters on public lands, to achieve a 3,750,000 pound reduction in the amount of Nitrogen flowing into the Bay. Current HealthWe measure the results of our actions by monitoring water quality and living resources — the health and abundance of our fish, crab and oyster populations. |
BayStat in the News
- CBF - The Truth about the "Tax on Rain" - Bay Daily 4/16/13
- Maryland hosts stormwater runoff meeting for officials - The Reporter 3/4/13
- City moving on stormwater fee - Water World 3/3/13
- Save the river, save the bay - The Evening Sun 3/2/13
- Pesticide reporting protects public - Gazette.Net 3/1/13
- Ag Certainty: Making Certain that the Bay Remains Polluted - Chespaeake Bay Action Plan 2/27/13
- Keeping the Bay clean with healthy forests - Tidewater Review 2/26/13
- Photo Essay: Poplar Island restoration brings critical habitat back to Bay - Chesapeake Bay Program 2/26/13
- Good news, for a change, about the Chesapeake Bay - Baltimore Sun 2/24/13
Related Links
From the desk of
Governor Martin O'Malley
Although we usually think of Chesapeake Bay pollution as stemming primarily from polluted runoff and toxic waste, around one-third of the nitrogen that harms Bay and its rivers comes from the air. A significant amount of this nitrogen is generated by coal-fired plants burning harmful fossil fuels- including those in neighboring states from which we import electricity. Only by developing and using more renewable energy sources, can we significantly decrease this type of pollution.
The Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013 is a win for Maryland. Its passage last night positions our State for greater job creation and opportunity, while moving us forward toward securing a more sustainable energy future.