Delaware Beaches Rated Number 1 in USA

Delaware’s beaches have been recognized for having the cleanest water quality in the nation. Delaware is also the location of two of the country’s few “Superstar Beaches,” according to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The advocacy group annually assesses all beaches in 30 coastal states.

Beaches at Rehoboth and Dewey were awarded 5-star ratings as Superstar Beaches for their perfect swimming water quality for the past four years. They were two of only 13 Superstar Beaches so designated by the NRDC among beaches of the coastal states.

In its report, ”Testing the Waters” in Delaware, the NRDC also recognized DNREC’s Recreational Water Quality Testing Program as one of the most comprehensive in the nation.

Delaware attracts more than 7 million visitors each year, many of them drawn to the state’s scenic Atlantic beaches. According to a recent report, The Contribution of the Coastal Economy to the State of Delaware, by Delaware Sea Grant College Program at the University of Delaware, the state’s coastal economy has a significant impact on Delaware’s overall economy – generating almost $7 billion annually.

Delaware ranked first out of 30 states for cleanest water quality overall. The NRDC report cited Delaware State Park beaches (Cape Henlopen, Delaware Seashore and Fenwick Island) and the state’s Atlantic community beaches (Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany, South Bethany, and Fenwick Island) for having excellent swimming water quality, with only a single swimming advisory (of less than 24 hours) issued among all those beaches in 2012.

source: DNREC Division of Parks & Recreation

Anacostia River - Watt's Branch Restoration

The Anacostia watershed is one of the most urbanized watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin. Because of its cultural importance, the watershed has been identified as a priority area for interagency cooperation in both President Obama's America's Great Outdoors Initiative and the Urban Waters Federal Partnership.

In 2010, a group of federal agencies, local organizations, and others formed a partnership to restore a section of Watts Branch, a tributary of the Anacostia.

Completed in 2011, the restoration project was funded largely by the District of Columbia's Department of Environment and also carried out by the Department of the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service along with the National Park Service, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington Water and Sewer and several local organizations.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners restored eroded stream channel while nearby sewer lines were relocated and improved.

After the restoration, a local nonprofit, Washington Parks and People, has begun using Watts Branch as an outdoor classroom to prepare an emerging workforce for jobs in urban and community forestry.

A follow-up analysis of the Watts Branch restoration by the U.S. Geological Survey found that the effort has had a substantial impact on the local economy, directly or indirectly. The study estimates that the project added 45 jobs, $2.6 million in local labor income and $3.4 million in value to the local D.C. metropolitan area in 2011. 

source: U.S. Geological Survey

Harris Creek Oyster Sanctuary

During the 2012 season, Maryland initiated oyster plantings aimed at fulfilling the goals set by federal agencies to restore oyster habitat and populations in 20 Bay tributaries by 2025.

Workers deployed 634 million spat on shell in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay, with most of those deployed into the Harris Creek oyster sanctuary.

The effort involved the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP), the University of Maryland Horn Point Lab Hatchery (UMD HPL), along with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District

Nearly one third of the 360 acre goal in Harris Creek has been planted with enhanced substrate and spat on shell. In addition, portions of the Upper Bay were restocked with oysters after last year’s wide-scale mortality from excessive fresh water.

Harris Creek, a tributary of the Choptank River, is the first river targeted for large-scale, tributary-based oyster restoration. This area was chosen collaboratively by Maryland DNR, Army Corps Baltimore District and NOAA because of its high likelihood to succeed. Construction of the Harris Creek oyster sanctuary is funded primarily by Maryland DNR, the Army Corps and NOAA.

source: Oyster Recovery Partnership

Rising Mid Atlantic Sea Surface Temperatures

According to the latest Ecosystem Advisory issued by NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), temperatures in the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays were more than 6 degrees C (11°F) above historical average at the surface and more than 5 degrees C (9°F) above average at the bottom during the first six months of 2012.

During the same period, sea surface temperatures off North America's Atlantic Coast were the highest ever recorded. The affected area, known as the Northeast US Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (LME), extends from the Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

The Spring 2012 Ecosystem Advisory is available online at:

http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/ecosys/advisory/current/advisory.html

source: nefsc.noaa.gov

BOEM Offshore Renewable Energy Program Public Listening Session

On Tuesday, April 10, 2012, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) will host a Public Listening Session in which Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) representatives will take questions and input from fishermen and other stakeholders regarding offshore renewable energy projects (see below for registration).

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is engaged in siting offshore renewable energy facilities along the Atlantic seaboard.  As part of the planning and analysis for the offshore renewable energy process BOEM is reaching out to fishers to solicit their thoughts regarding offshore renewable energy as well as informing fishers about the offshore renewable energy leasing process.

BOEM will also provide an update on offshore renewable energy activities in the Mid-Atlantic (New York to North Carolina). Updates on the status of other BOEM-funded studies will also be presented during the meeting.

BOEM staff, MAFMC leaders, National Marine Fisheries Service personnel will be present to answer questions. The public can attend in person or via the internet.

For online webinar access register at:  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/357029721. This is the same link for listening-in to the MAFMC meeting Agenda.

For questions regarding the Listening Session process, contact Jason Didden at jdidden@mafmc.org or (302) 526-5254.

Information regarding BOEM’s renewable energy program can be found at:  http://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/index.aspx

Meeting Time and Location:

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) Meeting
Tuesday, April 10, 2012 - 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Sanderling Inn, 1461 Duck Road, Duck, NC

And Via the Internet at http://www.mafmc.org/

source: MAFMC

Green Streets - Green Jobs - Green Towns Grants

On February 8, 2012, the Chesapeake Bay Trust, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the state of Maryland unveiled an expanded Green Streets-Green Jobs-Green Towns grant initiative. The initiative is intended to help cities and towns in the Chesapeake Bay watershed accelerate greening efforts that improve watershed protection, community livability, and economic vitality.

The grant program is open to local governments and non-profit organizations in urban and suburban watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland, D.C., Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia who are interested in pursuing green streets, green infrastructure, and green jobs as part of their community or watershed planning.

Grant assistance up to $35,000 is available for infrastructure project planning and design, and up to $100,000 for implementation and construction. The strongest proposals will incorporate innovative green infrastructure and best management practices that maximize cost-effectiveness.

Projects selected will enhance sustainable watershed protection and green infrastructure stormwater management through low impact development practices, renewable energy use, local livability and green job creation. The request for proposals is available at www.cbtrust.org  with a deadline of March 9, 2012 for all applications.

The Green Streets-Green Jobs-Green Towns grant initiative will award more than $400,000 in 2012, double the funding from 2011. For more information on the Green Streets grant program please visit cbtrust.org.

source: Chesapeake Bay Trust

The Chesapeake Bay Environmental Controversy

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed includes more than 400,000 acres of land and thousands of miles of open bay, rivers and streams, making the Chesapeake Bay the largest estuary in North America.

The bay originates in Pennsylvania, as part of the Susquehanna River. It passes thru Maryland and Virginia, emptying into the Atlantic near Hampton Roads Virginia.

The estuary is an icon of North America and a vital component of the Mid Atlantic region. For centuries, men have fought over the Chesapeake Bay. During the last decade, several controversies have involved environmental issues.

Few people dispute the state of the bay. Silt, runoff, excessive nutrients and other pollution has led to massive degradation of the estuary. At issue is not what is wrong, but where the faults lie and how to correct them. Years of lawsuits, studies and media coverage have so far been ineffective at achieving Chesapeake Bay restoration.  

On May 25, 2011, A coalition of environmental groups announced that they have filed a motion in federal court to oppose the efforts of major national agricultural organizations to force an end to federal and state programs to reduce pollution and restore the Chesapeake Bay.

The coalition includes the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, Defenders of Wildlife, the Jefferson County Public Service District, the Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy, and the National Wildlife Federation.

Within days after the federal government announced scientific pollution limits and the states laid out specific plans to reduce pollution in local rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau went to federal court in Pennsylvania to stop those efforts.

They have since been joined by other national agricultural lobbying groups, including the Fertilizer Institute, the National Pork Producers Council, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Chicken Council, the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, and the National Turkey Federation.

"Just as the Bay is making progress in its long fight to survive, these big money industry lobbyists are trying to derail the process.  Why? A simple profit motive," said Chesapeake Bay Foundation President William C. Baker. "They want the rest of us to suffer dirty and dangerous water so they can maximize their corn, hog, and poultry profit."

For decades, science has known that nitrogen and phosphorus pollution are responsible for the dead zones, fish kills, and harmful algal blooms that annually plague the Chesapeake Bay. Under the Clean Water Act, and as the result of numerous court cases, a scientific limit, or TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load), has been set.

State governments then developed plans designed to ensure that all pollution control measures needed to fully restore the Bay and its tidal rivers are in place by 2025, with at least 60 percent of the actions completed by 2017. Science set the limits, and the states designed individual plans to achieve the goals.

"This lawsuit is a frivolous attack by polluters against the Chesapeake Bay’s rivers and streams, the source of drinking water for millions and an economic engine for the region." said the National Wildlife Federation’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Executive Director Tony Caliguiri. "In these economic times it’s appalling that taxpayer money is being spent to defend clean water in local communities against polluters.  Responsible local leaders are working hard to set pollution limits for their communities and polluters would rather sue rather than be accountable."

Opponents of the pollution limits claim that EPA is overstepping its authority, and wants the process to start all over again.

"The Farm Bureau’s lawsuit is just another attempt to delay federal action," said Brian Glass, senior attorney for Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture).  "This delay will harm the very people the Bureau purports to represent, endangering farms that need a fresh and clean water supply, and preventing farmers from getting the help they need to protect their own land and waters."

Note: Portions of this article originate from a joint press release published by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation,  Defenders of Wildlife, Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation & Penn Future

Mid Atlantic Fracking Controversy

A hot issue in the Mid Atlantic USA is the practice of "fracking". Wikipedia defines Hydraulic fracturing or "fracking") as:

"a process that results in the creation of fractures in rocks. The fracturing is done from a wellbore drilled into reservoir rock formations to increase the rate and ultimate recovery of oil and natural gas.

"Hydraulic fractures may be natural or man-made and are extended by internal fluid pressure which opens the fracture and causes it to extend through the rock."

One staunch opponent of fracking in the USA, including Mid Atlantic states is Food and Water Watch, a national environmental rights organization.

According to FWW:

"Last week, on the anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon blowout, a fracking well in Bradford County, Pennsylvania had its own blowout, leaking toxic fracking fluid onto nearby farmland and into a local stream. Seven families had to evacuate their homes and the spill caused Chesapeake Energy, the second largest natural gas producer in the country — and the operator of this well — to suspend fracking in the state of Pennsylvania until they can figure out what caused the blowout."

The issue has gotten considerable attention following worldwide disasters such as the 2010 BP Atlantis oil spill and more recently the Nuclear reactor crisis in Japan.


UPDATE


In May, 2011, members of the U.S. House of Representatives urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a thorough environmental assessment of the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware River Basin before allowing a potential 20,000 shale gas wells to be drilled in the area.

source: F&WW