A Penny For Your Thoughts

Fairfax County played host for the Chesapeake Executive Council meeting on Monday when Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich, and Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell gathered at Mount Vernon for the council’s annual meeting. Other members of the Executive Council include the Mayor of D.C., the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Commission.

The selection of Mount Vernon as the site for the meeting continues a historic tradition of discussions there on issues of regional importance. In 1785, George Washington invited Virginia and Maryland commissioners to discuss navigational rights for the Potomac River. That meeting, known as the Mount Vernon Conference, began the concept of regular discussions between states, which culminated in the 1878 Philadelphia convention that produced the United States Constitution.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly, Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland, and I welcomed the Executive Council and the standing room only crowd during the public portion of the council meeting. Chairman Connolly noted the importance of the Potomac River as a major tributary feeding the Chesapeake Bay, and the work of local urban governments to ensure that municipal wastewater treatment plants operate as efficiently and cleanly as possible. He said that local governments are willing to do their share, but that state and federal funding also is required.

Governor Warner, the outgoing chairman of the Executive Council, announced that the council supported the recommendations of the Chesapeake Bay Blue Ribbon Finance Panel to create a federally funded Chesapeake Bay Financing Authority. The directive issued Monday included convening of a committee of financial and legal experts to create a proposal which would include the governance structure for the Authority, state and federal regulatory and/or legislative changes that would be required, and decision-making mechanisms for allocating loan and grant funds by the Authority. Governor Warner committed council members to lobby Members of Congress for passage of legislation and necessary appropriations. The Blue Ribbon Finance Panel report estimated the costs of cleaning up the Bay at $28 billion, an amount which includes new watershed initiatives called “tributary strategies” by the states.

The Executive Council also announced a new animal manure and poultry litter directive that will promote sound agricultural waste management practices and reduce nutrient pollution flowing into the Bay. Native oyster restoration efforts and expanding migratory fish passage along 1000 miles of Bay watershed also are goals highlighted by the council on Monday. Log on to www.chesapeakebay.net for more information. Supervisor Penny Gross may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov

Supervisor Penny Gross may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov