Chesapeake
Environmental Protection Association CEPA Annual Forum  Every
year, CEPA sponsors a public forum on an important environmental topic. The objective
is to select a timely subject and to present it in depth. Too often newspapers
and other media present only part of an issue, and then tell us brief opinions
of various politicians or experts. For our forums, we invite established authorities
capable of discussing the subject in depth, and usually have more than one speaker
to get different perspectives. The public is always given an opportunity to ask
questions. The forums are usually held in Anne Arundel County. In past forums,
we have found that a good attendance depends on a concerted advertising effort.
A nominal fee is requested to cover advertising costs, with any excess going to
the Chesapeake Bay Trust.
2011 Annual ForumCEPA 2011 ENVIRONMENTAL
FORUM
“TMDLs: What a Concerned Citizen Should Know”
Friday, October
14, 2011 — Schmidt Conference Center, SERC, Edgewater, MD PRESS
RELEASE (PDF)
FORUM
FLYER (PDF) The 2011 Chesapeake Environmental Protection Association
(CEPA) environmental forum will be a comprehensive presentation on the topic of
EPA enforcement of Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements for the Chesapeake
watershed. TMDLs, or the “Pollution Diet” have been in the news recently
as the Obama administration has moved to enforce the Clean Water Act with the
threat of severe penalties to the states for non-compliance. This plants the hope
that the long struggle to reverse the decline of the Chesapeake Bay will finally
show results. Observers have suggested that the good intentions and agreements
between Bay watershed jurisdictions over the years have suffered from lack of
oversight, coordination, and enforcement. The recent EPA moves to require the
Bay watershed states to complete the establishment of TMDL limits for their waterways
and to submit plans to achieve the goals, coupled with penalties for non-compliance
holds the promise of finally reversing the trend of decline. The actual
implementation of this plan, however, is more complex than presented above. Further
examination reveals that issues of enforcement, jurisdiction, monitoring, effectiveness
of the states’ plans, flexibility to recognize and adjust to ineffective
measures, time required to realize results, and certainly cost suggest that the
current EPA initiative with all its promise could turn out to be no more effective
than those of the past. The CEPA forum will examine these issues and provide
the basis to inform concerned citizens in the Bay region. CEPA believes that an
informed public is better suited to support or help direct the actions of government.
The program will include speakers and a round table discussion. Participants
will include: Dr. Walter Boynton, University of Maryland Chesapeake
Biological Lab John Rhoderick, Maryland Department of Agriculture Dr.
Richard Eskine, Maryland Department of Environment Valerie Conolley,
Maryland Farm Bureau Federation Ron Bowen, Anne Arundel County Department
of Public Works Greg Barranco, US Environmental Protection Administration
Chesapeake Bay Program The forum, titled, “TMDLs: What a Concerned
Citizen Should Know”, will be held Friday October 14th 2011 from 7:00
– 9:00 PM at the Schmidt Conference Center on the grounds of the Smithsonian
Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Maryland. Directions:
From the intersection of Routes 2 and 214 in Edgewater, take Rt. 214 east 1.4
miles to Muddy Creek Road (Md 468). Turn right and go 1 mile to Contees Wharf
Road. Turn left and go 1.3 miles to SERC entrance at 647 Contee’s Wharf Road.
Follow signs to Schmidt Center.
Read
about past CEPA forums This page was last updated September
19, 2011. | 
