E.P.A. Applauds Maryland Lawn Fertilizer Bill for Helping Meet Chesapeake Bay Pollution Diet Goals

(PHILADELPHIA - May 19, 2011) - E.P.A. today applauded Governor O'Malley and the Maryland House and Senate for passing legislation that will minimize polluted runoff from lawns and achieve measureable reductions in nitrogen and phosphorus to local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay.

"Limiting the impact of fertilizers is exactly the kind of commitment that provides E.P.A. with assurance that together, we will achieve our shared goal of reducing pollution from lawns, golf courses, business properties and parks," said E.P.A. mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin "Limiting the use of fertilizer on residential and commercial lands is one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing harmful pollutants that make their way into our rivers and streams."

Garvin especially acknowledged the work of members of the Chesapeake Bay Commission for helping to usher in this new legislation: Delegate Hubbard, Senator Frosh, Delegate McIntosh, Senator Middleton, Delegate Wood, and retired Maryland Senator Bernie Fowler.

The bill will help the state meet its commitments as part of a rigorous pollution diet or TMDL for meeting water quality requirements in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries, and restoring local rivers and streams throughout the 64,000-square-mile Bay watershed.

Maryland, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia are expected to have all nutrient-reduction practices in place to meet the limits in the pollution diet by 2025, with 60 percent of the effort completed by 2017.

For more information about the Chesapeake Bay TMDL visit: http://www.epa.gov/chesapeakebaytmdl/

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