Local Government

Frederick County Local Governement                                                             James Wood HS

                                                                                                                                3/23/2011

Government is important to the watershed for many reasons. When dealing with decision POV:

making, the government makes all of the final decisions. We decided what can stay and

what can go. If there is company's such as the local fishermen and they are not doing their

 job keeping the bay clean, we can shut them down. Our job is to keep the Chesapeake Bay

Watershed clean, safe, and a great environment not just to the people that go there but to

 all the gorgeous creatures that not only live there but journey there as well.

Its hard to be in control of everyone since were the government a lot of people depend on

us to much and sometimes it gets to a point that they depend on us so much that the people

 of the Chesapeake Bay have stopped involving themselves and their role in keeping the

environment clean and healthy. They expect the government just to throw out tons of

money to clean up everything but that's not how it supposed to be. If the bay looks bad

and not healthy then the population of the bay people will not be happy and they might not

elect us for the next year government. That's our job that we will lose. Since we are part

of the local government we would ask for volunteers and ask companies if they would like

to help keep the bay clean. Also we would make a day at least one time a month on where

everyone that lives at the bay it would be just for cleaning. That everyone would take a

weekend of there time to spend not only with the community but doing a great cause for

the whole environment.

A good solution for making people want to help with the water clean up would be to start

awarding fines of $200 to the non-point polluters for not having buffers or anything to

help the problem. People aren't going to want to pay the fine, so a lot more people will start

 to help to avoid that. To afford the clean up, people will be informed of donations that can

 be made to help pay for it. Point source polluters should be the ones paying, and if they

refuse to do so they will be put out of business until they cooperate. This is what needs to

be done, and in order for this to happen, everyone needs to do their part along with us.

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    From:   The Ranger in Power - local_gov - LHS                                                   Ask

                                                                                                                        3/29/2011

       One problem with what you are saying is that if you start "requiring" your constituents

       to volunteer for a day per month, then a lawsuit would be filed immediately.  I think it

       is always better to persuade people to do something rather than force them to do

       something.  I think it is our role as local government officials to better educate the

       public, and then let them make their own decisions about what needs to be done

       through the election process.  If a candidate shares your points of view, then vote for

       them.

    From:   I Love APES - Other - GCHS                                                                  Ask

                                                                                                                        3/31/2011

       I agree with the previous comment which stated that "if you start 'requiring' your

       constituents to volunteer for a day per month, then a lawsuit would be filed

       immediately."  However, beside just lawsuits, I think that this measure would also turn

       citizens and local residents against environmental cleanup, because they would feel

       that a mandatory day of cleanup is a burden.  This would, in other words, have the

       complete opposite effect of what you hope to accomplish, and probably would make

       cleaning up the Chesapeake much harder.

Local Government

The Ranger in Power                                                                                                 Luray HS

                                                                                                                                3/24/2011

     Being an elected government official, it is my duty to look out for the best interests of POV:

my constituents.  I have thousands of people living within my district.  I have to make tough

decisions each day.  These decisions may be as small as voting to post lower speed limits in

a neighborhood all the way to approving the construction of a large subdivision.

     My district is rural except for several small towns.  The toughest decisions I have made

 so far is whether or not to allow housing developments at the loss of valuable forest and

farmland.  We need to increase our tax base through higher property assessments, but at

the same time, I want to keep the land as rural as possible. 

     As an elected official, I propose to make the following recomendations to help clean up

the Bay.  #1. Put a cap on subdivisions built away from towns without water and sewer

service.  Developments away from urban areas need their own water and sewer facilities ie

 wells and septic fields.  At least wastewater will be treated by town sewer facilities. #2.

Allow farmers to place their land into conservation districts where no development is

allowed for the next 50 years.  Farmland conservation districts can be found in

Pennsylvania and it seems to work.  #3.  Require all new construction to adhere to Best

Management Practices.  #4.  Require all new homes built in rural areas to have a minimum

of a 2 acre lot size.  Homes built within or bordering town limits will be allowed to have

only a 1/2 acre lot size since they will be provided town water/sewer facilities.  This should

 provide developers with the incentive to be able to build more homes with less land. #5. 

Allow students to pick up trash alongside roads.  If they put in 50 or more hours, then they

 will recieve a high school credit.

     This is not all the solutions available but I think it is a start.

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    From:   Grumpy Granny - homeowner - H4H                                                        Ask

                                                                                                                        3/29/2011

       Looking out for your constituents includes looking out for Grumpy Grannies. Have a

       heart. None of your solutions are too painful for me so far, but I'm keeping my eye on

        you!

        Response        The Ranger in Power - local_gov - LHS

                             To:  Grumpy Granny - homeowner - H4H

                                                                                                                        4/1/2011

              Hey Grumpy Granny.  I want to tell you about a quick observation I made

              recently. We have had recent rains where I live.  While in the WalMart parking

              lot, I noticed the water had a peculiar color.  Upon closer observation, the water

              had picked up oil and other chemicals that were leaked by automobiles.  This same

               water eventually will make it to our local tributaries, and of course, the Bay. 

              One way to decrease this pollution is for auto inspection stations, to add to their

              list of things to check, examine the possibility of fluid leaks such as oil,

              transmission fluid, antifreeze, etc.  What do you think? It might save the car

              owners in costly repair bills and help decrease water pollution.

    From:   The american Quartet - homeowner - MslmnHS                                     Ask

                                                                                                                        4/6/2011

         I believe it is a good idea to offer for the students to have the option to earn things

       needed for them to graduate that also helps with the bay. I do however also find it

       unfair to have the students required to do community service to graduate.

    From:   Grumpy Granny - homeowner - H4H                                                        Ask

                                                                                                                        4/8/2011

       That sounds fine to me- I don't have a car anyways. I hope it works out! Maybe it will

       even help. If it does, that would really be great. I will help spread the word to my

       Granny friends.

Local Government

Trill Ent.                                                                                                      Rappahannock HS

                                                                                                                                3/25/2011

                        Waste Water Treatment

Sewage treatment plants get the waste from your house & business and re-use he water &

use the waste to fertilize farmland.

  Since 1985, the Chesapeake Bay program has been working towards a goal to implement

enhanced air pollution controls that will correct nutrient-related problems in the Bay and

its tidal tributaries by 2010. Just 9 percent of the air nitrogen reduction goal has been

achieved; progress is accepted to accelerate dramatically over the next few years as new

federal air pollution control efforts take effect. The air pollution affects not only the

quality of the air we breathe, but maybe the land and the water. What goes up must comes

down; just like anything else, pollutants released into the air will eventually make their way

to the earth's surface. In particular airborne nitrogen is a deadly contributor to pollution in

 the Chesapeake Bay. About 50 percent of the airborne nitrogen which pollutes the Bay is

from sources located in the Bay watershed.

The solutions are

-Helped to create the Anacostia waterfront Framework plan, and ensure that the

Anacostia waterfront corporation would work to protect the Anacostia.

-Helped to get nearly $100 million in federal appropriation for the Anacostia cleanup.

-Researched and published the first annual state of the Anacostia report.

-Led efforts to "Green" the design of the new national stadium.

-Helped to establish the "Capitol River Relief".

-Effective implementation of other federal and state Clean Air Act programs will result in

further reductions in the Bay watershed.

To help reduce the effects of airborne nitrogen, tributary strategies- clean-up plans for

each tributary in the watershed- are implementing actions such as:

-Restoring forest buffers along the Bay's rivers, creeks and streams.

-Using natural systems to manage polluted runoff.

-Agriculture conservation practices, such as planting cover crops.

-The Chesapeake Bay has been changing continuously for thousands of years.

-Threading through the Chesapeake watershed are more than 100,000 streams and rivers-

called tributaries.

-Adding oxygen to the water during photosynthesis. All underwater animals need oxygen to

survive.

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    From:   MODERATOR - other - PHWS                                                                 Ask

                                                                                                                        4/18/2011

       This idea of using Sewage treatment plants to get the waste from your house &

       business and re-use he water & use the waste to fertilize farmland is intriguing. 

       Biosolids are already used on farm lands in some capacity, but how do you as

       government stakeholders hope to use this waste to further aid in reducing non-point

       source pollution?

Local Government

Imperial Seahorses                                                                                       Rappahannock HS

                                                                                                                                3/25/2011

Have you ever been to a beach off of the Eastern coast and put your feet in the water?

You might think that the water is clean, but do you know what is in the water itself? 200

miles long, with more than 150 rivers and streams, the Chesapeake Bay plays a vital role in

the environment surrounding us. The bay is home to many varieties of species and wildlife.

Unfortunately, the Chesapeake is also home to many harmful pollutants. One of the most

major is nutrient pollution.

  Approximately, 30 million pounds of phosphorus, a type of nitrogen, entered the bay from

its nine tributaries between 1990-1992. This outrageous amount was said to come from

wastewater treatment plants in the area. The Susquehanna River is where the largest

amount of nitrogen enters the bay.  There are 483 significant wastewater treatment

plants that run into the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Maryland alone has 66 major plants.

  To help reduce the amount of nutrient pollution released into the bay, treatment plants

have began using BNR (Biological Nutrient Removal) and ENR (Enhanced Nutrient Removal).

 One thing that these systems don't remove is hormones. Studies conducted near the Blue

Plains Wastewater Plant in Washington D.C show that oocytes (female hormones) have been

 found on male smallmouth bass. This causes the male bass to grow eggs. Vitellogenin,

another female hormone, has been found in male smallmouth and largemouth bass. These

hormones can cause intersex fish and declines in certain fish populations in the bay.

  Luckily, Virginia has committed to reduce up to 6 million pounds of nitrogen from waste

water to meet newer TMDL standards. Virginia alone has received $80.2 million in the

Recovery Act Funding to upgrade wastewater treatment plants with newer technology to

get rid of more pollutants.

The bay has a lot of problems it must face in the near future, but if we continue our

efforts to reduce the amounts of nutrient, nitrogen, and other pollutants going into the

bay, we can make this watershed once again a healthy environment. Hopefully, within the

next few years we will be able to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, see that beautiful clear

water, and know that we have helped a great cause that will last for generations.

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    From:   A Van & 6 Kids - Other - LHS                                                               Ask

                                                                                                                        3/31/2011

       We agree with your POV.  Here by the bay, we have many problems with hormones

       causing extra appendages ect.. Wastewater treatment plants cannot remove these and

       they just pass along on their way to the bay.  It is good that Recovery Act money is

       going to help improve technology at wastewater treatment plants.  The plants also

       leave antibiotics in the water from the initial cleansing.  Could these possibly create a

       water-based superbug like MRSA?  [Moderator:  Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus

       aureus (MRSA) is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in

       humans.)

Local Government

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