The 'war' on Chesapeake pollution

By Steve Dryden
Bethesda

The winter 2010 issue of Save the Bay, the magazine of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, proclaims “The Gloves Are Off” in the “Fight for Clean Water.”

The foundation seems to have put the gloves back on rather quickly, negotiating a backroom deal in Annapolis that weakens a crucial new Maryland environmental law [“Rules on storm water eased for some builders,” Metro, March 10]. And what’s equally disturbing is that Democratic leaders in Maryland’s statehouse have caved in to pressure from developers and municipalities that refuse to do their share to prevent the slow death of the bay.

This comes less than a year after the Obama administration pledged to take decisive action to end the phony war against pollution of the Chesapeake. Are we really incapable of the collective sacrifice that is necessary to clean up our streams, rivers and bay?