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For Immediate Release Senator Brubaker Convenes Local Task Force on Chesapeake Bay Tributary StrategyGroup will address, develop methods of compliance LITITZ – Lancaster County needs to be actively engaged in developing ways to comply with the Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy (CBTS), state Senator Mike Brubaker (R-36) said today. For that reason, the Senator this afternoon facilitated the first meeting with the Lancaster County Task Force on the Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy, a group of local stakeholders he convened. "As a part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, we play an important role in maintaining the water quality of the Susquehanna River and ultimately, the Bay itself," Brubaker said. "This Task Force brings together a wide variety of groups and individuals to help address and develop ways in which the County can work together to comply with the Strategy." Pennsylvania's CBTS is designed to address this state's commitment under the multi-state Chesapeake 2000 agreement to remove the Chesapeake Bay from the federal list of impaired waters by 2010. This comprehensive approach directs Pennsylvania to reduce its levels of nitrogen by 34 percent, phosphorus by 31 percent and sediment by 11 percent. Under the CBTS, both point sources, such as sewage treatment facilities and industrial plants, and nonpoint sources, including farmland and stormwater runoff, must address the required reductions in nutrients and sediment. "Pennsylvania began taking significant steps to address agriculture's role in this process and other water quality issues long before the implementation of the Strategy by enacting nutrient management laws and helping farmers implement best management practices," Brubaker noted. "The state's farmers are highly regulated and face some of the toughest water quality requirements in the country." Wastewater treatment plants are also working to reduce nutrients they send to the Bay, primarily through technology upgrades, and Brubaker said the associated expense is something the Senate is examining. Recently, that body approved a third-party study of the costs to municipalities for treatment facilities to implement the CBTS to provide a better idea of the true costs before the General Assembly can address funding options. "I have heard some concerns about Pennsylvania's ability to meet its nutrient and sediment reduction goals by 2010," Brubaker said. "By bringing together municipal leaders, builders and members of the production agriculture industry, we can develop innovative, cost-effective and practical ideas to help Lancaster County address its role in meeting the requirements of the Strategy." Brubaker said that it is also essential to have a clear, unified plan for the County that incorporates input from all interested parties. The Task Force plans to meet on a regular basis. Contact: Kristin Crawford, Executive Director
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