The governors of the three main Chesapeake Bay states met Tuesday to reaffirm their commitment to a cleanup effort for the nation’s largest estuary — a gesture that comes at a crucial moment for the flailing undertaking.
The governors — Democrats Wes Moore of Maryland and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, as well as Republican Glenn Youngkin of Virginia — have acknowledged for more than a year that the federal-state effort won’t hit its original 2025 deadline. It is unclear precisely how the second Trump administration will approach the Bay cleanup effort, but advocates don’t expect it to be supportive, based on moves made during its first term.
But at the meeting of the Chesapeake Executive Council in Annapolis, Maryland, the governors vowed to work together to develop a new path forward for the cleanup plan by the end of 2025, acknowledging that the original approach has fallen short.
“We recognize that our overall efforts are not on track to reach some of the key pollution reduction goals by 2025. And so when we see we are not on track to hit goals, we make sure that we can both double down on efforts and also make sure that we have a new strategy going forward,” said Moore, who was reelected to a second term as council chair.
