Obama adviser poses pollution 'diet' for Bay

NORFOLK

The Obama administration's top adviser on the Chesapeake Bay brought a get-tough message to Hampton Roads on Tuesday night, urging more regulation of farms, development and runoff in order to save the Bay.

Speaking for the first time in Norfolk since his appointment, J. Charles "Chuck" Fox said the three main pollutants holding back Bay cleanup efforts today - excessive nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment - have been loosely regulated for decades and need finally to be addressed in a meaningful way.

Fox said the intent of President Barack Obama and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is fairly straightforward: establish a pollution "diet" for the Bay, then hold states accountable for reducing contaminants enough to meet this scientifically based lifestyle.

The EPA already has proposed federal regulations for better control of tainted stormwater that flows off new development sites, city streets and storm drains as part of the drive. And more rules can be expected to curb runoff from farms where heavy concentrations of animals are raised, Fox said.

Both measures have ruffled business and agriculture groups, which are vowing to block passage of the regulations.

A former secretary of natural resources in Maryland, Fox was one of three environmental experts speaking before about 200 people gathered at Nauticus in downtown Norfolk.

Their appearance was part of the Blue Planet Forum, a free public lecture series on environmental issues affecting Virginia and Hampton Roads.

On Tuesday, the panelists were asked to answer a simple but dicey question: What will it take to save the Bay?

Dennis Treacy, vice president for environmental affairs with Smithfield Foods and a former director of the state Department of Environmental Quality, said the Obama approach is one that risks alienating businesses and farmers.

"The EPA's new focus on enforcement is OK," Treacy said, "but I worry it's throwing out the other tools in the bag - the incentives, the voluntary programs. There aren't that many bad guys out there."

Treacy recalled how Smithfield Foods had a poor environmental record in the 1990s and was dragged to federal court to face government charges of polluting local waters with hog waste. But slowly, he said, he helped to incorporate a new culture at the meat-packing giant, one embracing environmental performance and leadership.

"We're a much different company today," Treacy said.

Roy A. Hoagland, vice president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, applauded Treacy for his work but noted that the problems of the Bay are larger, more complex and spread across six states.

Hoagland encouraged passage of legislation pending before Congress that would dedicate $1 billion to the Bay as well as empower the EPA to impose regulations on states that do not perform.

"For three decades we've tried to protect the Bay through voluntary actions... and it hasn't worked," he said. "Now we stand on the precipice of this model cleanup effort being a failure."

Scott Harper, (757) 446-2340, scott.harper@pilotonline.com