ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND – Senator Thomas “Mac” Middleton, who represents Charles County in the Maryland Senate and is Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has been elected to chair the Tri-State Chesapeake Bay Commission for 2016.
As Chairman, Middleton will oversee the policy making efforts of the 21 member Commission, whose members are Senators and Delegates from Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, along with the natural resources agencies, and a prominent citizen member, from each member state. Middleton takes over leadership from Delegate Scott Lingamfelter, who represents parts of Fauquier and Prince William Counties in the Virginia House of Delegates.
As he took over the gavel, Middleton, who has been a member of the Commission since 2007, and served as full chairman in 2010, committed to working with USDA to increase and better target Chesapeake Bay conservation funding, better target the funding, and better coordinate delivery of several USDA conservation programs. He also spoke about his work over several years to adopt a revised Phosphorus Management Tool in Maryland, adopted in 2015, and said the Commission would continue to examine the phosphorus management indices used in Virginia and Pennsylvania. The Commission just released a publication that compares the elements and management recommendation of all three state tools, including Maryland’s former tool, in order to educate policymakers as they begin to identify elements ripe for revision. The Commission engaged phosphorus experts from several states to guide the comparison. The publication can be found here:
Other Commission priorities mentioned by Middleton include continuing to advocate for funding for the multi-year Rivers of the Chesapeake Initiative. This year, due in part to the Commission’s efforts, the three member states will receive $10.7 million from the Department of the Interior’s Land and Water Conservation Fund to protect lands along the Potomac, Rappahannock, James, York, Nanticoke and Susquehanna rivers.
Middleton commended members for their prior work on issues that run the gamut from urban fertilizer to stormwater, oyster poaching penalties, conservation funding, agricultural certainty, and livestock stream exclusion which was a major focus of the Commission in 2015. He noted that the Commission will continue their work identifying funding to meet Virginia’s commitment to fund 100% of Livestock Stream Exclusion practices, coordinating with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to obtain a USDA grant that will increase stream exclusion in three targeted counties, and working with Maryland Department of Agriculture on solutions for excess chicken litter to support implementation of the Phosphorus Management Tool.
Middleton said “There is still much work to be done to make sure we have 60% of practices in place by 2017 to deliver clean water. The Commission will continue to play a leading role on the state and federal level to drive this progress and it will be a lot of work, but rewarding work.”
Before assuming leadership, Middleton also noted his long affection for his mentor on environmental issues, former Senator Bernie Fowler, who has served on the Commission for 32 years. Middleton said he was forever grateful for Fowlers mentorship as he followed his path from county to state level government and to the Commission.
The Chesapeake Bay Commission is a policy leader in the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. As a tri-state legislative body that advises the legislative branch of state government, it’s mission is to identify critical environmental needs, evaluate public concerns, and ensure state and Federal actions to sustain the living resources of the Chesapeake Bay. The Commission works directly with the state general assemblies and the U.S. Congress and serves as the legislative branch of the Chesapeake Bay Program.