August 9, 2023
Annapolis, MD—In a disappointing setback for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays, the Maryland Supreme Court today overturned a lower court ruling that would have required the state to control millions of pounds of nutrient pollution flowing into Maryland’s waterways each year.
The lower court had found that the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) must regulate gaseous ammonia emissions from industrial animal agriculture and impose pollution limits to meet state water quality standards. Instead, the Supreme Court deferred to MDE’s approach—despite overwhelming evidence that the Department has long failed to address this massive pollution source or issue permits that adequately protect nearby waterways.
The poultry industry is one of the largest contributors of nitrogen pollution to Maryland’s Eastern Shore rivers and the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays. Tens of millions of pounds of ammonia—a potent form of nitrogen—are generated annually from poultry houses, with several million pounds entering local waterways. This pollution fuels harmful algal blooms, drives oxygen loss, and devastates aquatic life. Meanwhile, Maryland residents bear the costs of cleanup.
As noted by Justice Watts in dissent: “a remand of the case would help to ensure that Maryland does its part to meet the goal under the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load “that all pollution control measures needed to fully restore the Bay and its tidal rivers are in place by 2025[.]” But now, with the majority’s decision, local communities suffering from toxic ammonia emissions and those who care about the Chesapeake Bay are left having to call upon Governor Moore and Secretary McIlwain to help them by ensuring that simple, low-cost buffers outside of poultry house fans are installed to keep their pollution on the property and out of the public’s air and water.
Assateague Coastal Trust (ACT) brought this challenge, represented by Chesapeake Legal Alliance (CLA), a nonprofit providing free legal services to protect and restore clean water and promote healthy, resilient ecosystems across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Brenda Davis, the Executive Director of the Assateague Coastal Trust said, “the public and policymakers are beyond frustrated about what is happening with the effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay. For those looking for answers as to why the Bay is still polluted and about why EPA and the states have, yet again, defaulted on their pledge to restore the Bay here is an answer. We have a substantial source of unregulated pollution and the agency has chosen to do nothing about it. There is simply no more cost-effective way to reduce nitrogen pollution to the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays than planting trees and shrubs in front of these poultry houses. Any public official that is serious about accelerating Bay restoration progress absolutely must take advantage of the opportunity to push for greater adoption of these vegetative pollution controls.”
David Reed, Executive Director of Chesapeake Legal Alliance, said, “we are disappointed by the decision, but mostly we are just concerned about what this means for our client and the communities affected by pollution from these facilities. As the dissenting opinion emphasized right from the first sentence, this is a clear case of environmental injustice and an agency that has previously turned a blind eye to it. We are confident that the new Secretary’s high priority on lifting up those communities that were previously left to shoulder a disproportionate amount of pollution will soon result in relief for them and our beloved waters. Marylanders deserve better going forward and we’ll continue this fight.”
On the heels of this year’s landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that severely curtailed the scope of the nation’s Clean Water Act, today’s Maryland Supreme Court decision leaves the public and water quality advocates searching for ways to uphold protections intended to safeguard our waterways. ACT and CLA will continue to analyze this ruling and explore legal and policy strategies to restore and protect the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays.
Read the opinion here
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Assateague Coastal Trust’s (ACT) mission is to work with diverse community partners to protect and defend the health of Delmarva’s waters through advocacy, education, science and enforcement of clean water laws.
The mission of the Chesapeake Legal Alliance (CLA) is to apply the power of the law to protect and restore clean water and promote healthy, resilient ecosystems for communities across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
David Reed, Executive Director, Chesapeake Legal Alliance, david@chesapeakelegal.org, (202) 253-5560
Evan Isaacson, Senior Attorney, Chesapeake Legal Alliance, evan@chesapeakelegal.org, (410) 216-9441 ext. 207
Brenda Davis, Assateague Coastal Trust, executivedirector@actforbays.org, (443) 880-1199
