New License for Conowingo Dam Threatens Bay Health; Exelon Not Held Accountable

Despite years of lawsuits, court battles, and public outcry, FERC has issued a new operating license to Exelon Corportion, owner and operator of the Conowingo Dam hydroelectric power plant.
photo credit: Cecil Whig

On March 18, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a new operating license for the Conowingo Dam after eight years of lawsuits, court battles, and public outcry. Exelon Corporation, owner and operator of the Conowingo Dam hydroelectric power plant, will hold the new license for the next 50 years. Unfortunately, this license fails to meaningfully address the pollution behind the dam or to hold Exelon accountable for its fair share of mitigating this major threat to the Bay. This is a tragedy for the health of the Chesapeake Bay and our rivers here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

In addition to generating hydroelectricity, Conowingo Dam acts as a catchment for everything that flows downriver from New York and Pennsylvania. When the floodgates open, water carries all that trash, debris, nutrient-laden sediment, and toxic substances into the Bay and onto our shorelines. The Eastern Shore bears the brunt of this flow, suffering navigational hazards, shorelines choked with debris, and oyster bars and underwater grass beds smothered with sediment. All of this pollution sets back our progress to achieving a healthier Bay.

Trash and other debris, including these tractor tires, frequently clog the shoreline of northern Kent County and other Eastern Shore regions. Pollutants piled up behind the Conowingo Dam end up being flushed into the Chesapeake Bay when the floodgates open during large rain events, significantly impacting the recovery of the Bay’s health.
photo by Sassafras Riverkeeper Zack Kelleher

 The solution to this problem should be twofold: hold New York and Pennsylvania accountable for reducing pollution that flows down the Susquehanna River; and require Exelon to contribute to the cleanup costs made necessary by the dam from which they profit. No one should be allowed to profit from a public natural resource without having to contribute meaningfully to the protection and restoration of that resource. However, that is now exactly what FERC is allowing to happen.

 The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) determined that Exelon, the most profitable utility company in the country, should be held accountable for $172 million annually for its share of the costs to clean up the pollution behind the dam. Then, MDE inexplicably agreed to the terms of this new operating license, which only require Exelon to contribute $1.22 million per year, or less than 1% of what is needed, from the company to protect the Bay’s health. The brunt of the cleanup costs will now have to be shouldered by Maryland taxpayers.

It is inexcusable that Maryland watermen, boaters, homeowners, and taxpayers have to suffer the consequences of pollution flowing down the Susquehanna, and are now responsible for paying for the cleanup resulting from the dam. MDE and FERC have put the interests of a for-profit company before the welfare of their citizens and the health of a public resource. MDE claimed this was the best they could do, and that “something is better than nothing.” But less than 1% of something is essentially nothing. The March 18 ruling codifies MDE’s dereliction of duty to meaningfully address the issues at Conowingo and adequately protect Maryland’s waterways and communities.

This issue is of utmost importance to Eastern Shore communities. Over the past few years, ShoreRivers has become a leading voice on this issue in the region. The organization has hosted town hall meetings, designed billboards to raise awareness, and worked on legislation at the state and federal levels. This outreach generated thousands of comments and phone calls imploring local, state, and federal agencies to protect citizens’ interests.

ShoreRivers will continue to fight this flawed re-licensing through every avenue at its disposal. The pollution behind the Conowingo Dam poses one of the most significant threats to the Bay’s recovery, to our maritime communities and economy, and to all of the restoration work that Marylanders have worked so hard to implement.

ShoreRivers Announces Partnerships for Urban Stormwater Retrofits

ShoreRivers has received grants to work with two regional organizations to better manage and treat stormwater runoff from urban parking lots. Urban stormwater runoff is one of the most damaging threats to urban waterways because it contains nutrients and other harmful pollutants, and can contribute to localized flooding.

The American Legion parking lot will be upgraded using the “Dig Once” concept, which invests in gray infrastructure such as resurfacing, along with matching funds for green infrastructure, such as vegetated bioswales.

In Dorchester County, the existing parking lot at the American Legion Post 91 in Cambridge will be upgraded with vegetated bioswales and native trees to manage and treat stormwater runoff, and native grass plantings along the shoreline to stabilize the eroding bank. Post Historian Richard F. Colburn writes, “Five years ago we had a fire at the American Legion Post 91 that closed our post and necessitated an overwhelming amount of repairs and restoration, including to the riverside parking. Fortunately, with the help of ShoreRivers, services from Rauch Engineering, and grants from Chesapeake Bay Trust and a Maryland State Bond Initiative, the community came together on the final leg of the project. We are now able to retrofit our waterfront parking lot in a way that protects and enhances the water quality of the precious Choptank River.”

This project meets many of the action items in the Cambridge Clean Waters Advisory Committee’s report “Moving Toward Clean Waters: A 10-Year Plan.” The parking lot will be resurfaced in part with porous asphalt and sloped toward a bioswale to redirect stormwater runoff. The bioswale will be constructed along the edge of the parking lot with a channel of native plants to help increase biodiversity and wildlife in that area. The bioswale will slow and absorb the stormwater runoff and the vegetation will help filter the water before it drains into the Choptank. Native grasses planted between the parking lot and the water’s edge will stabilize the bank.

Retrofitting a stormwater outlet box
photo credit: Underwood & Associates, Inc.

Similarly, in Kent County, a collaborative project between ShoreRivers, Washington College, and the Town of Chestertown proposes to retrofit a stormwater detention pond and associated drainage on the northern edge of the college’s campus. This project is part of a comprehensive stormwater management plan that ShoreRivers is preparing for the historic waterfront town. Both the stormwater management plan and the Washington College retrofit designs were funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, with a match from a private donor to complete engineered designs for the campus retrofits.

ShoreRivers recently installed several of these retrofits as mini bioretention basins in the college’s North Commons parking lot, with funds from Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Green Streets, Green Towns, Green Jobs grant program. These mini practices were designed to capture and hold water so biological activity can remove nutrients as well as pollutants coming from asphalt and vehicles before draining into the stormwater pond that eventually discharges to Radcliffe Creek, a tributary of the impaired Middle Chester River. Implementation funding proposals are in progress for the remaining practices, which are the first of a number of improvements the college hopes to make on its campus that will have water quality and habitat benefits and serve as demonstration projects to the large audience the college serves.

Filling basin with bioretention media
photo credit: Underwood & Associates, Inc.

 The Cambridge and Chestertown projects are examples of using the “Dig Once” concept to leverage private investments to increase water quality protections. American Legion Post 91 and Washington College each invested in the gray infrastructure components of the upgrades—resurfacing and curb placement—providing the required matching funds for the green infrastructure components paid for by grants from Chesapeake Bay Trust.

By installing the projects’ green components at the same time as the gray infrastructure elements, upgrades cost less than if the parking lots were later retrofitted with green infrastructure. According to Chester Riverkeeper Annie Richards, “Leveraging private investments to help tackle urban runoff is a strategy that will likely become more powerful as we get closer to the 2025 deadline for the Chesapeake Bay Cleanup.”

ShoreRivers Challenges MDE's Trappe East Discharge Permit

In late January, ShoreRivers formally challenged the issuance of the Trappe East Groundwater Discharge Permit for failing to adequately protect local groundwater and surface waters from the spray irrigation of wastewater. The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) issued a final determination to issue the permit on January 1 for a wastewater treatment facility that will serve the proposed 2,500-building development known as Trappe East (since renamed Lakeside at Trappe), which is said by its investors to be the largest proposed mixed-use development on the East Coast of the United States. Under the MDE permit, treated sewage from this massive development will be sprayed on 87 acres of farmland that surround the headwaters of Miles Creek, a Choptank River tributary. However, according to ShoreRivers’ review, the final permit fails to verify that nutrients in the wastewater will be fully taken up by the vegetation, and therefore could end up polluting groundwater or the nearby river.

map of the wastewater treatment complex and spray irrigation fields pulled from the permit issued by MDE

“The permit requires the wastewater treatment system to use what is called enhanced nutrient removal technology, but that will not ensure that all nutrient pollution is taken up by crops, not discharged into the Choptank,” says ShoreRivers Choptank Riverkeeper Matt Pluta. “We are not satisfied that the language in the final permit issued by MDE ensures that the system will actually meet the standards required by state and federal law. The Choptank River is already designated by MDE as impaired by nutrient pollution,” he emphasizes. “This permit, as it’s written, will further degrade the river’s water quality.”

ShoreRivers conducted a close review of the final permit with numerous experts, including hydrologists, agricultural professionals, and an environmental legal team headed up by the Chesapeake Legal Alliance, a nonprofit organization working for the Chesapeake Bay watershed and its communities. The team concluded that there are numerous deficiencies in the draft permit and several instances where the water quality protections were weakened between the draft permit and the final permit. In addition, the nutrient management plan that is critical to ensuring the safe disposal of sewage sprayed onto nearby fields was not released to the public until after MDE closed the comment period, thus depriving ShoreRivers and the public of the right to comment on the full permit.

As a result, ShoreRivers has filed a petition for judicial review in the Talbot County Circuit Court. ShoreRivers hopes the permit will be remanded back to MDE with a requirement to reopen the comment period. It is imperative the permit fully complies with state and federal law to ensure no increase in pollution for the Choptank.

Groundwater discharge permits (which are required when wastewater is spray-irrigated onto farmland) are becoming a more popular choice for managing wastewater from municipal and industrial sources on the Eastern Shore. ShoreRivers has monitored the compliance record of these discharge permits in the region for the past several years; very few of them are in full compliance with their permit conditions. “If the water quality protection deficits and the procedural issues with this permit are not addressed, it will set a damaging precedent for these permits moving forward,” says Pluta. “If the practices in this permit are allowed, we can expect our groundwater and surface waters to get more polluted.”

Another oversight in the permit noted by ShoreRivers is the lack of consideration for impacts from the climate crisis. The years 2018 and 2019 were two of the wettest on record on the Eastern Shore, but the permit fails to consider the impact of increased intensity and volume of storms. “We are setting these permits up for failure from the start if they don’t consider how rainfall and weather patterns will be different in the future. The uphill battle to meet water quality standards will undoubtedly get steeper if we continue to ignore how climate change is affecting precipitation patterns,” says Pluta.

 The permit challenge was submitted prior to the February 1 deadline and will be reviewed by the local circuit court.

ShoreRivers Awarded Grants for Conservation Projects

Volunteers collecting seeds to plant additional SAV beds throughout the Eastern Shore.

Beginning in January 2021, ShoreRivers will implement a suite of conservation and pollution‑reduction projects on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. These projects include new watershed assessments in Caroline and Kent Counties; a robust action plan for Eastern Shore dairy operations; outreach and restoration projects in the Chester and Choptank River watersheds; and engineered designs for three restoration projects located in the Choptank and Sassafras River watersheds. This work is made possible through eight grants from the Chesapeake Bay Trust totaling more than $460,000, and will result in measurable reductions of nutrient and sediment pollution to these waterways.

 Watershed Assessments: In Caroline County, the town of Denton is transected by a tributary of the Choptank River called Poor House Run. This stream conveys stormwater from nearly 750 acres of urban and commercial land use and, as a result, is incised and eroding the sub-base under a major intersection. ShoreRivers will assess this watershed to identify strategies to restore the stream to its natural state. ShoreRivers will also conduct an assessment of the Bayside Creeks watershed (Still Pond, Churn, Worton, and Fairlee Creeks; tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay in Kent County, MD) for the purpose of identifying and prioritizing opportunities to reduce pollution loads. The resulting watershed assessments will then be used to pursue additional funding to put projects in the ground to reduce pollution and improve water quality.

Dairy Planning: Dairy cows produce a significant waste stream and require large quantities of silage for feed, providing a unique opportunity to achieve significant reductions in nutrient pollution with the right practices in place. ShoreRivers will work with Eastern Shore dairy operations to create robust conservation action plans that identify ongoing environmental resource concerns, analyze restoration options to address these concerns, and detail funding opportunities in order to create operations that are more environmentally sustainable for future generations of dairy farmers. Dairy operations interested in participating or learning more are encouraged to contact Director of Agriculture & Restoration Tim Rosen at trosen@shorerivers.org or 443-385-0511 x209.

Outreach and Restoration: ShoreRivers will expand its Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) volunteer program into the Chester and Sassafras watersheds, with plans to make this program more equitable by utilizing ShoreRivers’ fleet of kayaks. This project will restore 24 acres of SAV to improve water quality and clarity, increase aquatic habitat, and bring Maryland closer to reaching the Chesapeake Bay Agreement habitat goal. Additionally, four River-Friendly Community conservation planting projects are planned in common spaces on the Tred Avon River in the Choptank watershed, and on Southeast Creek in the Chester watershed. These projects will educate homeowners and empower them to take additional stewardship action on their own properties. Citizens interested in this program are encouraged to contact their local Riverkeeper, submit a volunteer form at shorerivers.org/volunteers, or leave a message at 443-385-0511 ext 201.

Engineered Restoration Designs: ShoreRivers will create shovel-ready designs for three restoration implementation projects: bioswale facilities to reduce nuisance flooding issues at the Town of Galena Community Park and beautify the space with shade trees and native plants (Sassafras watershed); restore ecological and habitat function of approximately 3,000 linear feet of forested stream on a headwaters tributary of Turners Creek on the Sassafras River that receives drainage from 139 acres of row crop agriculture; and restore natural hydrology to a stream ditch that drains from a dairy operation directly to the Choptank River, producing 2,146 linear feet of stream/ditch restoration, 6.7 acres of restored floodplain, and better treatment capacity for the drainage from 129.5 acres of predominately agricultural land.

ShoreRivers is pleased to bring significant state and national resources into the region to support integral work for healthy rivers on behalf of our communities. Follow the progress of these projects @shorerivers on Facebook; @shoreriversorg on Instagram; or subscribe to the monthly e-newsletter at shorerivers.org/subscribe.

ShoreRivers Hires Annie Richards as Chester Riverkeeper

Annie Richards is the new Chester Riverkeeper.

Annie Richards joins the ShoreRivers team as the new Chester Riverkeeper in January. As Riverkeeper, Richards will be the primary voice for the Chester River and its tributaries, working through the core, science-based strategies of advocacy, enforcement, outreach, and water quality monitoring to achieve cleaner waterways. ShoreRivers Riverkeepers regularly patrol their rivers and tributaries, advocate for strong clean water laws, engage with our communities, and serve as guardians for these living resources.

Richards comes to ShoreRivers with a lifetime of experience on the Chester and in local communities. For ten years, she served as an educator, captain, and fundraiser at Echo Hill Outdoor School. While there, she helped manage their fleet of historic Chesapeake Bay workboats and provided students of all ages with outdoor education centered on Chesapeake ecology and the unique resources found along the Chester. Richards also has proven skills in nonprofit development, campaign management, and grant writing.

“I am thrilled to be joining the ShoreRivers team, and to advocate for a river that I have called home for so much of my life,” says Richards. “I am dedicated to protecting and restoring the Chester’s natural resources and to cultivating a stronger, healthier, more accessible waterway for all.”

Richards has a BA in English Literature with a minor in Anthropology from Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. She lives just outside Chestertown with her husband and son.

Richards joins ShoreRivers as Tim Trumbauer, the previous Chester Riverkeeper, moves with his family to Maine for a new adventure. An Eastern Shore native, Trumbauer reflects, “For the past seven years I have worked at ShoreRivers, I have been lifted by the dedication, creativity, and indomitable spirit of my colleagues, volunteers, and partners. The time has come for me to let the next great Champion of the Chester begin her legacy. My family and I are relocating to the mid-coast region of Maine, where, rest assured, I will continue my passion for improving water quality.”

ShoreRivers wishes Tim Trumbauer and his family the best of luck, and enthusiastically welcomes Annie Richards!

ShoreRivers Welcomes New Board Members

Pictured (left to right) are Jane Selden (Midshore Watershed Advisory Board), Rebecca Murphy (ShoreRivers staff), Meta Boyd (Board of Directors), and Barbara Boyd (Board of Directors)

ShoreRivers recently welcomed three new members to its Board of Directors: Scott Budden, Nick DiPasquale, and Barbara Boyd. This volunteer group includes scientists, farmers, educators, business and legal professionals, activists, and public servants. ShoreRivers believes that diverse perspectives on the board make the organization stronger. Each member brings his or her unique expertise, experience, and relationships to the organization, as well as a keen commitment to protect and restore Eastern Shore waterways. As ShoreRivers embarks on 2021 under the new executive leadership of Isabel Hardesty, the governing board plays a pivotal role in prioritizing environmental education, advocacy, and restoration in order to achieve lasting impact in all of the communities it serves.

Budden is the owner and operator of Orchard Point Oyster Company, bringing experience as a waterman and intimate knowledge of our rivers to the table. DiPasquale served as the director of EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program for more than six years and brings extensive knowledge of federal initiatives and policies related to the Bay. Boyd is a founding faculty member of the Marine Academy of Science and Technology in New Jersey and has received Congressional recognition for her environmental achievements.

 Ken Shumaker, a current board member, has a very personal motivation for his service on ShoreRivers’ board. “Since my retirement from Shared Medical Systems in Malvern, my cause has been the environment and water (more precious than oil),” he says. “Although my wife, Sue, and I have tried to be good environmental stewards during our temporary time on this planet, our generation is passing on a mess to our children and grandchildren. My kids and grandkids give me hope though that things can improve.”

 ShoreRivers also has three dedicated Watershed Advisory Boards for each major watershed within the organization's territory: Sassafras River and Bayside Creeks, Chester River, and the Midshore (which includes the Miles, Wye, and Choptank Rivers, as well as Eastern Bay). Volunteers for each Watershed Advisory Board support the organization’s mission as local, grassroots ambassadors.

New advisory board members who care deeply about their river and their community and are ready to volunteer their time to work for cleaner waterways are always welcome. Please contact your local Riverkeeper if that sounds like you.

ShoreRivers – the Eastern Shore voice for clean water and, with your help, limitless impact

In just three years, ShoreRivers has brought nearly $10 million of taxpayer money back to the Delmarva to reduce pollution in our waterways. ShoreRivers works for cleaner rivers by stopping pollution at the source—before it enters the water—and by engaging individuals to make small, compounding changes to create a landscape of collective action for a healthier environment.

At this pivotal moment in our nation’s history, we can clearly see the power an individual can add to a movement through their vote. At ShoreRivers, it is evident that we—and you—are part of something greater: each Riverkeeper is a member of the global Waterkeeper Alliance; your single home yard is part of a conservation corridor creating climate resilience; your sustainable farm is a piece of the two million farmed acres in Maryland; each child is part of the next generation of professionals prioritizing green choices across all sectors; and your gift is one of thousands for cleaner, more accessible water. With your help, ShoreRivers has grown its impact from limited to limitless.

We set a goal to become the clean water voice for the Eastern Shore, and we have done it.

We are a multistate technical provider with the expertise and passion to design, fund, and execute pollution-reducing projects on the micro and macro scale. We are not only “boots on the ground” specialists meeting with farmers to find ways to reduce pollution and increase yield; we are also influencing federal farm policy on behalf of clean water. We are not only teaching in the classroom; we are at the table with the superintendent. We are not only on patrol as Riverkeepers; we are leveraging our credibility to bring in well over $250,000 in pro bono legal and expert support to defend our waterways from polluters. We are not only committed to greater inclusion, access, and justice for diverse communities in the environmental movement; we are emerging as a leader on the Eastern Shore in this work.

With federal, state, local, and individual support, ShoreRivers has taken action against this area’s most destructive pollutants by installing 162 projects—the majority on farmland—that prevent 110,000 pounds of nitrogen, 14,600 pounds of phosphorus, and more than 4 tons of sediment from washing into our waterways every single year.

But the work is not over. On the contrary, in many ways, it is just beginning. This year marks my retirement as well as the retirement of two influential ShoreRivers board members. John Vail and Tim Junkin founded two of our legacy organizations and planted the seeds for ShoreRivers’ success today. To nourish and sustain this momentum, we look forward to fresh, talented, and energetic leadership with Isabel Hardesty at the helm. 

I will enthusiastically continue to support ShoreRivers and I truly hope you will as well. Our communities deserve it. And remember: We will clean these rivers.

Jeff Horstman
Executive Director (retiring)

Be Inspired By ShoreRivers Wild & Scenic Film Festival

ShoreRivers will host the 11th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival on Friday, November 20, starting at 7 PM. Things will look a bit different this year, with hundreds of passionate environmental advocates gathering virtually to enjoy a carefully curated slate of international, award-winning films through an online platform. General admission tickets are FREE this year, but additional paid ticket levels include exciting raffle chances. If you are unable to attend the live event, the films will be available to all registrants On Demand from November 21-25, so register now at shorerivers.org/events.

ShoreRivers joins over 250 organizations across the country to showcase a suite of captivating films that inform and inspire a deep connection to the environment. The diverse film lineup is rooted in both environmental activism and an enduring love of nature. All across the world, fantastic stories of conservation and hope go largely unnoticed, and events like this capture these unique stories and spread them far and wide. Listen to them, remember them, and leave with a renewed hope and sense of wonder.

Especially exciting this year is the addition of exclusive interviews from some of the filmmakers themselves. Gain an inside look into the minds of the filmmakers, what they learned, and what motivated and inspired them to pursue these fascinating projects. We are also offering three ticket levels that include a raffle entry. Cool prizes include ShoreRivers swag, beautiful oyster necklaces from A Happy Place in downtown Easton, and special gear from the Wild & Scenic National Sponsors Klean Kanteen and Peak Design. Prizes are valued at over $400.

This year’s incredible new offerings include A Living River, a feature film that follows the Hudson Riverkeeper and other scientists dedicated to protecting the biologically diverse Hudson River. Despite its polluted reputation, the Hudson River is teeming with life. Environmental organizations use lessons learned from the river’s past as a bustling commercial fishery to its present as an ecosystem in recovery as a pathway to protect its future.

Also showing will be Sounds of Survival, a beautiful film about the mystery, excitement, and adventure deep in the Honduran rainforests. Here is a delightful portrait of the process of scientific discovery and an inspiring example of the power of sound as a conservation tool.

ShoreRivers Board Names Isabel Hardesty Executive Director

Building on a decades-long legacy, ShoreRivers has grown its grassroots foundation in our local communities, reduced pollution in our waterways, and elevated our voice at state and regional levels in Chesapeake Bay policy and regulatory issues. We are now one of the preeminent voices for clean water in the Delmarva region and we use this leverage and expertise to implement innovative agricultural practices, produce high quality environmental education programming in public schools, and enforce clean water laws for the benefit of every citizen.

With these successes as a springboard, it is with gratitude and a salutation that the Governing Board of ShoreRivers announces the retirement of Jeffrey Horstman, Executive Director, at the end of the year. Since 2010, Jeff has served as a board member, the Miles-Wye Riverkeeper, and Executive Director of one of ShoreRivers’ legacy organizations. In that time, he has led the organization to become a regional powerhouse for professional, impactful environmental work.

With Jeff’s retirement at the end of the year, the board is proud to announce a unanimous vote to promote Deputy Director Isabel Hardesty to Executive Director in 2021. Under Isabel’s pivotal leadership, ShoreRivers will continue to advocate tirelessly for clean water with an inclusive vision of the future.

Isabel has been with the organization almost ten years. Her experiences as Policy Director, Chester Riverkeeper, Regional Director, and Deputy Director provide her a breadth of knowledge and deep understanding of the organization that will ensure a smooth leadership transition and uninterrupted progress toward our goal.

“We have all worked hard to develop an organization that is now the foremost expert for water quality on the Delmarva,” says Hardesty. “I am energized by the prospect of leading ShoreRivers as we continue to thrive and advance our mission to protect and restore our rivers.”

Hardesty previously worked for Ocean Conservancy in Washington, DC before joining the Chester River Association in 2011. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Bucknell University and a Masters in Environmental Management from Duke University.

“It is with full confidence and a positive outlook toward ShoreRivers’ future that I retire from the role that has brought me great joy and fulfillment,” says Horstman. “Isabel is a natural choice to lead ShoreRivers in this next phase as we continue working for healthy rivers.”

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ShoreRivers focuses on the waterways of the Chester, Choptank, Sassafras, Miles, and Wye rivers, Eastern Bay, and the Bayside Creeks. The main office is located in Easton with regional offices in Chestertown and Galena. We have a dedicated staff of educators, scientists, restoration specialists, and advocates focused on policies and projects that improve the health of our rivers. ShoreRivers was created in 2017 when the Chester River Association, Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy, and Sassafras River Association merged.

ShoreRivers’ four Riverkeepers represent a large geographic region of the Delmarva with activities that include water quality monitoring, bacteria monitoring, on-the-ground restoration, community engagement, and non-partisan political advocacy. Our Agricultural Department has grown into a regional powerhouse for installing innovative projects on farms and for cultivating productive collaborations with the agricultural community. The Education Department provides quality professional development opportunities for teachers and classroom lessons for students in virtual settings to grow the next generation of environmental stewards. And in recognition of the role ShoreRivers should play in the national movement for greater diversity and equity, the newly-created Community Engagement department leads our efforts in developing a strong and diverse ambassador base for our work, mobilizing grassroots behavior changes, and inspiring civic engagement.

ShoreRivers Summarizes Summer Swimmability Of Local Rivers

“Is it safe to swim in the river?” is one of the most common questions ShoreRivers’ staff are asked by community members. Fecal bacteria and toxic algae in waterways pose threats to both water quality and public health. People who come in contact with bacteria- or toxin-laden water can contract eye, ear, and respiratory diseases, skin rashes, gastrointestinal issues, or brain or liver damage. In order to better understand the health of our rivers and potential risks to human health, ShoreRivers regularly monitors bacteria pollution at 28 sites throughout the mid and upper Eastern Shore and works closely with government agencies to monitor toxic algal blooms when they occur.

The Swimmable ShoreRivers program is designed to test the waters for bacteria at popular swimming locations, marinas, yacht clubs, and towns on a weekly or bi-weekly basis from Memorial Day through Labor Day on all the rivers in the ShoreRivers region. The program follows EPA’s standard protocols for collecting and analyzing samples and uses a pass/fail system to determine if bacteria levels are safe or unsafe for swimming. You can view the results from all of our sites at theswimguide.org and get updates during swim season by following #SwimmableShoreRivers on social media.

Additionally, the Swimmable ShoreRivers program works with local and state government health agencies to monitor toxic algal blooms and inform the public of serious potential health risks to humans and pets. Algal blooms occur naturally, but increased levels of nutrient pollution in our waterways from fertilizers, septic systems, and wastewater plants fuel larger, more toxic, and longer-lasting blooms. In the ShoreRivers region, toxic blooms occur most frequently on the Sassafras River due to its lower salinity levels. This summer we dealt with a toxic algal bloom on the Sassafras that lasted for almost three months and was the largest and most toxic bloom ever recorded on the river.

The results from our monitoring in 2020 show that bacteria and algal conditions vary based on location, weather, and other factors so systematic, scientific analysis is vital. The majority of our bacteria monitoring sites passed more than 60% of the time. A few of our sites, however, failed more than 40% of the time; meaning, the bacteria levels in the water exceeded the EPA threshold for safe water contact the majority of the times we sampled. Specifically, Hambrooks Bay Beach, Crouse Park, Denton, Broad Cove Claiborne, Morgan Creek Landing, and Duck Neck .

“Bacteria pollution most commonly comes from leaking sewer lines and septic systems, stormwater runoff, domestic and wildlife droppings, and land application of manure and sewage,” says Matt Pluta, ShoreRivers Choptank Riverkeeper. “Our results show that bacteria levels increase after rainfall, and after a wet summer like the one we just had, we expected bacteria levels to be high at many sites.”

Now that we have baseline data showing which sites frequently have elevated levels of bacteria, ShoreRivers will focus on the next most popular question from the public: “where does the bacteria pollution come from?” ShoreRivers is currently exploring partnerships and innovative technologies to help us identify specific sources of bacteria pollution at specific testing locations.

“Once we know where the bacteria is coming from – whether it’s leaking sewer lines, failing septic systems, over-application of fertilizer, or people not picking up after their pets – we can start implementing real solutions,” Pluta says. “Monitoring techniques such as DNA sampling and bacteria source tracking are improving and becoming more reliable. It’s another tool in our Riverkeeper toolbelt to help improve water quality conditions so Eastern Shore waterways are always safe and swimmable.”

ShoreRivers Hosts Chesapeake Bay Commission Meeting on Agriculture

In early September, ShoreRivers virtually hosted the Chesapeake Bay Commission’s quarterly meeting, which explored successes and challenges to meeting agricultural pollution reduction goals as outlined in the federally mandated Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). The 21-member commission, comprised of state legislators from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia as well as natural resource cabinet secretaries, acts as a catalyst for the coordination and leadership of state legislative and policy action to restore the Bay watershed.

As we near TMDL’s 2025 deadline, most jurisdictions in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are relying heavily on the agricultural sector to achieve the pollution reductions needed. Other sectors include urban stormwater, wastewater treatment plants, and septic systems. The commission heard from local experts about successful practices, the policies that support them and suggestions for policy changes in order to complete the final push.

In the state of Maryland, the Eastern Shore’s agriculture sector will produce approximately a third of the total nitrogen reductions required of the state; 17% will come from the Western Shore’s agricultural sector; and the remaining half will come from the urban, septic, and wastewater sectors across the state.

This presents an opportunity for the Eastern Shore to benefit from substantial conservation funding, increased technical expertise, and innovative ideas and technologies to reduce pollution in order to meet the 2025 deadline. State and federal funding for conservation projects including wetland and stream restorations, drainage practices, and floodplain reconnections boost the local economy by investing in local businesses and farms, contractors, engineers, construction workers, nurseries, and horticulturalists.

The meeting’s first panel, representing perspectives from the science, conservation, and agribusiness fields, was comprised of Isabel Hardesty, deputy director for ShoreRivers; Jeff Sweeney from the Environmental Protection Agency; and Lindsay Thompson, director of Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts and Maryland Grain Producers Association.

“In order to meet our 2025 pollution reduction goals, we need to provide funding to fully staff Soil Conservation Districts,” said Hardesty. “We need more technical service and expertise to implement conservation practices. These county districts are understaffed and it is actively inhibiting our ability to reach Watershed Implementation Plan goals.” Thompson highlighted this need as well.

Tim Rosen, director of agriculture & restoration for ShoreRivers, led the commission on a virtual tour of the history of conservation drainage practices around the Bay watershed, ending with a tour of projects completed with local farmers Kyle and Bobby Hutchison. Conservation drainage practices allow for better control of water in a farm field, resulting in less nutrient loss, erosion, and flooding, and greater crop yields.

“There is ample opportunity to implement conservation drainage practices across the Bay watershed and retain significant amounts of nutrients and sediments on farm fields instead of losing them to surface waters,” said Rosen.

To adequately meet pollution reduction goals, the Chesapeake Bay TMDL requires that all conservation practices be in place by 2025. In the remaining four years, both funding and implementation of practices must be prioritized in order to meet the deadline and achieve cleaner rivers and a healthier Bay.

Fall Advocate Newsletter Explores "What is Essential?"

In the Fall 2020 edition of the ShoreRivers Advocate newsletter, we explore the question “what is essential?” through the lens of our work for clean water.

As our world is being reshaped by climate change, the coronavirus, and the movement for racial justice, we are all reevaluating and recommitting to what is essential. Read about our efforts in advocacy, restoration, and education to work for the essential right to clean water.

ShoreRivers Awarded DNR Grant for Two Large Restoration Projects

ShoreRivers is pleased to announce the receipt of a Maryland Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund grant to complete two large ecological restorations on the Eastern Shore that will significantly reduce nutrient and sediment pollution entering our rivers. In the Wye River watershed, ShoreRivers will restore 29 acres of marginal cropland to ponds, wetlands, and forest. In the Sassafras River watershed, ShoreRivers will restore 16 acres of floodplain and 4,800 feet of stream. This project will result in the complete restoration of the entire length of the stream, from a headwater agricultural ditch to the main stem of the Sassafras. The projects are slated to begin this fall and be completed by December 2021.

Wye River Restoration at Chesapeake College

The Chesapeake College Agriculture to Ecosystem project will convert 28.72 acres of an agricultural field with a badly incised ditch that drains nutrient and sediments to the Wye East River. The land will be removed from production, converted into two ponds, a series of wetland cells with habitat islands, planted infiltration berms and approximately 13.5 acres of tree plantings. The campus of Chesapeake College is located at the headwaters of the Wye East River. 

This site will undergo a total conversion from an agricultural field to high quality wetland and forest habitat, all in view of heavily trafficked Route 50. This project will complement ShoreRivers’ regenerative stormwater conveyance project installed on a separate stream on the Chesapeake College campus, in addition to bioretentions, tree plantings, wildflower meadows, switchgrass buffers, and a wetland that have been installed throughout the campus. The project will also incorporate a walking path to allow students to use the project as an outdoor laboratory.
For more information about the Chesapeake College restoration, contact ShoreRivers Director of Operations & Finance Kristin Junkin at 443.385.0511 ext 204 or kjunkin@shorerivers.org.

Sassafras River Stream Restoration

The project in the Sassafras River watershed will restore 16 acres of floodplain wetlands and 4,800 feet of a headwater stream in the upper Sassafras. Combined with a recently completed restoration of 3,800 feet of stream also funded by Maryland DNR, this project represents 8,000 consecutive feet of stream restoration beginning in a headwaters agricultural ditch and flowing all the way to the main stem of the Sassafras River.

This restoration site is directly downstream of a ShoreRivers sampling site that historically has the highest monitored nutrient concentrations in the non-tidal Sassafras. The drainage is mainly agricultural but includes 43 acres of state and county roadways. Heavy stormflow runoff events have incised the stream channel with steep, eroding banks that are disconnected from its historic floodplain and subsequently unable to disperse stormflow energy, continually increasing the severity of bank erosion and over-widening of the channel.

This restoration, designed by Ecotone Ecological Restoration in consultation with ShoreRivers, goes beyond the consideration of nutrient processing and sediment storage, placing significant emphasis on promoting quality of in-stream and floodplain habitat, ecological uplift, and biodiversity. The restoration will promote higher dissolved oxygen levels within the stream system and lower water temperatures. This, along with connectivity of the floodplain, restoration of groundwater hydrology, seep habitat, and vernal pool wetlands, will provide critical habitat for a range of amphibians, reptiles, insects, and fish, and improve fish passage through the system to the Sassafras River headwaters.

For more information about the Sassafras restoration, contact ShoreRivers Restoration Manager Kim Righi at 443.385.0511 ext 251 or krighi@shorerivers.org.

More SAV is Key to River Health

The recently released report on submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) from the Virginia Institute for Marine Science shows a 37% decline in Chesapeake Bay grasses from 2018-2019. However, ShoreRivers has measured a dramatic increase in grasses in our rivers over the past few years and has heard from many volunteers and members of significant growth so far in 2020. So what’s going on?

First, it is important to note the report reflects results from the entire Chesapeake Bay in 2019 and the decline is primarily attributable to a significant loss of widgeon grass in the mainstem of the Bay. Scientists theorize this could have been caused by higher rainfall that negatively affected overall water quality and clarity.

Additionally, the report acknowledges that many individual tributaries actually experienced an expansion of grass beds from 2018 to 2019. In particular, the Sassafras River experienced an increase of 243 acres of grasses, the Chester an increase of 535 acres, and Eastern Bay and the Miles and Wye Rivers saw an increase of 172 acres. Although the Choptank River saw a decrease of 28 acres, we have received reports of new thriving beds in this region in 2020.

This is good news because SAV is vital to the health of the Chesapeake. Not only does it provide ecosystem essentials such as oxygen, habitat, and food, it also improves water quality and clarity by absorbing excess nutrients, sequestering carbon, and trapping sediment.

According to the 2019 VIMS report, the Bay has reached just 36% of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s ultimate restoration goal of 185,000 restored acres. We as a community need to work together to increase SAV acreage and meet this goal. ShoreRivers works closely with partners in the agriculture sector to install large-scale projects, but everyone can do their part with the simple strategies outlined below.

Protect Grass Beds: This year the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) added 14,085 acres of underwater grasses to SAV Protection Zones, ensuring these new and established beds are protected from the devastating impacts of the hydraulic escalator dredge. Additionally, recreational boaters should always trim their motors if they must navigate through a grass bed. Remember: “For a Healthy Bay, Let Grasses Stay.”

Create a River-Friendly Yard: Cultivating a yard that mimics the natural landscape is the best way to protect underwater grasses and the long-term health of our rivers. SAV needs clear water for sunlight to reach grasses, which means that every homeowner should strive to reduce the amount of sediment and nutrients leaving their property. Buffers, rain gardens, and native plantings can reduce runoff into nearby waterways and result in clearer water.

Monitor Grass Beds: Join ShoreRivers’ SAV Watchers program to help record and maintain accurate data on the extent and diversity of grass beds in our rivers. The information collected informs harvesting and planting efforts with DNR, ground truths information gathered from aerial surveys, and helps us understand our progress toward meeting Chesapeake Bay Program goals for acres restored. This is a socially-distant volunteer opportunity that will enable you to directly provide scientists with vital information!

Harvest and Plant Seeds: ShoreRivers partners with DNR to sustainably harvest seeds from thriving grass beds in our rivers and replant them in areas that lack SAV. Data collected from SAV Watchers helps determine if these efforts are working and where we should concentrate next. Restoration plantings like these are an effective strategy to increase total SAV acreage.

While the latest report showing a 37% decline in Bay grasses from 2018-2019 is disappointing, the good news is that we know that with the help of our community, we can make a difference in our local water quality because we are already seeing positive results. Every citizen can help keep the momentum. Visit shorerivers.org to learn more about SAV and other ways to restore our rivers.

Elle Bassett
ShoreRivers
Miles-Wye Riverkeeper
ebassett@shorerivers.org

ShoreRivers Monitors Toxic Algae Bloom in the Sassafras River

For the past two weeks, ShoreRivers Sassafras Riverkeeper Zack Kelleher has been closely monitoring a widespread, toxic algae bloom on the Sassafras River with help from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Kent County Health Department.

The bloom is caused by Microsystis algae. Exposure to microcystin and other algal toxins can cause rashes, gastrointestinal illness, neurological damage, liver damage, and can be deadly to pets, children, and other at-risk individuals. Due to the abnormally high concentrations, a cautionary advisory has been issued for the entire river.

“And it’s not just on the main stem. It’s also coming up into the creeks off of the main stem of the river,” Kelleher said. “People should be avoiding or limiting water contact, especially young kids and pets.”

Nina Rodale Houghton Fund to Endow Riverkeepers

Article reproduced from Attraction Magazine
Written by Jennifer Latham

ShoreRivers has taken a bold step in its growth as a formidable nonprofit working to improve the health of Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education. By establishing the Nina Rodale Houghton Fund, the organization is establishing support in perpetuity for its Riverkeepers, who serve as the voice for the Sassafras, Chester, Wye, Miles, Choptank, Bayside Creeks, and Eastern Bay watersheds of Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Earlier this spring, Nina Houghton, a passionate Chesapeake Bay environmental advocate, died peacefully at her home in Chestertown. Nina’s friends and family decided to perpetuate her passion for the Eastern Shore and a clean Chesapeake Bay watershed by establishing an endowment fund.

“Our vision is to build the fund over time to be large enough to support ShoreRivers’ four Riverkeepers from the fund’s growth and earnings. The four Riverkeepers are the heart and soul of ShoreRivers’ mission of science-based advocacy, restoration, education, and community engagement to protect and restore the health of our rivers,” says Jeff Horstman, Executive Director of ShoreRivers, and Nina Houghton’s son.

Jeff reflects on Nina’s life and the influences that helped create her passion for the environment. First, she was born into the Rodale family of Rodale Press, an American publisher of health and wellness magazines, books, and a guide for organic gardening, which started the organic movement. The publishing company also published such magazines as Men’s Health and Prevention, as well as a collection of bestsellers, including An Inconvenient Truth and Eat This, Not That. The Rodale Press was later bought by Heart Communications.

In the next chapter of Nina’s life, she raised her children while working for four years aboard a marine research vessel for the Mammal Motivational Institute (SEAMAMM) in Key Largo, Florida, studying and training seals and sea lions for applications such as salvage and marine rescue. It was in Florida that Nina met Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. after one of her seals traveled 300 to 400 miles to Arthur’s neighbor’s pool in Florida.

“My connection to the Eastern Shore began after my mother married Arthur Houghton and brought her four children, two dogs, and two Harbor Seals, and one Sea Lion to the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1972. After a long career in business in the Wilmington area, it finally feels like I am back home,” states Jeff, who began his second career initially working as the Miles-Wye Riverkeeper and then as director of the Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy before it merged with the Chester River Association and Sassafras River Association to form ShoreRivers in 2017. He now serves as the organization’s executive director.

The vision of ShoreRivers is healthy waterways across Maryland’s Eastern Shore, accomplished through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education. When asked about why he made the career change and became a Riverkeeper to begin with, Jeff comments, “No one was protecting the water and it was getting more and more polluted. My mother got involved as a volunteer. She wanted agriculture to get along with the water and funded the first Miles-Wye Riverkeeper program in 2010 before I came back to the area.”

“When I decided to get involved, she was thrilled to have me here,” he adds.

According to Rebekah Hock, Director of Development for ShoreRivers, “The Riverkeepers are our voices in the community. They are striving to make our waterways clean and accessible for our entire community. While we were successful in receiving grant funds and community support through our annual appeals for these four Riverkeeper positions, we needed a more permanent funding stream.”

“This was our first step to provide security for funding our Riverkeepers. It will also keep my mom’s work going in perpetuity,” adds Jeff.

In addition to regularly patrolling these waterways, monitoring river health, identifying pollution hot spots, looking for illegal pollution sources, and taking legal action to curtail polluters, ShoreRivers’ Riverkeepers also advocate for the waterways by developing and influencing state and local policy, lobbying for beneficial state legislation and regulatory change, testifying at bill hearings in Annapolis, working with local elected officials, and coordinating member involvement.

Nina Houghton spent nearly 50 years in Maryland.  She was passionate about bringing together the agricultural, forest, and environmental communities to retain Maryland’s working landscapes and the industries they support while protecting and improving the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. She helped found the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology and was the initial funder of the Harry R. Hughes Endowed Scholarship Fund. She was an advisory group member of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and a Trustee of the Wye Institute. Equally invested in educational improvement and innovation, Nina played leadership roles with the University System of Maryland, the Columbus Center in Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Medicine, University of Maryland College Park, Washington College, Goucher College, and the Aspen Institute.

Jeff quips, “Examples of Nina Houghton’s passion for the environment include driving all of her grandchildren to see all of the National Parks when she was a single 60-year old so that they would understand about our country’s natural resources.”

“I think she would be thrilled that people are trying to perpetuate her work, not just caring for the land, but trying to protect the water as well. That was important to her.”

Nina Houghton lived her passion for connecting environmental, agricultural, and educational initiatives for the betterment of the Chesapeake Bay. ShoreRivers was built on this same tenet. To help sustain Nina’s legacy by contributing to the Nina Rodale Houghton Fund, visit shorerivers.org/houghton-fund or send a check to ShoreRivers Nina Houghton Fund, 114 South Washington Street, Suite 301, Easton, Maryland 21601. For gifts of securities, contact Rebekah Hock at rhock@shorerivers.org.

ShoreRivers Developing Modern Stormwater Plan for Historic Chestertown

Polluted runoff from rain events, also known as stormwater, has the potential to devastate local water quality in the Chesapeake region, including right here in Chestertown. ShoreRivers, in partnership with Washington College and with generous grant funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), is developing a Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan for the Town of Chestertown to improve the health of the Chester River.

When completed this fall, the plan will include an evaluation of existing stormwater infrastructure as well as recommendations for new environmentally-friendly stormwater features such as rain gardens, tree plantings, impervious surface reductions, and habitat creation areas. Through uptake by plants and infiltration, these features reduce and remove pollution from stormwater runoff.

The final plan will also include an online mapping tool, developed with cutting-edge Geographic Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology that identifies existing and proposed stormwater features.

 “We’re really excited to play a role in establishing Chestertown as a leader in water quality and environmental improvement efforts,” said ShoreRivers Chester Riverkeeper Tim Trumbauer. “Not only will the recommendations of this plan help the Chester River, but modern stormwater upgrades like rain gardens create native habitat for birds and pollinators, and beautify our public spaces.”

Further complicating the issue, historic Chestertown’s existing stormwater infrastructure is, well, historic. With the exception of modern stormwater facilities in newer areas of town and the step pool system near Kent Plaza, Chestertown’s stormwater system was developed simply to control flooding and does little to improve water quality. 

According to data from the Chesapeake Bay Program, stormwater is the fastest growing source of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. The list of impairments created by stormwater is long: nutrient and sediment pollution, trash, super-heated water from parking lots, erosion and soil loss, to name a few.

According to Mayor Chris Cerino, ShoreRivers’ project supports the Town’s commitment to the river. “This stormwater plan is an important step forward in Chestertown’s ongoing effort to reduce impervious surfaces and improve water quality.”

All plan documents, including online mapping resources, will be available to the public, and ShoreRivers will work with the Town and other partners to implement the recommendations of the plan over the coming years.

Questions, concerns, or ideas about stormwater in Chestertown may be sent to Chester Riverkeeper Tim Trumbauer at ttrumbauer@shorerivers.org.

ShoreRivers Launches Trash-Free Campaign

Join the Trash-Free ShoreRivers Campaign to clean up our waterways. From now until September, ShoreRivers will provide supplies and limited edition stickers for clean water advocates who clean up trash from their local public spaces and send us photos of their efforts for social media shout-outs. This campaign is a great segue into the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay’s Project Clean Stream program, a Bay-wide effort to clean up trash, which kicks off September 11.

A recent Google Community Mobility Study showed that public spaces in Maryland have seen a 144% increase in visitation since this time last year. Our communities have suffered during this pandemic, and now look to the energizing and healing power of nature for physical and mental relief. ShoreRivers is proud to see our community taking a common interest in our waterways. Unfortunately, increased park visitation often results in increased litter, which ultimately ends up in our rivers. 

“Every morning I take a pair of grabbers and some trash bags, and head down to my local park with my dog Rogue. There is something empowering about taking ownership of a public space, and being outside and doing good for the environment has lifted my spirits. I hope the rest of our community follows suit in picking up trash to keep our rivers and our shared spaces clean,” says Matt Pluta, Choptank Riverkeeper & Director of Riverkeeper Programs at ShoreRivers.

If you are interested in joining the Trash-Free campaign, head down to your local park, pick up trash, take a photo, and post on your social media accounts with the hashtag #trashfreeshorerivers – it’s as simple as that! We will post participants’ photos to help promote cleaning up our parks and waterways. Please contact Connor Liu at cliu@shorerivers.org with photos and/or questions about clean up supplies. Once you have sent a photo of you picking up trash, you will receive your limited edition sticker!

Trash-Free ShoreRivers is an extension of the Don't Paddle Past It campaign, a litter cleanup and outreach program that encourages boaters to stop littering and to pick up trash in the water or on the shoreline. These campaigns are made possible by a grant through The Maryland Environmental Trust in partnership with the Maryland Department of Transportation, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Forever Maryland Foundation.

While you participate in this campaign, ShoreRivers recommends strict adherence to social distancing guidelines and health safety protocols. We recommend the use of gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer before, during, and after trash cleanups. ShoreRivers is committed to healthy waterways across Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and we appreciate our supporters’ participation in this campaign to prevent trash from ending up in our local rivers.

ShoreRivers Receives Maryland Green Center Certification

ShoreRivers has achieved Maryland Green Center Certification through the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE). Maryland Green Center Certification represents a commitment to the Maryland Green Schools Program and to supporting schools with environmental literacy implementation. Green Centers assist educational institutions in fulfilling the requirements to become Green Schools.

The MAEOE Green Center certification allows ShoreRivers to connect with students in new and powerful ways, broadening the organization’s reach and program offerings throughout the Eastern Shore. When schools become certified, they showcase their commitment to environmental stewardship and set a standard of excellence for green behaviors in their students. It is an honor for ShoreRivers to become a Green Center as it aligns with its goal of supporting clean waterways with a dedication to the community at large.

Public schools reflect our diverse communities, and ShoreRivers believes that everyone should have equal access to enjoy and learn from their environment. “The truly rewarding aspect of the MAEOE Green School and Center programs is knowing that you are not just checking symbolic, feel-good boxes, says ShoreRivers Director of Education Suzanne Sullivan. “Green Schools and Green Centers are making institutional, behavioral, and attitude changes that have measurable, positive impacts on the environment. Creating healthy, sustainable schools is important work and ShoreRivers is thrilled to be a resource for our region’s Green School efforts.”

Throughout 2019 and 2020, Maryland Green Schools achieved remarkable environmental accomplishments. They have saved 648,415 gallons of water; reduced energy use by 2,157,757 kwh; recycled 1,729,076 lbs. of material; created 25,961 square feet of natural habitat; planted 3,203 native plants; and cleaned 86,197 square feet of streambanks to protect water quality.

MAEOE Executive Director Laura Johnson Collard is enthusiastic and optimistic for the future. “We want every school in Maryland to be a Green School. MAEOE and partners are helping to create lifelong stewards of the environment by working with school districts and independent/private schools to grow the number of Green Schools in our state.”

ShoreRivers' Pumpout Boat Season Begins

The ShoreRivers pumpout boat is up and running for the 2020 season. ShoreRivers looks forward to another record-breaking year and hopes to break last year’s record of keeping 17,800 gallons of waste out of our rivers.

Boaters on the Miles and Wye Rivers are encouraged to take advantage of this free service (donations accepted) and do their part to keep our waterways clean and healthy. This program, funded by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, began in 2016 as a convenient way for boaters to properly dispose of waste. Since it began operations, the pumpout boat has prevented 53,300 gallons of waste from entering the Miles and Wye Rivers.

Pumpout boat Captain Jim Freeman states, “Both transient and local boaters rave about the convenience of using the pump out boat because they don’t have to deal with the hassle of a crowded marina in order to pump out their tanks. We can serve any boater on the Miles and Wye Rivers, and can carry up to 300 gallons of waste.”

This service is available Friday evenings and weekends during the summer. To arrange service, boaters can contact the pumpout boat by calling 410-829-4352 or on VHF channel 9. To contact Captain Jim with specific questions or to schedule a regular pump out, please email pobcaptjim@gmail.com. Please adhere to social distancing guidelines when interacting with the pumpout boat.