Enviros fume as Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan downplays rift with Pa. over Chesapeake cleanup

OXON HILL, Md. — Maryland’s Republican governor, Larry Hogan, on Thursday sought to downplay any animus between his state and Pennsylvania over Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts – a week after blistering the Keystone State in a letter to federal and commonwealth officials.

“I wouldn’t really describe it as a tiff,” Hogan said in response to a reporter’s question following the annual meeting in Oxon Hill of the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council, which Hogan leads. “I think we’ve had very productive discussions today. I do think they’re doing everything they can…They’re good neighbors.”

In his letter last week to Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, Hogan complained bitterly that Pennsylvania was falling short of its requirements to reduce nitrogen in state waterways and had a $320 million funding gap to meet federally mandated cleanup goals.

The six states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, along with Washington D.C., submitted final bay cleanup plans to EPA in late August, outlining their commitments through 2025. Representatives from each of the jurisdictions summarized their proposals at Thursday’s meeting.

Read more: https://www.penncapital-star.com/energy-environment/enviros-fume-as-maryland-gov-larry-hogan-downplays-rift-with-pa-over-chesapeake-cleanup/