For Immediate Release: October 29th, 2011
Contact: Sarah Hyman, Clean Water Associate,
(301) 466-4715, shyman@environmentamerica.org
Chesapeake Bay Haunted by Corporate Agribusiness, Outdated Sewers
Washington, D.C – In anticipation of Halloween, Environment America unveiled the Ten
Scariest Facts about the Chesapeake Bay, showing that a terrifying concoction of nitrogen,
phosphorous, and other pollutants have made the Bay a ghost of its former self.
“Halloween is the season to be scared, but people shouldn’t have to be afraid of swimming,
fishing and drinking from the Chesapeake Bay,” said Environment America’s Sarah Hyman.
“Major polluters like Tyson and Purdue send toxic chemicals and hazardous waste into the Bay,
turning it into a potion of pollution.”
To address the terrifying pollution, Environment America also held a clean-up event on the
banks of the Anacostia River at Bladensburg Waterfront Park, where dozens of volunteers helped
removed trash from the river that would have otherwise made its way into the Chesapeake Bay.
In its new, frightening fact sheet, Environment America revealed that:
1. Every year, mega-chicken operations on the Delmarva Peninsula produce more than one
billion pounds of chicken manure, much of which makes its way into the Bay.1 Chickens
outnumber people 1,000 to 1 on Maryland's Eastern Shore.2
2. Each year, 300 million pounds of nitrogen reach the Chesapeake from factory farms and
irresponsible development–40 percent more than the bay can handle.3, 4 Nitrogen causes algae
blooms that suck oxygen out of the water and kill fish.5
3. Algae blooms in the bay caused by nitrogen pollution create “dead zones” where no wildlife
can survive. This year’s dead zone covered a third of the Chesapeake Bay and stretched from the
Baltimore Harbor to parts of the Potomac River—an 83-mile area that is uninhabitable by marine
life.6
4. Maryland alone has lost more than 75 percent of its wetlands. The Chesapeake Bay’s wetlands
1
http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=913
http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=913
3
http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=913
4
http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=913
5
http://www.environmentamerica.org/uploads/40/51/40515f4bd1176e5db86e600dd0206d40/EAOurGreatWatersReport.pdf
6
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/alarming-dead-zone-grows-in-thechesapeake/2011/07/20/gIQABRmKXI_story.html
2
are not protected by the Clean Water Act, leaving them vulnerable to the interests of polluters.7
5. Corporate agribusinesses and factory farms in the watershed dump animal manure straight into
the Chesapeake and are the number one source of nitrogen pollution in the bay.8
6. The Chesapeake Bay has lost 98 percent of its oysters, 90 percent of grasses, and nearly 50
percent of forest buffers to development and poor water quality.9
7. The Chesapeake’s oysters could once filter the entire bay, which is about 19 trillion gallons of
water, in a week. Today, it would take the remaining bay oysters more than a year to do the same
job.10
8. The oyster decline over the last 30 years has meant a loss of more than $4 billion in Maryland
and Virginia’s economies.11
9. Pesticides and toxic chemicals like mercury and arsenic impact 72% of the bay, to the point
that EPA advises that children should not eat certain fish from the Chesapeake Bay.12 Even lowlevel exposure to mercury can lead to learning disabilities and lower IQs in growing children.
10. Development is a severe and growing problem in the bay—by 1980, the bay watershed had
lost 4.4 million acres to development, and now developers gobble up more forests and wetlands
on a daily basis.13
To protect the Chesapeake Bay’s wetlands and tributaries, Environment America urged the
Environmental Protection Agency to move forward with two rules that would restore the Clean
Water Act and reduce sewage overflows. Environment America also called on Congress to
oppose any attacks on clean water.
Dr. Sacoby Wilson, from the American Public Health Association and the University of
Maryland’s Institute for Applied Environmental Health and Brent Bolin, Director of Advocacy
for the Anacostia Watershed Society, joined Environment America in highlighting the
frightening pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. “MLK was a promoter of Environmental Justice
and Sustainable Environments. With the opening of the MLK monument in DC, we appreciate
Environment America's leadership in promoting sustainable environments in DC
and recognizing their importance to health and environmental justice,” said Wilson.
“The Anacostia River has long been considered one of the most polluted in America, and is one
of the top three contributors of toxics to the Chesapeake Bay,” Bolin said. “We also have a
significant stormwater runoff problem that washes sediment, nutrients, trash, bacteria, and
chemicals in our waterways. The Clean Water Act is a vital tool to push the cleanup of such
7
http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=913
http://www.environmentmaryland.org/clean-water2/control-factory-farming
9
http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=913
10
http://www.cbf.org/page.aspx?pid=511
11
http://blog.chesapeakebay.net/post/Ask-a-Scientist-How-big-of-an-industry-is-the-Chesapeake-Bay.aspx
12
http://vimeo.com/21313963
13
http://www.cbf.org/page.aspx?pid=433
8
neglected waterways.”
“Halloween witches and ghosts should be scary. The state of the Chesapeake Bay shouldn’t be, ”
added Hyman. “It’s time to give the Bay the Halloween treat it deserves: protection from
pollution.”
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Environment America is a federation of 29 state-based, citizen-funded environmental
organizations working to protect clean air, clean water, and open spaces.