WATERKEEPERS CONVENE AT CITY DOCK, DEMAND ACTION FROM MARYLAND LEGISLATURES

May 19th Rally and Press Conference in Annapolis. Join us at the City Dock in Annapolis at 1pm! Contingent rain location is 58 State Circle in the Atrium. A flotilla of small craft operated by 18 affiliated Chesapeake Waterkeeper groups as they demand that Maryland Legislators deliver leadership and action on the cleanup of the state’s major rivers, coasts, and Chesapeake Bay. Standing as a symbol of the ever-vigilant presence that Waterkeepers provide throughout their individual watersheds, the citizen groups will be joined by concerned Marylanders as they deliver their demands at City Dock in Annapolis. Today’s protesters are concerned in particular with the Chesapeake Bay, which is in precipitous decline, with increasing dead zones. Few if any of the rivers and creeks draining into the bay have managed to achieve a scorecard grade that rises above a "D" from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Studies. Despite the Bay’s deterioration, the Legislature failed to pass laws that would curb pollution from sources such as pesticides, agricultural runoff including arsenic from chicken manure, natural gas fracking, plastic bags, problems associated with smart growth, and the increasing problem of stormwater runoff.