Local Government
P & P
Government Officials
Musselman HS
3/23/2012
As government officials, our position on environmental
issues is important. When it comes toPOV:
the very real issue of the water pollution in the
Chesapeake Bay watershed, we are serious
when we say we want to do our part.
However, it is not always that simple. While the local
government wants to take part in
cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay watershed, we are having
trouble paying the cost of it. In
order for us government officials to do our job and
provide the people with clean, safe
water, the people need to cooperate. Getting them to do
so isn’t always easy, but we are
working on new plans to strongly encourage our area’s
residents to partake in helping us
clean up the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
For example, we are sending local government
representatives to schools in our area to
encourage students of all ages to plant trees and other
plants. Since run-off water causing
erosion is one of the non-point source pollutants, our
representatives are putting emphasis
on the importance of forest conservation and ways to
conserve it. We have also
recommended that all schools pick a few days out of the
school year to have a "Going
green" day where the students plant trees on their
school property and on the school
rooftops (if possible).
Another solution for non-point source pollutants we
have been considering is to tax the
local residents to acquire some more money. We have been
lucky to gain a few sponsors
and partners and receive some donations from companies
and businesses, but we still need
more money if we want to really fix this pollution
problem.
As for point-source pollution, we have been
encouraging farmers to use different types of
fertilizers. The ammonia emissions from agricultural
lands are a significant part of the
pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and we are
doing our best to inform farmers of
why it is harmful and why their cooperation is
necessary. We have also been creating
effective regional nutrient management plans to help
with the nutrient balance.
In regards to the affect our cities and towns have on
the Chesapeake Bay watershed, we
have created new building ordinances.
Environmentally-friendly site designs and low-impact
development techniques are a major part of these new
requirements for building.
In addition, we have highly encouraged our residents
to be mindful of what they pour
down their drains, what they flush down the toilet, and
what liquids and chemicals they
dump on their lawns. All of these things are non-point
source contributing factors to the
pollution in our watershed.
In conclusion, our position as local government
officials is very important to the clean-up
of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. We are currently doing
all we can to lower the amount of pollution in our
watershed and are always looking for new solutions.
Although money is an issue along with the cooperation of
our residents, we are doing our best and understand that
action needs to be taken now and fast if we want to
preserve the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Join the Thoughtful Discussion
Thoughtful
Discussion
From:
The Mean Green Governing Machine - local_gov - MdS
Ask
3/27/2012
You mention some measures to reduce agricultural point
pollution. However, how are
you going to convince the farmers to participate with
your programs? Are the
programs going to law-enforced or voluntary?
|