Farm Runoff

AFTER listening to the legislative rhetoric circulating in Annapolis about agriculture pollution control, one might conclude that radical steps are being proposed that would place Maryland farmers at an economic disadvantage.That is simply not the case, which is evident if you look at similar mandatory programs in neighboring states.Of the three major Chesapeake Bay watershed states -- Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia -- Maryland is dead last in enforceable authority over agriculture pollution.

WITH FACTORIES and sewage-treatment plants mostly under federal regulation and permit, the key cause of water pollution is now the elusive nonpoint source: runoff of contaminants that flows off farms, lawns and streets into waterways, promoting the growth of harmful algae and a loss of oxygen for aquatic life.It's often difficult to quantify, coming as it does from no specific discharge point. But the sources of this significant pollution need to be brought under control if the Chesapeake Bay and other U.S. waters are to achieve their cleanup goals.

Most of Maryland's poultry-raising operations would be regulated as potential sources of water pollution under an Environmental Protection Agency proposal to curb runoff from the nation's livestock feedlots.The proposal, unveiled yesterday and scheduled to go into effect between 2002 and 2005, would treat large-scale growers of cattle, pigs and poultry as potential polluters, just like industry. Large livestock-raising operations would have to get federal permits, requiring them to limit the amount of harmful byproducts from animal manure that could flow into nearby waters.

THE BILL EMERGING from the House Environmental Matters Committee on control of agricultural runoff pollution is a good compromise on a contentious issue. It shows understanding for farmers, yet reflects the reality that strong steps must be taken to protect the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.Originally the bill, sponsored by Chairman Ron Guns, a Cecil County Democrat, would have retained the system of voluntary control of nutrient pollution. Mr. Guns, an ardent defender of the farming community, pitted himself against Gov. Parris N. Glendening, who wants mandatory plans to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus runoff, which causes harmful, oxygen-destroying algae blooms in the bay and is suspected of provoking toxic Pfiesteria outbreaks in bay tributaries.

ALTHOUGH farmers and chicken growers are resisting Gov. Parris N. Glendening's proposals to combat Pfiesteria, watermen should support state leaders' and environmentalists' call for controlling farm pollution. Not only has the governor come up with an acceptable plan to deal with this infestation of our waterways, but he also appears to have learned an important political lesson.Crab catch limitsIn fall 1995, Mr. Glendening imposed emergency catch limits, saying the Chesapeake Bay's stock is threatened by increased catches of female crabs.

WASHINGTON -- In a daylong visit to Baltimore today, President Clinton will unveil an ambitious and detailed blueprint for improving the quality of America's rivers, lakes and coastal waters, including the Chesapeake Bay.The administration's $10.5 billion Clean Water Action Plan, obtained last night by The Sun, lists 110 "key action steps" intended to restore the estimated 40 percent of the nation's waterways that are too polluted for safe fishing or...

CENTREVILLE -- In the past two years, Eastern Shore farmer Temple Rhodes has spent about $110,000 of his own money and nearly $500,000 of taxpayers' cash to stop his farm's fertilizer and cow manure from polluting the Chesapeake Bay.It probably won't be enough. Despite all that money and effort, no one knows whether the Rhodes family's 3,000 acres near Centreville are contributing nitrogen- and phosphorus-laden runoff to the Chester River. And if they are, farm experts say, no one can tell Rhodes how to stop it.The Rhodes family's dilemma typifies what Eastern Shore farmers will face if the General Assembly enacts Gov. Parris N. Glendening's plan to help prevent Pfiesteria.

Uncle Sam could eventually pick up part of the tab for Maryland's proposed Pfiesteria-fighting efforts under an anti-pollution program being pushed by the Clinton administration.The program, to be unveiled by Vice President Al Gore this month, would expand the 26-year-old Clean Water Act with $568 million in new spending to clean up the nation's waterways. Instead of targeting factories as the original law does, the administration proposes letting states come up with plans for solving the trickier problem of polluted water flowing from farms and city streets.

In a move likely to delight environmentalists and dismay farmers, Gov. Parris N. Glendening begins today a push to impose controls on farm runoff into the Chesapeake Bay.Glendening plans to announce the proposed curbs today in his State of the State address. The measures are intended to prevent outbreaks of Pfiesteria piscicida and other toxic microorganisms. Environmentalists who were briefed about the proposal yesterday said it would include the first mandatory farm-by-farm controls on nutrients coming from fertilizer and animal manure.

WILLARDS -- In their battle to control nutrient runoff from their fields, a few Maryland farmers are turning to a space-age military technology originally designed to guide long-range rockets to their targets."