Narragansett Bay's Long Island Sound Problem
Like Connecticut and New York do for Long Island Sound, Rhode Island has a good plan for reducing the amount of nitrogen that enters Narragansett Bay, as a way to ending the hypoxia and the resulting loss of habitat and fish kills that go with it.
Rhode Island’s plan is to cut nitrogen in half by 2008. The problem for Narragansett Bay, though, is that half the bay’s watershed is in Massachusetts. And Massachusetts apparently has thus far done nothing to reduce nitrogen from cities such a Worcester and Attleboro. Not surprisingly, Rhode Island isn’t all that happy about it, according to this story, which quotes W. Michael Sullivan, executive director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
``It's unconscionable that we should silently sit by and let them flush their nutrients into Narragansett Bay for us to deal with the consequences," Sullivan said.
I can’t say why the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hasn’t required nitrogen reduction in the Massachusetts part of the watershed. For whatever reason, neither EPA not Massachusetts officials responded to the reporter’s inquiries about it.
Rhode Island’s plan is to cut nitrogen in half by 2008. The problem for Narragansett Bay, though, is that half the bay’s watershed is in Massachusetts. And Massachusetts apparently has thus far done nothing to reduce nitrogen from cities such a Worcester and Attleboro. Not surprisingly, Rhode Island isn’t all that happy about it, according to this story, which quotes W. Michael Sullivan, executive director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
``It's unconscionable that we should silently sit by and let them flush their nutrients into Narragansett Bay for us to deal with the consequences," Sullivan said.
I can’t say why the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hasn’t required nitrogen reduction in the Massachusetts part of the watershed. For whatever reason, neither EPA not Massachusetts officials responded to the reporter’s inquiries about it.
posted by Tom Andersen at 11:01 AM
1 Comments:
With the EPA under political management, I cannot say I am surprised that nothing would be done about Massachusetts and the Narragansett Bay watershed. It seems to be of a piece with other administration activities.
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