Longtime, trusted advocates for environmental legislation, ShoreRivers adopts a “friends first” approach to their work, prioritizing cooperation with local government, businesses, and farmers. Given that agriculture occupies 60% of the land on the Eastern Shore, this approach is crucial to ShoreRivers’ success. By building relationships with local stakeholders through incentive and outreach programs, ShoreRivers has been able to grow support across multiple sectors.
Aligned Interests
“It’s important to understand that environmental goals and business goals can go hand in hand,” notes Annie Richards, Chester Riverkeeper for ShoreRivers. “For example, there are many best management practices that can improve water quality and make farming more profitable.”
Zack Kelleher, Sassafras Riverkeeper for ShoreRivers, agrees. “Farmers spend a lot of time amending soils to improve their crop yield. They don’t want to lose those investments through erosion,” he says. “At the end of the day, what is good for soil health is good for business and good for the waterways, too. We end up having aligned interests.”
Thanks in part to the relationships they’ve built with the farming community over the last decade, ShoreRivers has been able to complete more than 260 major restoration projects, predominantly in agricultural fields and properties. Farmers sit on their board and often volunteer with the organization, as well.
Violator Accountability
But don’t mistake ShoreRivers’ “friends first” approach for passivity. For major permit violators in the municipal sector, ShoreRivers doesn’t shy away from holding polluters accountable. Along with other environmental organizations, it has been part of some of the most impactful environmental legislation and litigation in the past year. Specifically, ShoreRivers has lent its muscle to several key wins:
1. Vacating the Conowingo Dam Relicensing Project, which remands the dam’s 50-year license that was previously issued without including Maryland’s 401 Water Quality Certification. The legal ruling, fought for by ShoreRivers, Waterkeepers Chesapeake, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, requires the licensing process to now include those water quality requirements. This was an unprecedented win for the environment.
2. Settling with Valley Proteins, a rendering plant in Dorchester County that uses a chemical process to render chicken carcass parts into protein for animal feed and other products. Since 2006, the plant has been working under a “zombie” permit (expired, but still in use) and had been illegally polluting the waterways for years. However, thanks to drone footage taken by ShoreRivers showing its pollution violations and unauthorized discharges into the Transquaking River watershed, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) was able to initiate enforcement action in early 2022.
3. Strengthening of environmental protections in the permitting of Trappe East wastewater treatment plant. While disappointed by the approval of the Trappe East wastewater discharge permit by the MDE, ShoreRivers has helped to roll back some of the more environmentally destructive plans. Thanks to collective efforts of environmental partners, along with an unprecedented amount of public comment, the final permit now limits the wastewater discharge to 100,000 gallons, just one sixth of the proposed amount, and reduces the size of the development from 2,500 buildings to 400.
4. Attacking zombie permits. Last year, for example, ShoreRivers helped pass a critical bill, SB492/HB649, requiring that zombie permits be updated. “The State of Maryland often doesn’t have enough staff to review those permits when they come for approvals, so they administratively continue them without inspection,” explains Kelleher. “Because there is no one to monitor them, companies are able to violate their permits without facing any consequences. One of the longest ‘zombie’ permits in the history of the state was expired for 17 years.”
The legislation, passed in 2022, now requires the agency to request sufficient positions to carry out their responsibilities and to fully address the backlog of zombie permits by 2026.
Environmentalism and Industry Are Not Mutually Exclusive
In the end, what Richards and Kelleher want people to know is that environmentalism and industry are not mutually exclusive. “Healthier waterways are something we all want—for recreation, for a thriving fishing economy, and for eco-tourism,” concludes Richards. “We don’t think you have to make a choice between the two. For one to thrive, both have to thrive.”
Want to get involved? ShoreRivers has volunteer opportunities all year round. To learn more, check out its events page.
Sustainably,
Bobby Firestein
For our 2023 Ecoprint calendar, Protecting the Natural Beauty of the Chesapeake Bay, we have partnered with 13 different organizations, all dedicated to helping solve the environmental challenges in this important ecological hub. ShoreRivers is our featured partner for the month of March. To get your own 2023 Ecoprint calendar, click the button below.