Cliff Erosion and the Chesapeake Bay

The county alone cannot solve the cliff erosion issue due to the federally protected Puritan Tiger Beetle, but the results of no action will greatly impact the quality of the Chesapeake Bay and the landscape of CRE. (I must point out that cliff erosion is troubling homeowners outside of CRE, but it is CRE that is tangled in the beetle preservation battle.) There must be effective leadership at the county level to create a coalition of county, state and federal leaders and agencies to successfully address and resolve this issue.

Regardless of where you stand on this emotional, financial and complex issue, one thing is certain - if we do nothing, these homes and their septic systems will fall into the bay. The real question, I believe, is who will be responsible for the clean up of the bay and what effect will this have on the quality of life for the inhabitants of the bay while we work to clean it up?

The reality is that the failure to implement a plan of action to resolve this issue in the past has led to both a high level of negative exposure for the county and a greater urgency to develop a solution. There is no quick fix solution, but action must be taken immediately if we are to ensure the quality of the Chesapeake Bay. My real concern is the Bay. If we address the issue of protecting the Bay, I believe, the other issues will be resolved in the process.

We need strong leadership to ensure the residents of our county have the opportunity to save their investments and to protect the Chesapeake Bay and its inhabitants. We can no longer pass the buck. While this may not be an easy issue to resolve and requires action outside of county jurisdiction, strong leadership is required of our county leaders to keep the urgency on this issue.

Minority Leader Delegate O'Donnell has taken the lead on this complex issue and we should expect our county leaders to work along side Delegate O'Donnell on behalf of their constituents.

I do not claim to have the answer, but look forward to investigating the issue further in search of solutions. I have contacted Governor O'Malley's office, as well as Congressman Hoyer's office, regarding this issue, stressing my concern for the impact the erosion will have on the Bay. I am still awaiting a reply. The beetle issue may not go away in the near future, and neither will I.