When Governor Wes Moore stood at the foot of the Conowingo Dam to announce what he called a “historic” 340-million-dollar environmental settlement, the optics were perfect. There he was, surrounded by energy executives, environmental advocates, and state officials, all smiling for the cameras. It looked like leadership. It looked like progress. But all is not what it seems.
Behind the political theater lies a deal that delays action, weakens accountability, and continues the decades-long habit of turning Maryland’s environmental failures into public relations victories. Moore’s settlement is a triumph of messaging over substance, and the people of Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay itself deserve better.
Most of the money in this deal will not arrive anytime soon. The payments are stretched out over 30 to 50 years, meaning that by the time the final check clears, almost every person who stood at that press conference will be long gone. Even worse, much of the so-called funding is conditional. The most critical piece, dredging the Conowingo reservoir to remove the mountain of silt and sediment choking the Susquehanna River, will not even begin until the Army Corps of Engineers completes yet another study years from now. And even then, Maryland’s Department of the Environment could decide not to dredge at all.
The problem is not complicated. The Conowingo Dam is a “silt superhighway”. As Carol Hughes of Direct Line News recently wrote, the dam has for decades acted as a conveyor belt that dumps massive amounts of sediment, agricultural runoff, and pollutants straight into the Chesapeake Bay every time it floods. The dam’s capacity to trap sediments has long been maxed out. When that wall of silt is flushed downriver, it clouds the water, smothers oyster beds, and feeds the dead zones that choke marine life. Yet the Moore Administration’s new deal still relies on future “peer-reviewed modeling” and “interim targets” rather than direct, measurable action.
The new settlement also avoids the politically uncomfortable truth that the Conowingo problem begins upstream in Pennsylvania. As Hughes noted, addressing that reality requires political courage that has been missing for years. It would mean holding Pennsylvania accountable, challenging powerful agricultural lobbies, and setting a hard deadline to dredge the reservoir and install sediment capture systems. Instead, Governor Moore struck a long-term deal with Constellation Energy that pushes the problem into the next generation while claiming victory now. He turned an environmental liability into a talking point and walked away with the headline he wanted.
Meanwhile, as Hughes reported, Baltimore City continues to pour millions of gallons of untreated or partially treated wastewater into the Bay each year. Hughes correctly pointed out that even after years of federally mandated consent decrees and billions spent on infrastructure, the city’s crumbling pipes still leak raw sewage into the Inner Harbor and beyond. Yet the same state and local leaders who decry climate change and preach environmental equity cannot summon the competence to stop human waste from entering the Bay. You cannot save a crab while flushing sewage into its habitat.
This pattern of inaction and self-congratulation is not new. For decades, well-funded environmental groups, state agencies, and political leaders have drafted glossy agreements filled with buzzwords like “climate resilience” and “changing environmental conditions.” Billions have been spent. Targets have been pushed from 2025 to 2035 to 2040. And yet the Bay’s health remains stagnant. EPA data shows that the Conowingo Dam no longer traps sediment effectively, and despite more than 6 billion dollars in regional spending since 2014, only 59 percent of nitrogen reduction goals have been met.
The easy wins, wastewater plants and point source controls, are done. The hard work, tackling Pennsylvania’s agricultural runoff and sediment flow, keeps getting postponed because it is politically inconvenient.
Moore’s so-called steady hand in these negotiations looks more like a sleight of hand. He inherited a mess, but rather than fix it, he packaged it into a press release and moved on. This deal gives him credit now and leaves future governors, taxpayers, and watermen to deal with the consequences later. Oversight over 30 years is not leadership. It is abdication disguised as prudence.
Maryland does not need more committees, consultants, or cleverly branded restoration plans. It needs action. As Carol Hughes argued, the path forward is clear. Dredge the Conowingo now. Fix Baltimore’s wastewater system and tie every dollar of state aid to measurable upgrades. Invest in oyster aquaculture, mussel hatcheries, and nutrient removal technologies that deliver results. And above all, demand accountability with real consequences for agencies and entities that fail to meet benchmarks.
The Chesapeake Bay is one of America’s great natural treasures. But it will not be saved by more studies, slogans, or settlements that stretch beyond the lifetime of those who sign them. If Governor Moore truly wants to lead, he should stop managing the problem politically and start solving it practically. Because at this point, Marylanders have heard enough promises.
The Bay does not need another plan. It needs a comprehensive cleanup. And until that happens, all is not what it seems.
Clayton A. Mitchell, Sr. is a life-long Eastern Shoreman, an attorney, and former Chairman of the Maryland Department of Labor’s Board of Appeals. He is the co-host of the Gonzales/Mitchell Show podcast that discusses politics, business, and cultural issues. He is also an advisor to the Ed Hale for Governor campaign.
Rick Hughes says
You raised some good points, you didn’t include: why the Trump regime won’t help fund real solutions and runs from anything remotely climate-change related, preferring instead to label it a hoax. Since MD is mostly Blue… forget federal funding from Magaland. And where is your accounting of the prior Republican administrations who also failed to get this done? The Chesapeake absolutely is worth protecting, and strong State and federal regulations are essential, not wiping out agencies and oversight. Had Moore attempted to pay the needed bill now, for all that you mentioned, I bet this article would have been focused on fiscal irresponsibility by tax and spend Dems with no mention of Hogan’s part in the budget problems. Everyone agrees that protecting the Bay is critical… but not everyone is willing to help foot the bill. There’s plenty of blame to go around… spread it evenly, call a club a club and let’s fix problems by proposing solutions instead of politically advantageous finger pointing.
Michael Davis says
Thanks Rick for pointing out some of the obvious things Mr. Mitchell fails to mention. All Maryland history before Gov. Moore is dismissed by him. He writes as if Gov. Hogan had nothing to do with anything. The other thing Mr. Mitchell ignores is the existence of the federal government under Donald J. Trump. Trump has cut the tax base of Maryland, has cut funds to save the Chesapeake Bay – with Andy Harris’s blessing – and is working to destroy the EPA and the Department of the Interior. He is also cutting all science research agencies that provide grants to solve environmental problems. Mr. Mitchell’s essays are routinely intellectually dishonest and are undeserving of a guaranteeed publication platform such aa the Talbot Spy.
Mark Laurent Pellerin says
Your bashing makes me ill. I see this as a CHIEF PROBLEM because nothing is accomplished here or nationally because of endless fault-finding of the other side. But let’s turn the table: just what was the last MD Governor, that really good and wise Republican governor, doing to fix Baltimore’s pipes or address the Conowingo Dam and Pennsylvania’s part of it all ?
I don’t have the answer and don’t want a retort or rebuttal either. I have suggested to anyone who has an interest in the dam and the problem to get in a car and follow the Susquehanna up to Binghamton but that’s only a part of it all because there are in total 400 miles of this river and watershed !
One will also see — on that drive — just how convenient it is for those living near or along the river to so easily rid themselves of waste. I saw cans and bedsprings and old refrigerators lining the river’s banks but I do wonder if Conowingo could be emptied today, how long then would it take to fill again if nothing more is stopped or controlled ? I”m not suggesting .. let’s do nothing. I’m suggesting Let’s Freaking Go !!!
Richard Peter Carrion says
I want to again offer a solution for the Conowingo damn nutrient rich sediments.
They need to be dredged and removed from the Chesapeake Bay nutrient load.
The sediments could be spread over Aberdeen Proving grounds live ordenses areas, by robotics.
That is a WIN -Win.There already is a large pipe starting above the damn that goes by Aberdeen,
to supply water to the resavors in Baltimore.
Rick Carrion
443-566-2212
David R. Poe says
The Conowingo settlement is every bit as illusory as Mr. Mitchell describes, but more could have been said. For example, this was an easy way out for Conowingo’s owner because all of the settlement costs will be recovered in the price of electricity sold from the dam, not its shareholders. So what is happening is that clean up funds will be collected from us, electric customers, and if not spent on dredging, will be spent on other environmental projects, probably without much accountability. Moreover, the enthusiasm regarding the settlement fails to acknowledge the enormous technical difficulties in removing trapped sediments from behind an operating dam without sending some part of the contamination downstream in the process, which is probably the major reason it has not been done before now. But no one wants to say that now. Rather, it is preferable to announce a settlement with a worthy objective, take the favorable publicity – and the money – and let someone else, like the Corps of Engineers, take the blame down the road – probably – for responsibly protecting the public by not permitting dredging.
heinz weverink says
Clayton, I’ve been silent for too long on this subject too long. Let me give you a history. Before Governor Hughes succumbed to the trap of bureaucracy, I served the State of Maryland as a Regional Inspector in the enforcement division of the DNR Water Resources Administration. An agency and a position that no longer exist, replaced by a massive do nothing but provide lip service without action agency. As a regional inspector, I had the full force of the State of Maryland behind me, to quickly and immediately order and enforce the requirements of Maryland’s water quality laws. While there is a significant amount of history and failures from the changes to the current DEP, I’ll save those for another discussion. What is important to note is the differences between the ICPRB and the Chesapeake Bay compact. Under the ICPRB, as an agent for the State of Maryland, the law provided for me to be able to enforce Maryland’s water quality (water pollution) laws. The compact for the Chesapeake does not contain that provision. All efforts are solely at the mercy of and consideration of the politicians and the Federal Government to come up with solutions. But that compact is hidden and rarely seen and definitely not understood by the public.
William Odis Wade Jr says
Typical of Moore
Dave Taylor says
The hypocrisy and inaction of Wes Moore. An empty suit if there ever was one. I’ve never seen anyone talk so much yet say so little.
Thank you for pointing it out.