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Chesapeake Bay Foundation

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Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Founded1967; 57 years ago (1967)
FounderArthur Sherwood et al.
TypeNonprofit
52-6065757
Legal status501(c)(3)
PurposeEnvironmental protection and preservation
HeadquartersAnnapolis, Maryland
Location
  • United States
Board Chair
Otis S. Jones
President
Hilary Harp Falk
Staff185
Websitewww.cbf.org

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is a non-profit organization devoted to the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay in the United States. It was founded in 1967 and has headquarters offices in Annapolis, Maryland. The foundation has field offices in Salisbury, Maryland; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; Norfolk, Virginia and Washington, D.C.[1]

Establishment

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The foundation was established by Arthur Sherwood, a businessman and lawyer, with friends in 1967. As of 1996 CBF had about 80,000 dues-paying members.[2][3]

Programs

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CBF offers an outdoor education program that has introduced several generations of school children to the Chesapeake Bay through several idyllic outposts along the Bay's shores, such as Fox Island, Smith Island, Bishops Head, and others. Children learn the fragile nature of the Bay's ecosystem, and the extent of its watershed, much of which includes their own homes in suburbia. CBF also lobbies state and local governments on regulations intended to protect the health of the Bay.

Along with education and advocacy, the CBF also moves to make the Bay cleaner through restoration and litigation. Their mission is to restore the Bay to balance in environmental programs such as planting trees and other greenery, along with restoring oyster populations. In litigation, the CBF makes it their mission to hold environmentally negligent companies and organizations accountable for their actions.

Litigation

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The foundation has litigated multiple cases regarding protection of bay water quality, both at the federal and state level.

In 2009, CBF filed suit against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its failure to finalize a total maximum daily load (TMDL) ruling pursuant to the Clean Water Act that would restrict water pollution from farms, land development, power plants and sewage treatment plants.[4] EPA agreed to settle the lawsuit and issued its TMDL for nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution on December 29, 2010. This was the largest, most complex TMDL document that EPA had issued to date.[5] In early 2011 the American Farm Bureau Federation and other agricultural trade associations, along with the National Association of Home Builders filed suit challenging EPA's authority to issue the TMDL.[6] CBF and other organizations (both environmental groups and local governments) filed a motion to intervene in the case. In 2013 the Pennsylvania district court judge upheld EPA's authority, and following appeal by the trade associations, the judge's decision was affirmed by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.[7] In 2016 the US Supreme Court declined to hear the case, thereby upholding EPA's authority.[8]

In 2020 CBF filed a lawsuit against EPA for its failure to require the states of New York and Pennsylvania to reduce pollution in the bay.[9]

New headquarters building

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In 2001, CBF moved from a walkable downtown location in Annapolis to a new headquarters building, the Philip Merrill Environmental Center, about 5 miles (8 km) outside of town. The new building, at the former site of the Bay Ridge Inn on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, is a green building that demonstrates a number of energy-saving and other sustainable features. It was the first building to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) "Platinum" rating from the United States Green Building Council.[10]

The new headquarters is not accessible by public transportation. The foundation's choice for a new headquarters site symbolizes a dilemma of the modern environmental movement: how to be connected to the environment without despoiling it. In this case, the enlarged footprint of employees and visitors forced to drive to the building was offset by its reduced imperviousness compared to the former inn, use of recycled materials, re-use of wastewater on-site, and use of composting toilets. The building was an early adopter of green building principles, but apart from automobiles and bicycles, remains inaccessible by other modes of transportation.

Leadership

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In January 2021 CBF president Will Baker announced that he intended to retire by the end of 2021. Baker became president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the organization in 1981.[11] In November 2021 the foundation announced that the new president and CEO will be Hilary Harp Falk.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF). Annapolis, MD. "Mission and Vision." Archived 2010-03-30 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2010-03-26.
  2. ^ "Arthur Sherwood Dies". The Washington Post. 1996-12-23.
  3. ^ Jay, Peter A. (1992-04-19). "A Visit to a Deserted (by Humans) Island in the Bay". The Baltimore Sun.
  4. ^ Fahrenthold, David A. (2009-01-06). "Bay Advocates Sue EPA". The Washington Post.
  5. ^ Chesapeake Bay TMDL Executive Summary (PDF) (Report). EPA. 2010-12-29.
  6. ^ Fears, Darryl (2011-07-24). "Alarming "dead zone" grows in the Chesapeake". The Washington Post.
  7. ^ United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. American Farm Bureau Federation et al v. US Environmental Protection Agency, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, et al. Case No. 13-4079. July 6, 2015.
  8. ^ Fears, Darryl (2016-03-01). "Supreme Court ends challenge to the Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan". The Washington Post.
  9. ^ Finley, Ben (2020-09-10). "Lawsuit: EPA fails to enforce Chesapeake Bay pollution caps". The Washington Post.
  10. ^ CBF. "The Philip Merrill Center: CBF's Headquarters." Archived 2012-02-07 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2010-03-26.
  11. ^ "Will Baker, longtime CEO of Chesapeake Bay Foundation, announces retirement". Capital Gazette. Annapolis, MD. 2021-01-28.
  12. ^ "Chesapeake Bay Foundation names Annapolis resident Hilary Harp Falk president and CEO". Capital Gazette. 2021-11-02.
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