Smart Talk Monday: EPA sued over Pa. not meeting Chesapeake cleanup goals; Five counties and the coronavirus

• Scott LaMar/WITF
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Scott LaMar was formerly the Host and Executive Producer of The Spark program on WITF-FM, 89.5 & 93.3 in Harrisburg, Pa.
  
  Previously, LaMar was WITF TV’s Sr. Public Affairs producer and produced the station’s award-winning weekly public affairs TV program, Smart Talk.
  
  In addition to his on-air duties, LaMar moderated political candidate debates, including those for candidates running for Pennsylvania governor and the U.S. Senate and was a regular contributor to BBC World News TV before and after the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.
  
  The American Society of Civil Engineers honored LaMar with their national Excellence in Journalism award in 2020. He has been nominated for five Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
  
  LaMar and The Spark have been recognized throughout the Central Pennsylvania community including ADVOZ Lancaster’s “Dignity in Dialogue Award”, the South-Central Assembly’s “Regional Citizen Award” and was named a “Humanitarian Hero” by The Humane Society of the United States/Pennsylvania.
  
  A native of Coatesville, Pa., LaMar has also worked as a broadcast news anchor, sports play-by-play announcer and manager.

 Brian Witte / AP Photo

FILE - In this Aug. 1, 2018, file photo, debris washed into the Chesapeake Bay from record rainfall accumulates around a sailboat in Annapolis, Md. An annual report on the Chesapeake Bay says pollution from unusually heavy rains in 2018 contributed to the first decline in a decade in the overall health of the nation's largest estuary.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and others are suing the federal Environmental Protection Agency saying EPA failed to require Pennsylvania and New York to develop plans to reduce pollution in the bay under two agreements.

According to CBF, Pennsylvania’s plan to meet the 2025 goals in the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint contains improvements over past plans. However, it says the state will meet less than 75 percent of its 31 million-pound nitrogen-reduction commitment, and the plan is underfunded by more than $300 million dollars a year.

The Susquehanna River that runs through Pennsylvania is the largest source of fresh water that empties into the bay.

Appearing on Monday’s Smart Talk to explain the court action is Chesapeake Bay foundation President William Baker.

Also on Smart Talk, even though we all have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, every county, city, and town have had their own unique challenges over the last six months.

PennLive is profiling five counties in a series called The State of the Coronvirus. Reporter Wallace McKelvey describes what he found on Monday’s Smart Talk.