Committee Hears Broad Chesapeake Bay Legacy Act Aimed at Farming, Fisheries and Monitoring

House Environment and Transportation Committee members heard detailed testimony on House Bill 506, the Chesapeake Bay Legacy Act, on March 6, a multi-part bill the administration says would update agricultural incentives, fisheries management and the state's water-quality monitoring systems to accelerate Bay restoration.

Saif R'Toole, deputy legislative officer for Governor Wes Moore, told the committee the proposal is intended to "accelerate Bay restoration" and was developed with "watermen and conservationists" as well as state agencies. "Simply put, this is a comprehensive legislation provides a unique opportunity for Maryland to step up and make real progress for the Bay's future," R'Toole said.

The bill as presented would: - Establish the LEAF (Leaders in Environmentally Engaged Farming) program, a voluntary, scored incentive program modeled on LEED certification to encourage conservation and community practices on farms; - Add a statutory definition for regenerative and healthy-soil practices and incorporate those into existing healthy-soils language; - Modernize the Department of Natural Resources' role in water-quality monitoring to accept and process standardized community, academic and nonprofit monitoring data; - Clarify and expand…