Executive Director's Message

Summer 2024: News & Views from the Susquehanna River Basin Commission!

Earlier this month, on a steamy July morning overlooking the Susquehanna River, we were honored to host the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science as they announced the 17th annual Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Report Card – the highest grade the Bay has received since 2002, a C+.

The headline and sentiment that followed was A Great Day for the Bay. Absolutely accurate. But maybe more importantly, it was A Great Day for Partnerships. Cleaning up (and keeping clean) the country’s largest estuary with a six-state watershed partnership that also includes the nation’s capital, is a colossal task that simply cannot be accomplished without partners from all sectors coming together as a unified team with a common goal. Since the 1980s, SRBC has been proud to offer technical and analytical support and collaboration with the partnership in recognition of the importance of the Susquehanna River to the health and success of the Chesapeake.

Since the signing of the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, the headlines have not always been as encouraging. I’ve worked alongside so many of the dedicated folks of the Chesapeake Bay Program as they carry on against what often feels like strenuous upstream conditions, made more difficult by a changing climate, as a looming 2025 deadline swims up on them. Yet they persist.

It was refreshing to see individuals and groups, who are all too often blamed, be thanked instead. The farmer for reducing harmful runoff; the states for fixing faulty wastewater systems; the Bay program leaders for working together and finding solutions.

Six state secretaries, one federal administrator and one governor stood together to celebrate the successes made when we work together. Of course, there’s still a lot of work to do when it comes to the Bay, and SRBC is committed to continuing to provide support. But it’s hard to keep pushing forward if you don’t occasionally take a moment to celebrate how far you’ve come, and take notice of the outcomes you’ve been working for.

Best regards,
Andrew D. Dehoff, P.E.
Executive Director