President Donald Trump (R) has rolled back a 2009 executive order that has guided mandates for the Chesapeake Bay’s cleanup for more than 17 years. The action took aim at localities like Alexandria with stormwater utility fees.
The White House said the 2009 executive order created a “broad mandate” for states and localities to improve the Chesapeake Bay’s health “without providing clarity on how to implement that order’s requirements.” According to the feds, Virginia — collectively with New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, D.C., Delaware and West Virginia — has met 100% of the goal for sediment reduction, 90% for phosphorus reduction, and 57% for nitrogen reduction.
While revoking the 2009 order, Trump directed federal agencies to focus resources on efforts directly addressing water quality goals.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a nonprofit focused on the bay’s conservation, indicated the federal rollback jeopardizes decades of progress in reducing pollution in the bay.
“Repealing it weakens this historic federal-state partnership at exactly the moment we need greater accountability and collaboration,” Chesapeake Bay Foundation president and CEO Hilary Harp Falk said. “Its replacement undermines the federal government’s role while eroding the ability of states and local governments to fix problems ranging from pollution to flooding.”
Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said the order’s repeal threatens the environment, as well as Virginia’s seafood and tourism industries and recreation.
“The Trump administration’s decision to repeal the 2009 executive order, which to this point has maintained considerable bipartisan support, dismantles a longstanding framework for coordinating that federal effort, including work to expand scientific research, assess the impacts of climate change, and tackle pollution from agricultural runoff and stormwater,” the senators said in a statement.
Another component of Trump’s directive seeks to assess the financial impact of state and local stormwater utility fees on residents and seek measures to encourage the repeal of the fees. The White House said the 2009 order resulted in localities implementing stormwater utility fees to fund “stormwater infrastructure, whether or not it contributes to the environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay.”
In Alexandria, the stormwater utility fee was adopted in May 2017 to help meet Chesapeake Bay mandates. First billed to residents in May 2018, it was originally more focused on meeting state and federal stormwater regulations for the Chesapeake Bay.
The city has pursued increases in recent years for stormwater capacity projects amid significant flash flooding events. The fee doubled from $140 to $280 per billing unit in 2021 and rose to its current rate of $357.40 in the last budget cycle. Property owners can apply annually for credits when they complete eligible stormwater management and floodproofing practices.
“The SWU Fee provides dedicated funding for services that residents rely on every day, including maintaining and repairing the City’s stormwater system, implementing flood mitigation capital projects and programs for Flood Action Alexandria, ensuring environmental compliance with local, state, and federal laws, and implementing water quality projects,” a spokesperson for the Alexandria Department of Transportation & Environmental Services told ALXnow. “These investments help improve the quality of life for residents and businesses, mitigate flooding, and improve the health of local waterways and Chesapeake Bay.”
The city reported it has met 100% of its goal for total phosphorus reduction, 100% for total suspended solids and 80.5% for total nitrogen ahead of a fiscal 2028 deadline.
“However, new updated modeling planned by the Bay Program for 2027 and 2028 will likely add new Bay cleanup requirements, while the repeal of the 2009 Executive Order with this new EO may have an impact on these federal Bay cleanup requirements that are passed through the states to the localities,” the spokesperson said.
The T&ES spokesperson said localities are working with local planning district commissions and state associations to understand how Trump’s new order affects stormwater utility fee programs and Chesapeake Bay cleanup requirements.
