I want to begin by saying that I am glad that the environmental impact of the runoff of rainwater is being explored and adjusted for the future health of the Chesepeak Bay. However, I am concerned that the plan, as currently proposed, will indeed have a negative effect on the economic health of our Commonwealth. I feel that it is particularly important to balance the percieved benefits of this plan with the likely slowing of the recovery that is sure to occur as costs related to planning and development increase dramatically.

I have read a number of the proposals to make adjustments to the current plan, and they make good sense. I would like to see these ideas explored in greater detail. In addition, I am wondering if the other states and locations that contribute to the pollution in the Watershed Area (Maryland, as well as parts of West Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania,  New York and all of the District of Columbia) are preparing to implement similar legislation. After all, the Commonwealth contributes a relatively small percentage of the contaminants that are at the heart of the issue being remedied. Should we be expected to carry the brunt of the cost and inconvenience for the reduction of pollution, while risking losing much needed capital in our economic base by raising the costs of development to the point where the companies that may otherwise build and operate here will chose to go somewhere else- perhaps even to one of the other states in the Watershed Area?

Perhaps this plan should be tabled until a coalition of forward-thinking individuals from each area can get together and come up with a cooperative solution that makes a positive impact on the Bay while focusing the responsibility for the necessary adjustments across the regions in which they occur. Thank you for your earnest consideration of this issue.