By Steve Crane | Editor-in-chief
“The Bay states and federal partners just signed a new watershed agreement committing to bay restoration goals. There are a host of new challenges the bay is facing, from climate change to population growth and development. This is absolutely not a time to step back.” - Hilary Harp Falk, president and CEO of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, on President Donald Trump’s order calling for the reversal of stormwater management fees and other bay cleanup efforts in bay states.
Happy Friday. State officials and environmental groups are puzzling over President Donald Trump’s latest action on the Chesapeake Bay, but there’s no confusion on the message coming out of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation conference Thursday.
Trump on Wednesday canceled an Obama-era order that called for federal leadership and cooperation with states on bay restoration efforts, but that mostly railed against stormwater management fees, or “rain taxes” as he called them. Bay advocates said the order is generally a step in the wrong direction — but they were also unsure exactly what practical impact the order will have, as Christine Condon reports.
Trump administration policies, and the Supreme Court’s ruling this year that upended racial protection in congressional districting, loomed large during a town hall at Thursday’s session of the Congressional Black Caucus conference. And the message was clear and direct: Black voters need to get out and make their voices heard during this fall’s elections if they want to make a change. William J. Ford has that story.
We also have a report about possible measles exposure in Ocean City earlier this month, more news, commentary and headlines from the week below, to help you wrap up your week. Enjoy!
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge, pictured from the Eastport section of Annapolis, in September 2025. (Photo by Christine Condon/Maryland Matters)
By Christine Condon
Just months after federal officials joined Chesapeake Bay states in December to renew their pledge to restore the nation's largest estuary, President Donald Trump on Wednesday rescinded an Obama-era executive order that called for federal leadership in the effort.
Trump’s executive order railed against stormwater management fees, which he labeled “rain taxes,” arguing that they “impose hundreds of dollars in annual financial burdens on residents and small businesses,” with “little to no measurable benefits to the Chesapeake Bay.” The order also calls on federal agencies to “encourage the repeal or rescission of stormwater management fees imposed by States or localities” — something that only the state and local governments have the authority to do. Some jurisdictions in the bay region, including some Maryland counties, collect fees from property owners to fund projects like rain gardens, tree plantings and permeable pavement installations that slow down runoff.
The action faced pushback from state officials, environmental groups and Maryland’s entire entire congressional delegation — including lone Republican Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st) — who called it a “short-sighted and harmful” decision that reverses a policy that had “provided vital federal resources that support state-led efforts to improve the health and productivity of the Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding area.”
Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Ala.) gives remarks Thursday during a national town hall at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s legislative conference. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)
By William J. Ford
Congressional representatives implored Black citizens to vote this fall during a two-hour-plus town hall at the Congressional Black Caucus’s annual legislative conference Thursday.
“This is the most consequential election of our lifetime,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.). “If you’re concerned about the Supreme Court, get out and vote. If you’re concerned about making sure we’re taking care of the poor and the children, get out and vote.”
Meeks was part of a panel that assessed the last 18 months, finding that “Black America” hangs in the balance against the Trump administration’s push to limit voting by mail, changing who and what counts in the U.S. Census and dismantling various federal agencies. The conference also comes just months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Callais v. Louisiana that the state’s use of race-based redistricting amounted to an “unconstitutional racial gerrymander,” a ruling that could cost up to one-third of the caucus’ 62 members their seats in GOP-led states that rushed to redistrict afterwards.
IN OTHER NEWS
Measles downy ocean: Maryland health officials are warning that people who visited several locations in Ocean City earlier this month may have been exposed to measles, after an infected out-of-state resident visited the resort town while still contagious.
Shifting focus on election security: After winning a major battle over mail ballots, voting rights groups and Democratic officials are now looking to defend against possible election interference from the White House ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
Social Senate hopefuls: Voters are much more likely to support U.S. Senate candidates this fall who have a plan to avoid an automatic cut to Social Security benefits in 2032, when terms will be up for senators elected this year, says a new poll in battleground states.
TODAY'S COMMENTARY
Changes proposed in the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, to shift Community Schools' emphasis to investments that support reading and math, is a crucial change that needs support from parents and lawmakers, write Trish Brennan-Gac and Clarence Crawford.
MATTERS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
State bets heavy on horse racing: State officials told a House committee they are confident that efforts to prop up and preserve the horse racing industry will not be in vain, despite ongoing questions and repeated state funding for the faltering industry.
Coping with Callais fallout: With “the crown jewel” of civil rights legislation gutted by the U.S. Supreme Court, and the seats of up to 20 Black members of Congress at stake this fall, voting rights advocates called for a makeover of the nation’s highest court.
Haggling over housing: Having to navigate the “complex web” of federal, state and local regulations adds to the rising cost of housing, developers said, which is pricing more and more Marylanders out of housing options. And state officials largely agreed.
Low on energy: Even if new power plants are built in coming years, as proposed data centers come online, the regional electricity grid would fall short of demands six times per decade on average for Pennsylvania and the PJM regional grid, a new report says.
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