An interesting idea to fund environmental cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay

I am involved in a planning project for a city on Maryland's Eastern Shore, which means I am spending more time reading and thinking about the Chesapeake Bay. If you've seen recent coverage on cleanup efforts, it seems as if the various governments have basically given up. That's an overstatement maybe, but there is no question that few of the ten year goals have been achieved.

According to "New tax district proposed to save Puget Sound " from the Seattle Times, the Puget Sound Partnership proposes a special taxing district to fund cleanup efforts. It's not a lot different from how Business Improvement Districts are funded.

From the article:

The partnership, a state agency created in 2006 to lead a revival of the ailing Sound, is preparing to ask state lawmakers to lay the foundation for a new source of money to help fund a cleanup that will cost billions of dollars.

Any public vote on a new tax could still be years away and could involve the counties that ring the Sound. The partnership won't ask people for a new tax now, given the poor state of the economy and the early stage of the cleanup effort, said David Dicks, the partnership's executive director.

But it wants lawmakers to create a local improvement district — much like Sound Transit — that could then seek a new tax when the economic and political climate is better.

When I was in Seattle last month, I came across the city's Urban Blueprint for (Chinook Salmon) Habitat Protection and Restoration. I thought that was pretty interesting, but it makes sense given that Seattle is intimately connected to and a part of the Puget Sound, and salmon run through parts of the city. This kind of connection to the land and water can't help but make Seattlites more environmentally conscious.

A salmon at Chittenden Locks, Seattle.