This month the Buzzards Bay Coalition has released its quadrennial State of the Bay Report – a comprehensive review of the health of Buzzards Bay. It found that expanding nitrogen pollution is erasing gains made in reducing bacteria and toxic pollution to keep the overall score at a 45 - less than half of the ecological capacity of the Bay.

The 2011 State of the Bay Score is a summation of nine different indicators of the health of the Bay and watershed and it did not change since the last report in 2007. While that fact may suggest stability, the nine indicators used to evaluate the State of Buzzards Bay show that it is in fact changing dramatically – in both positive and negative ways.

The greatest gains in the health of Buzzards Bay in recent years have been in the slow cleanup of “Old Pollution” sources – like bacteria and toxics - and the impact of that ongoing success story is evident in the State of the Bay report. But these improvements, while enough to prevent the overall State of the Bay score from falling this year, were not enough to overcome the expanding sources of “New Pollution” – nitrogen and its impacts.

Nitrogen pollution comes poorly-planned development and is the byproduct of new homes, septic systems, roads, and lawns. It is worsening water quality and degrading habitat in all corners of Buzzards Bay, the report demonstrates.

“The significant declines in the Nitrogen, Eelgrass, and Bay Scallop scores in this report illustrate the slow suffocation of Buzzards Bay from nitrogen pollution,” said Mark Rasmussen, President of the Buzzards Bay Coalition. “The good news is that hard work by dedicated town officials, state and federal agencies, and citizens, to reduce bacteria and toxic pollution is paying off.”

“We should all celebrate the successes we’ve had in reopening beaches and shellfish beds even as we rededicate ourselves to the greater challenge ahead – managing wastewater and watershed development to reduce nitrogen pollution.”

The State of Buzzards Bay report is a comprehensive review of the health of Buzzards Bay, developed in collabo­ration with scientists and land use experts and using the best available current and historical information. The State of Buzzards Bay report provides an important tool to assess the effectiveness of Bay cleanup and protection efforts and to guide our work in coming years.

To learn more and download a copy of the full report go to www.savebuzzardsbay.org/StateOfBuzzardsBay <http://www.savebuzzardsbay.org/StateOfBuzzardsBay>