* [Narrator] The Patuxent, once known as Maryland's greatest river, this waterway flows 115 miles from the headwaters in the Maryland Piedmont through the densely populated Baltimore Washington Corridor, past fertile farmlands and wildlife sanctuaries, before rolling out into the Chesapeake Bay.

* As one of the seven major tributaries that feed the nation's largest estuary, the quality of the Patuxent River is vital to the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

[Rachel Dean] When we hear about the grade that the Patuxent River's receiving, things can definitely be improved.

[Narrator] But the Patuxent is sick and routinely earns a D minus on its annual report card.

[Fred] But we keep piling more burdens on it, somehow hoping that science and technology will find a workaround.

[Narrator] Pollutants in the Patuxent, like nitrogen and phosphorus, flow south, eventually reaching the Bay, harming that fragile estuary.

[Fred Tutman] If the Chesapeake Bay is sick, we don't catch crabs, we don't have as many recreational opportunities.

People are getting sick.

[Narrator] Sometimes, the harms fall on smaller, less affluent minority communities.

[William Snape] If we want to be serious about the Bay, we will be serious about this culvert pipe dumping the silt, it has totally destroyed that area of the Patuxent River.

[Narrator] A generation ago, the Patuxent's dirty water became the focus of public outcry, sparking a Bay-wide environmental movement.

Yet, 50 years later, the river is still sick.

[Jean-Luque Zephir] Because when trash, debris, branches start backing up the river, it can potentially cause flooding.

[Jeremy Testa] The Patuxent overall has not improved as we might have expected.

But there's a lot of different factors involved, some of which we understand and some of which are still a mystery to us.

[Narrator] In 2014, surrounding states came together and forged the latest in what has been a series of Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreements which set goals to clean the bay and its rivers by 2025.

But with that deadline fast approaching and the Patuxent at a near failing grade, how can Maryland's greatest river be saved?

What will be the fate of this troubled tributary?

* [Fred] Come on, let's go.

Up-sie daisy.

Good girl.

(closes trunk) [Narrator] Fred Tutman's ties to this river run deep.

He grew up along its banks where, for generations, his family has owned property.

[Fred] So, my best part of the job is getting out here.

[Narrator] As the Patuxent Riverkeeper, it's Tutman's job to advocate for the river and those who live, work, and recreate along it.

[Fred] There's a lot of momentum behind trying to protect this particular river, but it's in one jurisdiction, it's only in Maryland.

As long as I've been on this river, it's had a D, a failure in anybody's book.

The work of saving this river is helping these citizens' groups actually connect their battles.

It's a war against the idea that people can do whatever they want to the water in front of wherever they live, regardless of the consequences to the people downstream.

[Narrator] The Chesapeake Bay Watershed has been the epicenter for organized cleanup efforts for more than five decades.

[William] Congress passes the Clean Water Act and other environmental statutes in the early seventies and with the full force and power, the federal government and the EPA enforces some of those limits.

[Narrator] The Patuxent was the first Maryland river ordered for cleanup under the Clean Water Act, when citizens filed suit demanding reductions in pollution from wastewater treatment plants.

In the early 1980s, the Patuxent River Watershed Act was passed, establishing the Patuxent River Commission to guide cleanup efforts.

Fred Tutman served on this advisory board for many years.

[William] But the reality is at this level of enforcement of environmental protection, you need bodies on the ground.

[Narrator] In 1988, state Senator, Bernie Fowler, began hosting his now famous Patuxent Wade-in as a home spun way to check clarity of the water, sporting white sneakers-- Fowler walked out as far as he could go before his shoes disappeared.

[Bernie Fowler] Chesapeake Bay means a lot to me but my unending love, endless boundless love is in the Patuxent River.

I call the Patuxent River the beautiful lady.

She's been so good to me all of my life.

[Narrator] The wade-ins generated plenty of publicity but to fix the larger problem, cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, Fowler and his followers couldn't do it alone.

Help came with the 2014 Chesapeake Bay watershed agreement with buy-in from all of the surrounding states, there was hope that the Bay and its tributaries would finally begin to show improvement.

[William] So, I think when you talk about the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and the goals, the 2025, to coordinate seven jurisdictions, their ag, their storm water, their roads, their impervious structures and development plans, all were contributing to the degradation of the Chesapeake Bay watershed but now is under one umbrella.

[Narrator] Collaboration among states is crucial to the success of the bay agreement.

Likewise, in the Patuxent improvement requires cooperation among seven Maryland counties and many diverse stakeholders.

[Fred] I mean, I think we really need everybody at the table.

And so, we've tried very hard at Patuxent Riverkeeper to make sure that the Native Americans and Indigenous people, people of color, people from all walks are welcome and know that their role is an important one.

[Grandmother Rabiah Nur] I am blessed and honored to be the spiritual link to the Patuxent Riverkeeper.

[Narrator] Grandmother Rabiah is a medicine woman who works alongside Fred Tutman at the Riverkeeper headquarters.

[Grandmother Rabiah] Everything has a spirit and we are all relatives in indigenous traditions and thinking.

Fred Tutman, he gets it.

This is a Riverkeeper that's doing exactly what he's supposed to do.

And he's in court all the time, suing polluters and he won't back down off of that.

He's showing people what a Riverkeeper can be.

And yes, he keeps the river but she also keeps him.

[Narrator] As this river flows toward the Bay.

It forms a geographic connection between diverse people from distant regions of the state, what happens near the headwaters is carried downstream and impacts those who work the river at its mouth.

* [Crystal Jordan] When I first start working on the water with my dad, I was about my son's age, he's nine.

We'd come out in the evening on the boat and crab pot, we only had 300 crab pots, but that's all you needed back then to catch anything, because there was a lot of crabs back then.

The water quality, obviously, has declined from when I first started on the water.

There's a lot of dead spots, a lot of bad water, more so now, then the years before.

It's our living, you got to catch enough to feed everybody and make a living.

[Tim Wheeler] The watermen have struggled and water quality has been a factor, undoubtedly.

The lack of clarity, the lack of underwater grasses, those are things that the Patuxent has been particularly saddled with.

[Rachel] When we hear about the grade that the Patuxent River's receiving, absolutely, things can definitely be improved.

Of course, we look at it as, can we continue to make a living on it?

Right now, we can't.

A lot of times when there's runoff, the oxygen levels will get really low.

So sometimes, it will suffer from those hypoxic conditions, that are also out in the main stem of the Chesapeake Bay.

[Tim] That's part of the reason why the river gets that D-minus grade that it gets.

[William] There are limits to what we can do to the resource before that resource stops giving back to us.

* [Narrator] Watermen rely on clean waterways for productive harvest but to track its health, the water must be tested.

* The Chesapeake Biological Lab sits at the mouth of the Patuxent.

Its scientists have been collecting data since 1925, learning how pollutants affect the waterway.

[Jeremy Testa] One of our goals with monitoring long term is that we like to go to the same place year after year, so we can track how this one place has changed over time, so we have a consistent baseline.

The first thing we're going to do is just do what we call a profile in the water column, which is to take measurements at different depths and we'll measure oxygen.

The percent saturation is 81.1.

And then, we'll do another profile but this time we'll measure how much light is getting to the water.

[Narrator] Algal blooms from excess nutrients in the water, limit the amount of light reaching submerged aquatic vegetation.

Without light plants are unable to photosynthesize, oxygen levels are reduced and the survival of aquatic species is threatened.

[Jeremy] What we just found, and what we'll typically find is that the light actually disappears quite rapidly in waters in Chesapeake Bay.

But what we're really interested in-- is how rapidly this sort of decline occurs.

That's central to how much light is available, that's central to how much oxygen is available.

And it's really one of the bread and butter measurements that we make.

Wastewater nitrogen and phosphorus inputs were always a big part of the nutrient loading story in this place.

There were really successful efforts to improve those treatment processes and reduce the amount of nutrients coming out of them.

And despite those declines, the Patuxent, overall, has not really improved, as we might have expected.

[Narrator] For years, some of the highest nutrient loads were coming into the river from sewage treatment facilities.

Riverkeeper Tutman has made it his mission to ensure the plants comply with their operating permits.

[Fred] Thirty-six wastewater treatment plants, that's a lot, if you average that out, that means, technically, you would have a wastewater treatment plant every few miles.

[Yerman Saavedra] Once, you use the water, you're pretty much adding pollutants to that water.

So, wastewater treatment intends to eliminate precisely those nutrients which has been added to the water after being used.

We're entrusted by our community to create seven and a half million gallons per day.

[Narrator] Treated water from this facility flows 306 yards out into the Patuxent River.

[Yerman] The technology can only do and achieve so much.

Nowadays, we're struggling with more flow.

Population growth, you got more pollutants.

It's that simple.

[Fred] Treated wastewater isn't really what fish is supposed to be swimming in and what marine life are supposed to be thriving on.

And we seem to have no filter for the sustainability, the carrying capacity of this river.

It's true the river is resilient, but we keep piling more burdens on it.

Somehow, hoping that science and technology will find a workaround.

When, in fact, the solution is common sense.

The river gets better, if you stop putting goop in it.

[Narrator] Most plants along the Patuxent have been upgraded with more efficient technology.

But when heavy rainfall pushes facilities beyond their limits, operating permits allow them to send untreated outflows into the river.

[Yerman] When significant flows arise at these plant, we struggle, but we can still maintain certain level treatment.

And you yet comply with our permit.

[Narrator] With growing populations in the watershed, demands on infrastructure have risen.

Howard County sits at the headwaters of the Patuxent and is one of the most rapidly growing and affluent counties in the state.

In the last decade its population has grown by over 15 percent.

[William] Howard County is by far the most impervious county in Maryland, outside of where Baltimore is.

We've paved it over to no end.

[Narrator] When it rains, water runs off these impervious surfaces into the Patuxent, carrying pollutants from dog waste, trash, and chemicals from vehicles, and lawn care products.

I'm Susan Garber.

And I live in the Savage North Laurel area of Howard County.

I have the good fortune of living above a trail to the Patuxent River.

The number one enemy of the Patuxent is the rate of development here in Howard County.

If we don't slow or even stop for a while, pause, the rate of development, we are not going to be able to save our rivers.

[Fred] How do we say no to at least somebody's permit, who asked for them because they want that taxable base.

They want more industry, more residences, more economic opportunities.

[William] The idea that we can continue to develop the way we have over the last 250 years with no limit is among the most foolish sentiments in modern society.

We cannot do it.

There are things called "ecological limits."

* [Narrator] The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement addressed the need, not only to mitigate the harmful effects of pollutants, it also addressed environmental justice calling for the meaningful involvement and fair treatment of all people.

Eagle Harbor is a small historically Black community nestled on the shoreline of the Patuxent River that has a long history of fighting for representation and action.

* [James Jones] This Creek coming here, this is the discharge to the Patuxent River, which lead to the bay.

So, if we want to be serious about the bay, we would be serious about what the power plant over here is doing.

I mean, how would you like to be on property that's considered waterfront property and you got to walk in this.

It's caused by the plant stormwater runoff.

This should not be.

[Fred] Eagle Harbor is the town immediately adjacent to Chalk Point.

The town has a complicated relationship, historically, with the plant.

[James J.]

I have a vision, I said after I retired, I would build a home here that would stand out.

So, this is what I would like to see Eagle Harbor develop into homes such as this.

[Narrator] Founded in the late 1920s as a haven for Black professionals during segregation, this community has faced a myriad of environmental issues.

They began in 1964 when a coal burning plant opened next door.

[James Crudup] So up until 1963, there were, basically, no environmental issues because plant wasn't there.

Could actually see the bottom of the river.

And we established a relationship where we would meet at least once or twice a year and we would explain to them that we would not tolerate anything that would affect the health and safety of this town.

[Narrator] The plant was sued over clean air violations in 2009 and an oil spill in 2000 marred the Eagle Harbor shoreline.

Residents have complained of respiratory illnesses, loss in property values, flooding and erosion drying up of local wells, and damage to the town's Coleman Creek.

[James C.] A couple of years ago, we realized that Coleman Creek was overflowing, we couldn't figure out why.

[Narrator] The reason for the flooding?

A 36 cents culvert pipe, discovered by James Jones that was sending storm water from the plant to Eagle Harbor's Coleman Creek.

Residents claimed that these outflows have led to shoreline erosion and weakened foundations in some of their homes.

[James J.]

Now, they have 23 acres here, they're discharging their storm water from.

But I've lost 22 feet of my shoreline.

So, it truly tell me that they don't care what's going on down below them.

[James C.] Well, I mean, this is truly an example of environmental injustice.

We really didn't want them there.

We don't want them there now.

We understand that they have rights and that the county and state have allowed them.

But, I think, the county needs to understand that Eagle Harbor needs to be given that same consideration.

We want to make sure that they have regular tests done on the water and the air.

And we need to be brought up to speed on that.

And that hasn't happened.

They have, virtually, neglected keeping us informed of anything.

If anything that we find out, we have to go out, and research, and do it ourselves.

And a lot of that has come from the assistance of Fred.

[Fred] We've never really done a formal study of the impact of the plant on the town.

But I mean, there's no question that having a big toxic generating coal plant right next door to where you live, certainly isn't good for what's on your cornflakes.

[Narrator] Today, Riverkeeper Tutman has come to advise newly elected mayor, Noah Waters, on how the town can assert its rights.

[Fred] Of at least some of these groups that do, I think probably consider the town a sacrifice zone?

[Noah Waters] Yes.

[Fred] You know, the plant has tried to buy the town, from what I gather, a couple of times in past history?

[Noah] Mm-hmm (affirmative).

[Fred] You know, I guess they do what they do to feed their families, but this area has become a sacrifice.

It's time to speak up.

[Noah] We do need the help of an environmental attorney.

[Fred] Yeah.

[Noah] Aesthetically, it's an eye-sore.

I mean, it devalues property.

I mean, just look at it, who wants a power plant in their backyard?

[Fred] Yeah.

[Noah] This has to stop.

And there has to be a new day, there has to be a reckoning.

They need to be held responsible.

[Fred] Yeah.

[Narrator] In a small town with limited resources, taking action can be difficult.

[James C.] I know that at the state level, a lot of the grants and things that are handed out to the different communities, they don't come into the Black areas.

If you look at it, the history is there.

Look who who's getting all these environmental grants, it's not the smaller Black communities.

[William] So, I think, the Patuxent River...right now is a microcosm of the larger environmental justice issues that are rightfully flaring up in this country.

What we've seen is that these polluting projects tend to be placed in communities where there are people of color or socioeconomically poor.

And so, it's one hit after another.

[James C.] That land next to the Creek is saturated like a sponge every time it rained.

I need for that storm water to stop coming across my property.

[Narrator] Each year, a myriad of institutions makes large investments in bay cleanup and restoration projects.

In 2020, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation spent over 30 million dollars.

And the Chesapeake Bay Trust over 13 million dollars working to improve the bay.

[Jana Davis] The method that the trust uses, predominantly, is grant making.

Fund a lot of grants in urban areas.

There's just a lot of demand because there's a lot of people that live in those areas.

So, the types of requests that we get and that we support include garden planting, conservation landscaping, tree planting, rain barrel installation, storm drain stenciling, field trips for students to learn about natural resources.

[Fred] What does it mean to actually clean up a river?

People really don't have a clear cut understanding.

Some think, it's about restoration.

Okay, so some polluter destroyed this site, we're going to come along and fix this brown field, and turn it back into a green field?

Really, really expensive.

But, in three years we have to do it all over again because we didn't fix the underlying problem.

We work on symptoms and not on problems.

It has to be accompanied by some attempt to ratchet down the onslaught of burdens.

[William] Historically, the groups that have Chesapeake Bay in their name dominated the day, at least in the early days of Chesapeake Bay agreements, that goes all the way back to the early '80s.

[Alison Prost] While, it's great that Chesapeake Bay Foundation has a seat at the table for many of the policy discussions that happen in Maryland and throughout the watershed, we have a responsibility to make sure, from an environmental justice standpoint, that all communities are being heard, that there is equal access to our decision makers.

It's very important and it's something that we have to course correct because, like many areas of our law and history in the United States, the environmental one is just one of the areas where minority communities have been disenfranchised.

[Fred] There are systemic changes that have to be made, if we're going to be successful at saving any of these rivers.

[News Anchor] With the 2025 deadline just around the corner, the states and federal government must accelerate efforts to reduce pollution or bay restoration efforts are in jeopardy.

[Fred] We're competing for legislative attention being paid to our rivers, for restoration funds, maybe not the healthiest or most robust movement when you talk about us competing, as opposed to collaborating.

[Jeremy] If you look at the grade that the Patuxent River gets over time, it's routinely relatively poor.

It really tracks what the Chesapeake Bay is doing, overall, and that all these tributaries are all interconnected.

[Rachel] One of the toughest things to overcome as a waterman is when you have big environmental groups that have a lot of funding backing them, that's difficult for watermen and the community to make sure that their voices are heard too during the discussions.

[Fred] All of these waters need to be cleaned.

Water is a gold standard, everywhere, water is a life.

So, I do believe there needs to be some connectivity between these movements.

I think, the spirited way that river keepers have proceeded using the law, litigation, citizen activism.

And I think, that's extraordinary.

And we need to obviously have more of these conversations in those larger mainstream rooms.

I've never seen a corporation prepared to fund someone to make trouble.

See, I picked the job of a waterkeeper just to make trouble.

(laughs) [Narrator] In 2021, Fred Tutman lost his seat on the Patuxent River Commission.

[Fred] The real action on this is people who are ground truth, their connected to each other and the communities around them, and the resources that they're there to protect, and nothing will stop them.

Those are unstoppable movements.

Those are the movements that don't stop when the grants stop.

And that's what I hope Patuxent Riverkeeper has become.

* *