Action on the Bay - Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposals might be a good start.

AFTER 25 YEARS of unfulfilled promises to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, there may be some movement toward recovery. A prime example: Despite major fiscal problems, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) proposed to spend $373 million protecting the environment. The bulk of that is to nurse the bay back to health.

The Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund would get $164.5 million in capital funding, with most going toward removing nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater treatment plants.

Another $133.7 million is for upgrading Maryland's water and wastewater infrastructure. And four land preservation programs would share a $74.8 million appropriation. The Chesapeake Bay 2010 Trust Fund would also get an infusion of $25 million. Mr. O'Malley's budget proposals came a week after he unveiled several bills to preserve farmland and improve the health of the bay through environmentally sustainable smart growth.

Mr. O'Malley wants fishermen to lease land on the bay floor to harvest oysters. Doing so would allow the shellfish to multiply in other areas of the bay, helping to restore life to the estuary.

Another bill would clarify a 1992 law that said ordinances and zoning laws must be consistent with a locality's comprehensive development plan. These plans are developed with extensive input from a variety of stakeholders, including the public and commercial interests, and that input forms the basis of zoning laws. The new law would essentially overturn the 2008 Maryland Court of Appeals decision in the Terrapin Run lawsuit. In that case, the court ruled that the construction of a 4,300-home community in a rural part of Allegany County with no schools nearby or existing water or sewer lines didn't have to be consistent with the county's comprehensive development plan. With Maryland projecting a 27 percent population increase by 2030, and all the work that goes into putting those plans together, it would be wise for local governments to follow them.

Sprawl has been a major contributor to the degradation of the Chesapeake Bay. So has the inability of states and local governments along its watershed to follow through on a raft of grand visions, plans and laws issued over the past 20 years to stop it. That's why we greet Mr. O'Malley's efforts with skepticism. But they are steps in the right direction, and we hope something more: an impetus toward a real and concerted effort to clean up the bay.