A regional partnership that ensures Chesapeake Bay watershed states have access to resources that help restore and conserve the estuary would be reauthorized under legislation recently introduced by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).
The bill, S. 1429, would reauthorize the Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program, which was established by President Ronald Reagan and ratified by Congress in 1987. The last authorization expired in 2005, but Congress has continued to appropriate funds in each subsequent year.
“Not only does the Chesapeake Bay contribute to the natural beauty of the Mid-Atlantic region, but the headwaters in West Virginia sustain important ecosystems and play a vital role in our state’s economy,” Capito said. “This bipartisan legislation provides important grant funding to West Virginia, continuing our efforts to support the bay’s restoration and care and helping ensure it remains a critical natural resource for future generations.”
The governors of the six states within the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the federal government signed an agreement in 2014 to continue the Chesapeake Bay Program through 2025. State funds support local restoration and protection efforts, and federal funds are used to coordinate research, modeling, monitoring, data collection and other efforts needed to meet larger goals.
“A healthy bay means a healthy economy for Maryland and the entire Chesapeake Bay Watershed region, which cannot be accomplished without a reliable federal partner,” U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), who introduced the bill with Capito, said.
“I urge appropriators to take note of the bipartisan support for authorizing these programs, despite the president’s lack of understanding of their worthiness,” he added. “States rely on the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program to provide federal accountability, enforceability and resources. Less pollution means more oysters and crabs, healthier farmland, more boats and tourism on the water, and more jobs.”