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Cardin Sponsors Bill to Implement New Water Quality Standards for Bay's Tributaries

Date: Oct. 25, 2005
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Environment


Cardin Sponsors Bill To Implement New Water Quality Standards For Bay's Tributaries
Tuesday October 25, 2005

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin today joined with Rep. Wayne Gilchrest in sponsoring legislation that will reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Program and implement new water quality standards for the Bay's tributaries.

The Chesapeake Bay Restoration Enhancement Act builds on the 2000 Chesapeake Bay Agreement, which calls for reducing pollution in the Bay by 2010. The goal is to get the Bay removed from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) "dirty waters" list within the next five years.

To help achieve this goal, the bill would:

• Create a new, annual tributary heath report card for the major rivers and tributaries that feed into the Chesapeake Bay;
• Require water quality standards and best management strategies for Bay tributaries that will be included in the Clean Water Act for point and nonpoint source pollution;
• Increase funding for local project grants; and,
• Require the federal government to identify all Chesapeake Bay spending to maximize project success.

"The Bay is the foundation of ecological and economic health in the mid-Atlantic region. We have made great strides in restoring the Bay, but more needs to be done. Restoring the Bay is an ongoing process and Congress needs to act to revitalize efforts to clean up the Bay," said Rep. Cardin.

In 1997, the Congressman sponsored the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act, which sought to improve the federal-state-local partnership to restore the Bay. He also sponsored the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Act, which was enacted into law in 1998, creating a network of hiking trails, scenic drives and water trails throughout the Bay watershed. Rep. Cardin received a rating of 100% from the League of Conservation Voters for his commitment to environmental health and safety issues in the 108th Congress.

http://www.cardin.house.gov/index.cfm?ContentID=1888&ParentID=29&SectionID=42&SectionTree=29,42&lnk=b&ItemID=1877

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