Cardin, O'Malley, Cummings, Van Hollen And Regional Partners Detail New Legislation To Restore The Chesapeake Watershed

Statement

Standing steps from the shore of the Chesapeake Bay at Sandy Point State Park, I joined with Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Congressman Elijah Cummings, Congressman Chris Van Hollen, and Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources L. Preston Bryant who represented Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine, Chair of the Bay Program's Executive Council, to outline the details of federal legislation to greatly expand federal resources available for restoring the health of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Also participating in today's announcement were National Wildlife Federation's Tony Caligiuri, a co-chair of the 103-group strong Chesapeake Bay Watershed Coalition, and Luke Brubaker, owner of Brubaker Farms of Mt. Joy, PA.

The Chesapeake Clean Water and Ecosystem Act of 2009, which will be introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Cardin with original co-sponsor Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, reauthorizes the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program and gives state and local governments of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed expanded authority, $1.5 billion in new grant authorization, and strong new enforcement tools, to help restore the Bay's health. Congressman Cummings plans to introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives later this week.

Today we take a major step forward in writing the next chapter in the history of one of America's most cherished and celebrated bodies of water - the Chesapeake Bay. In developing this important legislation, we listened carefully to our watershed partners, our watermen, our farmers, and others whose livelihood depends on a viable Chesapeake. The result is a robust plan that will put us on a realistic but aggressive path to restoring the Bay to a healthy state that can sustain native fish, wildlife, farmland, and our regional economy.

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