CBF Criticizes Proposed Elimination of EPA Funding

Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) President William C. Baker issued a statement regarding Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte’s notice that he intends to file an amendment to the fiscal 2011 funding bill.

According to the CBF, the amendment would eliminate all Environmental Protection Agency funding to “develop, promulgate, evaluate, implement, provide oversight to,” Bay clean-up efforts under the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL).

“How unfortunate that Congressman Goodlatte, who represents one of the states that would benefit most from a healthy Chesapeake Bay, is seeking to torpedo the Bay restoration plan before its ink is scarcely dry. The cleanup plan, finalized just weeks ago, is the result of years of intense work, community outreach, and consensus agreement among scientists, policymakers, and leaders in six states. It follows decades of widely acknowledged failure to restore a national treasure that multiple presidents, governors, and members of Congress have pledged to restore and that millions of voters have consistently said they support.

“A successful Chesapeake Bay restoration plan simply must have a fully supportive and involved federal partner. As history has shown, the Bay states cannot do it alone. The Bay TMDL may well represent the Bay’s best and last chance for restoration. Its goal is to restore clean water to the Chesapeake and to tributaries such as the Shenandoah River, a polluted river flowing through Congressman Goodlatte’s own district, by 2025. Pollutions has resulted in fish kills, dead zones, and impacts to human health, as well as costing jobs and damaging local economies. CBF fervently hopes the Goodlatte amendment will be defeated.”