The Coalition Goes to Washington
On Wednesday, March 4, more than 70 members of the Choose Clean Water Coalition traveled to Washington, DC for the Coalition’s 14th annual Chesapeake Bay Day on Capitol Hill. These advocates came from all corners of the watershed to meet with their congressional offices and talk about the impact the broader Chesapeake restoration effort is having in their districts. Coalition members met with 42 congressional offices throughout the day and we welcomed 12 different members of Congress at our lunch briefing. Next week, our members will meet with the three Delaware Congressional offices with our sister coalition, the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed. Our members of Congress shared their passion for this work and their commitment to ensuring we continue to to have the resources we need to continue to improve our waterways and local communities across the region.
One of our consistent asks from year to year is increased funding for the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort. This year, our Coalition’s funding asks included:
$96 million for the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program. Which includes $12 million for the Small Watershed Grants (SWG), $12 million for the Innovative Nurtient and Sediment Reduction Grants (INSR), and $10 million for the Most Effective Basin grants (MEB).
$15 million for US Fish and Wildlife Service Chesapeake WILD grant program
$19.577 million for USGS Chesapeake Science and Monitoring Program and and additional $1 million for invasive catfish research and mitigation
$8.6 million for NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office and $3.8 million for NOAA Office of Education Chesapeake Program Environmental Education and Partnerships (B-WET Program)
$4.023 million for National Park Service for Chesapeake Gateways Network
In addition to these funding requests, the Coalition also asked members of the Chesapeake congressional delegation to:
Co-sponsor and support the Chesapeake WATERS Act, which reauthorizes the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office
Co-sponsor and support the Mitigation Action and Watermen Support (MAWS) Act, which would open up new markets for invasive Blue Catfish
Co-sponsor and support the Chesapeake National Recreation Area Act, which would designate the Chesapeake Bay as a National Recreation Area and increase public access and tourism.
Chesapeake Bay Day is always a great demonstration of the widespread bipartisan support the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort has in Congress. And that is thanks to the work of our Coalition members who are able to demonstrate how work for the Bay is improving a local communtiy in West Virginia or Upstate New York. What we do in every corner of the region will be what makes the difference for the Chesapeake and everyone who calls its watershed home.
