Efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay are now only a signature away from receiving their largest ever federal contribution.
Congress approved a record $50 million for Bay restoration Thursday, far exceeding President Obama’s request for federal assistance for the effort.
The new funding will be a $19 million increase from last year’s federal contribution, a small part of the new appropriations bill that passed House and Senate votes.
The Department of the Interior will use the funding to “support additional regulatory and accountability programs to control urban, suburban and agricultural runoff in the watershed,” according to language in the appropriations bill.
The Environmental Protection Agency is developing a restoration strategy in response to an executive order earlier this year by Obama, who put the federal government at the head of efforts previously led by the states.
Obama had asked for $35 million for Bay restoration. But on the night before the House and Senate vote, a conference committee of senators and representatives that included Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., added to the final version of the bill $15 million more in funding than the president had requested.
“Maryland’s communities want to do the right thing by the environment, but they can’t do it on their own,” Mikulski told The Examiner. “That’s why I’ve worked so hard to put money in the federal checkbook that creates jobs, builds communities and takes care of our environment,”
Urban and suburban storm water runoff was highlighted as a chief concern in draft reports submitted in accordance with Obama’s executive order to reorganize Bay restoration strategies at the federal level. Rainwater that runs across the ground picks up harmful chemicals as it drains naturally into the Bay.
Obama must still sign off on the bill before it takes effect.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who in recent weeks introduced an amendment to the Federal Clean Water Act in an effort to speed up Bay restoration efforts, said the new Interior Department budget will have a significant effect on the Bay.
“These have been our priorities from day one,” Cardin told The Examiner.
However, Cardin added that the funds were also a symbolic move by the federal government, a sign that Congress is finally serious about earmarking funds for the Bay.
“We’re going to need more money,” Cardin said.
