Potomac Conservancy’s statement on President Trumps new Executive Order for the Chesapeake Bay
This post was originally published on this site.
Federal and local collaboration is the key to the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay
Yesterday, President Trump issued a new Executive Order for the Chesapeake Bay. This Executive Order repeals a 2009 Executive Order signed by then President Obama directing greater federal and local collaboration to accelerate restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, of which the Potomac River is a major tributary.
Coordinated state and federal efforts to curb major sources of pollution to our region’s waterways have been critical in drastically reducing excess nutrients, particularly from agricultural lands. This comprehensive strategy to combat polluted runoff has contributed significantly to the Potomac River’s remarkable comeback over the last fifteen years, improving from a dismal “D” to a “B” health grade.
But continued progress in improving our water quality is not inevitable.
At a time when stacking stressors threaten substantial progress on the Potomac, this new Executive Order is a dangerous move in the wrong direction. The Potomac River has benefited from decades of bipartisan cooperation across state lines through the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. That is the approach we should be strengthening, not undermining through an Executive Order that does nothing to address the responsibility we all carry. We should continue building partnerships and investments that protect our rivers and streams from pollution, not creating greater uncertainty around how communities will pay for and carry out that work.
As your local clean water advocate, Potomac Conservancy is concerned that weakening the federal government’s role in the Chesapeake Bay cleanup will be at the detriment of state and local restoration efforts; our waterways do not follow jurisdictional boundaries, and as such, require strong, intentional planning to protect their health. As a lead partner with the Choose Clean Water Coalition, an alliance of hundreds of Bay environmental organizations, we will be closely assessing the impact of this decision and will continue to fight with determination to defend the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay.
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