Posted under Budget & Chesapeake Bay
We are fortunate to have a President who understands to importance of restoring the Chesapeake Bay, even in difficult economic times. Early in his first year, President Obama issued an executive order, committing the federal government to improving the health of the Bay. Now, he’s backed up that commitment:
President Barack Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal 2011, released yesterday, includes $63 million for the Chesapeake Bay Program – a $13 million increase over the current year.
…Lisa Jackson, the EPA administrator, said her agency’s money for the bay is intended to help carry out Obama’s executive order from last year for the federal government to do more for the bay.
In a conference call with reporters, Jackson said it’s important for the EPA as well as the states to make headway in reducing pollution from stormwater runoff, which she called “primarily the intractable problem for the bay.”
The money also will help the EPA come up with new rules for controlling stormwater and pollution from large farms with animals if the states don’t design their own rules.
“We need people to see that we’re serious,” Jackson said.
Governor O’Malley also doubled funding to Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Trust Fund.
Funding alone, however, will not solve the Chesapeake Bay’s problem. We need to use these resources more effectively. More on that topic soon.
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