According to an article on the front page of today's Washington Post, the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is proposing to cut funding in support of the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint.
The OMB proposal reduces funding for the Chesapeake Bay Program from about $73 million annually to $5 million (a little more than 93 percent) in the next fiscal year. EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program coordinates science, research, and modeling as well as grants to state and local governments to help reduce pollution.
The Washington Post report is very concerning. Drastically reducing funding for the successful Bay cleanup begun in 1983 by then-President Ronald Reagan does not square with President Trump's remarks to Congress and the country about clean water.
Bay restoration efforts are working. There is measurable progress in restoring local rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay. Our State of the Bay score was the highest it has ever been. Crabs and oysters are rebounding, the dead zone is getting smaller, and Bay grasses are at their highest level in decades.
The progress is the result of the federal and state partnership implementing the Clean Water Blueprint, as well as the work of citizens, businesses, and local governments all doing their share to reduce pollution.
