Governors Hogan, Carney and Others Urge Federal Lawmakers to Restore Chesapeake Bay Funding

In a letter addressed to the U.S. Senate and U.S. House Appropriations Committees, a number of leaders with interest in the Chesapeake Bay requested further funding, and millions were slashed by the Trump administration.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Chair of the Chesapeake Bay Commission Tawanna Gaines, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, Delaware Governor John Carney and Virginia Governor Ralph Northam asked the Committees to oppose “devastating cuts to Chesapeake Bay Program funding proposed in the President’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget.”

According to the President’s FY 2020 budget, the administration is proposing a drastic cut in funding to Bay cleanup, upwards of a 90 percent decrease.

Governor Hogan and Bay advocacy groups have recommended an increase in annual funding from the current 73 million dollars to 90 million dollars. Following an increase in pollution, epicentered at the Conowingo Dam, the Bay’s health report card saw a decrease for the first time in ten years.