The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced $40 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be used to help restore the Chesapeake Bay, in an effort to combat climate change.
According to a May 2 EPA news release, the $40 million includes $25 million through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Chesapeake Stewardship Fund, which involves $15 million in Small Watershed Grants and $10 million in Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction grants. The remaining $15 million will be divided between six watershed states and Washington D.C. under the Most Effective Basins program.
“I am pleased to announce the new funding that will help support ready-to-go projects throughout the 64,000-square-mile Chesapeake Bay watershed,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe in the release. “This unprecedented funding can go straight into projects that will protect public health, improve water quality and help restore lands, rivers and streams that impact the Chesapeake Bay – from farm fields to suburban neighborhoods to city streets.”
Of the MEB funds, Pennsylvania is receiving $5.59 million; Maryland receives $3.21 million; Virginia receives $3.14 million; New York receives $1.28 million; Delaware receives $750,000; West Virginia receives $500,000; and Washington D.C. receives $500,000. The funding mainly supports farm-based actions focused on improving rivers and streams in locations downstream from Chesapeake Bay, according to the release.
“A clean Chesapeake Bay is crucial to the success of our state's economy and the health of our environment,” U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen said in the release. “That’s why we fought to secure historic funding for the restoration of the Bay through both the annual government funding legislation and the infrastructure modernization law.”
“The Chesapeake Bay Watershed, like the rest of Maryland’s infrastructure, must be revitalized to support the local economy and withstand the effects of climate change," Congressman John Sarbanes said, according to the release. "This first allocation of funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a down payment on the future of the Chesapeake Bay that will help it meet pollution reduction targets and strengthen the critical partnerships that are central to the ecosystem and community.”
