BALTIMORE – Members of the Maryland Congressional delegation today announced that Maryland will receive a total of $1.2 million in grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help clean up and improve the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Rep. Cardin is joined by Sen. Sarbanes and Rep. Cummings in presenting 31 Maryland community organizations with Chesapeake Bay Watershed Grants to help in efforts to improve the Bay's watershed.

   The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Grants will go to 31 community-based organizations to help communities develop and implement watershed management plans. These federal funds allow local organizations to leverage additional funds for improvements to the Bay's watershed.

   The proposed projects are reviewed by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and are selected based on criteria paralleling commitments set forth in the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement. The grant program is in its fifth year, and selected projects range from citizen water quality monitoring to oyster gardening to riparian buffer restoration in Maryland, Virginia, New York Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

   "The Small Watershed Grants Program rallies local communities around the restoration and protection of their part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed," said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. "By focusing restoration efforts on the watershed level, these communities have the ability to become true stewards of the Bay and its rivers."

   "Local stewardship is essential if the Chesapeake Bay and its 110,000 miles of rivers and streams are to be protected," said Sen. Sarbanes. "These small grants will help local governments and communities undertake a variety of restoration actions, from tree plantings to river cleanups, that address the Bay's water quality and living resource needs."

   "These EPA Watershed Grants allow communities to become involved in restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay and its many tributaries. The Bay is a national treasure and it's up to all of us to restore and protect if for future generations. These grants help make that possible," said Rep. Cardin.

   "The Chesapeake Bay is part of our way of life, part of our identity as Marylanders, and our greatest resource. We must step up to our responsibilities to protect the Bay and the jobs that depend on it," said Sen. Mikulski. "The EPA Watershed Grants are a great tool. The federal government provides the funds, but the individual projects are led by those closest to the Bay -- the community organizations who work so hard to build coalitions and partnerships to protect the Chesepeake."

   "These funds are another installment in our continuing commitment to cleaner water, cleaner air, and a cleaner environment. Our legacy to the children of Maryland should be to leave their community in a better condition than we found it," said Rep. Cummings.

   For a complete listing and map of the 2002 Small Watershed Grants recipients, go to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation home page at http:// www.nfwf.org or to the Chesapeake Bay Program at http://www.chesapeakebay.net/press.htm.