Ruppersberger and Cardin Announce Innovative Programs to Help the Chesapeake Bay

$3.4 Million for Environmental Projects Across the Watershed

(Dundalk, MD) – Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), and Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith joined officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to announce $3.4 million for the Chesapeake Bay.  The money will fund innovative projects to reduce water pollution and get citizens excited about protecting the Bay.  The Bay contributes $1 trillion to the Watershed’s economy each year.  Saving the Bay means saving jobs

“The Chesapeake Bay is one of Maryland’s greatest resources.  We must protect it so our children and grandchildren can enjoy it,” said Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), whose district includes hundreds of miles of coastline along the Bay.  “Whether it is eating perfectly steamed blue crabs harvested from the Bay, hiking along the many historic trails in the Watershed, or spending a beautiful day on a historic skipjack, the Chesapeake Bay adds so much to our quality of life here in Maryland while also supporting thousands of jobs across our state.”     

The money will fund 34 projects across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, including the “Urban Tree Canopy Campaign” in Dundalk in Baltimore County.  Volunteers will plant trees to improve wildlife habitats and minimize pollution runoff to local streams, creeks and rivers that drain into the Chesapeake Bay.  The Chesapeake Bay Watershed includes six states, Maryland, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.