Obama Administration Prioritizes the Chesapeake Bay
Mount Vernon, VA – President Barack Obama issued an executive order
today creating a Federal Leadership Committee to manage efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay.
U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson unveiled the order at a press
conference following a meeting of the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council. The order, which declares “a new era of
shared federal leadership,” will bring together representatives from at least
seven federal agencies to oversee bay cleanup.
“For years the EPA has looked the other way as state
officials have sat on their hands,” said J.R. Tolbert, policy advocate for Environment Virginia Research &
Policy Center. “The EPA is now talking a more serious game
than we’ve heard in a long time. The
proof in the pudding will come when we see if this new committee creates
enforceable standards for bay restoration.”
At the Executive Council meeting, governors from the
principal states in the Chesapeake Bay
watershed set interim benchmarks for water quality and stated policy objectives
to achieve them. These benchmarks include
two-year targets for pollution reduction.
“The short term benchmarks are more important than long term
goals,” said Tolbert. “The benchmarks
will help us keep everyone’s feet to the fire.”
Environment Virginia
is canvassing neighborhoods throughout the state to generate support for bay
cleanup efforts. They are collecting
comments from citizens urging the EPA to set enforceable standards as part of
new pollution limits.
“When we discuss this with people on their doorstep, the
response is enormous,” added Tolbert. “People
are fed up with voluntary goals and want to see real action.”
