Chesapeake Bay Blueprint Progress Report Released

Statement from Chanté Coleman, Director of the Choose Clean Water Coalition, on the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Chesapeake Bay Blueprint Progress Reports

(Annapolis, MD) – Today, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation released its Chesapeake Bay Blueprint Progress Report, which evaluates the progress made by the states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to meet pollution reduction goals. By 2025, the Chesapeake Bay states and the District of Columbia must fully implement pollution reduction actions necessary to restore the Chesapeake Bay. 60% of those actions must be in place by the end of this year. This progress report highlights where the jurisdictions are on-track and off-track in their implementation process.

In response, the Choose Clean Water Coalition is releasing this statement from Chanté Coleman, director of the Coalition.

“This report from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation makes it clear that while we have made progress toward meeting our goals, there is still much work to do to restore the Chesapeake Bay. We see progress in areas like reducing pollution from wastewater treatment plants and factories, while almost all of the states are behind in meeting their urban and suburban runoff goals.

“The Coalition is helping to bridge the gap on these goals by working with our members to increase state resources for programs that improve water quality, like cover crops, forest buffers, and projects that reduce stormwater. Now more than ever, it is imperative that we encourage local governments, state elected officials, and the governors of the Bay states to be leaders for clean water and champions for the Chesapeake.

“It is important to remember that the states cannot achieve these goals without support, and that the federal funding they rely on to make progress is under attack. Without these resources, the states stand to lose millions of dollars for on the ground restoration projects that are improving local communities. The Coalition will continue to work with members of Congress to ensure the restoration effort continues by restoring funding for the Chesapeake Bay Program in the President’s 2018 budget.”

The Choose Clean Water Coalition is an organization that harnesses the collective power of 231 local, state, regional and national groups to advocate for clean rivers and streams in all communities in the Chesapeake region.