Choose Clean Water Coalition Statement on Maryland’s Proposed Clean Water Legal Action

(ANNAPOLIS, MD)—In a letter to Attorney General Brian Frosh, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan asked for legal action against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for repeatedly failing to meet pollution reduction goals and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to fulfill its responsibility to enforce the Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan known as the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load. In response, Choose Clean Water Coalition Director Kristin Reilly issued the following statement:

"Governor Hogan's requested legal action against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the EPA is the unfortunate result of EPA abdicating its responsibility to provide enforcement and accountability to ensure states meet their cleanup goals. After decades of failed voluntary agreements, the federal-state Bay cleanup plan, otherwise known as the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load, finally provided the framework necessary to restore and protect our local rivers and streams. However, under this administration, we have seen a steady erosion of EPA's commitment to enforcing the requirements of the Chesapeake Bay cleanup and the Clean Water Act.

"Now more than ever, federal leadership is needed to ensure we reduce pollution in the Bay and its rivers and streams and provide clean water to future generations. We will monitor this legal action closely and work with all stakeholders to move efforts forward to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams."

The Choose Clean Water Coalition is an organization that harnesses the collective power of more than 240 local, state, regional and national groups to advocate for clean rivers and streams in all communities in the Chesapeake region.

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Media Contact:
Drew Robinson
443-927-8049
RobinsonAQ@nwf.org