Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Programs Move Forward in Senate

Written By Drew Robinson

(WASHINGTON, DC)—Last night, the U.S. Senate passed the America's Conservation Enhancement (ACE) Reauthorization Act. This comes on the heels of the U.S. House of Representatives passing the same legislation December 3. The ACE Reauthorization Act is critical to maintaining funding through 2030 for programs that are key to protecting and restoring the more than 100,000 miles of rivers and streams throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. These programs include:

  • EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program which coordinates the federal-state partnership to restore the Chesapeake Bay's rivers and streams.

  • Chesapeake Watershed Investments and Landscape Defense (WILD) Program, a grant program managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that assists local partners with on-the-ground habitat restoration and protection.

  • Chesapeake Gateways Program, a National Park Service administered network of partners and places that increases accessibility to waterways throughout the Chesapeake Bay region.

In response, Choose Clean Water Coalition Director Kristin Reilly issued the following statement:

"We are thrilled to see this critical legislation head to President Biden's desk. The extraordinary bipartisan support for the ACE Reauthorization Act demonstrates the popularity of critical programs that make a difference for clean water throughout the country.

"We want to thank Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) for sponsoring this legislation, as well as Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) for co-sponsoring. We also want to reiterate our thanks to Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) for sponsoring the accompanying legislation in the House."

The Choose Clean Water Coalition is an organization that harnesses the collective power of more than 300 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
Choose Clean Water Coalition
443-927-8049
RobinsonAQ@nwf.org

Drew Robinson

Drew Robinson is the Choose Clean Water Coalition’s Communications Director

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