A Baltimore Sun article (2017-09-12) reported that Representative Bob Goodlatte (Republican – West Virginia) introduced an amendment that would prohibit the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from enforcing the Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts. According to the article, the amendment was added to a bill that would fund the EPA and other federal programs from December 2017 through September 18 and amendment was adopted by the House of Representatives (214-197). From the article:
“Congress intended that the implementation of the Clean Water Act be a collaborative approach through which the states and the federal government work together,” Goodlatte said on the House floor Thursday. “This process was not meant to be subject to the whims of politicians and bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.” …
All of Maryland’s congressmen — except Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, who has been absent from Congress as he recovers from heart surgery — voted against the amendment. Seven of Goodlatte’s 10 colleagues in Virginia’s congressional delegation, both Republicans and Democrats, also voted against it.
In response [to the Goodlatte amendment], the Choose Clean Water Coalition is releasing this statement from Chanté Coleman, director of the Coalition.
“The Choose Clean Water Coalition is disappointed by the steps that Congressman Goodlatte has taken to hinder the continued progress to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. While we continue to fight President Trump’s effort to eliminate all funding for the Bay, we need support from our watershed legislators, not attacks.
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