EPA to Help Lead ‘New Era’ of Partnership, Accountability in Chesapeake Bay Restoration

President Barack Obama signed an executive order today creating a Federal Leadership Committee for the Chesapeake Bay to be chaired by the Environmental Protection Agency. The executive order calls for EPA and six other federal agencies to coordinate and expand federal tools and resources to help speed cleanup of the nation’s largest estuary.
At a meeting today of the Chesapeake Bay Program Executive Council at Mount Vernon, Virginia, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson presented the executive order, which creates the Federal Leadership Committee for the Chesapeake Bay. The committee will be chaired by EPA and will manage new plans by a team of seven federal agencies to strengthen and bring accountability to efforts to protect and restore the bay.
In addition to the executive order, Administrator Jackson announced that EPA’s renewed commitment to bay restoration will include a bay-wide set of strict pollution caps backed by state action plans and federal consequences to assure progress; sharp reductions in air pollutants that impact the bay; robust use of existing authorities; key funding support, and unrivaled scientific and technical assistance.
“This executive order is a strong signal of the President’s commitment to restoring this national treasure, which is so vital to the environment, the local economies, and the way of life for millions of people,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We are bringing the full weight of this partnership to bear on this challenge, and I am extraordinarily hopeful about what we can accomplish working together.” (Click here for full EPA announcement)
Chesapeake Bay Foundation President Will Baker issued this statement at the announcement--
"This is good news. It is the first step in what CBF has been encouraging the federal government to do. We also have Virginia Governor Tim Kaine to thank. He has encouraged the President and met with Administrator Jackson as well." At today's meeting, the states released various commitments that they will be held accountable to achieve in the next two years. While the two-year time horizon is exactly what we've been calling for, the "milestones" were overly cautious."