United States Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) today announced that the 5-year reauthorization of the 2007 Farm Bill, passed by the House Committee on Agriculture, includes $150 million in dedicated conservation funding for the Chesapeake Bay. Congressman Van Hollen worked with other Members of Congress, including Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN), Congressman Tim Holden (D-PA), and other Representatives from the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, to secure this much-needed funding.
Three months ago, Van Hollen, along with other Members within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, introduced the Chesapeake’s Healthy and Environmentally Sound Stewardship of Energy and Agriculture Act of 2007 (CHESSEA), which allocates funding for agricultural conservation in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. CHESSEA served as the foundation for some of the provisions that were included in the Farm Bill.
The Committee designated the funding for a comprehensive Bay strategy and projects that will address the Bay on a tributary basis. The tributaries that will receive the initial focus are the Susquehanna, Shenandoah, Patuxent and Potomac Rivers.
“This is an important first step in obtaining a significant boost in the federal contribution to the Chesapeake Bay effort,” said Van Hollen. “We must remain united and vigilant in the days ahead to ensure that these funds survive the legislative process. Historically, the farm bills have primarily benefited the farmers in the Midwest. If these funds remain in the bill, we will finally be able to provide critical funds to the farmers in the Chesapeake Bay region to help them in their conservation efforts and therefore curtail agricultural runoff into the Bay.”
The bill also includes funding for a pilot program in the Bay to assist farmers in conservation planning, and designates the Bay a priority for consideration in a new Regional Water Enhancement Program. Moreover, Bay advocates estimate that farmers in the Bay Watershed will be likely to qualify for an additional $250 million in conservation funding due to adjustments in national programs, including consideration of water impairment and matching funds requirements that were included in CHESSEA, in addition to an overall increase in conservation funding.