New chapter in bay restoration

EPA Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz recently joined Governor Wes Moore and Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller to announce new strategies by Maryland for restoring water quality in the Chesapeake and Atlantic coastal bays.

The governor ushered in a new phase of Chesapeake and coastal bay restoration cooperation by signing an executive order re-creating the “Governor’s Council on the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays watershed”.

The event represented an acknowledgement of Maryland’s longstanding leadership on Bay issues, and reformation of Bay Cabinet as the next phase of its commitment.

“Our administration is focused on working in new and collaborative ways to reduce the pollution reaching our bays and providing our local communities and farmers with the opportunities and resources they need to succeed,” said Gov. Moore.

“Investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are creating real progress and tremendous opportunities to improve the health and resiliency of local communities, streams, and the Bays as we also tackle the impacts of climate change,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz.

EPA, along with Maryland and other partners are making investments, and using federal and state authorities where it matters, including working with the agricultural community and creating coastal resilience.