Chellie Pingree: “This amendment would allow those who pollute the Chesapeake Bay to ignore the Environmental Protection Agency's water…”

“This amendment would allow those who pollute the Chesapeake Bay to ignore the Environmental Protection Agency's water quality standards. Restoring the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed continues to be a priority. The EPA established mandatory water quality standards, and Congress has approved over $1 billion for the Chesapeake Bay program to help States, localities, and businesses meet those standards. This amendment would jeopardize that funding and have devastating effects on the health of the bay. This amendment is not about the well-being of Virginia, Maryland, and the surrounding States. It is about the fact that some industrial operators don't think they should be responsible for controlling the pollution they dump into our rivers and streams across the country. The courts have sided with the EPA on this matter. For more than 35 years, the regional partnership created through the Chesapeake Bay program has sought to restore and protect the Nation's largest and most productive estuary. This amendment would undermine decades of work and have lasting damaging effects to the health of the bay and the economy that it supports. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.”