Saving the Bay

Cleaning Up the Bay

Senator Mikulski is a leading defender of the Chesapeake Bay.

• Secures $20 million each year to fund important Bay clean-up efforts through the Environmental Protection Agency's Chesapeake Bay Program, including research on the health of the Bay, water quality monitoring and public education programs. As Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee that funds EPA, Senator Mikulski has direct oversight over the Chesapeake Bay Program's funding.
• Sponsored an amendment to the Budget Resolution to increase funding for clean and safe water and sewer infrastructure to over $5 billion in 2004.
• Cosponsored the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Nutrient Removal Assistance Act to authorize $600 million to upgrade sewage treatment plants in Bay communities.
• Cosponsored the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act and the Estuary Habitat Restoration Partnership Act, enacted in 2000, to increase Bay clean-up activities and fund local Bay projects.
• Championed grants to Maryland communities to improve sewage treatment facilities and reduce harmful nutrients flowing into the Bay. Recent grants include:
  1. $500,000 each for the Towns of Chestertown, Delmar, Crisfield and Hurlock(2004)
  2. $500,000 for wastewater treatment plants on the Pocomoke River (2004)
  3. $350,000 for the City of Cambridge (2004)
  4. $200,000 for the Town of Elkton (2004)
  5. $450,000 each for the Towns of Federalsburg and Elkton (2003)
  6. $$4.8 million for the City of Salisbury (2002)
  7. $900,000 for the City of Cambridge (2002)

Standing Up for Watermen

Senator Mikulski is committed to fighting to save the jobs and livelihoods of Maryland's watermen. She has:

• Secured federal support for restoration of Bay oysters and research on oyster disease- $2 million for recovery and restoration in 2002, 2003 and 2004. $10.3 Million to build new oyster reefs in the past 10 years.
• Fought for over $5.5 million in federal funding for the Blue Crab Advanced Research Consortium to study ways of increasing the crab population in the Bay.
• Supported FDA proposal to tighten labeling of imported crab meat. In 2000, directed the FDA to report to Congress on how to track imported crab meat and improve crab labeling.
• Requested a study on the benefits and impacts of introducing a non-native oyster in the Bay. Environmental Protection Agency and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration both contributed funding for the study, which began in 2002.

Fighting Pfiesteria

Senator Mikulski fought for federal funding to research and resolve the Pfiesteria problem.

• Secured $2 million in federal support for Pfiesteria research in 2004.
• Secured $7.1 million in 1999 for Pfiesteria research and monitoring through NOAA.
• Provided $2 million for biological nutrient removal of sewage in the Pokomoke River (1998).
• Cosponsored legislation directing the Corps of Engineers to conduct a pilot project to address the causes and effects of Pfiesteria.
• Obtained $10 million in federal funding in 1998 for research into the causes and solutions of Pfiesteria, and to protect public health. This including a research and monitoring program including Maryland and other states affected by the Pfiesteria crisis.