The Chesapeake Clean Water Act (CCWA) would provide more than $2 billion for clean water measures in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. That means funding for stormwater improvements, agricultural assistance, restoration projects and more. It also means jobs.
CCWA has been combined with other water and land conservation measures to win diverse and universal support for bills that protect our environment and fight for clean waterways. But special interests groups are still fighting to keep it from passing.
Despite the backlash, CCWA is still alive in the Senate and has a reasonable chance of passing -- but we need your help to push it through.
This is our best chance to help the Bay in a generation. And it could be our last chance to pass this bill, which expires with this Congress.
Please take a moment to make a difference in the health of the Bay and tell your senators to support the Chesapeake Clean Water Act.
Dear [Decision Maker],
This summer, the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works passed S. 1816 -- The Chesapeake Clean Water and Ecosystem Restoration Act (CCWA) -- with strong bipartisan support. It now awaits action by the full Senate and I urge you to support the legislation.
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I am a big supporter of clean water, both in the Chesapeake Bay and in my community. For years, we have heard lots of talk about reducing pollution to the Bay and its tributaries, but not nearly enough is really being done. Passage of the CCWA would be historic and provide the federal assistance that local communities need to reach the water quality standards being established by the EPA for the Bay and its tributaries.
S. 1816 is slated to be part of an Omnibus Land, Water and Wildlife package that is awaiting action by the full Senate on the floor.
Please tell Senate Majority Leader Reid that you support the full Senate taking up consideration of an Omnibus Land, Water and Wildlife bill, and that legislation should include S.1816, the Chesapeake Clean Water Act.
This is the last chance to pass this landmark legislation, which will provide more than $2 billion for clean water and pollution reduction measures in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. That means funding for municipalities needing to upgrade aging storm water systems and help for farmers needing to implement conservation practices. It also means jobs in our communities.
I hope that before this Congress adjourns I will see a bill which puts federal muscle behind the clean-up effort. We have waited long enough. Please don't let this opportunity slip away.
