HARRISBURG – The week of June 2nd through June 8th, 2024, will be designated as “Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week” in Pennsylvania under Senate Resolution 305, sponsored by Sen. Gene Yaw (R-23), vice chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Commission (CBC) and chairman of the CBC Pennsylvania Delegation, and Sen. Scott Martin (R-13), member of the CBC Pennsylvania delegation and former CBC chair.
“During Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week, we have the opportunity to celebrate and educate Pennsylvania’s success in reducing nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution into the Chesapeake Bay,” Yaw said. “We can also promote opportunities where citizens can act and help restore the Bay themselves. It’s also an opportunity to call attention to the challenges facing the Bay.”
“Some of the nation’s most productive farm and forest lands, intertwined with miles of rivers, streams and creeks, reside in our portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed,” Martin said. We continue to make tremendous progress to be good stewards of our resources through the creation of the Clean Streams Fund, and I look forward to continuing to make gains in the ongoing battle to improve water quality in Pennsylvania’s waterways and downstream on the Bay in the years ahead.”
The designation is meant to encourage all Pennsylvanians “to commemorate Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week with events, activities, and educational programs designed to raise awareness of the importance of the Chesapeake Bay to the commonwealth, the region, and the United States.”
“Pennsylvania has no bay shoreline, but half of the commonwealth drains to the Chesapeake,” said Marel King, Pennsylvania Director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission. “As we work to improve the one-third of Pennsylvania’s local rivers and streams that fall short of water quality standards, we will improve both Pennsylvania communities and downstream waters. This local-first approach is gaining interest from others in the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program as the partnership enters its fifth decade and we explore ways to make the Bay’s health more relevant throughout the watershed.”
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest and most productive estuary in the United States, spanning six states and the District of Columbia. It is fed by 50 major tributaries, including the Susquehanna River, which is the largest tributary in the Bay. The Susquehanna River contributes about half of the Bay’s fresh water.
Last session, Senators Yaw, Martin, and Dan Laughlin (R-49) collaborated to create the landmark Pennsylvania Clean Streams Fund to clean up rivers and streams damaged by decades of non-point source pollution. Enacted as part of the 2022-23 state budget, the fund also created the Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP), designed to share costs to farmers for farm management practices that reduce sediment in waterways, keeping the nutrients out of waterways, and on the farm to build soil health.
For more state-related news and information, constituents can visit Senator Yaw’s website at www.SenatorGeneYaw.com or follow him on Facebook and Twitter @SenatorGeneYaw; and Senator Martin’s website at www.SenatorScottMartinPA.com or follow him on Facebook and Instagram @SenatorScottMartinPA and on Twitter @SenatorMartinPA.
CONTACT:
Elizabeth Weitzel (Sen. Yaw)
717-787-3280
Jason Thompson (Sen. Martin)
717-787-6535