Harry Campbell, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Pennsylvania Executive Director Friday  issued a statement to Gov. Tom Corbett and Attorney General Kathleen Kane urging them to join with other Bay states in filing a amicus brief in court to support Chesapeake Bay cleanup plans.

Philadelphia Wednesday join six other major cities and other groups in filing a brief supporting Bay cleanup plans.

In February attorneys general from 21 states filed a brief opposing the regional efforts of the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint, and in support of the Farm Bureau and other large agricultural interests, as well as the National Homebuilders Association. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is a party to the lawsuit, defending the EPA.

“Today, we urge Gov. Corbett and Attorney General Kane to make a commitment to the Commonwealth’s rivers and streams by signing a “friend of the court brief” in support of the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint, a plan that Pennsylvania helped create and has been successfully implementing.  We cannot allow these investments to be derailed.

“Pennsylvania may not touch the Chesapeake Bay, but our connection to this ‘National Treasure,’ through the Susquehanna River, which contributes nearly half of all the fresh water entering the Bay, is unique. Flowing past farms, forests, and our communities – the Susquehanna River is the Bay. Our responsibilities, and the positive outcomes of the Blueprint, lie here at home and downstream as well.

“This effort is about clean water, which is vital to our communities, our farmers, and our industries. We will leave a legacy of clean water for our children and future generations. The Blueprint is working.”

Others Defend Bay Standards

Chesapeake Bay Foundation President William C. Baker Wednesday issued this statement following the filing of two amicus briefs supporting EPA's Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and state implementation plans, together known at the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint.

One brief was filed late Wednesday by the cities of New York, Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The second was filed last week by Florida conservation groups the Florida Wildlife Federation, the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida, The Conservancy of Southwest Florida, and the St. Johns Riverkeeper.

In February attorneys general from 21 states filed a brief opposing the Blueprint, and in support of the Farm Bureau and other large agricultural interests, as well as the National Association of Home Builders.

"These amicus briefs will help achieve clean water in the Chesapeake Bay. They underscore the continuing concern at home and around the country about the damaging ecological, economic, and health impacts of pollution on local waters and the Chesapeake Bays.

"The positive impact of pollution reduction across the six states is unprecedented. There are many eyes watching and supporting the efforts to restore our nation's largest estuary. The Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint is working. Progress is being made, pollution is being reduced, and jobs are being created. We will leave a legacy of clean water for our children and future generations."

NewsClips:

DEP: Monongahela River No Longer Belongs On Impaired Waters List

Four Mile Creek Makes Comeback In Erie

Volunteers Protect Shenango River

Rocks Lititz Floodplain Restoration Project

PennVEST Awards $1.5M To Lancaster Water Quality Projects

Effort To Open Allegheny River Locks Moving Forward Slowly

4/28/2014