[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 8, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1014]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2016

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                     HON. ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 7, 2015

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2822) making 
     appropriations for the Department of the Interior, 
     environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2016, and for other purposes:

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the 
amendment offered by my colleague that would, in essence, prohibit the 
EPA from spending any funds to ensure that states fulfill their 
obligations under the Clean Water Act to help clean up the Chesapeake 
Bay. If passed into law, this amendment would endanger the progress we 
have made in restoring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and would put in 
jeopardy not only the Chesapeake Bay itself, but also critical economic 
contributions that the Bay provides.
  When I was in the Virginia House of Delegates, I was part of a joint 
Virginia-Maryland legislative task force that first recommended the 
creation of a multi-state commission to address Bay issues. In our 
report filed in 1980, we recommended ``the need for improved 
coordination of Bay-wide management to meet the long-term needs of the 
people of both Maryland and Virginia'' and found that this was not an 
issue that Maryland and Virginia alone could solve.
  Cleaning up the Bay required the cooperation of all states in the 
watershed. In 1983, Chesapeake Bay Watershed states signed the first 
Chesapeake Bay agreement to coordinate their efforts on this issue, and 
in 2010 the EPA set pollution limits to reduce pollution, nutrients, 
and sediment flowing into the Bay.
  As a result of these efforts, the quality of the Chesapeake Bay has 
been significantly improved and states continue to invest millions of 
dollars in their Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint Plans. Just 
yesterday, a unanimous decision was issued by the Third Circuit Court 
of Appeals affirming the authority of the EPA under the Clean Water Act 
to set limits on pollution in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. In the 
decision, the Court wrote that cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay ``will 
require sacrifice . . . but that is a consequence of the tremendous 
effort it will take to restore health to the bay.''
  I agree with the Court's assessment: cleaning up the Bay will take 
tremendous efforts and coordination between all six states in the 
Chesapeake Bay Watershed and the District of Columbia, and 
participating states should have the certainty that other states can be 
trusted to fulfill their obligations to help clean up the Bay.
  I believe that instead of offering amendments to undermine these 
efforts, we should be investing even more resources to ensure that they 
are successful. I urge my colleagues to reject this amendment.

                          ____________________