[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 108 (Monday, July 13, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1041]
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. DONALD S. BEYER, JR.

                              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. BEYER. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the Goodlatte 
amendment. The Goodlatte amendment removes the federal backstops which 
ensure that states meet their responsibilities under the Clean Water 
Act to restore the Chesapeake Bay.
   The Chesapeake Bay is a critical part of Virginia and we are already 
starting to see the results of successful Bay cleanup efforts. Virginia 
oysters are booming--last year the harvest was up 25% and passed the 
500,000 bushel-mark. That is why Virginia is committed to working with 
EPA and other Bay states to clean up the Chesapeake. There have been 
hundreds of millions of dollars invested in this effort and federal 
backstops play an important role to ensure that all states do their 
share.
   But this amendment puts our investments and progress at serious 
risk. This amendment suggests that it would preserve the rights of the 
states to write their own water quality plans. But the Commonwealth of 
Virginia already wrote its own water quality plan and the Total Maximum 
Daily Load submission was accepted by EPA. So in Virginia, this is 
simply not a problem. So to me, this amendment looks like an answer in 
search of a problem. A problem we do not have in Virginia.
   But what this amendment does do is this. It creates a BIG problem 
for Virginia because it would allow upstream states off the hook. It 
would allow upstream states to stop their cleanup with no consequences. 
In Virginia, we would feel--and see--real consequences. We could see 
increases in dirty water flowing downstream, reversing all of our hard 
work.
   If upstream states stop their cleanups, Virginia would need to 
double the work and more--and we would still not have a clean Bay. The 
fact is that this amendment would absolutely undermine the cleanup 
efforts already underway. It puts at risk future environmental and 
economic benefits that Virginia would accrue with a cleaner, healthier 
bay such as more abundant seafood, tourism, recreation, and improved 
quality of life. As the state at the bottom of the bay watershed, 
Virginia's success in restoring our part of the Bay is dependent upon 
what the other states do, or don't do.
   This amendment would ensure that other states would write the future 
of Virginia's waters and the future of our Bay. That is why I am 
working with my colleagues Chris Van Hollen and Bobby Scott to raise 
awareness of the dangers of this amendment.
   I urge my colleagues to vote NO. It takes away our clean water 
future and our clean water investments. This amendment is bad for 
Virginia and bad for the future health of the Chesapeake Bay.

                          ____________________