Trump Executive Order Takes Aim at Chesapeake Bay Restoration

The Trump Administration today issued an executive order on the Chesapeake Bay that repeals Executive Order 13508. This foundational 2009 order directed federal agencies to coordinate Chesapeake restoration, make fuller use of Clean Water Act authorities, pursue science-based and publicly accountable strategies, and strengthen federal leadership across the watershed.

With this latest action, the Trump Administration is jeopardizing decades of Bay restoration progress.

For more than 40 years, the federal government has worked in partnership with the states across the watershed to reduce pollution to the Chesapeake Bay. That partnership was strengthened in 2009 when EO 13508 established a new framework for federal leadership, coordination, and accountability. Water does not respect state or political boundaries. What happens upstream affects people downstream.

EPA recently touted significant progress toward reducing pollution and restoring the Chesapeake Bay. Today’s executive order dismantles a key part of the federal-state framework that helped drive that progress.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation President and CEO Hilary Harp Falk issued the following statement:   

“The Trump Administration has repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to slash funding for Chesapeake Bay restoration. Now they are trying to destroy Bay restoration by executive order.

“For 17 years, the 2009 executive order has helped provide the federal leadership, coordination, science and accountability needed to restore the Chesapeake Bay. Repealing it weakens this historic federal-state partnership at exactly the moment we need greater accountability and collaboration. Its replacement undermines the federal government’s role while eroding the ability of states and local governments to fix problems ranging from pollution to flooding.

“Playing politics with the Bay is a risky proposition. The Chesapeake Bay has long had bipartisan support, and Congress has repeatedly rejected the Trump Administration’s efforts to roll back investment in the Bay.

“Now is the time for leaders in Congress, the states, and local communities to step up and defend the Chesapeake Bay movement. They must hold firm on their commitments to restore, conserve, and protect the Bay and its waterways, habitats, fisheries, and wildlife, for everyone who depends on them.”