Ruppersberger Announces $33.7 Mil for Maryland

(Washington, D.C.)- Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) is pleased to announce $33.7 million in federal funding for Maryland: $311,000 for the Harry Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology at the University of Maryland,  $19.5 million for the Baltimore Harbor, $13.6 million for Poplar Island, and $300,000 for the Mid Bay Project.  

At the Harry Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology at the University of Maryland in Queenstown, $311,000 will continue to fund the Statewide Plan for Agricultural Policy and Resource Management.  The money will support research on bio-fuels, forest land conservation, and water supply protection including protecting the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.  The goal of the program is to help farmers diversify and make their operations more efficient so that farming and forestry in Maryland are environmentally sound and economically viable.

In the Baltimore Harbor and Channels, $19.5 million will fund maintenance dredging of the Baltimore Harbor Channels and surrounding areas.  In addition to the harbor and channels, the Chesapeake Bay will be dredged from Pooles Island in the north to Virginia’s Cape Henry and York Spit in the south. 

On Poplar Island in the Chesapeake Bay, $13.6 million will fund the restoration of 1,140 acres of the island creating a wildlife refuge for ospreys, egrets, terns, herons, eagles, terrapins, and other wildlife.  Poplar Island is a national model for habitat restoration and beneficial use of dredged material.     

On Barren Island and the remnants of James Island in the Chesapeake Bay, $300,000 will begin restoration of 2,070 acres of wetlands, surrounding habitats, and shoreline using dredged material.  This program is part of the Mid Bay Project.  

“From the mountains in Western Maryland to the Atlantic Ocean along the Eastern Shore to the Chesapeake Bay in between, Maryland has so many environmental treasures.  We must ensure they are protected for our children and grandchildren to enjoy.  $33.7 million in federal funding will help us do that while ensuring commerce can continue in the Baltimore Harbor and surrounding channels,” said Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD). 

These projects were included in the House Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations bill and the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.  The Agriculture Appropriations bill passed the House on August 2, 2007.  The Energy and Water Appropriations bill passed the House on July 17, 2007.  The measures must be passed by the Senate and signed by the President to become law.

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