(ANNAPOLIS, MD)—Today, the Trump Administration released the details of the Administration's fiscal year 2018 budget for the Environmental Protection Agency, which proposes to zero out funding for the Chesapeake Bay Program, the Great Lakes, and other EPA Geographic Programs.



In response, Chesapeake Bay Foundation President William C. Baker issued this statement:

"It is outrageous that the Administration would eliminate programs that protect clean water, like the Chesapeake Bay Program—this is a program that is effective and yielding results.



"The Chesapeake Bay Program has strong bipartisan support because it is working. Female crab numbers are up, oysters are rebounding, and we have had record acreage of Bay grasses in each of the last four years.



"In addition, the Bay and its rivers and streams support hundreds of thousands of jobs, and are also critical to our quality of life; our property values; and safe, drinkable water.



"People across the nation value clean water, and their Representatives in Congress heard that message when the Administration attempted to zero out funding for the rest of this fiscal year.



"The Bay Program is the glue that holds the multi-state restoration effort together. If it is eliminated, there is the very real chance that the Bay will revert to a national disgrace with deteriorating water quality, unhealthy fish and shellfish, and water-borne diseases that pose a real threat to human health.



"The federal/state effort to restore local rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay is a prime example of the cooperative federalism that the Administration has indicated it would like to foster. It makes no sense to end this partnership, especially when it is showing such success. The Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure and our children and grandchildren will benefit from the work being done today."