Proposed Legislation Would Help Reduce Agricultural Pollution to Chesapeake Bay, Rivers, and Streams

(ANNAPOLIS, MD)—Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Chesapeake Bay Conservation Acceleration Act of 2023, which would accelerate key conservation practices on farms throughout the Chesapeake Bay region. This is on the heels of legislation by the same name introduced in the U.S. Senate last week. Introduced by Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Congressman Rob Wittman (R-VA), the bipartisan legislation is divided into five sections:

1. Chesapeake Bay States' Partnership Initiative (C-SPI)
   Established last May by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, C-SPI provided an additional $22.5 million in FY22 to support farmers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to adopt conservation practices to improve water quality. The proposed legislation authorizes $75 million annually for C-SPI.

2. Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) Participation
   This will expand eligible lands to participate in the Conservation Reserve Program to include cropland, marginal pastureland, grasslands, and other rural lands that have a positive impact on water quality and have a riparian buffer. CREP will also allow states to accept new Farm Bill incentives and streamline the amendment process including for national priorities, like for Chesapeake Bay restoration.

3. Chesapeake Bay Watershed Turnkey Pilot Program
   Based on a successful partnership along the James River in Virginia, this will create a third-party Pilot Program under CREP to simplify the process of designing, installing, and maintaining riparian forest buffers in the Chesapeake watershed. The model utilizes federal dollars and third-party expertise to streamline the process for producers to plant and maintain riparian forest buffers.

4. Chesapeake Bay Watershed Workforce Development
   Reforms are needed to ensure that the U.S. Department of Agriculture recruits and retains well-trained staff to meet the demand for technical support for farmers. Proposed reforms to cultivate a robust, qualified workforce include expanded programming for high schools, community colleges, and technical institutions, as well as work-based learning opportunities and two-year programs. These reforms would rapidly develop the workforce needed to provide technical assistance to farmers.

5. FDA Inspection of Invasive Blue Catfish
   The invasive Blue Catfish preys on native, commercially, and recreationally important species in the Chesapeake Bay, including blue crabs and rockfish. All catfish are currently inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is not equipped to deal with timely and highly variable harvests of blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay. This has imposed a huge logistical burden at a prohibitive cost. This provision would return the inspection of invasive catfish harvested from the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries to the Food and Drug Administration process like other seafood. This is an ecological and economic win-win scenario, as wild-caught harvest and sale of blue catfish is a critical tool in managing the impact, in addition to providing an important alternative revenue stream for watermen.

In response, Choose Clean Water Coalition Acting Director Mariah Davis issued the following statement:

"It's no secret that agriculture is the number one source of pollution degrading the rivers and streams that feed the Chesapeake Bay. Providing farmers with more resources and technical assistance is vital to reaching our clean water goals. And no other piece of legislation is more consequential in our work to reduce agricultural pollution than the Farm Bill, which is renewed roughly every five years by Congress.

"With the current Farm Bill expiring September 30, the Chesapeake Bay Conservation Acceleration Act of 2023 proposes needed reforms and investments to help our farmers more effectively steward their land. With farming a vital part of our region's heritage and economy, these proposals will support hard-working farmers and watermen, yielding many positive ripple effects. The recently-released report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General further confirms the need to accelerate agricultural investments as we aim to address polluted runoff from farms.

"With strong bipartisan support for the bill, we look forward to working with the Chesapeake Bay watershed's Congressional delegation to pass the Chesapeake Bay Conservation Acceleration Act of 2023 as part of the larger 2023 Farm Bill and leave a legacy of clean water to future generations."

The Choose Clean Water Coalition is an organization that harnesses the collective power of more than 280 local, state, regional and national groups to advocate for clean rivers and streams in all communities in the Chesapeake region.

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Media Contact:
Drew Robinson
443-927-8049
RobinsonAQ@nwf.org