Region 3- Mid-Atlantic

Region Three is located on the east coast in the Mid-Atlantic area. The region is bounded by North Carolina, Ohio, New Jersey and New York. The region is comprised of the following states: Delaware, Washington DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

Region 3 is home to a number of water bodies, but the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are the largest and most important in the area. The Chesapeake Bay watershed covers almost the entire area and draws pollution from a diverse set of sources.

Issue(s):

Agriculture

Clean Water Act Jurisdiction

Coast / Oceans

Enforcement

Funding

Global Warming and Water

Green Infrastructure

Impaired Waters (TMDL)

Pollutants (toxins, pharmaceuticals, etc.)

Water Quality Standards

Letter sent to Administration calling for no federal funding for disastrous Delaware River project

January 27, 2012

Policy

Region(s)/State(s):

Delaware

Letter sent to President Obama urging the Administration to ensure that the environmentally destructive and economically wasteful Delaware River Deepening Project does not receive federal funding is available through a link on this page.

This project,which would use scarce tax dollars to deepen 102 miles of the Delaware River’s navigation channel, will destroy ecologically and environmentally important resources while failing to provide a sound economic return for the taxpayers’ investment.

'Flush Tax' Increase -Maryland

January 6, 2012

Policy

Region(s)/State(s):

Region 3

Maryland

Maryland instituted a tax on sewage systems known as the ‘Flush Tax’ in 2004. It was set at $2.50 a month which comes out to a tax of $30 a year. The tax was to support the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Restoration Fund.

New Study Shows Potomac River Healthier Now than in '50s

September 8, 2010

Newspaper Article

Region(s)/State(s):

Region 3

According to a recent Washington Post article, a new study released on Tuesday, September 7th, shows that the Potomac River is cleaner now than it has been since the mid twentieth century. Much of the improvement in the river's health has been attributed to large scale upgrades at the Blue Plains sewage treatment plant which handles waste from the District and parts of Montgomery, Prince George's Fairfax, Loudon and Arlington counties.

Voice Your Support for EPA's Proposed Veto of the Largest Mountaintop Mine in Appalachia!

May 28, 2010

Policy

Action Alert

Region(s)/State(s):

Region 3

West Virginia

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently announced that it is taking the first step to veto an Army Corps of Engineers permit for the Spruce No. 1 mine in West Virginia, the largest mountaintop removal mine ever authorized by the Corps in Appalachia. EPA has ultimate authority to enforce the Clean Water Act through the veto process established by law. The EPA's action is based on sceientific studies that contain evidence that the mine would have severe health impacts on the people, waters, and ecosystems of the surrounding area.

New Pledges Made by State, Federal Officials to Cleanup the Chesapeake Bay

January 6, 2010

Newspaper Article

Region(s)/State(s):

Region 3

As reported by the Washington Post, the ambitious goal set in 2000 of solving the Chesapeake Bay’s pollution problem by 2010 has officially been missed. The government-led effort to reduce pollution in the bay from manure, fertilizer and sewage has fallen more than 40 percent short of its goal. Undeterred, the governors of Virginia and Maryland along with the U.S.