Just heard back from Gerlach:
Dear Mr. JayL:
Thank you for contacting me about H.R. 4698, the proposed Delaware River Basin Conservation Act. I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns.
As you may know, H.R. 4698 was introduced by Rep. Mike Castle of Delaware and then referred to the House Committees on Natural Resources and Transportation & Infrastructure for consideration. This legislation would direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to build upon and help coordinate funding for restoration and protection efforts for the four-state Delaware Basin, which includes all of the Delaware Bay and portions of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Almost all of the 6th Congressional District falls within the Basin area and I believe it is important to promote efforts that restore and protect it. As a Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I intend to support this bill if it is brought before both the Committee and full House for consideration this session.
Further, knowing of your interest in the health of our rivers, I wanted to let you know about a bill that recently passed the House of Representatives, together with a bipartisan letter I have once again sent to the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee advocating for the National Estuary Program (NEP). I have long been a supporter of efforts to protect our estuaries, especially the Delaware River Estuary, and provide for a strong and successful NEP.
By way of background, Congress added Section 320 to the Clean Water Act establishing the NEP in 1987. The NEP promotes comprehensive evaluation and planning efforts to protect estuaries in the U.S. that are deemed to be threatened by pollution, development, or overuse. Currently, 28 NEPs receive federal for grants planning and management activities to address the degradation of the estuaries. The EPA implements this program and oversees all NEP activities in each of those estuaries, including the Delaware River Estuary in our community.
Since its creation, Congress has reauthorized this program on a number of occasions. In fact, in 2004, I was the prime sponsor of legislation to reauthorize Section 320 through FY10 (H.R. 4731; Public Law No: 108-399). More than 42 percent of the continental U.S. shoreline is included in the NEP, and 15 percent of all Americans live within NEP designated watersheds, with thousands of new residents arriving every year. In the U.S., estuaries provide habitat for more than 75 percent of America's commercial fish catch, and 80-90 percent of the recreational fish catch. Estuarine-dependent fisheries are among the most valuable, with an estimated worth of $1.9 billion nationwide.
Most recently, on April 15th, the House passed H.R. 4715, the proposed Clean Estuaries Act of 2010, with my support, by a vote of 278 - 128. This legislation again reauthorizes Section 320 through FY2016. Further, the bill requires the estuary management conferences, which are composed of state, local, federal, private and nonprofit entities, to develop a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plans (CCMP) that would identify candidate estuaries and associated upstream water, recommend priority corrective actions and compliance schedules, and determine current and future sustainable commercial activities in the estuary. H.R. 4715 has been sent to the Senate where it awaits consideration.
NEPs are the front lines of our most threatened and economically vital bays and estuaries. Unfortunately, the urgency of restoring and protecting our coasts and estuaries has never been greater. The EPA has recognized that "the NEP is EPA's flagship watershed protection effort." As such, I believe that the federal government must maintain its direct, annual investment in the stewardship of our nation's coasts. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress, as I have with the letter to the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee and through support of these pieces of legislation, to ensure that opportunities for critical estuary protection throughout the nation, and our Delaware River, are not lost forever.
Again, thank you for contacting me. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance to you or your family in the future.
With kind regards, I am
Sincerely,
Jim Gerlach
Member of Congress
