Five Actions Your Local Elected Officials Should Take for Clean Water

1. Implement the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint.
   Provide leadership that drives community investment in finishing the job of restoring the Bay. Publicly report actions taken and insist on transparent and verifiable results.
2. Tackle climate change.
   Adopt programs and policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase community resilience. Help areas where flooding, inadequate sewage treatment, urban heat islands, and more frequent and intense storms threaten residences and businesses and take courageous steps to protect children and families.
3. Stop polluted runoff.
   Adopt and implement an effective and equitable local watershed restoration plan. Use green infrastructure—forests, street trees, green roofs, and rain gardens—to slow and filter polluted runoff. Reduce tree loss by updating local forest conservation laws.
4. Enforce environmental laws.
   Fully fund permitting and inspection of businesses, utilities, and commercial and residential development. Use local authority to improve erosion controls at construction sites. Issue consequential penalties for violations and be transparent about staffing and infrastructure needs.
5. Protect natural resources.
   Create comprehensive plans, zoning, and site development rules that safeguard forests, open space, and water for drinking, swimming, and fishing. Invest in existing communities, dedicate funding for under-resourced communities, and protect rural areas from suburban sprawl.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

1. Contact your representatives.
   Call, write, or sit down with your federal, state, and local representatives to learn where they stand on the issues that are important to you.
2. Attend a local Town Hall and ask a clean-water question.
   Many representatives hold local Town Hall meetings. Watch your local paper or follow your reps on Facebook or Twitter to stay abreast of their schedule. And make sure to come prepared with questions.
   
   

For more information on clean-water priorities, browse this website or contact the Chesapeake Bay Foundation:

Headquarters and Maryland State Office
Philip Merrill Environmental Center
6 Herndon Avenue Annapolis, Maryland 21403
Hours: 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Mon-Fri
410-268-8816

Maryland Eastern Shore Office
114 South Washington Street
Easton, Maryland 21601
Hours: Call for staff availability
410-543-1999