The Spy received a press release from Kent County Commissioner Bill Short on Tuesday, November 18, announcing his non-voting relationship to the Clean Chesapeake Coalition.
“Effective January 20th, 2015 when our Governor elect Larry Hogan takes office I will no longer be a voting member for the CCC. I will be working with and supporting the 36th district and our new governor in the efforts of restoring the bay along with their efforts fixing issues with the Conowingo Dam.
The governor elect and our representatives will serve us well and I see no further reason to engage or finance the CCC efforts.The governor elect Larry Hogan has pledged to make this a priority over the next four years. I feel that Annapolis will be working for us on these issues and $25,000 per year can be better spent elsewhere.
I still pledge to fully support our waterman and the Ag community it their efforts in Annapolis . Working with our delegation will achieve these goals.”
The CCC was formed in 2012 to counter the science of the EPA mandates addressing Chesapeake Bay pollution, and to prioritize efforts to dredge the Susquehanna River north of the Conowingo Dam.
John Vail says
Congratulations, Commissioner Short, on a wise decision. The CCC has been a diversion for Kent County and a waste of money since its inception.
However, you can’t forget that our two major water bodies, the Chester and Sassafras Rivers, are much healthier where they mix with the Bay (and the water from the Conowingo Dam and Susquehanna River) at their mouths than they are at their headwaters. There’s still a lot of work to be done at the upper reaches of those Rivers on homeowner education, septic systems, wastewater treatment systems, sediment control, and agricultural run-off.
Gren Whitman says
“$25,000 per year can be better spent elsewhere…”
Amen, Mr. Short!
There is nothing wrong with the Clean Chesapeake Coalition calling attention to the silt build-up behind the Conowingo Dam, but the CCC should raise its own funds just like every other advocacy group I can think of.