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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Moving Forward Act Would Boost VA Chesapeake Bay Cleanup

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Friday, July 3, 2020   

RICHMOND, Va. - This week, the House of Representatives passed the Moving Forward Act, which includes $3 billion for coastal restoration projects. Its backers say the House bill would give a much-needed boost to cleanup efforts for the Chesapeake Bay.

Chris Moore, senior regional ecosystem scientist with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, says projects on parts of the bay in Maryland and Virginia are building up shorelines and habitats to improve flood resiliency and minimize storm-water runoff.

He points out that funding is especially important to support oyster habitats, also a major part of the local economy.

"These underwater ecosystems are extremely important from a water quality perspective, from an economic perspective," says Moore. "And also, we're looking now, more and more, about how oysters can help protect vital infrastructure in the face of sea-level rise and climate change."

The $1.5 trillion bill also includes money for Great Lakes restoration and support for communities of color. However, it faces an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Senate, as Leader Mitch McConnell has called it "pointless political theater."

Director of the Ocean Defense Initiative, Jean Flemma, says the pandemic has prompted a loss in seafood markets for fishermen.

In the Chesapeake Bay states, the oyster industry is in crisis because so many restaurants are closed due to the
novel coronavirus. While some of those markets are starting to reopen, she says the fishing industry and coastal communities need support.

"Many coastal communities have been hit by a loss of tourism, due to the restrictions on traveling," says Flemma. "They've been hit by a loss of fishing-industry jobs."

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report finds that every one million dollars spent on coastal restoration creates about 15 jobs.



Disclosure: Ocean Defense Initiative contributes to our fund for reporting on Oceans. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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