Sen. Tom Carper (D) recently visited Frankford to tout the importance of the National Estuary Program to Delaware’s waterways.
The National Estuary Program aims to protect and restore 28 estuaries around the country. The Inland Bays are part of that network.
Carper says he was pleasantly surprised to learn that for every dollar from the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Estuary Program leverages $19 in local funds to help improve coastal environments.
"Folks want to make sure if they’re swimming with fish, that the water is clean, not dangerous, that it’s good for their health and the fish they catch they can eat," Carper said.
The funds have been used to help clean up problematic levels of phosphorous and nitrogen from Dirickson Creek - which flows into Little Assawoman Bay. The state has also used this money to conduct research that could be helpful in land use planning.
The Delaware Center for the Inland Bays’ May 2017 report says nitrogen and phosphorous continue to plague the upper portions of the creek which flows into Little Assawoman Bay.
"If we keep doing what we’re doing, this eventually will go away," said Carper, on the toxins, "and we’ll have a much better label - one that we can brag about and be very proud of."
Chris Bason, the director for the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays, said Delaware is fortunate to have not one, but two stakes in the National Estuary Program. One is the Inland Bays, the other is the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.
“The programs are successful. There’s certainly other estuaries that don’t have the benefit of a staff of trained people working on restoring the estuaries," Bason said.
He continued, "It starts with that federal investment that comes to Delaware that otherwise wouldn’t be there, then it's about how that investment is leveraged through local community to encourage people to invest in water quality which benefits the economy of state and also the quality of life.”
But Carper said he's concerned the National Estuary Program funding could get cut by the Trump administration.
He recently joined colleagues in writing a letter to the administration saying why these funds are needed.
