Hoyer Announces Federal Funds for Chesapeake Bay and Southern Maryland Waterways

Hoyer Announces Federal Funds for Chesapeake Bay and Southern Maryland Waterways
Energy and Water Appropriations Conference Report Includes Over $1 Million for St. Jerome Creek
Wednesday, November 09, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Steny Hoyer, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and the only member from Maryland, today announced that the House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2006 Energy and Water Appropriations conference report which, at his request, included over $1 million for dredging and the construction of jetties at St Jerome Creek.

"The federal navigation channel at St. Jerome Creek restricts the ability of local recreational boaters, watermen, charter boat operators, and others to exit and enter the waterways during periods of low tide," Hoyer said. "The construction of jetties will free up these critical pathways and reduce the dredging need from a two year cycle to a ten year cycle." The conference report provides $200,000 to study the feasibility of constructing up to two jetties, as well as $850,000 to dredge 4900 feet of the creek.

St. Jerome Creek provides the only safe harbor between Point Lookout and the Patuxent River for boats on the Chesapeake Bay seeking shelter from rapidly approaching storms. Many residents of the Creek depend on access to the Chesapeake Bay for income, including watermen and charter boat operators. At the request of Congressman Hoyer, the Army Corps of Engineers agreed to expedite the St. Jerome Creek project, and the funding provided in the bill will allow the Army Corps of Engineers to improve the navigability and safety of St. Jerome Creek in order to provide expanded access to boaters.

http://www.hoyer.house.gov/newsroom/index.asp?ID=526&DocumentType=Press+Release