Hochul And Reed Introduce Act to Protect Property Taxpayers and Farmers

Press Release

Representatives Kathy Hochul (NY-26) and Tom Reed (NY-29) today joined together to introduce the Chesapeake Bay State and Local Backstop Limitation Act, which will save municipalities millions of property tax dollars by limiting over burdensome regulations. The bill limits authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to use the new Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements to modify existing water permits.

"Western New York farmers, businesses, and municipalities are firmly committed to protecting our water and the Chesapeake Bay. Rather than imposing onerous new mandates on our state, the EPA should continue to let New Yorkers find solutions that work for New York. Our agricultural producers already struggle to get by, they should not have to struggle with their government, too."

"While we all support clean water initiatives, the Chesapeake Bay TMDL requirements will place an undue burden on our farms, municipalities and taxpayers and place a terrible strain on our local community," said Congressman Reed. "Many mayors and local boards have reached out to us with grave concern about the negative impact these mandated changes will have on their budgets and property tax rates. These requirements will cost tens of millions of dollars per water treatment facility. The cost is in the billions for the 19 counties in New York which are in the Chesapeake watershed."

Hochul and Reed also said that New York State's historic commitment to clean water must be considered as the EPA finalizes these standards. New York makes up only one-tenth of the total Chesapeake Bay Watershed, and the waters leaving New York are much cleaner than the water which eventually ends up in the Bay. In fact, if the other states in the watershed had the same low nutrient loads already required by New York State, the nutrient loads in the Bay would fall below the amounts established in the TMDL.

"New York's farm families are leading the way in terms of cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay," said Dean Norton, President of New York Farm Bureau. "Since we are already doing more than our fair share, we don't need EPA to impose a draconian regulatory approach through the Chesapeake Bay TMDL process. By introducing this legislation Congressman Reed and Congresswoman Hochul are taking a significant bipartisan step toward proving that the best way to strengthen water quality is to work with farmers, not against them. On behalf of our overburdened farm families and our cash-strapped rural communities, I sincerely thank them for being on our side."

"The simple fact is that New York water is not causing the problem," Reed concluded. "I thank Rep. Hochul for standing with us for upstate property tax payers and farmers. We will continue working with the EPA to find a long-term solution that promotes water quality improvements while taking into account the capabilities and economic realities of upstate communities."

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