We need NOAA, National Parks and HUD

With the Trump administration signaling its intent to hollow out many federal environmental efforts, it is imperative Maryland’s congressional delegation understand the importance of these programs.

Our leaders will no doubt be asked, frequently and forcefully, to slash these programs under some ill-conceived logic. These programs provide our rural communities on the Eastern Shore with the ability to safeguard us from a changing climate and provide for the health of our citizens.

Before Rep. Andy Harris, Sen. Ben Cardin and Sen. Chris Van Hollen cast a single vote, they must understand the importance of these programs to all of us in the state’s eastern reaches.

Chiefly, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is greatly important to us.

NOAA’s Coastal Zone Management and Resilience Grant Program are vital in allowing underfunded municipalities to safeguard their citizens and infrastructure against a rising ocean. Kent County utilized a NOAA grant to understand which citizens were most at risk during flooding events. A plan is now being put in place to ensure their safety.

The Eastern Shore Climate Adaptation Partnership and the University of Maryland have jointly applied for a NOAA grant to help our rural towns prepare for increased flooding.

NOAA is squarely in the crosshairs of the Trump administration.

As with NOAA, the National Parks Service and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are targeted by the White House for budget cuts. The programs offered by these agencies have been used to protect historic sites, increase safety and energy efficiency, and protect vulnerable properties.

Were these programs to end, a major avenue to protect residents, invest in local economies and improve the environment would be lost to rural communities.

These funds and programs also bolster the public heath of all on the Eastern Shore.

Without funds for proper flood planning, our basements fill with water more frequently and mold flourishes in our homes. Combined with the heat of the Maryland summer, more of our children and elderly will be hospitalized with severe asthma attacks.

Salmonella and other bacteria can infiltrate our water supplies and spread disease during extreme precipitation events. Access to the most remote and the most vulnerable in our population is already cut off during flooding events – and in some locations, simply during high tides.

First responders are hindered in answering calls for help.

Should the Trump administration accomplish its goal of slashing these programs’ budgets, the repercussions will be felt on the Eastern Shore in our health and in our homes.

We will not be able to plan for the impacts of flooding.

We will be unable to repair critical infrastructure.

We will be unprepared to protect ourselves during severe weather. Our congressional leaders must understand these consequences, and not let these programs be dismantled over politics.

Our communities need these programs. Our health and safety rests on the votes our representatives will cast.

Grant Samms works at the Center for Environment & Society at Washington College.