Environment

ST. MARYS COUNTY - Congressman Steny Hoyer today joined the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the State of Maryland to begin seeding 10 million oysters in a newly established oyster sanctuary. This restoration effort is one of several projects that address natural resource injuries from the April 2000 oil spill into the Patuxent River in southern Maryland. Following are Congressman Hoyers remarks as prepared for delivery.________________________________________________________________________

CALVERT COUNTY - Congressman Steny Hoyer joined former State Senator Bernie Fowler in his 17th Annual "Wade In" today. The Wade In was started by Mr. Fowler as an unscientific but telling manner of gauging the water quality of the Patuxent River. Congressman Hoyer has attended the "Wade In" for years and served as the Master of Ceremonies for the event this year.________________________________________________________________________

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Steny Hoyer released the following statement today after meeting with representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and other agencies, to discuss the northern snakeheads recently caught in the Potomac River.________________________________________________________________________

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD) released the following statement today to celebrate the conservation of the 300-acre Jug Bay Farm.________________________________________________________________________

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Steny Hoyer released the following statement today in recognition of the 34th celebration of Earth Day, which will be observed on Thursday, April 22.________________________________________________________________________

LUSBY, MD - Congressman Steny Hoyer today toured Dominion Cove Point Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Facility where he was briefed by Mike Frederick, the Director of LNG Operations, Mike Garner, the Manager of LNG Operations and the U.S. Coast Guard about the Facilitys operations and the safety measures they have in place.________________________________________________________________________

PRINCE FREDERICK, MD - Congressman Steny Hoyer visited seniors at the Calvert Pines Senior Center and met with representatives from each of the three Senior Centers in Calvert County today to discuss their important initiative to collect used cell phones that seniors can use in an emergency. Congressman Hoyer donated over twenty used cell phones to the Calvert County Office on Aging.________________________________________________________________________

ACCOKEEK, MD - Congressman Steny Hoyer today joined thousands of volunteers from throughout Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia to participate in the 16th Annual Potomac Watershed Clean-Up sponsored by the Alice Ferguson Foundation which is located in Congressman Hoyers district. Rep. Hoyer joined the Executive Director of the Foundation on the banks of the Potomac in Accokeek to talk to volunteers and help cleanup debris along the river.________________________________________________________________________

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Steny Hoyer announced today that federal funds he helped secure in the fiscal year 2004 Omnibus Appropriations bill could benefit Maryland farmers. Farmers who sign up for crop insurance by March 15 will benefit from an additional cost-share incentive authorized by Congress. The federal funds will be used to pay 15 percent of the producers net premium at the 70 to 85 percent coverage levels.________________________________________________________________________

WASHINGTON, DC - The League of Conservation Voters, a national bipartisan organization devoted to educating citizens about the environmental voting records of federally elected officials, this week released their annual Congressional Scorecard for the first session of the 108th Congress. The LCV has published a National Environmental Scorecard every Congress since 1970, the year it was founded by leaders of the environmental movement following the first Earth Day. Congressman Hoyer received a score of 85%. The national average was 46 percent for members of the House of Representatives and 79 percent for House members from Maryland.________________________________________________________________________