For Immediate Release
January 16, 2008
Contact:  Lisa Landis, Legislative Director
717-787-6709
llandis@pasen.gov
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Senator Brubaker Elected to Post on Chesapeake Bay Commission

Will serve as vice chair to Pennsylvania delegation

HARRISBURG – State Senator Mike Brubaker (R-36) was elected as Vice Chair of the Pennsylvania delegation to the Chesapeake Bay Commission at a recent Commission meeting.

The Chesapeake Bay Commission is a tri-state legislative commission which advises the General Assemblies of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia in cooperatively managing the Chesapeake Bay.

Brubaker was elected to his one-year term by the members of the Pennsylvania delegation, including state Senator Mike Waugh (R-28), state Representatives Art Hershey (R-13), Russ Fairchild (R-85) and Mike Sturla (D-96), DEP Deputy Secretary Cathy Myers and citizen representative George Wolff. Hershey is chair of the delegation as well as of the full Commission.

"I am very honored to have been selected for this position by my peers," Brubaker said. "The Chesapeake Bay Commission is a wonderful opportunity for us to address the mutual concerns of the Bay states, and I am pleased that I will have a more active role over the coming year."

Brubaker was appointed to the Commission by Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-25) at the beginning of his Senate term in 2007. As vice chair of the Pennsylvania delegation, Brubaker will also serve on the six-member Executive Committee of the full Commission.

Representatives of each state's legislature, executive agencies and citizens comprise the Commission and work together to provide information and advice on Bay issues. In addition, the Commission is a signatory to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement with the governors of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, the mayor of the District of Columbia, and the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As such, it serves as the legislative arm of the Chesapeake Bay Program and is fully involved in all Bay Program policy and implementation decisions.

"Pennsylvanians play an important role in maintaining the water quality of the Susquehanna River, and ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay," Brubaker said. "We have already made great strides to improving the watershed, and I am looking forward to working with my colleagues on the Commission to continue this progress in the future."