BALTIMORE (April 24, 2009) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler will visit St. Mary’s City and Leonardtown on Wednesday, April 29, as part of his audit of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The St. Mary’s River will be the Attorney General’s fifth stop on his statewide tour of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and the first river audit of 2009. Gansler recently released the 2008 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Environmental Audit which detailed the audits of Maryland rivers in 2008.
Gansler will spend the day in Leonardtown and St. Mary’s City to hear firsthand from local environmental leaders, residents, students, faculty members, and elected officials about the challenges facing the St. Mary’s River. The information received from the audits of these rivers provides valuable information and tools that the Attorney General can use for enforcement of environmental laws and to assist in designing solutions to environmental issues, according to a press release issued today.
As part of the audit, Attorney General Gansler will take a boat trip on the St. Mary’s River. The St. Mary’s River Audit visit will conclude with a Town Hall Meeting at St. Mary’s College of Maryland at 5:00 p.m. in Cole Cinema in the Campus Center, located at 18952 E. Fisher Road, St. Mary’s City. The public is invited to attend the Town Hall meeting. Gansler says this is an opportunity for citizens to share their concerns about the health of the St. Mary’s River and any other environmental issues facing the community.