Maritime Activity Reports, Inc.
(Photo: The Maryland Port Administration)
The Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration (MDOT MPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are marking a milestone of environmental stewardship this month on the landmark restoration of Poplar Island near Talbot County. Simultaneously, the agencies are advancing plans for their next partnership using dredged materials to preserve and protect Maryland’s waterways: the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island Ecosystem Restoration.
Since 1998, Poplar Island has been Maryland’s primary site for reuse of sediment dredged from shipping channels leading to the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore. Construction for the island’s final expansion, adding four new wetland cells and one upland cell, was completed January 20. The expansion adds 575 acres and capacity for 28 million cubic yards of material.
Maryland Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen yesterday announced the inclusion of key priorities for Maryland within the Army Corps FY2021 Work Plan that will direct significant federal funding to dredging, beach re-nourishment, oyster restoration and critical environmental remediation throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
UVa physician Cameron Webb joins Biden White House COVID team Photo: WINA
CHARLOTTSVILLE (WINA) – UVa physician and former 5th District Congressional candidate Dr. Cameron Webb is joining President-elect Biden’s White House COVID Response Team. Webb is no stranger to the White House since he worked as a White House Fellow in the Obama Administration in 2016 and through the transition to the Trump Administration. After that, he joined the UVa faculty where he has been an assistant professor of medicine and public health sciences, and as director of health policy and equity at the UVa medical school.
Webb will be Senior Policy Advisor for COVID-19 Equity on the new White House COVID team.