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Mayor Bowser’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget proposes to sweep funds collected under the DC Bag Law out of the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Fund and into the general fund to help close the anticipated FY 2025 budget gap. Sign the petition urging the Mayor and DC Council to ensure Bag Law funds are invested as intended, in projects and programs to protect and restore the Anacostia River, Rock Creek, and other District waterways!
In 2009, prompted by a study led by the Anacostia Watershed Society, the District Council passed the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Act of 2009, commonly known as the DC “Bag Law.” The Bag Law places a 5-cent fee on each plastic bag distributed in the District, and requires that a portion of fees collected go directly to the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Fund - to the tune of $1.5M-$2M a year.
This Fund supports important public programs and services, such as:
Let’s tell Mayor Bowser and that District Council these programs are way too important to cut!
Dear DC Councilmembers:
We the undersigned petition the Council of the District of Columbia to ensure that funds collected under the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Act of 2009 be apportioned as the Act requires, and that funds in the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Fund be fully allocated to DOEE Anacostia River, Rock Creek, and other conservation programs.
Programs funded with the modest proceeds of the special purpose Fund include some of DOEE’s most effective and visible activities, including boat tours that bring individuals and community groups down to the Anacostia River - many for the first time; trash clean ups and monitoring activities that provide volunteer opportunities; green infrastructure guidance and technical assistance for homeowners, schools, and places of worship; and meaningful watershed education experiences that enrich and inspire hundreds of kids every year.
We understand that the District is grappling with significant budget issues, but we feel that the benefits of the programs supported by this small, dedicated fund far outweigh the minor savings that will accrue if it is swept into the general fund.
Thank you for your consideration of the important issue.
Sign up for our boat tour Discovery Series - one of the many programs supported by the Bag Law funds.
Want to learn more about the DC Bag Bill?