Swimmable, Boatable, Fishable, is the governor's pledge for the waterways of Maryland. As avid rowers, we love our sport and we love the rivers upon which we row. The Anacostia is a beautiful river nestled into a very urban environment. Surrounded by highways, metro, trains, nearly 1,000,000 people, EPA superfund sights, and former landfills this river struggles to maintain and improve its health. Perhaps the nesting pairs of bald eagles on this river should be our totem - living proof that endangered species and rivers can rebound. We are confident that we can continue to build momentum to restore this river and pledge to do our part in the watershed. However, we individuals must work together to ensure that these pledges have an impact. Please help us at the community level by strengthening the permit to ensure the health of the Anacostia. Areas where we feel the permit needs to be strengthened: Everybody plays a part: 1. The county's own discharges should meet water quality standards. 2. Let's make it better and more beautiful: retrofit sewer discharges should meet appropriate green standards to ensure erosion and pollution discharge are minimized. 3. Clean water matters, not just doing things we think will work: establish milestones for water quality, don't just measure how many things we do. It only counts if it works. 4. Measure how we are doing: support full monitoring of the river's quality with testing at multiple sites in the tributaries and the river itself. Those who sign below are urging that the permitting process for the Anacostia watershed strive to achieve the highest level of protection for the river. The river is beautiful today, imagine what it could be like tomorrow.