The Inland Bays Foundation has been involved with promoting the restoration of the Inland Bays to their once "fishable" and "swimmable" conditions and with promoting improvements in the quality of life in eastern Sussex County for a little over one year. Since our formation the board of directors has had as invited guests to speak at their meetings Secretary Collin O'Mara (DNREC); Deputy Secretary David Small (DNREC); Secretary Ed Kee (DOA); Chris Bason, executive director of the Center for the Inland Bays (CIB); Shawn Garvin, EPA regional administrator, Region III; and Ken Kristl, director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic at Widener University School of Law.

We sponsored a public forum Aug. 9, 2012, with guest speakers Nick DiPasquale, director of EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program and John Schneider, program administrator for DNREC's Water Quality Assessment Program. We have reviewed hundreds of documents dealing with Inland Bays and Sussex County issues, sent 17 letters to Sussex County Council, DNREC, EPA, Corps of Engineers, Delaware legislators and Gov. Markell.

We have also met with officials at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and have presented testimony at five DNREC public hearings and one county council meeting. We have made numerous presentations to local service organizations and other environmental groups.

We are extremely knowledgeable regarding the issues that are causing adverse impacts to our Inland Bays and are leading to a deterioration in the quality of life in Sussex County. We are proud of the work we have accomplished to date and hope that others will join us to see that the the Inland Bays and their tributaries are removed from the state of Delaware's list of impaired waters and to hold Sussex County Council accountable for adhering to its state-approved land use plan.

I would urge all residents, vacationers, business owners and local officials to visit our website - www.inlandbaysfoundation.org, click on 'News' and read the detailed testimony that I presented to Delaware House of Representative's Natural Resources Committee Jan. 16, and to the Delaware Senate's Natural Resources and Environmental Control Committee Jan. 23.

I can promise that you will find the information that I presented a reason to get involved with environmental issues in Sussex County and to insure that Sussex County is governed in accordance with established rules and regulations.

As my testimony will clearly show, the Inland Bays are not, as some pro-uncontrolled-growth organizations would lead you to believe, cleaning themselves up and that Sussex County government is making decisions that, maybe slowly, will certainly lead to a deterioration in the quality of life in Sussex County.

Please join us in our sincere efforts.

William F. Moyer
president, Inland Bays Foundation Inc.