According to BaltimoreWjz.com, NOAA sent Maryland a letter this week informing the state that $2.2 million of the $10 million in the three-year relief plan has been approved.
NOAA spokeswoman Monica Allen said that Maryland will receive the remaining installments if it complies with environmental and other provisions in its plan, Allen said.
NOAA announced in November that Maryland and Virginia would each be eligible for $10 million to help those affected by the failure of the Chesapeake Bay's soft shell and peeler blue crab fishery, reported BaltimoreWjz.com.
The two states were required to submit plans outlining how the funds would be used.
U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said the "funds will help soften the blow of years of shrinking crab harvests and provide opportunities to the watermen who have been affected by it."
Relief Comes for Chesapeake's Crab Industry
US - The first installment of $10 million in disaster relief for Maryland watermen and others affected by the decline of the Chesapeake Bay's crab fishery has been approved, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.
