MD, VA, DC Plan To Sue EPA For Failing To Enforce Chesapeake Cleanup

"Two states and the District of Columbia say they plan to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to enforce a court-ordered agreement to dramatically lower pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, the nation’s largest estuary.

In a notice of intent to sue, the attorneys general of Maryland, Virginia and the District claimed Monday that EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler stood by as New York and Pennsylvania allowed levels of pollution that violated the plan into rivers that feed into the Chesapeake. Under an agreement signed by six states in the bay watershed — also including West Virginia and Delaware — the federal agency is tasked with policing the cleanup.

Before the agreement was signed in 2009, each jurisdiction committed to individual plans to limit nutrient pollution runoff from wastewater treatment facilities and farms into the watershed. Nutrient pollution from human and animal waste contributes to massive algal blooms that lower the level of oxygen in the bay and block sunlight from underwater grasses that serve as a sanctuary for marine life."

Darryl Fears and Brady Dennis report for the Washington Post May 18, 2020.

SEE ALSO:

"D.C., Maryland And Virginia Officials To Sue EPA Over Chesapeake Bay Cleanup" (WAMU)

"Maryland, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Anne Arundel say they’ll sue EPA over failure to enforce cleanup goals" (Capital Gazette)

"Maryland, Virginia, D.C. Intend To Sue EPA On Bay Pollution" (AP)