Chesapeake Bay coming back into balance

WASHINGTON — It’s been two years since the Environmental Protection Agency set out goals for states that affect the Chesapeake Bay, and a report card is in.

Will Baker, president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, says the treatment of sewage is “where the most gains have come.”

The District was credited for improvements made to the Blue Plains sewage plant.

But Maryland made out best, Baker says. The EPA says the state’s regulations to limit pollution from farms and its lawn-fertilizer law played a part.

Virginia, he says, made out OK, though it needs to do more to limit runoff from farms.

The goal is a clean Bay by 2025 — one that’s in balance and not loaded with nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen, which create what Baker calls “storms of algae.”

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WTOP’s Mike Murillo contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.

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