The Cheaspeake Bay won’t be cheating on its diet. A federal judge ruled in favor of government plans to reduce pollution in the Bay.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency imposed a “pollution diet” on the Bay, limiting the amount of phosphorous, nitrogen and sediment that choke waterways and create dead zones when transported in forms like fertilizer, animal manure and wastewater. Farmers and developers objected to the rules, calling them too strict and accusing EPA of overplaying its hand.
According to the AP, the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals the cutbacks are needed for the Bay to slim down its pollution numbers. Thomas Amboro quoted poet Robert Frost in his ruling, saying the restrictions were needed to once again make the Bay a part of the “land of living.”
