skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

EPA Agrees to Settlement in Chesapeake Bay Pollution Lawsuit

play audio
Play

Friday, April 21, 2023   

The Environmental Protection Agency has reached a tentative settlement in a lawsuit over the agency's failure to make Pennsylvania abide by the same clean water requirements as other states in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The 2020 lawsuit demanded the agency enforce the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint, a multistate compact which sets limits on the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment flowing into the bay from watershed states.

The suit contended the agency did not do enough to compel Pennsylvania to create and implement a plan to meet pollution goals.

Harry Campbell, science policy director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, predicted the proposed settlement will bring new attention from the agency to address problems.

"It will help direct and concentrate the energies and authorities under the Environmental Protection Agency to help pinpoint those locations that are significant sources of pollution at the local level," Campbell outlined. "Then deliver the resources and mechanisms to help solve those pollution sources."

He pointed out the majority of the pollution is farm runoff. The suit was filed in 2020 by the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia, Anne Arundel County, Maryland along with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and other environmental groups.

The Clean Water Blueprint set a total maximum daily load for pollutants in the watershed, in order to rehabilitate waters in the bay and tidal rivers. Campbell noted Pennsylvania's inaction has had huge impacts on the bay.

"Pennsylvania is a significant part of the overall Chesapeake Bay Watershed," Campbell explained. "The Chesapeake Bay Watershed is 64,000 square miles in size. The Susquehanna River basin or watershed is almost 28,000 square miles in size."

He added the Susquehanna River is the largest source of freshwater entering the bay.

Under the proposed agreement, the EPA will focus on Pennsylvania counties contributing the most pollution and have the largest impact on local rivers and streams. Campbell stressed while the agency will look at urban problems like stormwater runoff, the greatest impact on the watershed is from agriculture.

"Agricultural activities represent the largest source of nitrogen, phosphorus, as well as sediment pollution; not only to our local rivers and streams, but also to the Chesapeake Bay," Campbell emphasized. "Just over 60% of the nitrogen that Pennsylvania delivers to the Chesapeake Bay is from agricultural activity."

Disclosure: The Chesapeake Bay Foundation contributes to our fund for reporting on Energy Policy, Rural/Farming, Sustainable Agriculture, and Water. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021