EPA Criticizes States' Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Plans, Releases TMDL

摘要

EPA is criticizing draft plans submitted by Chesapeake Bay states on how they will meet strict new federal cleanup goals, charging most of the plans are short on details and long on empty promises - a harsh assessment by EPA in an escalating fight between states and the agency over how to make often-costly cuts in nutrient and sediment pollution.rnAt the same time, EPA Sept. 24 released its landmark plan, or total maximum daily load (TMDL), for limiting nutrients and sediment to the Chesapeake Bay. The draft TMDL for the region - including six states and the District of Columbia - is an effort to advance the Obama administration's initiative to clean up the long-polluted Chesapeake Bay. The initiative is expected to be a national guide for the agency, which, like states, has struggled make gains cleaning up nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, which causes hypoxic "dead zones" and chokes out aquatic life.