STAUNTON, Va. (AP) - Modeling used by the Environmental Protection Agency to craft the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay has been a point of contention.
A new study is raising that issue anew, this time when it comes to forested areas.
The News Leaderof Staunton reports thestudy by the United States Geological Survey concludes thatforested areas account for 2 percent of sediment entering waterwaysin the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
According to the EPA's latest model, however, forest accounts for more than 15 percent of the sediment degrading the bay.
Modeling used by the EPA in its "pollution diet" for the bay has been a big issue for farmers, who contend they're being asked to do too much.
In Virginia alone, the cleanup could cost more than $15 billion to implement.
