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New Agreement in October to Clean Up Chesapeake Bay

Angela Byrd

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - States in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are working to have a new cleanup agreement ready by October.

The Capital reports a new agreement is in the works with clearer goals and greater flexibility and transparency.

It would be the fourth Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement in 30 years intended to spur improvements. The last agreement was signed in 2000.

The new compact would reflect many of the same broad goals but also some changes. It includes strategies spurred by a 2009 presidential order for a "pollution diet" established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The order requires water pollution reductions by 2025.

For the first time, the agreement includes the "headwaters" states of New York, Delaware and West Virginia, in addition to Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.