DELMARVA - Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings has announced a proposed settlement has been reached in the 2020 lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency for its reported failure to enforce Pennsylvania’s commitments to help reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. The settlement is a result of combined lawsuits brought against the EPA by Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
According to the Attorney General’s office, the EPA failed to hold Pennsylvania accountable when the state did not develop a plan to fully meet the multi-state pollution reduction goals. The EPA, as part of the settlement, will now be required to look for ways to minimize pollution from agriculture and stormwater runoff from cities and suburbs. The EPA has also reportedly agreed to bolster its compliance and enforcement efforts.
Pennsylvania farms in proximity to rivers and streams will be especially monitored by the EPA. Those not currently in possession of federal permits that are found to be significant contributors of pollution may be subject to permitting to lower that contribution.
The EPA has reportedly agreed to ensure compliance of permit requirements in Pennsylvania counties, concentrating on those that have the largest impact on local rivers and streams.
“Every state in the Bay watershed relies on the Chesapeake and its tributaries, economically, environmentally, recreationally, and culturally,” said Attorney General Jennings. “We all have a stake in its restoration — and, despite budget constraints and the scope of the challenge, Delaware and most of our region have not backed down from our duty to the Bay and to future generations.”
“The Bay and its local waterways are vital social, economic, and cultural resources to communities across Maryland, but keeping them healthy is difficult when pollution from Pennsylvania washes downstream,” said Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown. “The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement only works if all the states that signed it maintain their commitment to restoring and protecting the Bay.”
The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement was formed in 2014 by Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, DC, Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia. The Agreement established plans and goals for restoration of the Chesapeake and its surrounding area. Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia had previously dropped a separate lawsuit against New York for its alleged failure to meet its part of the bargain after New York corrected course in order to meet its goals.