"This big pollution problem isn’t quite solved."
"First, a filthy Chesapeake Bay represented all that wasn’t working with America’s stewardship of its natural environment. Then, the bay became a success story. The sloughs of poorly treated sewage at the bottom of slime-green lagoons disappeared, and oyster populations, once nearly wiped out, made a near-miraculous comeback. The turnaround seemed to show that even big environmental problems could be managed.
In recent years, however, progress has stalled. In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency set a 2025 deadline for Mid-Atlantic states to get serious about cutting pollution. That deadline has come — and the goals remain unmet. The problem: Existing regulations can’t curb nutrient runoff from farms, the largest and fastest-growing source of pollution in the bay.
Since 2004, the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the bay each year has remained above agreed-upon targets. These nutrients are critical for aquatic life, but excessive quantities can result in algal blooms that choke off oxygen, cloud the water and block sunlight from reaching underwater grasses."
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