"In late December, the Environmental Protection Agency put the six states in the Chesapeake Bay’s 64,000-square-mile watershed on a 'pollution diet,' requiring steep cuts in the urban and farm runoff that has imperiled the health of the bay. The enhanced regulations are to be enforced by the states but could fall under direct federal control if pollution benchmarks are not met, the agency has said.

The plan, developed over several years in coordination with states, industry and other stakeholders, has drawn praise from advocacy groups like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. But others are not so pleased.

In a speech on Sunday, Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, which represents more than 6.2 million member families, said his organization would file suit against the E.P.A. over the new regulations."

John Collins Rudolph reports for the New York Times Green blog January 10, 2011. [2]