NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - The Environmental Protection Agency says Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts are mostly on track. But challenges remain when it comes to preventing manure and stormwater from flowing into the nation's largest estuary.
The EPA on Friday released an assessment of state efforts to reduce pollution. Last year marked a halfway point toward implementing a "pollution diet" for the bay by 2025.
Pollution mostly comes from sewage treatment plants and from farms and cities as run off. It leads to oxygen dead zones that limit plant and animal life.
Overall, the EPA said states have exceeded goals for reducing phosphorous and sediment pollution. But too much nitrogen still flows into the bay.
Bay watershed states are Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia as well as the District of Columbia.
