CBF v. (sort of) EPA

Well, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has finally "lost patience" and decided to petition the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to make states comply with provisions of the Clean Water Act, particularly those concerned with the emission of nitrogen from wastewater treatment plants. We can be sure the folks at EPA are shaking in their boots (they aren't even required to reply). Those concerned about the environment have repeatedly settled for suggestions rather than regulations (see: Chesapeake 2000 Agreement), petitions rather than lawsuits (see: CBF v. EPA, 2003), and yet some wonder why the Bay Index keeps dropping faster than a State Delegate at the sight of a slots lobbyist.

As Howard Ernst, author of Chesapeake Bay Blues, is fond of saying (approximately), we can either continue the "feel good" compromises that have gotten the Bay into its current sorry state, or we can get serious about protecting the Bay, sue polluters when the need arises, and step on some toes.