What Is Being Done to Reduce Nutrient Pollution?
In 1987, the District of Columbia; the States of Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania; and the Federal Government signed an agreement to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the Bay by 40 percent by 2000. The pollution-reduction target was developed to improve and maintain the water quality of Chesapeake Bay and to ensure the productivity of the Bay’s resources. Various pollution-reduction strategies were put into place by the States, including statewide bans on detergents with phosphorus; control of runoff from urban areas, farmland, and pastures; improvements in sewage treatment; and preservation of forest and wetlands, which act as buffers to nutrient-pollution inputs.
