EPA Proposes Large-Scale Effort to End 'Dead Zones'

The multibillion-dollar effort tightens regulations on sewage plants to limit the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous entering the Chesapeake Bay.

1 minute read

July 27, 2004, 12:00 PM PDT

By C. Scott Smith

"The move would reflect a shift from carrot to stick: In the past, the EPA has relied on plants to make voluntary improvements in many cases.

Nitrogen and phosphorus in sewage, though they are not poisonous on their own, have emerged as some of the Chesapeake's worst pollutants because they provide food for 'blooms' of harmful algae.

These algae can cloud bay water, choking off light to underwater plants and using up underwater oxygen. Nearly every familiar species of bay life is affected by the dead zones created when oxygen and plants are taken away."

Thanks to C. Scott Smith

FULL STORY: EPA Proposal Would Limit Sewage Plant Pollutants

Monday, July 26, 2004 in The Washington Post

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