Four AGs Filed Lawsuit Over EPA’s Failure to Enforce Terms of Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

On September 10, 2020, Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring and District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the agency’s failure to meet its obligations under under Section 117 of the Clean Water Act to require all signatories to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement to develop and implement plans to meet the agreement’s restoration goals. The coalition warned that the EPA’s failure to enforce the terms of the agreement will allow excess pollution to be released into the Chesapeake Bay, which will “lead to exceedances of federal and state water quality standards... harm fish and other aquatic resources, and eliminate or curtail recreational opportunities for the millions who visit the Bay each year.”

On April 20, 2023, the AGs announced that a proposed settlement had been reached, subject to a 30 day comment period.