Virginia and the other states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are continuing to cut pollutants flowing into the bay but are still well short of targets for nitrogen and phosphorus that they have promised to hit by next year.
Nitrogen and phosphorus feed the summertime algae blooms that starve the bay and its creatures of oxygen, which fish and shellfish alike need to stay alive.
The latest update from the Chesapeake Bay Program, a partnership of federal, state and other entities focused on restoring the bay, found nitrogen flows into the bay have declined to 247.6 million last year, which is 57% of the goal set for 2025.
Phosphorus flows, at 14.2 million pounds, are at 67% of the 2025 target.
Read the full story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
