Report: US’s largest estuary, Chesapeake Bay, earns D-plus

By BRIAN WITTE
Associated Press

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — An environmental group has given the Chesapeake Bay watershed a D-plus grade in its “State of the Bay” report — the same grade it gave the watershed two years ago. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s report released Thursday says efforts to restore the nation’s largest estuary are struggling to reduce agricultural pollution. The report, which is released every two years, says urban and suburban polluted runoff is increasing amid inconsistent enforcement by government agencies, new development and climate change. CBF’s report was established in 1998 to create a comprehensive measure of the bay’s health.