$50 million in federal funds may go to bay cleanup

Congress is poised to approve a record $50 million in federal funding for the Chesapeake Bay cleanup effort, with a portion earmarked to tighten controls on polluted runoff from urban and suburban lands and from farms. House and Senate appropriations conferees agreed Wednesday to increase bay restoration funding next year by $19 million over last year's amount - and $15 million more than President Barack Obama requested. The conferees, including Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., approved the increase in response to Obama's executive order pressing for increased federal and state cleanup efforts. The annual spending bill for the Department of Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency and related agencies awaits action by the full House and Senate.

- Timothy B. Wheeler