The "historic" cleanup settlement that the Chesapeake Bay Foundation announced earlier this week with the Environmental Protection Agency covers a lot of ground. It commits the federal government to deal with a host of ills fouling the estuary's waters, including urban, suburban and farm runoff and the fallout from vehicle exhaust and power plants. The deal even obligates the EPA to address chemical contaminants in the 64,000-square-mile bay watershed, something the feds haven't exactly been eager to do over the years.
The 27-page settlement further says that in tackling toxic pollution, the government will "maintain a particular focus" on the Elizabeth River in Hampton Roads and on the Anacostia River in the Washington area. Those were long ago identified as "Regions of Concern" in the Chesapeake, because decades of shipbuilding, manufacturing and other industrial activity have left hazardous metals and other chemicals in the bottom, posing health risks to fish, wildlife and even people.