Court Upholds Bay Diet Plan

US appeals court upholds Chesapeake Bay clean-up plan

A U.S. appeals circuit court on Monday upheld a federal program aimed at reducing pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, despite a challenge from farmers, builders and the attorneys general of 21 states located mostly outside the region.

The unanimous ruling, by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, affirmed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency restrictions on wastewater treatment and runoff from farms and construction.
. . .
Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia supported the EPA regulations and agreed to implement them.

I would judge this a win for the Chesapeake Bay, but a loss for the notion of Federalism. It's no secret that the EPA has its eye on the Mississippi drainage, and hopes to promulgate a similar set of rules over a number of states far less willing to give it permission to decide how their land is used.

It will be interesting to see if this will be appealed to the Supreme Court.