By John Clarke
ANNAPOLIS Md. (Reuters) - An agreement to restore the struggling Chesapeake Bay by protecting its vast drainage area was signed on Monday by officials that included governors from six U.S. states.
The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement is aimed at restoring and conserving the 64,000-square-mile (166,000-square-km) watershed that spans six states and the District of Columbia and drains into the bay, the biggest U.S. estuary.
The accord updates an existing agreement and marks the first time that Delaware, New York and West Virginia have pledged to work toward restoration goals in the bay that go beyond water quality.
?Today we celebrate the most inclusive, collaborative, goal-oriented Agreement the Chesapeake Bay watershed has ever seen, highlighted by unprecedented participation from the headwater states and the public,? Maryland Governor Martin O?Malley, a Democrat, said in a statement.
The accord was signed by the governors of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia; District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray; Ronald Miller, chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Commission; and Gina McCarthy, the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Chesapeake has struggled for decades from overfishing, silting and pollution, especially from runoff from urban areas and farms. The bay produces only about 1 percent of the oysters it did in the late 19th century.
In a 2012 progress report, the non-profit Chesapeake Bay Foundation called the bay "dangerously out of balance" but said the estuary's overall health had improved since the previous review in 2010.
The 20-page agreement signed on Monday sets 10 goals and 29 projected outcomes and deadlines that aim to help create an environmentally and economically sustainable watershed.
They include lowering nutrient and sediment pollution, ensuring the water is free of toxic contaminants, sustaining blue crabs, oysters and forage fish environment, and restoring wetlands and underwater grass beds.
(Reporting by John Clarke; Editing by Ian Simpson and Eric Beech)
