By Craig Anderson

WILMINGTON - Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings and her colleagues have announced that a proposed settlement has been reached in the 2020 lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency, a news release said Thursday.

According to the release, the agency failed to require Pennsylvania to develop and implement a plan to meet its commitments to reduce pollution under the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint. One-third of Delaware is part of the Chesapeake watershed.

The settlement, a significant step toward reducing pollution in the Susquehanna River watershed and the Chesapeake Bay, is the result of combined lawsuits filed against the EPA by the attorneys general of Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia, as well as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and other regional partners. The public will now have 30 days to comment on the proposed settlement before it can be finalized.

“Every state in the Bay watershed relies on the Chesapeake and its tributaries, economically, environmentally, recreationally, and culturally,” said Attorney General Jennings.

“We all have a stake in its restoration — and, despite budget constraints and the scope of the challenge, Delaware and most of our region have not backed down from our duty to the Bay and to future generations.

“There’s work left to do, and this settlement is not the final step — but this work matters, and this agreement represents a huge step forward for the millions of people who depend on the Bay.”

The agency previously failed to require Pennsylvania to develop a plan to fully meet the pollution reduction goals, including identifying the necessary funding, or impose consequences. The settlement requires the agency to, among other things, look for ways to reduce pollution from agriculture – the state’s biggest polluting source – and stormwater runoff from urban and suburban land. As part of the settlement, The agency also commits to increase compliance and enforcement efforts.