Daily Press, By Cory Nealon
January 18, 2011

Chesapeake Bay, GW Nat'l Forest endangered, environmental group says

The Chesapeake Bay and George Washington National Forest are among the ten most endangered places in the Southeast, according to a list issued Tuesday by an environmental group.

Both the bay and forest "are facing immediate, potentially irreversible threats," said the Southern Environmental Law Center, which has offices throughout the South and works to promote clean energy and clean air.

The bay suffers from air, water, and land pollution, according to the center, which is among numerous groups pushing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and states to reduce the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment being discharged into the estuary. The center's goal is "to make certain that these plans are based on sound data and analysis and will succeed in bringing the bay back to health."

The EPA and states are working to cut pollution, but opposition is mounting. The American Farm Bureau Federation recently filed a lawsuit attempting the block the regulations. It says, among other things, that the EPA overstepped its authority and that it's relying on flawed science.

Located in the Shenandoah Valley, the forest is threatened by possible natural gas exploration, the center said. At least one energy company hopes to use the controversial practice of hydraulic-fracturing to procure gas located deep beneath the surface in shale formations. More commonly known as "fracking," the process involves extracting gas by sending a high pressure mix of water, sand and chemicals underground.

The center is concerned the mix will pollute ground water, causing damage to wells, fish, and other wildlife.