NRDC Report Issues Chesapeake Restoration Agenda

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Natural Resources Defense Council has issued a legislative agenda for restoring the Chesapeake Bay.

The group called on Congress to pass a climate change bill as well as Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin's Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem Restoration Act, which includes a cap-and-trade system for bay pollution.

The report issued Thursday also encourages Virginia and the District of Columbia to develop state and local funding sources to complement federal funding, citing a "flush tax" for sewage treatment and stormwater utilities as an example. Maryland already has a flush tax.

The NRDC says cutting stormwater and sewage pollution will mean safer swimming at beaches in the bay area.