"EPA Tries To Get Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Back on Track"

"The Chesapeake Bay does not like your lawn.

That green grass is probably coated with pesticides and fertilizers and studded with pet poop. All that washes off in the rain and causes environmental problems downstream in the Chesapeake.

Now, the humble suburban lawn is a test case for the Obama administration, which is trying to overhaul the long-failed effort to clean up the bay.

Its vision calls for unprecedented - and perhaps uncomfortable - changes on land. Farmers will cut back on fertilizer. Taxpayers will shell out to improve sewer plants and filter storm runoff.

And your lawn might need to be replaced by rain gardens or shaggy fields of native plants."

David A. Fahrenthold reports for the Washington Post November 7, 2010