Agriculture secretary nominee Sonny Perdue on Thursday vowed to defend efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay, even though the White House has proposed eliminating funding for its cleanup. If confirmed, the former Georgia governor would not have power over the Environmental Protection Agency’s $73 million initiative targeting runoff from farming fertilizer, the chief source of the nitrogen and phosphorus contaminating the Chesapeake Bay. But he said his Department of Agriculture would continue to work with farmers to reduce pollution. “I don’t believe we can continue the progress that’s been made,” he said, referring to the the across-the-board cuts proposed in President Donald Trump’s skinny budget. Trump has suggested slashing the USDA’s budget to $17.9 billion, a 21 percent reduction that halts funding for rural clean water projects and agrarian business services.

Source: Huffington Post March 23, 2017 18:33 UTC