Environmentalists have won a court order forcing the federal government to act more aggressively to protect Virginia waterways from pollution. A federal judge ruled that Virginia officials have been lax in setting maximum pollution levels and that the EPA is responsible under the 1972 Clean Water Act to make sure the state sets the levels and ensures compliance. The order could lead to a major cleanup of Virginia rivers and the Chesapeake Bay, enviros say. Similar lawsuits are pending in about a dozen other states.
