Funds Pledged For Road Project

"What we came to realize is the best way to protect the bay is to keep a farmer farming," Kim Coble, Maryland director of the Bay Foundation, told the Associated Press. "We'd much rather have a farm operating than having a suburban development go in."

Lawmakers are likely to take direction from a report of the Agricultural Stewardship Commission, which met during the summer and fall and has recommended higher spending on farm environmental initiatives.

"It's probably the most dramatic coming together that I've experienced, the environmentalists and the farmers coming together," said Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D-Charles), a cattle and pumpkin farmer from Charles County. "We were once very much at odds."

N.J. Dispute Mirrors Local Issue

Plans by energy giant BP to build a liquefied natural gas plant in New Jersey similar in some respects to the Cove Point facility operated by Dominion in Calvert County have run into issues that the Supreme Court has agreed to review.

In dispute is whether New Jersey or Delaware controls what happens on the Delaware River where the proposed plant would be located.

The high court agreed in November to hear New Jersey's challenge to Delaware's claimed jurisdiction over a section of the Delaware River. Last week, the court granted a request by Delaware to appoint a special master in the dispute, dashing New Jersey's hopes for a quick resolution of the case.

"Obviously, this means the case is going to go on longer than we would like, but we are prepared for whatever time it takes to see this case through," BP spokesman Tom Mueller told the Associated Press.

Delaware environmental officials last year rejected a permit application by Crown Landing, a BP subsidiary, to build a 2,000-foot pier that would serve a liquefied natural gas facility proposed for Logan Township, N.J.

Delaware officials said the project represents an offshore bulk product transfer facility and heavy industry, both of which are prohibited under Delaware's coastal zone protection laws.

Under boundary determinations that date to the 17th century, Delaware controls the river up to the mean low-tide mark on the New Jersey shore.

New Jersey officials, who see the proposed LNG terminal as a boost to their state's economy, claim that a 1905 interstate compact gives New Jersey the right to control access and structures on its side of the river, even if they extend across the border.

Last year the Supreme Court allowed Virginia to withdraw water from the Potomac River, despite Maryland's jurisdiction over the waterway. Maryland owns the Potomac under a 1632 land grant from King Charles I, but a 1785 compact between the states gave Virginia certain water rights. Maryland argued that its historical control over the riverbed gave it oversight of Virginia's water plans, but a 7-2 majority of the justices said the 1785 treaty allows Virginia to make various shoreline improvements and withdraw water.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.