Cord Byrd: “the Sunday, June 1, 1997, edition of the Washington Post featured a front-page article on pollution in the Potomac River…”

“the Sunday, June 1, 1997, edition of the Washington Post featured a front-page article on pollution in the Potomac River from poultry production. The story was prompted by a ranking by American Rivers, which is a national environmental organization, of the Potomac River on the group's annual list of the 10 Most Endangered Rivers in North America, and inspired by American Rivers' interpretation of a 1996 U.S. Department of Agriculture study that detected nutrient and bacterial contamination in the waters of the South Branch of the Potomac. American Rivers' annual promotion of its top 10 list is an effort to advance public awareness about the fragility of the Nation's water resources, a laudable goal, and newsworthy, as well. Regrettably, however, the media missed the real story of worth, namely, the exemplary efforts by a nonpartisan coalition of public officials and West Virginia family farmers to balance economic interests with environmental goals.”