The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and several fishing groups filed suit in Washington accusing the federal government of ignoring its legal responsibilities to clean up the Bay. The lawsuit contends that the Environmental Protection Agency failed to comply with the Clean Water Act and with multiple interstate agreements the agency signed over the past 25 years. The suit also contends that the federal government’s inaction led to the continued decline of the bay’s water quality and harmed its crabs, oysters and fish, as well as the people who make a living from the Bay. The bay’s water quality has worsened during the past two decades, according to University of Maryland research.