MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) - West Virginia is moving to the next phase of its plan to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has accepted the second phase of the state's watershed implementation plan.

Alana Hartman with the state Department of Environmental Protection tells The Journal (http://bit.ly/MQmfPH ) that the EPA removed backstops it put on the agriculture segment in the plan's first phase.

Backstops are federal contingency actions that can be used, if necessary, to spur progress.

Hartman says West Virginia has improved documentation of its best management practices. The voluntary strategy is based on feedback from agricultural operations.

Eight Eastern Panhandle counties are within the Chesapeake Bay's watershed. West Virginia's plan is part of a six-state and District of Columbia partnership to reduce pollution entering the bay.