EPA Official Promoting Permeable Paving

BLADENSBURG, Md. (AP) -- Nancy Stoner is the Environmental Protection Agency's top water official, but she'll be talking about paving when she tours a Bladensburg factory.

That's because the factory owned by Ernest Maier Inc., produces permeable paving stones that allow rain to soak through them and into the soil rather than run off into storm drains. The EPA says that's important because pavers that allow rainwater to sink into the ground below, where it is filtered by the ground, help to remove pollutants before they reach waterways.

That's important for Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts because while pollution from other sources is being cut, urban and suburban storm water runoff is a growing source of pollution.

Stoner plans to tour the Bladensburg factory on Monday.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)