WASHINGTON — Chesapeake Bay cleanup is behind schedule but “going in the right direction,” largely because Pennsylvania has stepped up efforts to curb the flow of fertilizer and other runoff into bay tributaries, an Environmental Protection Agency official told Maryland lawmakers Wednesday.

“To Marylanders — as a Marylander — the most important bay issue is Pennsylvania. And I’m pleased to say that Pennsylvania has been stepping up investing in small farms and investing in wastewater treatment plants,” Adam Ortiz, an EPA regional administrator, said at the U.S. Capitol.

Ortiz addressed reporters after briefing Democratic Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, as well as members of the state’s U.S. House delegation, about bay cleanup.

The lawmakers met as a 2025 federal deadline for the cleanup of the bay looms. The goal is reducing the runoff of harmful nutrients and sediment into the nation’s largest estuary.

Cardin said that 2025 “was the year that was targeted in 2014 for the goals of the last bay agreement. We know that we’re not going to hit our targets that were set in 2014.”

But he said he was encouraged that progress is being made and the objective now “is to maintain the momentum for the bay program.”

In July, the bay got its best score in 20 years in an annual report card produced by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The bay received a C+ for its ecological health, considering factors such as aquatic grasses, dissolved oxygen and nutrient content.

“I know that nobody would be thrilled with bringing home a grade of C+ but the fact of the matter is it is the highest grade we’ve seen in a long time,” Van Hollen said. “I want to stress the fact that if we weren’t doing all the things that we’re doing, we would be falling back fast.”

Pennsylvania has long been criticized by other states and environmental advocates for hindering the cleanup effort. Some argue the state has failed to rein in its farms and animal feeding operations, which contribute fertilizer and animal waste runoff to bay tributaries.

But Ortiz said Wednesday: “The higher grade that the Chesapeake Bay has received is mostly driven by progress upstream in Pennsylvania. That’s a big deal.”