The new requirements would have applied to 200 large scale farms on the Eastern Shore.

But now according to WBOC they will only apply to between 75 and 100 after moves by Gov. Martin O'Malley to scale back the requirements covering pollution following complains from farmers.

The industrial-style water pollution control permits would require a list of manure runoff control measures and annual reports to state environmental regulators.

The regulations are the first to force poultry farms, a key source of bay pollution, to submit to inspections.

But WBOC reports that Gerald Winegrad, the former chairman of the Maryland Senate's environmental matters subcommittee, questioned the timing of the announcement before a holiday weekend. Winegrad called the decision gutless and sad, adding that already weak environmental regulations have been weakened further.