At MACo’s Attorneys and Administrators conference, a one-day event held at Newton White Mansion in Prince George’s County on October 15, county administrators held a workshop discussing cost-effective approaches to nutrient reduction, as mandated by the US EPA’s Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan, administered by the Maryland Department of the Environment.

Joining the county administrators in the discussion were two invited guests, each sharing a brief presentation on resources and options available to counties. Jim Noonan from Straughan Environmental discussed the range of requirements and approaches available to counties amidst implementation, while Jennifer Dindinger from the University of Maryland’s Sea Grant Extension reviewed a range of funding and grant options, and technical assistance opportunities.

The two presentations from the session are available below:
Straughan Environmetnal Presentation
University of Maryland Sea Grant Extension Presentation

Following this session, the administrators continued discussions that took place during a previous meeting on October 5 at the MACo office on Watershed Implementation Plans.  At that time, county officials and representatives from the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) discussed counties providing additional comment  on a variety of technical issues regarding the WIPs, including the pending permit of the Conowingo Dam, NPDES/MS4 stormwater requirements, and reform of the EPA Bay Model and the MAST program.  MACo is in the process of soliciting and compiling this information to present to MDE.