The Chesapeake Bay TMDL 2017 Midpoint Assessment Approaches

Maryland gears up for a review to determine if pollution has been reduced by 60% and to help guide the next eight years’ practices.

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This map displays the segmentsheds used by the Chesapeake Bay Program. A segmentshed is the discrete land area that drains into each of the 92 Bay Program segments that have TMDLs associated with them. Image courtesy of Chesapeake Bay Program.

One measure used to assess environmental practices affecting the Chesapeake Bay is the amount of nutrient and sediments flowing into the water.

Maryland established goals for total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) in 2010 that are now coming up for review. The Chesapeake Bay TMDL 2017 Midpoint Assessment will check progress on reaching a 60% pollution reductions by 2017.

From the Chesapeake Bay Program,

The Chesapeake Bay TMDL 2017 Midpoint Assessment

The December 2010 Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (Bay TMDL) calls for an assessment in 2017 to review our progress toward meeting the nutrient and sediment pollutant load reductions identified in the 2010 Bay TMDL, Phase I and Phase II Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) and two-year milestones. The driving purpose of the Bay TMDL’s 2017 midpoint assessment is to streamline implementation and to make challenges to implementation more understandable for the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership as we move towards 2017 and 2025.

Recognizing that change is inevitable over a 15-year period in a dynamic environment like the Bay, the Bay TMDL’s 2017 midpoint assessment has three primary objectives:

  2. Gather input from the Partnership on issues and priorities to be addressed in order to help meet the goal of all practices in place by 2025 to meet water quality standards
  3. Based on these priorities, review the latest science, data, tools and BMPs, incorporate as appropriate into the decision-support tools that guide implementation, and consider lessons learned
  4. Help jurisdictions prepare Phase III WIPs, which will guide milestones and implementation from 2018 to 2025

For comprehensive information on the midpoint assessment, including priorities, schedule, and other supporting documentation, visit the Chesapeake Bay Program’s website: https://mpa.chesapeakebay.net/Phase6DataVisualization.html and contact Lucinda Power with the Environmental Protection Agency.

County Elected Officials to Hold Round Table on Stormwater Goals and Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load Requirements

At this winter’s MACo Conference, MACo is hosting a peer-to-peer exchange of county elected officials from across the State tackling issues that counties face. Based on feedback from the county community, we’ve selected stormwater goals and Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load  (TMDL) requirements as the topic for this year’s Roundtable.

DETAILS:

Bay Watershed Cleanup: What’s Happening? What’s Ahead?

Who: County Elected Officials

When: Wednesday, December 7, 2016, noon-1 pm

What: Join a post-election discussion of county environmental goals and requirements –including the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and Environmental Protection Agency stormwater mandates. 2017 not only marks the Bay TMDL midpoint assessment, but also ushers in a new U.S. President in an area driven largely by federal regulation. Share your county’s best practices and current challenges, and hear what changes could be ahead in a roundtable facilitated by the University of Maryland Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology.

Learn more about MACo’s Winter Conference:

Questions? Contact Meetings & Events Director Virginia White.