Chesapeake Bay Overview

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March 14, 2016Joseph H. Maroon

• Kepone settlement• 1st grant maker focused on environment• 2017 is 40th anniversary• Add’l settlements: Kanawha & Ohio River• Improve Local WQ, Ches. Bay, Land Conservation,• Env.Literacy & Public Awareness, Emerging Issues• $8 M > $27 M > 1200+ grants > $75 M Improvements• website: vee.org

Joseph H. MaroonCurrent PositionsVirginia Environmental Endowment, Executive DirectorUVA, graduate course Environmental Policy (Chesapeake Bay)Virginia Tech, Adjunct Faculty

Previous ExperienceMaroon Consulting, LLCVA Dept. of Conservation & RecreationChesapeake Bay FoundationJoint Legislative Audit and Review Commission

Chesapeake Bay Chesapeake Bay Citizen Advisory Committee Virginia Chesapeake Bay Stakeholder Advisory GroupDEQ and Bay Program Nutrient Trading WorkgroupsChesapeake Bay Funders NetworkPrincipal Staff Committee (2002-2009)Environmental Finance Bay Symposium, Steering Committee

CHESAPEAKE BAY

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BAY IS AN ECONOMIC ENGINEValued at Over $ 1 Trillion

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Chesapeake Bay by the numbers

200

64,000

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18,000,000

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Over 11,000

14 to 1

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History of the Bay

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EPA BAY STUDYBAY GRASSES

DECLINED BY 85%

FISHERIESSERIOUS DECLINE

ELEVATED METALS & TOXICS

ANOXIC WATERS INCREASED 15X

ALGAL OUTBREAKS THROUGHOUT BAY

EXCESS NUTRIENTSSERIOUS WATER QUALITY DECLINE

Is the Bay getting better or worse?

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Harvests

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2014 Virginia Harvest Best Since 1986

Fisheries severely affected by Over-harvesting (also habitat loss, pollution, disease)

POLLUTIONOVER 90% IMPAIRED

½ FRESHWATER STREAMS IN POOR CONDITION

¾ OF TIDAL WATERS IMPAIRED BY CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS

SUBSTANTIAL LOSS OF WETLANDS & NATURAL FILTERS

LONG TERM TRENDS IMPROVING

ECOSYSTEM REMAINS “PRECARIOUS”

Main Sources of Bay Pollution

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Sour

ce: C

BF

Wastewater: Biggest Loser

Agriculture: Largest Single Source

Developed Lands/Stormwater:Only Source Increasing

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TMDL: A (Not So) New Hope!!!Over 90% of Bay and its tidal rivers are “IMPAIRED”due to low dissolved oxygen levels and poor water clarity, all related to nutrient & sediment pollution.

Triggered EPA authority to develop TMDL since Bay was not removed from list by 2010.

Federal RequirementsClean Water Act

“fishable & swimmable”

States establish WQ standards to meet goals

States identify water bodies that are “IMPAIRED” – those that do NOT meet state WQ Standards

Impaired Waters must go on…

...a “Pollution Diet”

Chesapeake Bay TMDL (TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD) EPA set a pollution diet

(“blueprint”) to meet state stds

Caps on N, P, & sediment loads from 6 states & DC

States set load caps for various pollution sources (“recipe”)

Over 40,000+nationwide

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LARGEST, MOST COMPLEX EVER

New Goal: 100% practices in place by 2025 60% by 2017 Mid-Point Assessment

State Watershed Implementation Plans

2-Year Milestone Process

Relative Effectiveness of Nutrient Reductions

Accountability Measures

Reasonable Assurance

Federal Backstops

HOW IS THE BAY TMDL DIFFERENT

N, P, sediment loads allocated among sectors WWTPs Agriculture Forest StormwaterSeptic Air sources

Five Major VA basins 39 segments16 PDCs; 96 Localities; 32 SWCDsPollution Recipe can change (“adaptive mgt”)Phase I, II, and the forthcoming Phase III

State Watershed Implementation Plans

2014 BAY WATERSHED AGREEMENT10 Goals, 29 OutcomesFemale CRABsOYSTERS in 10 rivers BROOK TROUT habitat85,000 acres of WETLANDS 10% STREAM MILES900 miles RIPARIAN FOREST BUFFERS per yearDIVERSITY OF STEWARDS (citizen & local govt)2 million ACRES OF LAND 300 new PUBLIC ACCESS sitesMEANINGFUL WATERSHED EXPERIENCESCLIMATE & SEA LEVEL changes TOXICS research RESTORE WQ BY MEETING TMDL GOALS

Expands MEMBERSHIP to NY, WVA, DELMANAGEMENT STRATEGIES in 1 year; OPT-IN

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“It has been said that it (Bay Program) is the best restoration program around the country.”

“I was once the best track runner in my high school – it was a small school and I was really slow.”

Mike Schultz

THE FUTURE OF THE BAY

There has been Progress But…Bay Barometer 2014-2015 found uneven progressFewer pollutants entering BayNutrient and sediment levels improving17% more of Bay met WQ stdsOnly 34%met goals

…Challenges Remain

Restoration Challenges

Farm BMP LevelsStormwater Costs Verification of BMPsPollution TradingCrediting ConservationEmerging RisksRising Sea LevelsLag TimesPublic SupportLaw Suits

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENGAGEMENT• Recognized as critical element since 1987; no sustained outreach

• Move Beyond the Choir

• UVA Bay TMDL Stakeholder Assessment • Communication is a key problem• “know too little about what peers are doing…and their states' WIPs.”• “too few opportunities for exchange”• “no opportunity to benefit from lessons from others" • “do not know what is expected of them”• “states have had no comprehensive communication strategy”• “too little understanding about the Bay TMDL requirements and

benefits, including potential local WQ improvements.“

• Outreach and Communication Strategies• Money and technical support• Show local and multiple benefits 28

THE END???

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