Joseph Maroon's presentation providing an overview of the current state of the Chesapeake Bay from CBF's Watershed Forum on March 14, 2016.

1. Chesapeake Bay Overview
1
March 14, 2016
Joseph H. Maroon

2. • 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

3. Joseph H. Maroon
Current Positions
Virginia Environmental Endowment, Executive Director
UVA, graduate course Environmental Policy (Chesapeake Bay)
Virginia Tech, Adjunct Faculty
Previous Experience
Maroon Consulting, LLC
VA Dept. of Conservation & Recreation
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission
Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay Citizen Advisory Committee
Virginia Chesapeake Bay Stakeholder Advisory Group
DEQ and Bay Program Nutrient Trading Workgroups
Chesapeake Bay Funders Network
Principal Staff Committee (2002-2009)
Environmental Finance Bay Symposium, Steering Committee

4. CHESAPEAKE BAY
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5. BAY IS AN ECONOMIC ENGINE
Valued at Over $ 1 Trillion
5

6. Chesapeake Bay
by the numbers
200
64,000
6
18,000,000
50
Over 11,000
14 to 1
21

7. History of the Bay
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8. EPA BAY STUDY
BAY GRASSES
DECLINED BY 85%
FISHERIES
SERIOUS DECLINE
ELEVATED METALS
& TOXICS
ANOXIC WATERS
INCREASED 15X
ALGAL OUTBREAKS
THROUGHOUT BAY
EXCESS NUTRIENTS
SERIOUS WATER QUALITY DECLINE

9. Is the Bay getting better or worse?
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10. Harvests
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2014 Virginia Harvest Best Since 1986
Fisheries severely affected by
Over-harvesting (also habitat
loss, pollution, disease)

11. POLLUTION
OVER 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”

12. Main Sources of Bay Pollution
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Source:CBF

13. Wastewater: Biggest Loser

14. Agriculture: Largest Single Source

15. Developed Lands/Stormwater:
Only Source Increasing

16. 16
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.

17. Federal Requirements
Clean 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”

18. 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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19. LARGEST, MOST COMPLEX EVER

20.  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

21. N, P, sediment loads allocated among sectors
WWTPs
Agriculture
Forest
Stormwater
Septic
Air sources
Five Major VA basins
 39 segments
16 PDCs; 96 Localities; 32 SWCDs
Pollution Recipe can change (“adaptive mgt”)
Phase I, II, and the forthcoming Phase III
State Watershed Implementation Plans

22. 2014 BAY WATERSHED AGREEMENT
10 Goals, 29 Outcomes
Female CRABs
OYSTERS in 10 rivers
BROOK TROUT habitat
85,000 acres of WETLANDS
10% STREAM MILES
900 miles RIPARIAN FOREST BUFFERS per year
DIVERSITY OF STEWARDS (citizen & local govt)
2 million ACRES OF LAND
300 new PUBLIC ACCESS sites
MEANINGFUL WATERSHED EXPERIENCES
CLIMATE & SEA LEVEL changes
TOXICS research
RESTORE WQ BY MEETING TMDL GOALS
Expands MEMBERSHIP to NY, WVA, DEL
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES in 1 year; OPT-IN

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24. “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

25. THE FUTURE OF THE BAY

26. There has been Progress But…
Bay Barometer 2014-2015 found uneven
progress
Fewer pollutants entering Bay
Nutrient and sediment levels improving
17% more of Bay met WQ stds
Only 34%met goals
…Challenges Remain

27. Restoration Challenges
Farm BMP Levels
Stormwater Costs
Verification of BMPs
Pollution Trading
Crediting Conservation
Emerging Risks
Rising Sea Levels
Lag Times
Public Support
Law Suits

28. 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

29. THE END???
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