NONPOINT-SOURCE PROGRAMS AND PROGRESS IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY

Early research studies resulted in the first Chesapeake Bay Agreement, signed in 1983 by the States of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These early studies confirmed that a significant source of nutrients delivered to the bay are from non-point sources (NPS). Early bay program strategies at both the State and Federal level increased point source controls and created a new level of non-point source programming and funding for NPS programs which are detailed in the paper. In 1987 a second Chesapeake Bay Agreement was signed by the agreement States, DC and the EPA. This agreement established several goals for the restoration of the bay, including a nutrient reduction goal of a 40% reduction of the controllable nitrogen and phosphorus entering the mainstem of the Chesapeake Bay. The re-evaluation of the nutrient reduction strategy and the modeling to support it are discussed along with the NPS abatement and control progress made through 1990. Also presented are challenges for the NPS programs to address the findings that are coming from the re-evaluation process along with recommendations for change that were contained in a 1990 report on the effectiveness of the NPS programs in the bay.