The Chesapeake Bay Program is a cooperative effort involving all of the jurisdictions in the Chesapeake watershed in the goal of reducing nutrient and sediment pollution and removing the Chesapeake Bay from the federal Clean Water Act’s list of impaired waters by 2010. Pennsylvania is critical in this effort as fifty percent of the fresh water to the Chesapeake Bay flows from the Susquehanna River. The Chesapeake Bay 2000 agreement is a multi-state and federal partnership to clean up and restore the Chesapeake Bay. The new agreement includes the goal of developing locally supported watershed management plans in two-thirds of the bay watershed by addressing the conservation of stream corridors, riparian forest buffers and wetlands.
The Chesapeake Bay Program partners developed and agreed to new water quality criteria and new nutrient and sediment reduction goals in 2003 which led to the development of the revised Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Tributary Strategies now in effect. The new Strategies utilize a “bottom-up” approach, sub-allocating cap loads to smaller tributaries and delegating funds available for non-point pollution control and habitat restoration goals accordingly.
Since 2005, as part of the new DEP Tributary Strategy, each county has been required to develop a County Implementation Plan which redirects the goals and efforts toward Best Management Practices that are lower in cost and easier to design and install. This allows the Conservation District to work with many more landowners on smaller practices than the old method of working on a few large projects and not being able to provide assistance to very many landowners.
The Susquehanna Bay Program has completed 36 landowner contracts with more than $950,000 in cost share money provided by DEP. Landowners provided another 20% or more of the cost of Best Management Practices. The majority of the projects have involved barnyards and related BMP’s.
The Chesapeake Bay Program partners developed and agreed to new water quality criteria and new nutrient and sediment reduction goals in 2003 which led to the development of the revised Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Tributary Strategies now in effect. The new Strategies utilize a “bottom-up” approach, sub-allocating cap loads to smaller tributaries and delegating funds available for non-point pollution control and habitat restoration goals accordingly.
Since 2005, as part of the new DEP Tributary Strategy, each county has been required to develop a County Implementation Plan which redirects the goals and efforts toward Best Management Practices that are lower in cost and easier to design and install. This allows the Conservation District to work with many more landowners on smaller practices than the old method of working on a few large projects and not being able to provide assistance to very many landowners.
The Susquehanna Bay Program has completed 36 landowner contracts with more than $950,000 in cost share money provided by DEP. Landowners provided another 20% or more of the cost of Best Management Practices. The majority of the projects have involved barnyards and related BMP’s.