903R87109
1987 CHESAPEAKE BAY AGREEMENT
FINAL DRAFT
DECEMBER 14, 1987
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1987 CHESAPEAKE BAY AGREEMENT
The Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure and a resource of
worldwide significance. Its ecological, economic, and cultural
importance are felt far beyond its waters and the communities
that, line its shores. Man's use and abuse of its bounty,
however, together with the continued growth and development of
population in its watershed, have taken a toll on the Bay system.
In recent decades, the Bay has suffered serious declines in
quality and productivity.
Representing the Federal government, and the States which
surround the Chesapeake B.ay, we acknowledge our stake in the
resources of the Bay and accept our share of responsibility for
ivs current condition. We are determined that this decline will
be reversed. In response, all of our jurisdictions have embarked
on ambitious programs to protect our shared resource and restore
it to a more productive state.
In 1980, the legislatures of Virginia and Maryland estab-
lished the Chesapeake Bay Commission to coordinate interstate
planning and programs from a legislative perspective. In 1985,
Pennsylvania joined the Commission. And, in 1983, Virginia,
Maryland, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, the U.S. En-
vironmental Protection Agency, and the Chesapeake Bay Commission
formally agreed to a cooperative approach to this undertaking and
established specific mechanisms for its coordination. Since
1983, our joint commitment has carried us to new levels of
governmental cooperation and scientific understanding. It has
formed a firm base for the future success of this long-term
program. The extent and complexity of our task now call for an
expanded and refined agreement to guide our efforts toward the
twenty-first century.
Recognizing that the Chesapeake Bay's importance transcends
regional boundaries, we commit to managing the Chesapeake Bay as
an integrated ecosystem and pledge our best efforts to achieve
the goals in this Agreement. We propose a series of objectives
that will establish a policy and institutional framework for con-
tinued cooperative efforts to restore and protect Chesapeake Bay.
We further commit to specific actions to achieve those objec-
tives. The implementation of these commitments will be reviewed
annually and additional commitments developed as needed.
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GOALS AND PRIORITY COMMITMENTS
This new Agreement contains Goals and Priority Commitments
for Living Resources; Water Quality; Population Growth and
Development; Public Information, Education and Participation;
Public Access; and Governance.
The parties to this 1987 Agreement are the U.S. Environmen-
tal Protection Agency, representing the Federal government, the
District of Columbia, the State of Maryland, and the Common-
wealths of Pennsylvania and Virginia (hereinafter the
"States"), and the Chesapeake Bay Commission. This Agreement may
be amended and attachments added in the future by unanimous ac-
tion of the Chesapeake Executiir> Council.
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LIVING RESOURCES
GOAL: PROVIDE FOR THE RESTORATION AND PROTECTION OF
THE LIVING RESOURCES, THEIR HABITATS, AND ECOLOGICAL
RELATIONSHIPS.
The productivity, diversity and abundance of living
resources are the best ultimate measures of the Chesapeake Bay's
condition. These living resources are the main focus of the res-
toration and protection effort. Some species of shellfish and
finfish are of immense commercial and recreational value to man.
Others are valuable because they are part of the vast array of
plant and animal life that makes up the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem
on which all species depend. We recognize that the entire
natural system must be healthy and productive. We will determine
the essential elements of habitat and environmental quality
necessary to support living resources and will see that these
conditions are attained and maintained. We will also-manage the
harvest of and monitor populations of commercially, recrea-
tionally and ecologically valuable species to ensure sustained,
viable stocks. We recognize that to be successful, these actions
must be carried out in an integrated and coordinated manner
across the whole Bay system.
OBJECTIVES:
LRO-01 o Restore, enhance, protect and manage submerged aquatic
vegetat ion.
LRO-02 o Protect, enhance, and restore wetlands, coastal sand dunes,
forest buffers and other shoreline and riverine systems, im-
portant to water quality and habitat.
LRO-03 o Conserve soil resources and reduce erosion and sedimentation
to protect Bay habitat.
o Maintain freshwater flow regimes necessary to sustain es-
LRO-04 tuarine habitats, including, where appropriate, establishing
minimum in-stream flows.
o Develop compatible Bay-wide stock assessment programs.
LRO-05
o Develop Bay-wide fisheries management strategies and develop
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complementary state programs and plans to protect and re-
store the finfish and shellfish stocks of the Bay, espe-
cially the freshwater and estuarine spawners.
LRO-07 o Provide for the restoration of shellfish stocks in the Bay,
especially the abundance of commercially important species.
LRO-08 o Restore, enhance and protect waterfowl and wildlife.
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COMMITMENT: To achieve this goal we agree:
LRC-01 o by January 1988. to develop and adopt guidelines for the
protection of water quality and habitat conditions necessary
to support the liviqg resources found in the Chesapeake Bay
system, and to use ttyesq guidelines in the implementation of
water quality and habitat protection programs.
LRC-02 ° by July 1988, to develop, adopt, and begin to implement a
Bay-wide pTan for tfee assessment of commercially, recrea-
tionally, and selected ecologically valuable species.
LRC-03 ° by July 1988, to adopt a schedule for the development of
Bay-wide resource management strategies for commercially,
recreationally and selected ecologically valuable species.
LRC-04 o by July 1989, to develop, adopt and begin to implement Bay-
wide management plans for oysters, blue crabs and American
shad. Plans for other major commercially, recreationally
and ecologically valuable species should be initiated by
1990.
LRC-05 ° ky Pecember 1988, to develop and begin to implement a Bay-
wide policy for the protection of tidal and non-tidal wet-
lands.
LRC-06 ° to Provi-de f°r fish passage at dams, and remove stream
blockages wherever necessary to restore passage for
migratory fish.
WATER QUALITY
GOAL: REDUCE AND CONTROL POINT AND NONPOINT SOURCES OF
POLLUTION TO ATTAIN THE WATER QUALITY CONDITION NECES-
SARY TO SUPPORT THE LIVING RESOURCES OF THE BAY.
The improvement and maintenance of water quality are the
single most critical elements in the overall restoration and
protection of the Chesapeake Bay. Water is the medium in which
all living resources of the Bay live, and their ability to sur-
vive and flourish is directly dependent on it.
To ensure the productivity of the living resources of the
Bay, we must clearly establish the water quality conditions the}'
require and must then attain and maintain those conditions.
Foremost, we must improve or maintain dissolved oxygen concentra-
tions in the Bay and Its tributaries through a continued and ex-
panded commitment to the reduction of nutrients from both point
and nonpoint sources. We must do the same for toxics and conven-
tional pollutants. To be effective, we will develop basin-wide
implementation plans for the control and reduction of pollutant-,
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which are based on our best understanding (including that derived
from modeling) of the Bay and its tributaries as an integrated
system.
OBJECTIVES;
WQO-Olo Provide timely construction and maintenance of public and
private sewerage facilities to assure control of pollutant
discharges.
WQO*020 Reduce the discharge of untreated or inadequately treated
sewage into Bay waters from such sources as combined sewer
overflows, leaking sewage systems, and failing septic sys-
tems.
WQO-03° Evaluate and institute, where appropriate, alternative
technologies for point source pollution control, such as
biological nutrient removal and land application of effluent
to reduce pollution loads in a cost-effective manner.
WQO-04Q Establish and enforce pollutant limitations to ensure com-
pliance with water qua! "'. I., laws.
WQO-05Q Reduce the levels of nonpoint sources of pollution.
WQO-06o Reduce sedimentation by strengthening enforcement of exist-
ing sediment control regulations.
WQO-07o Eliminate pollutant discharges from recreational boats.
WQO-oSo Identify and control toxic discharges to the Bay system,
including metals and toxic organics, to protect water
quality, aquatic resources and human health through im-
plementation and enforcement of the states' National Pol-
lutant Discharge Elimination System permit programs and
other programs.
WQO-090 Reduce chlorine discharges in critical finfish and shellfish
areas.
WQO-io0 Minimize water pollution incidents and provide adequate
response to pollutant spills.
WQO-iEQ Manage sewage sludge, dredged spoil and hazardous wastes to
protect the Bay system.
WQO-12O Manage groundwater to protect the water quality of the Bay.
WQO-130 Quantify the impacts and identify the sources of atmospheric
inputs on the Bay system.
COMMITMENT: To achieve this goal we agree:
WQC-Olo by July 1988, to develop, adopt, and begin implementation of
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a basin-wide strategy to equitably achieve by the year 2000
at least a 40 percent reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus
entering the main stem of the Chesapeake Bay. The strategy
should be based on agreed-upon 1985 point source loads and
on nonpoint loads in an average rainfall year.
by jDecember 1991, to re-evaluate the 40 percent reduction
target based on the results of modeling, research, monitor-
ing and other information available at that time.
WQC-02 o by December 1988, to develop, adopt, and begin implementa-
tion of a basin-wide strategy to achieve a reduction of
toxics consistent with the Water Quality Act of 1987 which
will ensure protection of human health and living resources.
The strategy will cover both point and nonpoint sources,
monitoring protocols, enforcement of pretreatment regula-
tions and methods for dealing with in-place toxic sediments
where necessary.
WQC-03 o by July 1988, to develop and adopt a basin-wide implementa-
tion strategy for the m^^nr-fment and control of conventional
pollutants as required by the Water Quality Act of 1987, en-
tering the Chesapeake Bay system from point and nonpoint
sources.
WQC-04 o by July 1988, the Environmental Protection Agency, acting
for the federal government, will develop, adopt, and begin
implementation of a strategy for the control and reduction
of point and nonpoint sources of nutrient, toxic, and con-
ventional pollution from all federal facilities.
POPULATION GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
GOAL: PLAN FOR AND MANAGE THE ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL
EFFECTS OF HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH AND LAND DEVELOPMENT
IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED.
There is a clear correlation between population growth and
associated development and environmental degradation in the
Chesapeake Bay system. Enhancing, or even maintaining, th<>
quality of the Bay while accommodating growth will frequently in-
volve difficult decisions and restrictions and will require con-
tinued and enhanced commitment to proper development standards.
The States and the Federal government will assert the full
measure of their authority to mitigate the potential adverse ef-
fects of continued growth.
Local jurisdictions have been delegated authority over- rnanv
decisions regarding growth and development which have both dircrr
and indirect effects on the Chesapeake Bay system and its living
resources. The role of local governments in the restorat ion and
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, - protection effort will be given proper recognition and support
through State and Federal resources.
States will engage in an active partnership with local
governments to establish policy guidelines to manage growth and
development.
OBJECTIVES:
PGO-Olo Designate a state-level office responsible for ensuring con-
sistency with this Agreement among the agencies responsible
for comprehensive oversight of development activity, includ-
ing infrastructure planning, capital budgets, land preserva-
tion, and waste management activities.
PGO-020 Provide local governments with financial and technical as-
sistance to continue and expand their management efforts.
PGO-03o Consult with local government respresentatives in the
development of Chesapeake Bay restoration and' protect ion
plans and programs.
PGO-04° Identify and give public recognition to innovative and
otherwise noteworthy examples of local government restora-
tion and protection-related programs.
PGO-05° Assure that government development projects meet all en-
vironmental requirements.
PGO-06O Promote, among local, State, and federal governments, and
the private sector, the use of innovative techniques to
avoid and, where necessary, mitigate the adverse impacts of
growth.
COMMITMENT: To achieve this goal, we agree:
o to commission a panel of experts to report by Dec ember
PGC-01 1988, on anticipated /population growth and land development.
patterns in the Bay region through the year 2020, the in-
frastructure requirements necessary to serve growth and
development, environmental programs needed to improve Bay
resources while accommodating growth, alternative means of
managing and directing growth, and alternative mechanisms
for financing governmental services and environmental con-
trols. The panel of experts will consist of twelve members:
three each from Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and
one each from the District of Columbia, Environmental
Protection Agency, and the Chesapeake Bay Commission.
o by January 1989 , to adopt development policies a ;, d
guidelines designed to reduce adverse imparts on the water
PGC-02 quality and living resources of the Bay, including minimum
best management practices for development and to cooper ^--
tively assist local governments in evaluating land-use a; to
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development. .li-cLijJons withiu their purview, consistent with
the policies and guidelines.
PGC-03 o to evaluate stai.e an
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restoration efforts.
PIO-06 ° Coordinate the product '->M and distribution of Bay informa-
tion and education matoi- i a 1 s .
COMMITMENT; To achieve then- r-als, we agr<>e:
o to conduct coordinated education and information programs to
1 inform the general public, local governments, business, stu-
dents, community associations, and others of their roles,
responsibilities, and opportunities in the restoration and
protection effort, and to promote public involvement in the
management and decision-making process.
PIC-02
o
to provide for public review and comment on all implementa-
tion plans developed pursuant to this 'agreement.
o by March 1988, to develop state and federal communication
plans for public information, education, and participation,
and by May 1988, to develop a unified, Bay-wide communica-
tion plan.
PIC-04 ° to Promo1:e Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts by estab-
lishing an annual Bay-wide series of Chesapeake Bay
Watershed Awareness events, to include a Governors' Cup
Fishing Tournament.
PUBLIC ACCESS
GOAL: PROMOTE INCREASED OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC
APPRECIATION AND ENJOYMENT OF THE BAY AND ITS
TRIBUTARIES.
Interest in and commitment to the Chesapeake Bay and its
tributaries are greatly affected by personal contact, with that,
natural system. Consequently, improved opportunities for access
to the shores and waters of the system are essential if public
awareness and support are to be maintained and increased.
OBJECTIVES:
PAO-01 o Improve and -maintain ac< ess to the Bay including publi •
beaches, parks and forested lands.
PAO-02 o Improve opportunit }>•-, for recreational and commercial fish-
ing.
PAO-03
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PAO-04 o Secure necessary acreage to protect unique habitat and en-
vironmentally sensitive areas.
COMMITMENT; To achieve this goal we agree:
PAC-01 o to intensify our effqrts to improve and expand public access
opportunities being tpade available by the Federal govern-
ment, the States, and local governments, by developing a
strategy, which includes an inventory of current access op-
portunities by July 1988, which targets state and federal
actions to secure additional tidal shorefront acres by
December 1990 along the Bay and its tributaries.
PAC-02 o by December 1988, to prepare a comprehensive guide to access
facilities and the natural resource system for the tidal
Chesapeake Bay.
GOVERNANCE
GOAL: SUPPORT AND ENHANCE THE PRESENT COMPREHENSIVE,
COOPERATIVE, AND COORDINATED APPROACH TOWARD MANAGEMENT
OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY SYSTEM.
GOAL; PROVIDE FOR CONTINUITY OF MANAGEMENT EFFORTS AND
PERPETUATION OF COMMITMENTS NECESSARY TO ENSURE LONG-
TERM RESULTS.
The cooperation necessary to sustain an effective Chesapeake
Bay restoration and protection effort requires a formal working
arrangement involving the States and the Federal government.
That institutional arrangement must allow for and promote volun-
tary individual actions coordinated within a well-defined context
of the individual responsibilities and authorities of each State
and the Federal government. It must also ensure that actions
which require a concerted, Bay-wide approach be addressed in com-
mon and without duplication. One of the principal -functions of
the coordinating institution is to develop strategic plans and
oversee their implementation, based on advice from the public,
from the scientific community, and from user groups.
In addition, the coordinating body must exert leadership to
marshal public support, and it must be accountable for progress
made under the terms of this agreement. The coordinating body
will continue to be called the Chesapeake Executive Council. The
Chesapeake Executive Council shall be comprised of the Governors,
the Mayor of the District of Columbia, the Administrator of thr
Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chairman of the
Chesapeake Bay Commission. The chairmanship of the Council shall
rotate annually as determined by the Council. The term of th<
Chairman shall be one year. The Administrator of the Environmen-
tal Protection Agency shall represent, the Federal government, ami
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GO-01
GO-05
GO-06
GO-07
GO-08
the Chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Commission shall
members.
represen t its
OBJECTIVES:
GO-02 O
GO-03 O
GO-04
Continue to demonstrate strong,
vening an annual public meeting
Council.
regional
of the Chesapeake
leadership by con-
Executive
Continue to support the Chesapeake Executive Council and
provide for technical and public policy advice by maintain-
ing strong advisory committees.
Coordinate Bay management activities and develop and main-
tain effective mechanisms for accountability.
The Chesapeake Bay Liaison Office shall provide staff sup-
port to the Chesapeake Executive Council by providing
analyses and data management, and by generating reports re-
lated to the overall program. The Implementation Committee
shall provide guidance to the Chesapeake Bay Liaison Office
Director in all matter^ relating to support for the Council
and their supporting t-umini t tees , subcommittees, and work
groups including the development of all plans and other
documents associated with the Council.
Examine the feasibility of joint funding support of the
Chesapeake Bay Liaison Office.
Track and evaluate activities which may affect estuarine
water quality and resources and report at least annually.
Develop and maintain a coordinated Chesapeake Bay data
management system.
Continue to implement a coordinated Bay-wide monitoring sys-
tem and develop a Bay-wide living resource monitoring sys-
tem.
o Develop and implement a coordinated Bay-wide research
GO-09 program.
COMMITMENT: To achieve these goals we agree:
GC-01 ° to develop an annual Chesapeake Bay work plan endorsed by
the Chesapeake Executive Council.
GC-02 o to continue to support Bay-wide environmental monitoring and
research to provide the technical and scientific
information necessary to support management decisions.
GC-03 o to strengthen the Chesapeake Bay Liaison Office by assigning
as appropriate, staff persons from each jurisdiction and
from participating federal agencies to assist with the tnch-
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