IC Agenda Item VII.
State Adoption of Chesapeake Bay Criteria and Refined Tidal
Water Designated Uses as Water Quality Standards
Chesapeake Bay Program Implementation Committee Issue Paper
August 7, 2003 Meeting
Issue: Adoption of the Chesapeake Bay dissolved oxygen, water clarity and chlorophyll a
criteria and refined tidal water designated uses by Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and the District
of Columbia as state water quality standards.
Purpose: To inform the Implementation Committee on the status of the early stages of the state
water quality standards adoption processes and highlight potential water quality standards
adoption-related issues that may require future Implementation Committee review, action and
decisions.
Background: In the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement and the Six State Memorandum of
Understanding, the Bay watershed partners committed to:
By 2001, define the water quality conditions necessary to protect aquatic living
resources and then assign load reductions for nitrogen and phosphorus to each
major tributary.
By 2003, the jurisdictions with tidal waters will use their best efforts to adopt new
or revised water quality standards consistent with the defined water quality
conditions. Once adopted by the jurisdictions, the Environmental Protection
Agency will work expeditiously to review the new or revised standards, which
will then be used as the basis for removing the Bay and its tidal rivers from the
list of impaired waters.
In September 2002, the Principals' Staff Committee decided the watershed partners would
publish the Bay criteria and the resultant nutrient and sediment cap load allocations by April
2003 followed by state adoption of the Bay criteria and designated uses as water quality
standards by 2005.
The Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Dissolved Oxygen, Water Clarity and Chlorophyll a for
the Chesapeake Bay and its Tidal Tributaries was published by EPA in April 2003. The
Principals' Staff Committee and headwater state representatives finalized the nutrient and
sediment cap load allocations by major tributary basin by jurisdiction that same month. At the
end of July 2003, EPA will publish the Technical Support Document for Identification of
Chesapeake Bay Designated Uses and Attainability on the Chesapeake Bay Program web site.
With the publication of these two extensive documents and the resultant cap load allocations, the
Bay watershed partners have effectively defined the "water quality conditions necessary to
protect aquatic living resources" and assigned load reductions for nitrogen, phosphorus and
sediment to each major tributary necessary to achieve those water quality conditions.
Upon publication of the Bay criteria document, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and the District of

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IC Agenda Item VII.
Columbia began the process of initiating their state-specific regulatory water quality standards
adoption process. Maryland, Virginia and Delaware have drafted comprehensive schedules
outlining the major steps and time lines for adoption of the Bay criteria and tidal water
designated uses into their water quality standards. The District of Columbia recently initiated its
triennial water quality standards review and is awaiting initial public comment prior to
developing its schedule.
The Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Standards Coordinators Team was recently re-activated.
Originally responsible for the early development of the refined tidal water designated uses under
the Water Quality Steering Committee, the team finished its work on the draft designated uses, in
the fall of 2002, to the UAA Workgroup for evaluation of attainability. Its initially assigned
objectives completed, the team stopped meeting. The reconvened team includes the state water
quality standards coordinators from all seven Bay watershed jurisdictions, and EPA Region 3
Water Protection Division and Chesapeake Bay Program Office criteria and standards-related
staff. The team will meet as required, principally via conference call, to: 1) ensure the continued
involvement of all seven partners all the way through final water quality standards adoption; 2)
provide a forum for resolution of issues and sharing of information and 3) promote the adoption
of consistent water quality standards across common waters between jurisdictions.
EPA has taken additional steps to promote the timely adoption of state water quality standards
reflective of the published criteria and designated uses and consistent across common and shared
tidal waters. Region 3 Water Protection Division and Chesapeake Bay Program Office managers
and staff have formed a joint Chesapeake Bay water quality standards team. This team will
provide an integrated EPA position on all issues, a single set of EPA comments on draft
regulations posted for review by each state, and continual and advance EPA input to the states
throughout each respective state adoption process. The team will also bring in EPA
Headquarters on an as needed basis to resolve issues and ensure national program office level
support for the adopted water quality standards. The Chesapeake Bay Program Office has also
committed technical staff resources to provide direct staff support to each of the three states and
the District during their standards adoption processes, with work under way on specific tasks
directly supporting each of the four jurisdictions.
Discussion: As work proceeds on adopting these Chesapeake Bay-oriented water quality
standards into state regulation through state-specific public processes, the partners are likely to
face a series of challenges towards meeting the objectives and commitments originally stated in
Chesapeake 2000.
Schedule: Currently the states with tidal waters have draft schedules resulting in state
adoption of their water quality standards by as early as March 2004 and as late as January
2006. The varying time lines and end dates may give rise to issues as the partners work
to adopt consistent standards across common tidal waters.
Within Tidal River Consistency: There are two principal tidal rivers which cross two
or more jurisdictions, the Potomac (Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia) and
Nanticoke (Delaware and Maryland) rivers. Given all the work that has gone into
developing a series of science-based Bay water quality criteria that protect an agreed to
set of tidal water designated uses, the partners will be working towards the goal of

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IC Agenda Item VII.
adopting consistent standards that reflect the natural habitats of these shared tidal rivers,
not artificial jurisdictional boundaries.
Across Tidal Waters Consistency: Recognizing the states are adopting new or
refining existing standards and must adhere to public involvement processes that differ
widely between the states, the partners will be working towards the goal of adopting
consistent standards that reflect natural habitats, not artificial jurisdictional boundaries.
Issues of potential inconsistencies are likely to arise throughout the four-state standards
adoption processes.
Designated Uses: Individual states are likely to hear requests during their public
reviews for refinements to/more detailed versions of the published boundaries for the
refined tidal water designated uses. The partners need to ensure the designated uses
themselves and their boundaries are consistent across common tidal waters between
jurisdictions. Maryland has also indicated it wants Pennsylvania and New York fully
aware of and input into how the state plans to address uses in segment CB4.
Implementation: How the individual states factor implementation guidelines and
specific criteria attainment procedures into their water quality standards will be critically
important for all the partners. As published, the criteria, designated uses and
implementation procedures are all integral components of the states' water quality
standards.
Endangered Species Act Consultation Outcomes: EPA is continuing to work
closely with NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service on resolving the remaining
concerns about ensuring protection of shortnose sturgeon through the adoption of the Bay
criteria and refined tidal water designated uses. It is envisioned that the partners will
need to collectively take additional steps to reach closure on these issues.
As issues arise along these lines that can not be addressed within the context of the Chesapeake
Bay Water Quality Standards Coordinators Team, those issues will be brought forth to the
Implementation Committee, with sufficient advance background information for review of
options and making decisions at upcoming IC meetings or conference calls.
Contacts: For further information on the Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Standards Coordinators
Team, please contact Bob Koroncai, EPA Region 3 Water Protection Division(215-814-5730;
koroncai.robert@epa. gov) or Rich Batiuk, EPA Region 3 Chesapeake Bay Program (410-267-
5731; batiuk.richard@epa.gov). Tiffany Crawford, EPA Region 3 Water Protection Division, is
the principal staff person for the team and can be reached at 215-814-5776 or
crawford.tiffany@epa.gov.

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