How We Work

The Chesapeake Bay Program is America's premier watershed partnership. Each of the Bay Program partners agrees to use its own resources to implement projects and activities that advance Bay restoration. The partnership defines its collective actions through formal, voluntary agreements and provides general policy direction through consensus documents, typically called directives.

Partner Actions

When members sign Executive Council documents, they commit to use all their available resources to achieve the document's goals.

• A governor commits all state agencies to work to implement the terms and meet the goals of the directive.
• The EPA administrator signs Executive Council documents next to the Seal of the United States of America, indicating representation for the entire federal government, not just the EPA.
• The chair of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, the tri-state legislative body, acts in a similar fashion. The chair signs Executive Council documents next to the Commission's seal, signifying support from legislators from all three Bay states.

Although all of the agreements are entered into voluntarily, they may result in mandatory actions. The general agreement to reduce phosphorus, for example, was supported through state-mandated bans on phosphates in laundry detergent. Other actions, such as the forest buffer goal, are entirely voluntary, relying on partner advocacy, funding and ability to work with willing landowners.

Chesapeake Bay Program Office

Day-to-day operation of the partnership is held in the Chesapeake Bay Program Office, located in Annapolis, Maryland. The Bay Program Office houses the Bay Program's permanent staff, which includes federal, state and non-government employees representing:

• Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
• Chesapeake Research Consortium
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin
• Maryland Department of the Environment
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• National Park Service
• Pinchot Institute for Conservation
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• USDA Forest Service
• U.S. Geological Survey
• University of Maryland
• Virginia Tech

By law, this office supports the Executive Council “ by implementing and coordinating science, research, modeling, support services, monitoring, data collections and other activities that support the Chesapeake Bay Program.”

Structure of the Chesapeake Bay Program

The Bay Program is organized into committees and goal implementation teams.

• Just below the Executive Council is the Principals' Staff Committee (PSC), composed primarily of cabinet-level representatives from the states and District of Columbia, EPA's regional administrator, a representative from the Bay Commission and the Bay Program Office's director. This group serves as advisors to their Executive Council members.
• In addition, the PSC provides policy and program direction to the Management Board. This group is composed of senior managers from each of the partners, chairs of the Program's subcommittees, federal agency representatives and other restoration leaders. It directs and coordinates all of the goal teams and workgroups under it.
• Goal implementation teams include experts from throughout the watershed. Thus, academic experts, advocacy organizations and others become active members of the broad restoration partnership.
• The Bay Program Office director chairs the Management Board, and the Bay Program Office supplies the staff to support the work of all the committees and goal teams.