US ARMY'S CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM

Overview

The Chesapeake Bay is the nation's largest and most important estuary. Including its numerous rivers and streams, the Chesapeake Bay watershed covers 64,000 square miles in Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. The Bay's unique blend of fresh and salt water habitats is home to more than 3,600 species of plants and animals. About 17 million people live in the watershed and depend on the Bay and its tributaries for drinking water, food, power, recreation and jobs.

The Army has a significant presence in the Bay watershed, with 19 major properties encompassing over 220,000 acres, making it the largest Department of Defense landholder.

The health of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem has undergone a well publicized decline in the last several decades. Increased human population and activity have contributed to excess nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient pollution and sediment.

A cooperative partnership among the Army, DOD, other federal agencies, state governments and concerned citizen groups was established in 1984 to study and implement ways to restore the Bay. The partnership has developed a series of Chesapeake Bay Agreements to identify, implement and track voluntary measures to reverse the decline. While some restoration progress has been made voluntary efforts alone will not restore the Bay's health. So, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the states have developed the nation's most complex, multi-state Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) "pollution diet" for the Bay. EPA issued the TMDL Dec. 29, 2010, establishing maximum amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution the Bay can receive and still meet water quality standards. State watershed implementation plans serve as road maps for how and when states will reduce pollution.

The Army has been an active partner in stewardship of the Bay for many years. Army leadership signed the Chesapeake Bay Strategy in 2009 to integrate Bay conservation and protection efforts into Army missions in partnership with the Bay's stakeholders and the community. The strategy contains five clearly defined goals defined to address priorities established in Chesapeake Bay agreements and Executive Order 13508, Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration. The strategy's goal to strengthen Army installation stormwater management practices directly supports compliance with the TMDL.

The Army Regional Environmental and Energy Office- Northern (REEO-N) plays an important role in the Chesapeake Bay Program by overseeing the implementation of the Army's Chesapeake Bay strategy, sustaining and strengthening stakeholder partnerships, and sharing Army installation efforts to achieve strategy goals.

Recent Activity

REEO-N led the development of two National Defense Center for Energy and Environment (NDCEE) studies to support compliance with the Chesapeake Bay TMDL requirements. These studies have assisted Army and DOD installations, and other federal agencies managing land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, by calculating installation nutrient and sediment loads; evaluating load reductions from existing stormwater best management practices (BMPs); studying future stormwater BMPs; and sharing lessons learned with others.

REEO-N continues to work closely with the other military services, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, EPA, and state regulatory agencies on the implementation of the TMDL. REEO-N also actively supports ongoing Bay partnership efforts of the DOD Chesapeake Bay Action Team and the USEPA Chesapeake Bay Federal Facilities Team.

Resources

• Army Chesapeake Bay Strategy Fact Sheet
• NDCEE Army Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Loads Pilot (Task N. 0715)
• NDCEE Technology Transfer of Chesapeake Bay TMDL Watershed Best Management Practices (Task N. 0790)
• Chesapeake Bay Program website
• Executive Order 13508, Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration
• Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement