Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs)

Overview - Phase I WIPs - Phase II WIPs - Phase III WIPs - Jurisdiction Contacts

Overview

The Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) are the roadmap for how the Bay jurisdictions, in partnership with federal and local governments, will achieve the

Chesapeake Bay TMDL allocations. Bay jurisdictions include Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

The TMDL is designed to ensure that all pollution control measures needed to fully restore the Bay and its tidal rivers are in place by 2025. EPA expects practices in place by 2017 to meet 60 percent of the necessary reductions.

There are three phases of WIPs developed by the Bay jurisdictions. Phase I and Phase II WIPs were developed and submitted to EPA in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Both Phase I and Phase II WIPs describe actions and controls to be implemented by 2017 and 2025 to achieve applicable water quality standards. The Phase II WIPs build on the initial Phase I WIPs by providing more specific local actions. Phase III WIPs will be developed by jurisdictions based on a midpoint assessment of progress and scientific analyses that is currently underway through 2017. Phase III WIPs will provide information on actions the Bay jurisdictions intend to implement between 2018 and 2025 to meet the Bay restoration goals.

The table below shows the eight elements that must be addressed in the jurisdictions' WIPs.

Element	Description
Interim and Final Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sediment Target Loads	Interim and final target loads by pollutant source sector within each of the 92 areas draining to Clean Water Act Section 303(d) tidal water segments. The amount and location of loads from individual or aggregate point sources and nonpoint source sectors will also be included.
Current Loading Baseline and Program Capacity	Evaluation of current legal, regulatory, programmatic, financial, staffing, and technical capacity to deliver the target loads established in the TMDL.
Account for Growth	Description of procedures for estimating additional loads due to growth. Information will also be included on additional pollutant load reductions needed to offset the growth and development anticipated in the watershed between 2011 and 2025.
Gap Analysis	Identification of gaps between current capacity (Element 2) and the capacity needed to fully attain the interim and final target loads for the 92 impaired segments (Element 1).
Commitment and Strategy to Fill Gaps	Proposed strategy to systematically fill the gaps identified in Element 4.
Tracking and Reporting Protocols	Description of efforts underway or planned to improve transparent and consistent monitoring, tracking, reporting, and assessment of the effectiveness of implementation actions.
Contingencies for Slow or Incomplete Implementation	Alternative measures resulting in equivalent reductions and an indication of what such contingencies might entail if the proposed strategies in Element 5 are not implemented.
Appendix with Detailed Targets and Schedule	Detailed interim and final load targets for each tidal Bay segment drainage area, source sector, and local area (after November 2011) in an appendix. A reduction schedule comprising the 2-year target loads at the scale of each major basin within a jurisdiction will also be included. The 2-year target loads allow EPA to assess whether future 2-year milestones are on schedule to meet interim and final water quality goals.