Guidance for Federal Land Management in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Basic Information and Introduction
This guidance for federal land management in the Chesapeake Bay watershed allows the federal government to lead the way in protecting the watershed and the Bay. The guidance presents the most effective tools and practices to reduce water pollution and addresses a variety of nonpoint sources.
The guidance, a requirement of Section 502 of the President's Chesapeake Bay Executive Order 13508, provides federal land managers with a guide to implementing the best proven tools and practices to restore and protect the region's waterways and the Bay. The same techniques can be utilized by states, local governments, conservation districts, watershed organizations, developers, farmers and citizens in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
The cost-effective tools and practices outlined in the document are indicated by current scientific and technical literature to be the most state-of-the-art approaches to reduce water pollution from nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment.
This document does not cover activities that are generally subject to NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit requirements, which are already governed by federal regulations and federally required permits. Rather, this guidance document focuses on nonpoint source reduction activities-including activities that arguably could be federally regulated as point sources but have traditionally not been so regulated.
Chapter 1. Introduction (PDF) (8 pp, 187K, About PDF)