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Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)

  • Ensuring Results

    A number of elements are in place to ensure implementation of the Chesapeake Bay TMDL.

  • Key Developments

    See Key Developments

    EPA evaluates PA’s Draft Amended Phase III WIP 

    EPA’s review of the jurisdiction’s trading and offset programs. 

    EPA evaluates final Conowingo WIP

  • Learn about the Chesapeake

    Watch educational videosExit
    put together by our partners
    at the Chesapeake Bay Program

    • Monitoring and Modeling the Chesapeake BayExit
  • Have a Question?

    View our Frequent Questions or Contact Us.

EPA Evaluates Pennsylvania’s Draft Amended Phase III WIP
EPA released its evaluation of Pennsylvania’s draft amended Phase III WIP.

Read EPA’s evaluation of PA’s Draft Amended WIP 
Read the Press Release

What is the Bay TMDL?

What is the Bay TMDL?

On December 29, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). The TMDL is a historic and comprehensive "pollution diet" to restore clean water in the Chesapeake Bay and the region's streams, creeks, and rivers.

  • Bay TMDL Document
  • Bay TMDL Fact Sheet
  • Bay TMDL Development
  • Frequent Questions
Brook Trout in Pendleton County WV

Implementing the TMDL

A number of elements are in place to ensure that all pollution control measures needed to fully restore the Bay and its tidal rivers are in place by 2025. Practices will also be in place by 2017 to meet 60 percent of the necessary pollution reductions.

  • Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs)
  • Milestones
  • Air Pollution Reductions
  • Wastewater Pollution Reductions
  • Trading and Offsets
  • Midpoint Assessment
Basket of Chesapeake Bay Oysters

Progress in the Watershed

Actions are being taken across six states and the District of Columbia to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment loads to meet the clean water goals of the Bay TMDL.

  • EPA Oversight
    • WIPs and Milestones
    • Sector-Specific
  • Key Developments
  • Tracking Tools
  • Watershed Happenings

Watershed Map

Map of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
The Chesapeake Bay Watershed spans six states and the District of Columbia. 

Connect with the Bay

  • Read the Bay Journal
  • Watch educational videos about the Bay on the Chesapeake Bay Program website
  • Follow the Bay Program on Twitter
  • Like the Bay Program on Facebook

Additional Resources

  • Funding Opportunities
  • Correspondence and Guides
  • Technical Support Documents
  • Federal Register Notices
  • Executive Order 13508
  • Bay Watershed Agreement
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Last updated on April 20, 2022