EPA's Assessments of Animal Agriculture Programs in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Starting in 2013, EPA conducted assessments of animal agriculture programs in six of the Bay jurisdictions (Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia). EPA’s assessed the jurisdictions’ implementation of programs to ensure reductions in the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment needed to meet the Bay TMDL allocations including federal and state regulatory programs, as well as voluntary incentive-based programs to meet the commitments in their Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs). 

EPA will use these assessments, coupled with ongoing WIP and milestone evaluations, to ensure the jurisdictions have the programs, policies, and resources necessary to meet the Bay TMDL and the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership’s water quality goal. In March 2015, EPA released its evaluations of animal agriculture programs in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. In August 2015, EPA released its evaluations of animal agriculture programs in Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia.

In 2022, EPA began updating its assessments for each of those jurisdictions and will release the updated evaluations as they are completed, beginning with Pennsylvania in December 2022.

Updated Animal Agriculture Program Assessments

• 2022 Pennsylvania Animal Agriculture Program Assessment (pdf) (1.51 MB, January 3, 2023)
• 2024 Virginia Animal Agriculture Program Assessment (pdf) (962.29 KB)

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2015 Animal Agriculture Program Assessments

• Delaware Animal Agriculture Program Assessment (pdf) (939.19 KB)
• Maryland Animal Agriculture Program Assessment (pdf) (1020.54 KB)
• New York Animal Agriculture Program Assessment (pdf) (1.27 MB)
• Pennsylvania Animal Agriculture Program Assessment (pdf) (1.23 MB)
• Virginia Animal Agriculture Program Assessment (pdf) (1.28 MB)
• West Virginia Animal Agriculture Program Assessment (pdf) (861.85 KB)