Chesapeake Bay Executive Order Section 502 calls upon the Administrator of EPA to publish guidance for federal land management in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. EPA’s objective in developing the guidance is to provide the information that will allow federal agencies to lead by their example.  The guidance provides information and data on appropriate proven and cost-effective tools and practices for implementation on federal lands and at federal facilities.

From the perspective of land management and water quality restoration/protection, this set of “proven cost-effective tools and practices that reduce water pollution” is also useful for nonfederal land managers to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay.  These tools and practices, when implemented broadly, would significantly advance the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.

Extensive studies of the Chesapeake Bay indicate that the great majority of nonpoint sources in the Chesapeake Bay watershed will need to be controlled, and controlled well, in order to restore the Bay. Accordingly, this guidance has chapters addressing the categories of nonpoint source pollution from federal land management activity in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that are sources of nutrients and sediments currently contributed to the Bay.  The categories of activity addressed in this guidance are agriculture, urban and suburban, including turf, forestry, riparian areas, decentralized wastewater treatment systems, and hydromodification.

Each chapter contains one or more "implementation measures" that provide the framework for the chapter.  These are intended to convey the actions that will help ensure that the broad goals of the Chesapeake Bay Executive Order can be achieved.  Each chapter also includes information on practices that can be used to achieve the goals; information on the effectiveness and costs of the practices; where relevant, cost savings or other economic/societal benefits (in addition to the pollutant reduction benefits) that derive from the implementation goals and/or practices; and copious references to other documents that provide additional information.

The guidance is available at http://www.epa.gov/nps/chesbay502/