Features Regional Regulations
EPA announces meetings on Chesapeake Bay

September 9, 2010,
Philadelphia, PA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to
hold 18 public meetings this fall to discuss the draft Chesapeake Bay Total
Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) – a strict “pollution diet” to restore local waters
and the Chesapeake Bay.
September 9, 2010,
Philadelphia, PA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to
hold 18 public meetings this fall to discuss the draft Chesapeake Bay Total
Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) – a strict “pollution diet” to restore local waters
and the Chesapeake Bay.

“We encourage the public
to continue to provide input as the EPA moves forward in finalizing and
implementing this blueprint for restoration,” said EPA regional administrator
Shawn M. Garvin. “Restoring the Chesapeake Bay and the waterways that connect
to it will not be easy, and every citizen in the bay watershed has a stake and
a role in this process.”

The Bay TMDL will set
binding limits on nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution throughout the
64,000-square-mile watershed to meet clean water standards for the bay and its
tidal tributaries and help restore local rivers and streams.

At the public meetings,
EPA officials will outline the draft Bay TMDL and highlight key provisions
designed to ensure that by 2025 all practices that are necessary to fully
restore the bay are in place, with 60 percent of the actions taken by 2017.

The EPA will also receive
comments and answer questions from the public at the meetings, which are part
of an official 45-day public comment period on the draft TMDL ending November
8. In addition, officials from the respective states and D.C. are expected
to participate in the meetings to discuss their draft implementation plans to
achieve and maintain the necessary pollution reductions. The
implementation plans were submitted to the EPA last week and are being used to help
the agency shape details of the TMDL.

The draft Bay TMDL will
be issued on Sept. 24. Instructions for submitting formal written comments
to the EPA will be included on the Bay TMDL web site at http://www.epa.gov/chesapeakebaytmdl
and contained in an upcoming Federal Register Notice. A final Bay TMDL
will be established by Dec. 31, 2010.

The public meetings will
be held across the six watershed states: Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, West Virginia, New York, and the District of Columbia, from late
September to early November. One meeting in each state will be accessible
online via webinar.

The public meetings are
scheduled for:

• Washington, D.C.,
  September 29, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.*
• Harrisonburg,
  Virginia, October 4, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
• Annandale,
  Virginia, October 5, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
• Richmond, Virginia,
  October 6, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
• Webinar, October 7,
  1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
• Hampton, Virginia,
  October 7, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
• Georgetown,
  Delaware, October 11, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.*
• Easton, Maryland,
  October 12, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
• Annapolis,
  Maryland, October 13, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
• Hagerstown,
  Maryland, October 14, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.*
• Lancaster,
  Pennsylvania, October 18, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
• State College,
  Pennsylvania, October 19, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
• Williamsport,
  Pennsylvania, October 20, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.*
• Ashley,
  Pennsylvania, October 21, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
• Elmira, New York,
  October 26, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
• Binghamton, New
  York, October 27, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.*
• Martinsburg, West
  Virginia, November 3, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
• Romney, West
  Virginia, November 4, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.*

* Meeting also broadcast
online via webinar.

Complete information on
the meetings, including venues, directions and webinar registration links, can
be found on the Bay TMDL web site. For more information, visit http://www.epa.gov/chesapeakebaytmdl.