US Environmental Protection Agency 

Office of Enforcement and Compliance 

Assurance (OECA) 

Chesapeake Bay 

Compliance and Enforcement Strategy 

May 2010
Chesapeake Bay Compliance and Enforcement Strategy

May 12, 2010

I. Introduction

The Chesapeake Bay (Bay) is North America’s largest and most biologically diverse 

estuary, home to more than 3,700 species of plants and animals. It is approximately 200 miles 

long, contains more than 11,000 miles of tidal shoreline, and is fed by more than 100,000 creeks, 

streams, and rivers. The watershed spreads over 64,000 square miles and includes parts of six 

states—Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia—and the 

entire District of Columbia. As of 2007, approximately 17 million people lived in the Bay 

watershed. The Bay provides significant economic and recreational benefits, estimated to exceed 

$33 billion annually, to the watershed’s population.1

 The Bay’s waters are threatened by 

pollution from a variety of sources. To address non-compliance with environmental laws and 

associated environmental impacts to this watershed, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA) has developed this Chesapeake Bay Compliance and Enforcement Strategy (Strategy), 

which guides the use of EPA’s compliance and enforcement tools to target pollution sources 

impairing the Bay watershed and regulated by federal environmental statutes.

a. Current Health of the Bay 

The current status of the Bay’s health remains unacceptable. While total pollution levels 

have declined since 1985, most of the Bay’s waters are degraded and are incapable of fully 

supporting fishing, crabbing, or recreational activities. Algal blooms fed by nutrient pollution 

block sunlight from reaching underwater Bay grasses and lead to low oxygen levels in the water. 

Suspended sediment from urban development, agricultural lands, and some natural sources is 

carried into the Bay and clouds its waters. Portions of the Bay and its tidal tributaries are 

contaminated with chemical pollutants that can be found in fish tissue. The Bay’s critical habitats 

and food web are at risk. Nutrient and sediment runoff have harmed Bay grasses and bottom 

habitat, while disproportionate algae growth has pushed the Bay food web out of balance. The 

Bay’s habitats and lower food web (benthic and plankton communities) are functioning at 45 

percent of desired levels. Many of the Bay’s fish and shellfish populations are below historical 

levels. The blue crab population continues to be low, and the stock is not rebuilding; oyster 

restoration efforts are hampered by disease, and the stock remains at low levels; American shad 

continues at depressed levels; the menhaden population in the Bay is low despite healthy 

populations along the Atlantic coast; and while striped bass are plentiful, but there is concern 

about disease and malnutrition. The Bay’s fish and shellfish populations are at 48 percent of 

desired levels. Fish kills occur in a number of rivers leading to the Bay.2

 

b. Significant Pollutants and Sources 

The greatest pollution threats to the Bay are from nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and 

sediment. These pollutants come from many sources, including agricultural operations, 

 

1 EPA, Office of Inspector Gen., Rep. No. 08‐P‐0199, EPA Needs to Better Report Chesapeake Bay Challenges: A Summary Report 3

(July 14, 2008), at http://www.epa.gov/oig/reports/2008/20080714‐08‐P‐0199.pdf. 2 Chesapeake Bay Program, Bay Barometer: A Health and Restoration Assessment of the Chesapeake Bay and Watershed in

2008, CBP/TRS‐293‐09, EPA‐903‐R‐09‐001, (March 2009), at

http://www.chesapeakebay.net/content/publications/cbp_34915.pdf.

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wastewater treatment facilities, urban storm water runoff, and air deposition from power plants 

and cars. Agricultural sources contribute the largest nutrient and sediment pollution in the 

watershed, accounting for approximately 38 percent of nitrogen loading, 45 percent of 

phosphorus loading, and 60 percent of the sediment loading. About one-half of the nitrogen from 

agriculture is from animal manure. Municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities 

account for approximately 20 percent of the nutrient loading to the Bay. Urban and suburban 

storm water runoff accounts for approximately 10 percent of the nitrogen loading, 31 percent of 

phosphorous loading, and 19 percent of sediment loading. Population growth and development 

and the rapid increase in the amount of impervious surfaces have caused storm water pollution to 

be a growing concern. 

Air pollution contributes approximately 34 percent of the total nitrogen loading to the 

Bay.3

 Modeling estimates based on projected emissions for 2020 indicate that the relative 

contributions of different source sectors of airborne nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to oxidized 

nitrogen deposition to the Bay watershed will be 26 percent from on-road mobile sources; 

21 percent from non-road/marine/construction mobile sources; 17 percent from industrial 

sources; 15 percent from power plants; 12 percent from residential and commercial sources; and 

9 percent from other sources.4

 Figure 1 shows the relative responsibility for pollutant loadings to 

the Bay.

Figure 1. Relative responsibility for pollution loads to the Bay. 

 

3 Chesapeake Bay Program, Questions and Answers from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Hearing on the

Chesapeake Bay on April 20, 2009 (June 3, 2009). 4 Robin Dennis, Report on Relative Responsibility Assessment of Sectors and States: Oxidized‐Nitrogen Deposition in 2020 (final

numbers), Chesapeake Bay Modeling Subcommittee Meeting, Annapolis, MD. (April 8, 2008).

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Other pollutants of concern in the Bay include hazardous wastes, like polychlorinated biphenyls 

(PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and metals in river sediment. These 

contaminants can leach into the groundwater or discharge directly into the Bay from different 

sources in the watershed and airshed, such as industrial facilities, hazardous waste sites, landfills, 

urban storm water runoff, and mobile and stationary air sources. 

II. Compliance and Enforcement Role 

In the Bay watershed, only a portion of the nutrient and sediment pollution is regulated 

under the Clean Water Act (CWA) or the Clean Air Act (CAA). According to estimates by 

EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program Office, only approximately 49 percent of total nitrogen, 35

percent of total phosphorus, and 4 percent of total sediment is subject to federal regulation. The 

best modeling indicates that nitrogen pollution to the Chesapeake Bay must be reduced by 30 

percent, and phosphorus pollution must be reduced by 8 percent to meet water quality standards. 

Achieving that level of reduction will require significant and sustained reductions by all source 

categories, including agriculture. Yet, even full compliance with existing regulations will not 

result in the necessary pollution reductions to restore the health of the Bay. 

Agricultural sources and urban storm water runoff account for about half of the nitrogen 

and three-quarters of the phosphorus pollution to the Bay. Air deposition of nitrogen from 

stationary and mobile sources accounts for about one-third of the nitrogen pollution. EPA 

regulates pollution discharges from some of these sources, including concentrated animal feeding 

operations (CAFOs) and municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), through the CWA 

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program and regulates 

other sources through the CAA. Many sources, however, are not subject to federal environmental 

regulations, including row crop agricultural operations and suburban storm water runoff outside 

specific municipal storm water sewersheds. 

EPA will use all available enforcement mechanisms to address significant violations, and 

to ensure permanent, consistent compliance with the federal environmental laws. EPA will also 

exercise its enforcement authority and use compliance programs where the states have either 

failed to act or impede action. EPA will identify where permit program improvements are 

needed to further ensure effective compliance and environmental protection. For example, MS4s 

are not typical end-of-pipe permits with clearly defined numeric effluent limits. Instead, permit 

conditions often emphasize actions that should be taken to achieve certain outcomes and are 

frequently written with imprecise provisions. Without expanded regulatory coverage and 

stronger permit requirements, compliance and enforcement cannot remedy the Bay’s pollution 

problems. 

The magnitude of resources and effort needed to improve Bay water quality is significant 

and requires a new generation of federal and state regulatory actions. These include: (1) 

finalizing total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) throughout the Bay watershed; (2) expanding the 

definition of CAFO to encompass smaller animal feeding operations (AFOs); (3) defining more 

stringent permit conditions related to the land application of animal manure; (4) expanding 

NPDES storm water regulations to apply to high-growth, urban/suburban areas; (5) creating 

more stringent permit conditions including standards for discharges of storm water from 

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new/redevelopment projects and retrofit criteria for large facilities with impervious surfaces such 

as shopping malls, roads, and parking lots; and (6) ensuring adequate, enforceable NPDES 

permits for MS4s. 

Many of these program and regulatory improvements may require additional time to 

develop and implement before pollutant reductions needed for a healthy Chesapeake Bay are 

realized. In the interim, immediate action can be undertaken. For example, EPA can: 

 Monitor compliance with major milestones for installing controls at wastewater treatment 

plants and take appropriate enforcement; 

 Audit, inspect, and provide compliance assistance to (or take enforcement against) MS4s to 

improve best management practices and storm water management plans; 

 Enforce storm water requirements at large construction sites to reduce sediment; 

 Designate AFOs as CAFOs, making them subject to permitting requirements; 

 Seek to ensure that all CAFOs that discharge or propose to discharge obtain and comply 

with NPDES permits; 

 With other EPA, state, and federal partners, engage in education and outreach to the 

CAFO/AFO community about statutory and regulatory requirements; 

 Take judicial or administrative actions against livestock integrators for discharges from 

CAFOs; 

 Enforce new source review, NSPS, and state implementation plan (SIP) requirements at 

stationary sources reduce NOx emissions; 

 Pursue enforcement-led cleanup activities at hazardous-waste sites identified as 

contributing to specific impairments to water quality in the Bay; 

 Achieve pollutant reductions through strategic use of endangerment authorities; and 

 Enhance effectiveness in overseeing state enforcement programs and initiate supportive 

federal enforcement actions, as appropriate. 

Without program and regulatory improvements, EPA’s use of compliance activities and 

enforcement actions can assure only modest nutrient and sediment pollution reductions to the 

Bay. However, compliance and enforcement efforts aimed at key regulated sectors and pollutants 

affecting the Bay will deter activities contributing to the Bay’s impairment. Compliance and 

enforcement efforts will continue into the future after EPA develops new environmental 

requirements that expand coverage of existing permitting programs and establish new, enhanced 

standards of performance for preventing pollutants from entering the Bay’s watershed. At that 

time, enforcement will have an even greater impact. 

While EPA will continue to play an important enforcement role in the Bay states, the states 

are the critical cops on the beat, conducting a large percentage of the compliance monitoring 

(.e.g., compliance inspections), and enforcement. As such, EPA will coordinate compliance and 

enforcement efforts with states (and commonwealth) partners around the Bay to ensure robust 

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watershed and airshed-wide compliance and enforcement programs that establish clear 

expectations for the public and the regulated community regarding compliance. Through our 

coordinated efforts, EPA and state compliance and enforcement programs will strengthen actions 

to ensure compliance. Our complementary enforcement and compliance efforts will identify 

opportunities to promote sound management practices to reduce pollution in the Bay. 

To enhance transparency, EPA has developed a Chesapeake Bay compliance and 

enforcement Web site where this Strategy and other relevant information related to compliance 

and enforcement is posted. The Web site is at 

www.epa.gov/compliance/civil/initiatives/chesapeakebay.html. 

III. Strategy 

a. Overview 

This is a multiyear and multistate strategy combining our water, air and waste 

enforcement authorities to achieve maximum protection. The Strategy is designed to augment 

and enhance existing work to identify and address violations of federal environmental laws 

resulting in nutrient, sediment and other pollution in the Bay. This is a focused and aggressive 

plan to address pollution sources that are violating federal environmental laws, both in the Bay’s 

watershed and the airshed. Under the Strategy, EPA will identify and address industrial, 

municipal, and agricultural sources releasing significant amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, 

sediment, and other pollutants to the Bay in excess of amounts allowed by applicable 

environmental laws. Specifically, EPA will: 

 Identify nutrient and sediment impaired sub-watersheds. The identification of the subwatersheds is guided by specific threats to the Bay’s health, including: 

o The extent of impairments from pollutants of concern; 

o The degree of excess pollutant loads; 

o The number and types of regulated sources located in the watershed segment (or 

depositing pollutants to that watershed for some air sources); 

o The water quality rating (good, threatened, or impaired); 

o The number of primary contact recreation beaches; 

o The number of shellfish beds/beaches; 

o Fish consumption advisories; 

o The magnitude of wetland loss; 

o The prevalence of minority populations, populations disproportionately below the 

poverty line, or sensitive populations such as subsistence fishermen; 

o Urban waters; and 

o Contaminated site cleanup opportunities. 

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 Identify key regulated sectors that, when in non-compliance with applicable 

environmental regulations, contribute significant amounts of nutrients, sediment and 

other pollutants to impaired sub- watersheds or that have otherwise been determined to 

have a detrimental impact on Bay water quality. At this juncture, the key regulated 

sectors are: concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO); municipal and industrial 

wastewater facilities; storm water National Pollution Discharge Elimination System 

(NPDES) point sources including Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4s) and 

storm water discharges from construction sites and other regulated industrial facilities; 

and air deposition sources of nitrogen regulated under the Clean Air Act, including power 

plants. 

 Analyze the compliance records for facilities in the key regulated sectors including: the 

pattern and seriousness of noncompliance; the occurrence of un-permitted discharges; 

ownership status/relationships and location (across states); and the volume and nature of 

the facility’s discharges. 

 Investigate and inspect facilities in the key regulated sectors, pursue appropriate 

enforcement actions to ensure compliance, and estimate pollutant-loading reductions for 

nitrogen, phosphorous and sediment related to those completed actions. Investigations 

and inspections of the highest priority include: 

o CAFO operations located in the Delmarva peninsula, south-central Pennsylvania 

and the Shenandoah Valley; 

o Significant wastewater treatment plants as designated by the Bay states based on 

design flow or nitrogen and phosphorus loading, which are in noncompliance with 

nutrient-related requirements; 

o Geographic areas with high nitrogen and phosphorus loadings and counties with 

high rates of growth and development for storm water NPDES point sources; and 

o Large sources of nitrogen oxide and ammonia emissions located within the Bay 

airshed. 

 Identify appropriate opportunities for compliance and enforcement activities related to 

other sources of pollution affecting the Bay including the Clean Water Act wetland 

protection program, federal facilities, and Superfund sites, including remedial action and 

removal sites, and Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective action 

facilities. 

 Explore opportunities to use imminent and substantial endangerment authorities under 

the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation Recovery Act, 

Superfund, and the Clean Air Act to address significant pollution problems affecting the 

Bay. 

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 Continuous and comprehensive review of ongoing water and air protection work 

impacting the Bay, much of which addresses some of the most significant discharges of 

pollutants to the Bay, to ensure a constant focus on sources that have not yet been 

addressed. 

 Leverage EPA and states’ limited compliance and enforcement resources through close 

coordination with the states on targeting strategies to pursue the most serious contributors 

to Bay impairment. Specific projections of enforcement and compliance activities will be 

developed, monitored, and readjusted as the work goes forward. 

b. Sector Strategies 

i. Municipal and Industrial Wastewater 

Overview 

Wastewater treatment facilities discharge approximately 20 percent of total nitrogen and 

21 percent of total phosphorus to the Bay. Over 3,000 wastewater facilities discharge to the Bay 

watershed. Using design flow and nutrient loading as the criteria, the Bay states designated 483 

of these wastewater facilities as “significant” as determined by their water quality affects on the 

Bay. More than 90% of the nitrogen and phosphorous added to the Bay from wastewater 

treatment facilities comes from these 483 significant facilities. 

Due largely to treatment plant upgrades and pollution prevention measures, nitrogen and 

phosphorus loads discharged by significant wastewater treatment facilities have decreased by 40 

percent and 65 percent, respectively, since 1985. Many of the significant municipal and 

industrial wastewater treatment plants in the Bay watershed will require additional treatment 

upgrades or process changes and either are already subject to, or may be placed on, enforceable 

schedules to meet more stringent annual nutrient limits for total nitrogen and total phosphorus. 

EPA and Bay states will monitor compliance with major milestones for this work and with the 

new annual nutrient limits. EPA and the Bay states will also ensure that facilities with permit 

violations receive appropriate enforcement. 

Goal

EPA is focusing on significant wastewater facilities with permit schedules for upgrading 

nutrient treatment, with the goal of ensuring those facilities remain on schedule and addressing 

emerging non-compliance. To achieve these goals, EPA is working with states to implement the 

NPDES program, using the full breadth of EPA and state compliance programs and enforcement 

responses. EPA will (1) continue its oversight of authorized state NPDES enforcement 

programs; (2) work closely with the Bay states to ensure timely and appropriate enforcement 

action is initiated in response to identified violations of compliance schedules and permit limits; 

and (3) provide technical assistance to the states where needed. 

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ii. Storm water 

 Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4)

Overview 

Urban and suburban storm water discharges account for approximately 10 percent of 

nitrogen, 31 percent of phosphorus, and 19 percent of sediment discharged to the Bay. However, 

most of the nutrients and sediment discharged to the Bay in urban/suburban storm water runoff 

are discharged through storm water outfalls that are not in designated MS4 areas regulated by the 

NPDES program. Only approximately 2 percent of the nitrogen, 6 percent of the phosphorus, 

and 4 percent of sediment delivered to the Bay through urban/suburban storm water discharge 

outfalls are regulated by EPA and the Bay states under the NPDES MS4 program. 

The NPDES permitting program requires MS4s to develop and implement storm water 

management programs to minimize the discharge of pollutants to the maximum extent 

practicable. Components of an adequate storm water management plan include programs to 

oversee construction activities, eliminate illegal discharges to the storm sewer system, educate 

the public about pollution prevention, and manage storm water discharges from areas of new 

development and redevelopment. Large and medium MS4 programs determined by population 

size must also develop and implement a program for overseeing industrial and commercial 

facilities that have a significant effect on water quality. 

EPA relies primarily on audits and inspections to identify non-compliance with MS4 

permits. Common deficiencies documented include inadequate construction oversight programs 

and poor assessment of storm water management practices to assure protection of water quality 

standards. Furthermore, permit quality remains a concern for MS4 enforcement efforts. Results 

from audits and inspections will continue to inform needed improvements to these permits and 

EPA will work with Bay states to improve MS4 permit quality. 

 Goal 

EPA and the Bay states will review and evaluate MS4 storm water programs, strengthen 

permits as needed, and address MS4s that are in significant non-compliance with their permits. 

In the Bay watershed, there are approximately 450 MS4s most of which are located in Maryland, 

Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The location of the MS4s coincides with areas with high nutrient 

loadings and counties experiencing high rates of growth and development. To achieve this goal, 

EPA will focus compliance monitoring and enforcement efforts on all MS4s in the Bay 

watershed with initial focus on larger MS4s and on clusters of smaller MS4s located within the 

same watersheds. 

 Storm water Industrial (including Construction) 

 Overview 

Storm water runoff from several industrial sectors, including construction sites equal to 

or greater than one acre are regulated by the NPDES program. At these sites, industrial 

processes and material handling and storage are often exposed to precipitation. As storm water 

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runoff or snowmelt comes into contact with these processes, pollutants can be transported to 

nearby storm drains or directly to surface waters. Pollutants can include sediment, oil and grease, 

and chemical and/or biological oxygen demand. Concrete and asphalt operations, such as readymix concrete facilities, and mineral extraction have been identified as industrial storm water 

potential sectors of concern in the Bay.

The construction sector is one of the 10 industrial sectors regulated under the NPDES 

program for industrial storm water discharges. Clearing, grubbing, grading, and other 

construction activities disturb and expose the soil surfaces, allowing significant amounts of 

sediment transport through storm water runoff into storm drains and other discharge points into 

waterbodies. In addition, the loss of vegetation, soil compaction, and increase in the amount of 

impervious surface result in increased storm water flow amounts and velocity. Such increases, 

contribute to streambed and bank scour and erosion, channel widening, and stream bank 

undercutting, which, in turn, increase the amount of sediment discharged to the Bay. 

The Chesapeake Bay Program Office has identified the 20 fastest growing counties in the 

Bay watershed. Previous inspection targeting by EPA also found that much of the recent 

residential construction in the greater Chesapeake Bay watershed has occurred in and around the 

population centers of York, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, D.C.; Wilmington, 

Delaware; and Richmond, Virginia. The priority areas for targeting construction site and 

industrial facility inspections will generally be within these high growth and development areas 

with one notable exception – New York. Because none of the 20 fastest growing counties 

identified by the Chesapeake Bay Program Office are located in New York, the focus within this 

state will be construction activities located near sediment impaired waters. 

 Goal 

For construction sites and other priority industrial sectors, EPA will address, through the 

appropriate enforcement mechanism, construction sites and industrial facilities that are in 

significant non-compliance. To achieve this goal, EPA will focus in areas experiencing high 

rates of growth and development and those near sediment impaired water bodies. In addition, 

EPA will gather information to determine if currently unregulated priority urban/suburban 

separate storm sewer systems should be covered by CWA requirements. 

iii. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations 

Overview 

 Agriculture is the single largest source of nutrients to the Chesapeake Bay. Agricultural 

operations deliver nitrogen and phosphorus to the Bay accounting for 38 percent of nitrogen and 

45 percent of phosphorus.5 Seventeen percent of the nitrogen and 26 percent of phosphorus from 

agriculture is from animal manure, and an additional 6 percent of nitrogen delivered to the Bay 

comes from livestock and fertilized soil emissions. About one-third of animal manure is 

regulated (contributing 6 percent of nitrogen and 8 percent of phosphorus delivered to the Bay).

The remaining nitrogen and phosphorus from agriculture is from non-animal agriculture (e.g., 

rowcrops) and smaller animal feeding operations or emissions which are not subject to the 

 

5 This estimate assumes that these sources are in full compliance with their current NPDES permit requirements.

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regulatory restrictions imposed on CAFOs. Thus, EPA can only address a portion of nutrients 

from animal agriculture pursuant to existing regulatory authority.

Three areas represent the greatest contributions of manure-based agricultural nutrient 

loads to the Bay: (1) Delmarva Peninsula: Delaware, and the Eastern Shores of Maryland and 

Virginia; poultry—broiler chickens—is the dominant industry sector; (2) South-central 

Pennsylvania: Susquehanna River watershed/Lancaster and York counties; dairy is the dominant 

industry sector; to a lesser extent, swine and poultry (broiler and egg-laying chickens) also 

operate in this priority area; and (3) Shenandoah Valley: Virginia and West Virginia; poultry—

broiler chickens and turkeys—is the dominant industry sector; small- and medium-dairies and to 

a lesser extent, swine and beef cattle facilities also operate in this priority area. The watersheds in 

those areas suffer from significant nutrient imbalances and nutrient-related, local water quality 

impairments. Densely populated animal agriculture operations in these areas cause the highest 

agricultural nutrient loads to the Bay by comparison to other areas. Inconsistent implementation 

of sound nutrient management practices has resulted in manure over-application and nutrient 

loading. 

 Goal 

The goal is to reduce nutrient loads to the Bay by addressing non-compliance and by 

focusing compliance and enforcement activities on facilities in three key areas—the Delmarva 

Peninsula, South-central Pennsylvania, and the Shenandoah Valley. EPA will initially focus its 

CAFO compliance and enforcement activities on facilities in these three geographic areas. 

However, EPA will also maintain its CAFO compliance and enforcement presence throughout 

the Bay watershed. After addressing facilities in the initial three areas, EPA will build on its 

existing presence and expand its CAFO compliance and enforcement activities to facilities in 

other Bay watershed areas with CAFO-related nutrient impairments. 

To achieve this goal, EPA will prescribe actions calculated to increase CAFOs’ 

regulatory compliance and reduce their nutrient loads to the Bay. EPA will achieve deterrence in 

the watershed by targeting enforcement actions and remedies at facilities located in watersheds 

impaired for nutrients that are critical to the restoration of the Bay. Specifically, EPA will work 

with states to target implementation of the CAFO program to minimize CAFO nutrient effects on 

the Bay, by investigating and inspecting facilities that pose the most risk to the Bay watershed 

and taking enforcement actions to compel compliance. EPA will maximize the extent to which 

current state CAFO programs are achieving their intended water quality benefits by working 

with states to expand the permitted facility universe and issue sufficiently stringent permits. 

Permits should, at a minimum, require that nutrient management plans be based on existing soil 

saturation levels. EPA will also work with states to build sustainable programs for compliance 

monitoring and enforcement (e.g., undertake universe-identification and information-gathering 

activities, conduct joint and oversight inspections with state partners to ensure appropriate 

implementation of federal standards). Finally, EPA will seek to address CAFO air emissions and 

develop appropriate remedies to reduce emissions and their adverse water quality effect on the 

Bay. 

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iv. Air Deposition 

 Overview 

Nitrogen emissions from sources within the Chesapeake Bay airshed contribute 

approximately 75 percent of the nitrogen deposition to the Bay watershed. The remaining 25 

percent of the nitrogen deposition is from long-range transport of emissions from sources outside 

the airshed, including emissions from portions of southeastern Canada. Of the inorganic nitrogen 

deposited to the Chesapeake Bay watershed from air emission sources, approximately 67 percent 

is from air emissions of NOx. The remaining 33 percent is from emissions of ammonia (NH3). 

The contributions from any single facility in the long-range emissions transport category are 

unlikely to be significant. Sources of NOx include electric generating units, other industrial 

stationary sources, on- and off-road mobile sources (cars, trucks, ships, tractors), lightning, and 

soil. Sources of ammonia include AFOs, fertilized fields, mobile sources, and industrial 

stationary sources. 

 Goal 

The goal is to reduce nitrogen air deposition by addressing non-compliance with existing 

air pollution control requirements. Coal-fired power plants, acid, glass, and cement 

manufacturing are already national enforcement priorities for the Agency because of the 

substantial emissions of NOx and other pollutants from those industries. EPA is pursuing a 

coordinated, integrated compliance and enforcement strategy to address CAA New Source 

Review compliance issues at the nation's coal-fired power plants. Many of these cases have 

already resulted in settlements that will reduce nitrogen deposition to the Bay, such as the 

settlement with American Electric Power, which when fully phased in, will reduce NOx 

emissions from the company’s power plants in the Chesapeake airshed by more than 150,000 

tons per year. EPA also intends to seek additional NOx reductions through enforcement of New 

Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and SIP provisions governing NOx emissions. EPA will 

continue to vigorously pursue these priorities but with a new emphasis on sources that contribute 

to nitrogen pollution in the Bay. 

To achieve this goal EPA will target enforcement actions at sources in the Chesapeake 

Bay airshed, which includes Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New 

York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, New 

Jersey, and the District of Columbia. EPA will focus on achieving reductions in NOx to reduce 

nitrogen loading to the Bay. Specifically, EPA will seek reductions from stationary sources of 

NOx emissions by enforcing New Source Review, NSPS, and SIP requirements pertaining to 

NOx emissions and obtaining either judgments or enforceable settlement agreements to install 

pollution control technology and incorporate best management practices. Enforcement actions 

designed to reduce nitrogen deposition to the Chesapeake Bay could also result in substantial 

reductions in sulfur dioxide, mercury, and other pollutants if the Agency and its state partners are 

successful in obtaining binding commitments from utilities and other sources to install pollutioncontrol technologies. Such additional pollution reductions, in turn, could yield significant public 

health and welfare benefits, including reduced respiratory problems and fewer fish consumption 

advisories. 

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v. Toxics Cleanup 

Overview 

In addition to nutrients and sediments other serious contaminants are negatively affecting 

water quality in the Bay, such as PCBs; PAHs; and metals—such as mercury, endocrine 

disruptors, and pesticides. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that 72 percent of the Bay 

segments are impaired by contaminants. Such contaminants can leach into the groundwater or 

directly into the Bay from sources in the watershed, such as industrial facilities, hazardous waste 

sites, landfills, urban storm water runoff, and mobile and stationary air sources. 

Goal

EPA will look broadly at the sources of toxic contamination to the Bay and work with the 

states and other federal agencies to reduce the effect of hazardous substances on the Bay. In 

particular, EPA will address on toxics in three geographic areas in the watershed and closely tied 

to the Bay: (1) the Elizabeth River; (2) the Anacostia River; and (3) Baltimore Harbor/Patapsco 

River. Those areas have been identified as the waters most affected by toxic contaminants and 

contain current and/or historical RCRA facilities, federal facilities, and Superfund sites. To 

achieve this goal, EPA will use Superfund and RCRA authorities and partner with other federal 

departments/agencies and states. We will seek to access and leverage resources, authorities and 

compliance and enforcement strategies to address contaminants in these three areas. Over time, 

EPA will continue to look for opportunities to use its Superfund, RCRA corrective action and 

Toxic Substances Control Act authorities to address sources of hazardous substances within the 

Bay watershed. 

In addition, actions taken pursuant to other parts of this Strategy are likely to also have an 

impact on toxics in the Bay. For example, air enforcement actions designed to reduce nitrogen 

deposition to the Bay could also result in reductions in mercury; improvements in wastewater 

treatment and MS4 permits, facilities, and practices could also result in reduced toxics; and better 

management of chicken litter from CAFOs could reduce the amount of arsenic entering the Bay. 

Finally, ongoing efforts to reduce toxic contaminants entering the Bay and its tributary waters, 

for example, for new TMDLs for local streams and larger-scale TMDLs for listed chemical 

impairments (e.g., PCBs in the Potomac Basin) will also have a positive effect on toxic levels in 

the Bay. EPA will continue to look for opportunities to address nutrients, sediments, and 

contaminants together.