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Chapter 1. Introduction 1-1 

1 Chapter 1. Introduction 

1. 

2 1 Background 

3 On May 12, 2009, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13508, which recognizes the 

4 Chesapeake Bay as a national treasure and calls on the federal government to lead a renewed 

5 effort to restore and protect the nation’s largest estuary and its watershed. In the Executive 

6 Order, the President states that despite significant efforts by federal, state, and local governments 

7 and other interested parties, water pollution in the Chesapeake Bay prevents the attainment of 

8 existing state water quality standards and the fishable and swimmable goals of the Clean Water 

9 Act. The President further notes that at the current level and scope of pollution control within the 

10 Chesapeake Bay’s watershed, restoration of the Chesapeake Bay is not expected for many years. 

11 Nutrients (forms of both nitrogen and phosphorus) and sediment delivered from the Chesapeake 

12 Bay watershed are the pollutants largely responsible for the continued degradation and 

13 restoration complexities of the Chesapeake Bay. 

14 The Executive Order expresses the great challenge facing our renewed efforts to restore the 

15 health of the Chesapeake Bay, 

16 Restoration of the health of the Chesapeake Bay will require a renewed commitment to 

17 controlling pollution from all sources as well as protecting and restoring habitat and 

18 living resources, conserving lands, and improving management of natural resources, all 

19 of which contribute to improved water quality and ecosystem health. 

20 To meet that challenge, the Executive Order lays out a series of steps. One of the first key steps 

21 requires the federal agencies to define the “next generation of tools and actions to restore water 

22 quality in the Chesapeake Bay and describe the changes to be made to regulations, programs, and 

23 policies to implement these actions.” The Executive Order assigns the lead responsibility to the 

24 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the federal government published the final 

25 report on November 24, 2009. The report is at 

26 http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.nethttp://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net (President 

27 Barack Obama 2009). 

28 Another key step in the Executive Order is for EPA to publish this guidance document. Section 

29 502 of the Executive Order states, 

30 The Administrator of the EPA shall, within 1 year of the date of this order and after 

31 consulting with the Committee and providing for public review and comment, publish 

32 guidance for Federal land management in the Chesapeake Bay watershed describing 

33 proven, cost-effective tools and practices that reduce water pollution, including practices 

34 that are available for use by Federal agencies. 

35 2 Purpose and Scope of this Document 

36 This document provides information and data on land management practices for federal agencies 

37 with land, facilities, or installation management responsibilities affecting ten or more acres 
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Chapter 1. Introduction 1-2 

1 within the watershed of the Chesapeake Bay to contribute towards the restoration of the 

2 Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. The ultimate goal of the Executive Order—to restore the 

3 health of the Chesapeake Bay—is very high. Yet, as the Executive Order states, the Chesapeake 

4 Bay is, “one of the largest and most biologically productive estuaries in the world.” It is certainly 

5 deserving of the ambitious effort laid out in the Executive Order. 

However, we cannot underestimate the challenge. In particular, abating nonpoint source16 

7 pollution, which is the focus of this document, presents a huge challenge to the recovery of the 

8 bay. Unless we adequately address the vast majority of nonpoint source pollution, the 

9 Chesapeake Bay will not be restored. Consider the following: 

10 • Almost half of all the nitrogen and phosphorus pollution delivered to the Chesapeake Bay 

11 derive from agricultural sources, from both livestock production and row crop land. 

12 • In addition to contributing 31 percent of phosphorus loads and 11 percent of nitrogen 

13 loads to the bay, urban runoff and stormwater sources compose the only significant 

14 pollutant source category that is increasing in the bay watershed. 

15 • River basins with the highest percentage of agricultural lands yield the highest overall 

16 amount of sediment each year, while basins with the highest percentage of forest cover 

17 yield the lowest amount of sediment. 

18 • On a per-acre basis, construction sites can contribute the most sediment of all land uses—

19 as much as 10 to 20 times that of agricultural lands. 

20 • A large percentage of riparian buffers in the Chesapeake Bay have been lost or degraded.

21 While the Chesapeake Bay Commission set a goal in 2004 to achieve buffer along 70 

22 percent of riparian lands, the percentage currently stands at 60 percent. 

23 For those and other reasons, it is critically important that we achieve, at a minimum, the nonpoint 

24 source implementation measures goals set forth in this document for the various land 

25 management categories. The implementation measuresgoals are designed to promote the use of 

26 the best, cost-effective and reasonable practices available to achieve the Executive Order’s broad 

27 and ambitious goals for the Chesapeake Bay. In turn, the practices and actions described and 

28 recommended in this document are those that are indicated by the current, state-of-the-art 

29 scientific and technical literature to be the most effective and cost-effective in achieving the 

30 Chesapeake Bay goals. Thus, the information presented in this document will enable 

31 practitioners to design and implement on-the-ground solutions that collectively will move the 

32 entire watershed toward achieving the goals. 

33 Note: This document provides guidance to states and the public regarding practices that they can 

34 use to reduce nonpoint source pollution in the Chesapeake Bay and other waterbodies. At times, 

35 this document refers to statutory and regulatory provisions that contain legally binding 

36 requirements. This document does not substitute for those provisions or regulations, nor is it a 

 

1

 This document uses the term nonpoint source broadly, as EPA has in the past, to refer to sources that are treated as 

nonpoint sources in EPA’s implementation of section 319 of the Clean Water Act. Some of those sources may 

legally be made subject to regulation as point sources under section 402(p) of the Clean Water Act. EPA has 

designated several categories of those stormwater sources for regulation, such as small municipal separate storm 

sewer systems, and may designate others for regulation in the future.
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Chapter 1. Introduction 1-3 

1 regulation itself. Thus, it does not impose legally binding requirements on EPA, states, or the 

2 public and might not apply to a particular situation according to the circumstances. EPA and 

3 state decision makers retain the discretion to adopt approaches to control nonpoint source 

4 pollution that differ from this guidance where appropriate. EPA may change this guidance in the 

5 future. 

6 3 Scope 

7 As required by Section 502 of the Executive Order, this document (1) provides guidance for 

8 federal land management in the Chesapeake Bay and (2) describes proven, cost-effective tools 

9 and practices that reduce water pollution, including practices that are available for use by federal 

10 agencies. Federal agencies in the Chesapeake Bay watershed will find this guidance useful in 

11 managing their lands, ranging from the development and redevelopment of federal facilities to 

12 managing agricultural, forested, riparian, and other land areas the federal government owns or 

13 manages. 

14 At the same time, the great majority of land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed is nonfederal land 

15 that private landowners, states, and local governments manage. Indeed, the vast majority of 

16 actions to restore the Chesapeake Bay will need to take place on nonfederal lands, and 

17 nonfederal actors will be implementing them. From the perspective of land management and 

18 water quality restoration/protection, federal and nonfederal land managers will need to employ 

19 the same set of, “proven cost-effective tools and practices that reduce water pollution” are 

20 appropriate for both federal and nonfederal land managers to restore and protect the Chesapeake 

21 Bay. 

22 Therefore, this document presents practices and actions equally applicable to federal and 

23 nonfederal land management personnel. EPA’s goal in writing this document is to provide 

24 federal agencies, states, local governments, conservation districts, watershed groups, developers, 

25 farmers and all citizens in the Chesapeake Bay watershed a useful guide to implementing the 

26 most effective and cost-effective practices available to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay. 

27 Finally, many of the nutrient and sediment sources in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are similar 

28 to sources in other watersheds around the country. Many of the practices needed to protect and 

29 restore the bay are the same as or very similar to those used in other large-scale, multistate 

30 watersheds in the country. Indeed, the authors have made great efforts to assure that they have 

31 considered all relevant data on the Chesapeake Bay watershed and used it as appropriate in 

32 preparing and publishing this document. EPA has also employed data from outside the bay 

33 watershed when it was deemed relevant and applicable to the bay. For that reason, much of the 

34 information provided in this document is relevant to other areas of the United States, and EPA 

35 strongly recommends that practitioners outside the watershed consider this guidance document 

36 (including especially “next generation tools and actions”) as they develop and implement their 

37 own watershed plans and strategies to address nutrient and sediment pollution from nonpoint 

38 sources. 

39 This document provides information pertaining to all the major categories and subcategories of 

40 nonpoint source pollution that are relevant to the Chesapeake Bay. Those categories include 
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Chapter 1. Introduction 1-4 

1 agriculture, urban and suburban development, hydromodification, on-site wastewater treatment, 

2 forestry and riparian streamside areas. 

3 The authors hope that this document serves as an effective resource for professionals, 

4 landowners (federal and nonfederal), and others who are implementing programs and practices to 

5 restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay and watershed as well as others interested in its recovery. 

6 Each chapter describes the problem presented by the relevant nonpoint source category or 

7 subcategory of activity and its relevance to the Chesapeake Bay’s recovery. Each chapter states 

8 the key goals that readers should strive to achieve to attain the ambitious overall goals for the 

9 Chesapeake Bay set forth in the Executive Order. The goals are accompanied by information and 

10 data on the cost-effective tools and practices that practitioners can employ to help achieve the 

11 goals. It also provides available effectiveness data and cost data. 

12 4 Relationship to Previous Documents 

13 EPA has produced a considerable amount of technical information regarding the effectiveness 

14 and costs of various measures and practices to address nonpoint source pollution in the past. In 

15 1993, as required by section 6217 of the Coastal Zone Act Amendments of 1990, EPA published 

16 the Guidance Specifying Management Measures for Sources of Nonpoint Pollution in Coastal 

17 Waters (USEPA 1993), which contains chapters on agriculture, forestry, urban runoff, marinas 

18 and recreational boating, hydromodification, and wetlands and riparian areas (see 

19 http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/MMGI/).http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/MMGI/). Section 6217 

20 defines management measures as, “economically achievable measures for the control of the 

21 addition of pollutants...which reflect the greatest degree of pollutant reduction achievable 

22 through the application of the best available nonpoint pollution control practices, technologies, 

23 processes, siting criteria, operating methods, or other alternatives.” The 1993 guidance includes a 

24 set of management measures in each chapter and then provides information on available 

25 practices, their effectiveness, and their costs. 

26 The National Management MeasuresEach of these volumes expandexpands a chapter from the 

27 1993 coastal guidance into an entire book that contain national management measures patterned 

28 after the coastal guidance, complete with updated data (see 

29 http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/pubs.html).http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/pubs.html). All the 

30 practices and actions in the National Management Measures books are based on those 

31 established in the 1993 publication, but the newer publications provide updated information and 

32 addresses to some extent select newly emerging issues and practices. The six National 

33 Management Measures books are 

34 • National Management Measurers for the Control of Nonpoint Pollution from Agriculture

35 (USEPA, 2003);

36 • National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Sources of Pollution from Forestry

37 (USEPA 2005b)2005); 

38 • National Management Measures to Protect and Restore Wetlands and Riparian Areas for 

39 the Abatement of Nonpoint Source Pollution (USEPA 2005c), 2005); 

40 • National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Urban 

41 Areas (USEPA 2005d), 2005); 
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Chapter 1. Introduction 1-5 

1 • Handbook for Managing Onsite and Clustered (Decentralized) Wastewater Treatment 

2 Systems (USEPA 2005a), 2005);

3 • National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from 

4 Hydromodification (USEPA, 2007).

5 This guidance document builds on those two earlier efforts but also differs in significant ways. It 

6 focuses to a considerable extent on newer, more effective approaches to controlling some of the 

7 most significant aspects of nonpoint pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and elsewhere. 

8 Most importantly, it responds to the imperative of implementing in the Chesapeake Bay 

9 watershed those “next generation tools and actions” that reflect, in the words of the Executive 

10 Order, “a renewed commitment to controlling pollution from all sources as well as protecting 

11 and restoring habitat and living resources, conserving lands, and improving management of 

12 natural resources, all of which contribute to improved water quality and ecosystem health.” 

13 5 Some Topics Receive New or Special Emphasis 

14 The key areas in which this document focuses on next-generation tools and actions that go 

15 beyond the previous nonpoint source guidance documents are the following: 

16 1. Nutrient Management. This document focuses specifically on significantly expanding on 

17 practices and actions that control the delivery of nutrients and sediment from agriculture by 

18 employing a whole-farm nutrient management planning approach from source control and 

19 avoidance, in-field control, and edge-of-field trapping and treatment. The practices and actions 

20 presented here build from the most recent, state-of-the-art literature in nutrient management 

21 planning and provide information on achieving reduced nutrient losses from both livestock 

22 production on animal feeding operations and row crop agricultural lands. 

23 2. Control of Urban Runoff and Stormwater. In this document, EPA recognizes and 

24 emphasizes that hydrology is the principal driver of water quality impairments in developed and 

25 developing areas. From that understanding, EPA establishes in this document a primary focus on 

26 the goal of maintaining and restoring predevelopment hydrology to the maximum extent 

27 technically feasible (METF). The guidance presents background information, data, examples, 

28 and resources that demonstrate how practitioners can achieve that goal by implementing low 

29 impact development (LID) and other green infrastructure techniques that infiltrate, 

30 evapotranspire, and use rainwater on-site. 

31 3. Turf Management. At 3.8 million acres, the total cultivated area for turf makes it the number 

32 one crop grown in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. A significant portion of the turf is grown in a 

33 manner that includes high inputs of fertilizers. Thus, turf management practices can at present 

34 contribute a substantial amount of nutrient to the Chesapeake Bay. Therefore, this document 

35 includes implementation measures that can help reduce nutrient runoff from turf.

36 4. Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems. This document presents an increased 

37 emphasis on reducing nitrogen from decentralized systems, because ofbased on both the need to 

38 reduce nutrient delivery to the Chesapeake Bay and the rapidly advancing state of the art. In 

39 addition, this document uses the term “decentralized systems” rather than “onsite systems”, 
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1 reflecting the technical, feasibility, and management advantages of cluster treatment systems that 

2 treat effluent from multiple lots at nearby off-site locations. 

3 6 Some Topics are Addressed by Reference to Existing 

4 Documents 

5 Some nonpoint source practices remain important, but EPA has already adequately addressed 

6 them in previous management measures documents and in other published literature. In those 

7 cases, this document does not repetitively include details on those practices. (The six National 

8 Management Measures books total approximately 1,500 pages.) Instead, this document briefly 

9 acknowledges the issue or subject and then refers the reader to the appropriate existing 

10 documents. 

11 7 References 

12 President Barack Obama. 2009. Executive Order 13508: Chesapeake Bay Protection and 

13 Restoration. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, Washington, DC. 

14 <http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net>. Accessed January 28, 2010. 

15 USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1993. Guidance Specifying Management 

16 Measures for Sources of Nonpoint Pollution in Coastal Waters. EPA 840-B-92-002. U.S.

17 Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. 

18 USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2003. Management Measure for Nutrients 

19 described in the National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Pollution from 

20 Agriculture. (USEPA, 2003). EPA 841-F-05-001. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

21 Washington, DC. 

22 USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2005a. Handbook for Managing Onsite and 

23 Clustered (Decentralized) Wastewater Treatment Systems. EPA 832-B-05-001. Office of 

24 Wastewater Management. Washington, DC.

25 USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2005b. National Management Measures to 

26 Control Nonpoint Sources of Pollution from Forestry. EPA 841-B-05-001. U.S.

27 Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Washington, DC. 

28 USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2005c. National Management Measures to 

29 Protect and Restore Wetlands and Riparian Areas for the Abatement of Nonpoint Source 

30 Pollution. EPA 841-B-05-003. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, 

31 Washington, DC. 

32 USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2005d. National Management Measures to 

33 Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Urban Areas (USEPA, 2005). EPA 841-B-05-

34 004. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Washington, DC. 

35 USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2005. Handbook for Managing Onsite and 

36 Clustered (Decentralized) Wastewater Treatment Systems. EPA 832-B-05-001. Office of 

37 Wastewater Management. Washington, DC.
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Chapter 1. Introduction 1-7 

1 USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2007. National Management Measures to 

2 Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Hydromodification. EPA 841-B-07-002. U.S.

3 Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Washington, DC.