Document ID: EPA-R03-CBP-2009-0500-0004
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2009-10-23T04:00Z

CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM

(CBP)

REPORTING GUIDANCE

For the

Chesapeake Action Plan/Activity Integration Plan (CAP/AIP) 

Reporting System

Version 2.0 

Data Refresh

December 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u    HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158276"  1.0
INTRODUCTION	  PAGEREF _Toc216158276 \h  - 1 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158277"  1.1	Purpose	  PAGEREF _Toc216158277 \h 
- 1 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158278"  1.2	Background	  PAGEREF _Toc216158278
\h  - 1 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158279"  1.3	Who Has Been Invited to Report?	 
PAGEREF _Toc216158279 \h  - 2 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158280"  1.4	Schedule	  PAGEREF _Toc216158280 \h 
- 4 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158281"  1.5	How Will the Information Be Used?	 
PAGEREF _Toc216158281 \h  - 4 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158282"  1.6	What Information Is Needed?	 
PAGEREF _Toc216158282 \h  - 4 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158283"  2.0	Gathering the Data	  PAGEREF
_Toc216158283 \h  - 6 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158284"  2.1	Getting Familiar with the Reporting
Elements	  PAGEREF _Toc216158284 \h  - 6 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158285"  2.2	Organizing the data	  PAGEREF
_Toc216158285 \h  - 7 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158286"  2.3	Some Basic Elements to Review	 
PAGEREF _Toc216158286 \h  - 7 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158287"  2.4	Reporting Rules, Guidance, and
Examples to Review Before Entering Data	  PAGEREF _Toc216158287 \h  - 7
-  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158288"  3.0	Process for retrieving, entering or
updating information	  PAGEREF _Toc216158288 \h  - 8 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158289"  3.1	Accessing the System	  PAGEREF
_Toc216158289 \h  - 8 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158290"  3.2	Retrieving Existing and Creating New
Activities	  PAGEREF _Toc216158290 \h  - 8 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158291"  3.2.3	Deleting Existing Activity
Information- Accordion View	  PAGEREF _Toc216158291 \h  - 13 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158292"  3.3	Retrieving Activities using the
Activity Categories-Search Criteria	  PAGEREF _Toc216158292 \h  - 17 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158293"  3.3.1	Updating Existing Activity
Information- Activity Categories-Search Criteria	  PAGEREF _Toc216158293
\h  - 17 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158294"  3.3.2	Deleting Existing Activity
Information- Activity Categories-Search Criteria	  PAGEREF _Toc216158294
\h  - 18 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158295"  3.3.3	Creating New Activity/Funding
Information using Activity Categories- Search Criteria	  PAGEREF
_Toc216158295 \h  - 18 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158296"  APENDIX A - DEFINITIONS	  PAGEREF
_Toc216158296 \h  - 19 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158297"  APPENDIX B – ACRONYMS	  PAGEREF
_Toc216158297 \h  - 23 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158298"  APPENDIX C – EXAMPLES OF REPORTING
DATA	  PAGEREF _Toc216158298 \h  - 24 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158299"  APPENDIX D – REPORTING HIERARCHY-
UPDATE	  PAGEREF _Toc216158299 \h  - 1 -  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc216158300"  APPENDIX E – REPORTING ELEMENTS	 
PAGEREF _Toc216158300 \h  - 1 -  

 

 INTRODUCTION

 Purpose

The purpose of this document is to provide partners and stakeholders
with guidelines needed to update information regarding Chesapeake Bay
restoration and protection activities reported in the spring of 2008. 
The information was entered through a web-based application reporting
system by the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partners to support the
development of the Chesapeake Action Plan (CAP).  The CAP, issued in a
report to Congress in July 2008 (http://cap.chesapeakebay.net/rtc.htm),
was developed to strengthen and expand partnerships in the watershed,
enhance coordination of restoration activities, and increase the
collective accountability for protecting the Chesapeake Bay.  The CAP
consists of four components: an activity integration plan, a strategic
framework, an adaptive management process, and dashboards.  

The activity integration plan (the database) is a comprehensive
catalogue of the activities in which CBP partners are engaged to protect
and restore the Chesapeake Bay.  The plan provides information on:  the
actual activities being implemented by the CBP partners; the lead
partner for each activity and any cooperating partners; the amount and
source of funding being used and, ideally, planned for use to accomplish
each activity by all cooperating partners; the location of each
activity; and progress toward the establish realistic annual targets. 
The reporting system is the mechanism to gather information on Bay
partner activities to support development of an overarching operating
plan for the CBP.  

The intent of this second information collection is to allow partners to
either make changes to the information reported in the spring of 2008 or
to enter new information.  In other words, this is a data refresh of the
data reported in the spring.  The information will be utilized to update
the dashboards.  The dashboards summarize and synthesize information
from the CBP activity integration plan and goal strategies so the
program partners can understand at a glance, the progress that the CBP
has made in key program areas.  The dashboards include measures of
progress, information about the resources CBP partners have dedicated to
the efforts described, and strategic analyses of what needs to be done
to improve implementation.

This guidance document outlines partners who have been asked to report
information, what information is being requested, and how to enter the
information.  If additional information is needed regarding the
reporting application, please call the CAP Help Desk at 410-267-5736, or
via email at   HYPERLINK "mailto:cap@chesapeakebay.net" 
cap@chesapeakebay.net .  For subject matter assistance, please call your
CBP Liaison.  

Background

Chesapeake 2000 is a bay protection and restoration agreement that
outlines the commitments guiding bay restoration through 2010.   In
October 2005, the US General Accountability Office (GAO) recommended
that the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Office:

(1) Complete its efforts to develop and implement an integrated
assessment approach;

(2) Revise its reporting approach to improve the effectiveness and
credibility of its reports;

(3) Develop an overall, coordinated implementation strategy that unifies
the program’s various planning documents; and

(4) Establish a means to better target its limited resources to ensure
that the most effective and realistic work plans are developed and
implemented.

In the 2008 congressional appropriations bill that includes EPA’s
budget, Congress directed EPA to submit a Report to Congress stating
that the Chesapeake Bay Program has implemented GAO’s recommendation
and to develop a Chesapeake Bay action plan for the remaining years of
the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement.  This plan must:

(1) Clearly articulate realistic targets the Chesapeake Bay Program
expects to achieve in each of the remaining years;

(2) Describe the actual activities the Chesapeake Bay Program will
implement in each year to achieve these annual targets;

(3) Identify the amount and source of funding that will be used to
accomplish each of these activities; and

(4) Describe the process the Chesapeake Bay Program will use to track
and measure the progress of these actions.

The Chesapeake Action Plan, including development of the reporting
system, is the product of the direction from GAO and Congress. The CAP
outlined an integrated approach for assessing the overall progress
toward reaching the goals established in Chesapeake 2000.  

Who Has Been Invited to Report?

To meet Congress’s mandate, Chesapeake Bay partners have been asked to
provide information on their bay activities and resources.  During the
first reporting in the spring, the request was directed to the Federal,
State agencies, and Non-governmental organizations listed below.  This
second reporting cycle will include the same partners to allow them the
opportunity to update the data entered in the spring or to enter new
data.  In the future, the reporting system is expected to be available
to other agencies or organizations which would be interested in
reporting information regarding their CB restoration and protection
activities.

Federal Agencies:

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program Office

US EPA Region 3 Environmental Assessment and Innovation Division

US EPA Region 3 Water Protection Division

US EPA Region 2

US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) / Baltimore

USACE / Norfolk

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) / Chesapeake

Bay Office

Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)

US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

US Geological Survey (USGS) / Baltimore

National Park Service (NPS)

US Forest Service (USFS)

Federal Highway Administration / US Department of Transportation

US Department of Defense (DoD)

USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA)

States and Districts:

Delaware

District of Columbia

Maryland

New York

Pennsylvania

Virginia

West Virginia

Chesapeake Bay Commission

Non-governmental Organizations

	Chesapeake Bay Trust

	Ducks Unlimited

The information collection is focused on activity-based information
supporting the programmatic areas for the Chesapeake Bay program.

Schedule

Table 1 illustrates the schedule for next reporting.

      Table 1: Reporting Schedule for Refresh of 2008 Information

DATE	ACTIVITY

12/4/08-12/19/08	Workshops

12/10/08-01/16/09	Data Reporting Period

1/16/09-02/27/09	Data QA

1/30/09	Draft data delivered to support development or re-development of
the dashboards

2/27/09	Final data delivered to support development or re-development of
the dashboards

 How Will the Information Be Used?

The Chesapeake Bay Program partnership is undergoing transformational
changes in the way it aligns strategy with operational decision making
and resource use.  The CAP Activity Integration Plan reporting system
(previously known as the CAP reporting system) was first implemented in
the spring of 2008 as the primary source for input for the CAP report. 
The CAP Activity Integration System will continue to be a vital part of
transitioning the Chesapeake Bay Program toward greater integration of
partner activities and more efficient use of the limited resources
available to achieve the program’s vision.  Furthermore, it is
anticipated that some partners will be able to use the application
reporting system as a key tool for their own management and planning of
their efforts to protect and restore the bay.

The information from this data refresh will be utilized to update the
dashboards.  The dashboards include measures of progress, information
about the resources CBP partners have dedicated to the efforts
described, and strategic analyses of what needs to be done to improve
implementation.

What Information Is Needed?

Reporting Requirements

The CAP Activity Integration plan includes detailed information on all
activities undertaken by partner organizations to restore and protect
the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.  Requested information included
the nature of the activity, responsible organization, point of contact,
resource levels, location, and major milestones.  During this second
reporting period, the partners will be able to retrieve the records
created in the spring and update them, if needed.  Or, they can create
news records for activities not entered previously.  See Appendix C for
examples of the data being reported.  This information is necessary to
effectively document activities and to provide an accurate depiction of
the program’s activities as a whole.  Each reporting organization is
asked to provide a sufficient level of detail to account for all of
their Chesapeake Bay and watershed related activities and resources.

Reporting Hierarchy

The CAP Activity Integration Plan system follows the Chesapeake Bay
Program’s goal

 hierarchy.  In the hierarchy, goals represent broad programmatic areas.
 Each goal contains many detailed topic areas.  Figure 1, “CAP
Activity Integration Plan Hierarchy,” illustrates the major reporting
units.

Figure 1:  CAP Activity Integration Plan Hierarchy

Figure 2, “Goals and Topic Areas,” displays the six goals and 31
topic areas represented in the CAP Activity Integration Plan system. 
Each goal contains a support topic area.  The support topic areas are
for the resources that provide the support function for the entire goal.
 Each topic area contains several standard activity categories.  The
smallest reporting unit is an activity defined as an action which
accomplishes a job.  Activities are the foundation of summary reporting.
 It is important that activities are reported in the correct goal/topic
area/activity category.  It is equally important that the activities are
documented in as much detail as reasonable.  The information required at
the activity-level include activity responsibility (organization and
staff), resources (funding and/or FTE’s by year), and detailed
location.  Each activity category may comprise many activities.  

Figure 2:  Goals and Topic Areas

Note:

Forest Buffer related activities should be aligned to the Topic Area for
Streamside and Tidal Shoreline Riparian Areas.  For the purpose of this
guidance, Forest Buffer is defined as wooded buffer zones along streams,
rivers, and the bay.  Future versions of the CAP Activity Integration
reporting system may add Forest Buffer as a separate topic area for
improved alignment of activities.

Activities that have been entered should be updated or “refreshed”
in the CAP Activity application reporting system for 2007, 2008, and
2009.  In addition, new records for 2007, 2008 and 2009 can also be
added.  To improve the efficiency of entering data, a cloning button is
available on the webform.  Clicking on this button will make a copy of
the data for the next fiscal year, i.e., clone the 2008 data to create
and modify a record for 2009.

Reporting Method

The preferred method for entering information into the CAP Activity
Integration Plan application reporting system is through the CAP
Activity Integration Plan website available at:   HYPERLINK
"http://cap.chesapeakebay.net"  http://cap.chesapeakebay.net:8080 . 
User IDs and passwords have been established for each reporting
organization.  Each Federal agency will have a user ID and password. 
Each state will have one user ID and password for all state agencies
within that state.  Security measures have been established to track
individual user interactions with the CAP Activity Plan application
based on IP addresses.  In addition, security measures have been
established to protect the data you enter.  Measures include: 
maintaining the data on a secure server, on a secure network; confirming
the data with each reporting organization; and making only summarized
data available publicly.  To obtain the appropriate user ID and password
to the CAP Activity Integration Plan application, please contact the CAP
Help Desk at 410-267-5736 or via email at   HYPERLINK
"mailto:cap@chesapeakebay.net"  cap@chesapeakebay.net .

Since each state will only have one ID and password to identify each
organization’s record, is recommended that an acronym for your agency
be provided in the Activity Description section.  For example: VADEQ,
MDDNR, EPAR3WPD, etc.  See Figure 9 Modify Existing Activity & Funding
Information.

Gathering the Data

 Getting Familiar with the Reporting Elements

The CAP Activity Integration Plan application reporting system contains
21 reporting elements to describe activities.  In most cases, the
reporting community will be entering information at the activity level,
which contains 18 reporting elements, several of which are optional. 
Appendix D contains a graphical depiction of the reporting hierarchy,
including the domains and data fields.  Appendix E describes the
activity reporting elements in more detail, including name, description,
purpose, rules and guidance, and examples

Organizing the data

Before you start accessing the database to retrieve, enter or update the
information, it is recommended that you organize your data.  We
recommend that you separate the data into the Goal areas first, followed
by the Topic areas and finally the Activity.  It is important that you
have chosen where you want to categorize the funding for each activity
before you get started.  Definitions of the Activities can be viewed in
Appendix A of this document.  Reviewing this information will make
entering the data easier.  An Excel data spreadsheet is available at
http://cap.chesapeakebay.net/template/capv2template.xls, as a suggested
method to assist you in organizing the data.

Some Basic Elements to Review

For the purposes of CAP Activity Integration reporting, the goals, topic
areas, and activity categories, are standardized and have been
pre-populated into the system.  In other words, the reporting community
cannot make changes to the goal, area, or activity category framework. 
However, the reporting community can choose “other” as an activity
category if no activity category seems appropriate.  If “other” is
selected, then a proposed activity category should be entered into the
activity description field and placed within parentheses.  It should
also be noted that each topic area is correlated to a group of specific
activity categories.  After this basic information is provided, users
will begin entering information about the specific activity.

Reporting Rules, Guidance, and Examples to Review Before Entering Data

There are several guiding principles associated with reporting activity
elements contained in the CAP Activity Integration Plan application. 
They are as follows:

It is very important to ensure the same data associated with a set of
funds is not entered by different individuals.  For example, if oyster
data is entered by a subject matter expert in an oyster workshop, the
individual Federal / state reporting organizations should review the
oyster data in the CAP application to ensure their data is not
duplicating what already exists.  In addition, the funding that one
agency gives to another, should only be captured by the originating
agency.

An organization’s activities entered into the CAP Activity Integration
Plan application should be consistent and total the organization’s
budget.  If an organization’s budget is not specific for the bay or
watershed activities, ensure the budget associated with ear marks are
entered in the CAP Activity Integration Plan application.  Prior to
starting the data entry, it is recommended that the organization’s
budget items be grouped by goal and topic area in order to make the data
entry easier.

When entering different topic areas, be sure to go back to the main
activity screen in order to change the topic area.  To do this, use the
“Return to Main Page” button located in the bottom of the screen. 
Do not use the back button on the browser; this will take you out of the
system.

When conducting the data entry, be sure to have your entire budget data
with you; the CAP application will time out after approximately 30
minutes, and you will be required to log back into the application.

 Process for retrieving, entering or updating information

 Accessing the System

The CAP Activity Integration Plan application reporting system is
available at   HYPERLINK "http://cap.chesapeakebay.net" 
http://cap.chesapeakebay.net:8080 .  A user name and password are
required to enter tasks into the system.  Each reporting organization
will report under a single user name and password.  For quality
assurance purposes, all entries will be associated with the user name
under which they were entered.  

The user name and password will be provided to each reporting
organization as listed in section 1.3.  Figure 3, “Chesapeake Activity
Integration Plan Login Screen” displays the login screen.  To retrieve
forgotten user names and passwords, email   HYPERLINK
"mailto:cap@chesapeakebay.net"  cap@chesapeakebay.net .  

Figure 3:  CAP Application Reporting System Login Screen

Retrieving Existing and Creating New Activities

After successfully logging on to the CAP Activity Integration
application reporting system, users will be directed to an Activities
Categories- Accordion View screen (See Figure 4.)  In this screen you
will be able to retrieve the records for all the activities entered in
the spring of 2008.  The screen will give you two choices to retrieve or
create activities:  the Accordion View and the Activity Categories-
Search Criteria View.  The default view will be the Accordion View.  To
select the Activity Categories-Search Criteria View, just click on it. 
Partners can use either view to modify, update, or create activities. 
However, the Search Criteria view will be more useful to partners who
have previously entered data and are familiar with the system.  The
sections below will guide users on how to navigate the system using the
Accordion View first, then the Search Criteria View.

   Figure 4:  Activity Categories - Accordion View (Goals)

Retrieving and Updating/Creating Activities using the Accordion View. 

To view activities using the Accordion View, first click on the desired
Goal.  After selecting the goal, select a topic from the dropdown list. 
See Figure 5 below.

				

Figure 5:  Topic Areas

Once a Topic has been selected, a list will display at the bottom of the
screen showing the activity categories for the selected goal, the number
of activities in each category, and the total dollars/FTE for that
category for 2008.  See Figure 7 Below. 

Figure 7: Activity Categories 

Note that although this table shows the total funding for 2008, the list
of activities in the next step will show the activities for all funding
years for each activity.  To see the activities entered in the spring of
2008 for each category, click on the View/Modify button on the same line
of the desired activity category.  An Activity and Funding information
screen will be displayed showing all the activities for that category
for all organizations. See Figure 8 Below.  If you want to see the
activities of your organization only, click on the Show Only My
Organization’s Records button at the top of the list.

Figure 8: Viewing Existing Task/Funding Information

Updating Existing Activity Information-Accordion View

On the Activity and Funding screen, each activity has on the far left
side, a button showing either, View/Modify and Delete buttons, or a View
button.  The View/Modify and Delete buttons will be displayed only on
your organization’s activities and the View button on the other
organization’s activities.  You can only view other organization’s
activities information.  If you want to modify any information from any
of your organization’s activities, click on the View/Modify button. 
An Activity and Funding screen will display showing all the information
entered in the spring. See Figure 9 Below. Make any necessary changes in
this screen and click on Save.  

Figure 9:  Modify Existing Activity & Funding Information-UPDATE 

Deleting Existing Activity Information- Accordion View

If you want to delete any activity entered in the spring, go to the
Activity and Funding screen and click on the Delete button on the line
of the activity that you want to delete. 

Creating New Activity/Funding Information- Accordion View

To enter new activity/funding information, go to the Activity and
Funding screen and click on the Add New Activity/Funding Source located
at the bottom of the screen.  An Activity and Funding Information screen
will display.  See Figure 10 below.

Figure 10:  Activity and Funding Information

On the Activity entry form, the user will be required to enter the
following information:

	- Activity Description

	- Lead Organization / Agency

	- Point of Contact

	- Status of funding

	- Hard dollars allocated to activity

	- Number of FTEs allocated to activity

	- Year of funding

- Pertinent geography (one of the following:  lat/long, state,
watershed-wide)

	- Pertinent C2K commitment

Additionally, the user also has the option of entering other
activity-related information, including the following:

	- Collaborating organization

	- Performance measures/units

	- Milestones

Refer to Appendix E for additional rules and guidance on the reporting
elements listed above.  

Cloning the Funding Record 

There is a clone funding record option (at the bottom of the screen)
that allows the user to create a copy of the current funding record for
easy additions.  This can be used if the Goal, Topic Area, and Activity
Category remain the same for another activity or year.  It can be very
useful to clone an FY 2008 record to update for FY 2009.  Cloning copies
the following fields in the Activity and Funding section:  Lead
organization/Source/Program, Collaborating Organization, Point of
Contact, Activity Description, and C2K Commitment.  See Figure 11 below.

Figure 11:  Clone Funding Record

Milestone Field

The milestone field is used to identify a major event or subtask to be
completed as part of the activity.  See Figure 12 below.  

			Figure 12:  Entering Milestones

Milestones are associated with Activity/Funding records.  Multiple
milestones can be associated with each Activity/Funding record.  Refer
to Appendix E for additional rules and guidance.  There is also guidance
available by clicking the More information icon located to the right of
field titles.  A new window will open with a table of data field
guidance.

Required fields must be entered before a new activity/funding can be
saved.    There is also guidance available by clicking on the More
information icon located to the right of field titles.  A new window
will open with a table of data field guidance.

Retrieving Activities using the Activity Categories-Search Criteria

To retrieve activities using the Activities Categories-Search Criteria-
you will click the tab on the top right tab (see figure 4 for example
screen view).  Once you enter the Search Criteria screen, you will have
the choice of obtaining a list of categories sorted by Goal, Topic Area,
Organization, Funding year, or the complete list of categories from all
the organizations (See Figure 13 below).   To obtain the list sorted by
any of the areas indicated, just select your desired criteria from the
dropdown list for each area.  After you select your criteria, click on
the Retrieve Results button at the bottom of the page.  If you want a
complete list of categories from all the organizations, do not select
any criteria and click on the Retrieve Results button.  After you click
on Retrieve Results, a list will be displayed at the bottom of the
screen showing a list of activity categories, the number of activities
in each category, and the total dollars/FTE for that category for 2008. 
Make sure you scroll down to see the results.

		Figure 13: Activity Categories – Search Criteria

Updating Existing Activity Information- Activity Categories-Search
Criteria

To modify information from an activity, click on the View/Modify button
at the far left end of the line in of the category of your activity. 
After you click on that button, a Modify Activity screen will come up
displaying all the activities (see Figure 8 above). 

 If you desire a list of your organizations activities only, click on
View Only My Organization’s Records button.  To view and modify
information for the activity, click on the View/Modify button on the far
right end of the line of your activity.  Once you click there, an
Activity and Funding screen will display showing all the information
entered for that activity in the spring.  Make any desired changes and
then click on the Save button at the button of the screen.

Deleting Existing Activity Information- Activity Categories-Search
Criteria

If you want to delete any activity entered in the spring, go to the
Activity and Funding screen and click on the Delete button on the line
of the activity that you want to delete.  

Creating New Activity/Funding Information using Activity Categories-
Search Criteria

If you want to create a new activity, on the Activity and Funding
screen, click on the Add New Activity/Funding Source button at the
bottom of the screen.  An Activity and Funding screen will display.  To
enter information, follow the instructions in Section 3.2.4 above.

APENDIX A - DEFINITIONS

GENERAL:

Below are general definitions for some of the reporting elements
contained in the CAP application reporting system.

Chesapeake Action Plan (CAP) – A report that outlines an integrated
approach for assessing the overall progress toward reaching the goals
outlined in Chesapeake 2000. The CAP was developed to strengthen and
expand partnerships in the watershed, enhance coordination of
restoration activities, and increase the collective accountability for
protecting the Chesapeake Bay.  The CAP consists of four components: an
activity integration plan, a strategic framework, an adaptive management
process, and dashboards.  

Activity Integration Plan – A plan designed to be a comprehensive
catalogue of the activities in which CBP partners are engaged to protect
and restore the Chesapeake Bay.  The plan provides information on:  the
actual activities being implemented by the CBP partners; the lead
partner for each activity and any cooperating partners; the amount and
source of funding being used and, ideally, planned for use to accomplish
each activity by all cooperating partners; the location of each
activity; and progress toward the establish realistic annual targets.

Goal – A Goal represents a broad programmatic area and is based on the
organizational framework of the Chesapeake Bay program.  The goals are
predefined in the application reporting system.  The goal framework was
developed by the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership in to organize
activities and responsibilities for Chesapeake restoration.  

Topic Area – Topic areas are specific thematic program areas that are
organized as a subset of goals.  The topic areas are predefined in the
application reporting system.  Each goal contains several topics areas. 
In the context of the CAP, the topic areas represent the major program
areas.

Activity Category – An Activity category consists of generic functions
that support a topic area.  Activity categories are predefined in the
application reporting system.  They represent the general function
performed in support of the topic area; it may not necessarily be the
main activity of the topic area, but the support being provided for the
topic area.  

Activity – An Activity consists of detailed functions that support the
activity.  The Activity Description contains specific details about the
activity level, location, and number of units.  It contains a sufficient
amount of detail to distinguish the activity from one organizational
element to another.  It represents the smallest unit of reporting for
CAP.

ACTIVITY CATEGORIES:

Below are definitions for the activity categories that are predefined in
the CAP application reporting system. 

Aquaculture -The cultivation of aquatic organisms (as fish or shellfish)
especially for food.

Assessment - Organizing data to provide a judgment or classification of
progress relative to set objectives.

Communication – The process of broadcasting information and guidance
to the Chesapeake Bay partners, the public, the media, and legislators
to build a broad base of public understanding of bay health and
ecological issues.

Education – Providing information, both comprehensive and interactive
for use by public and technical audiences to achieve public awareness
and personal involvement on behalf of the bay and local watersheds. 
This also includes providing experiences, both outdoors and in the
classroom for school children, grades K-12.

Enforcement – Assurance of compliance with local, state, and/or
Federal regulatory programs through inspection, monitoring and by
returning violators to compliance, through civil or criminal means.

Engage Partners - The process of working collaboratively with and
through groups of people affiliated by special interest, to address
issues affecting the well-being of those people.  It often involves
partnerships and coalitions that help mobilize resources and influence
systems, change relationships among partners, and serve as catalysts for
changing policies, programs, and practices.

Enhancement - Manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological
characteristics of an existing wetland (undisturbed or degraded) site to
heighten, intensify, or improve specific function(s) or for a purpose
such as water quality improvement, flood water retention, or wildlife
habitat. Results gain in function, not acres.

Facility - Something that is built, installed, or established to serve a
particular purpose.

Funding/Finance - The management of financial mechanisms, such as
grants, to support environmental program activities. 

Grants/Contracts – Grants are sums of money awarded by the Federal
government, States, and even the private sector for specifically
designated purposes for which no repayment is required.  Contracts are
legally binding exchanges of promises or agreements between parties that
the law will enforce.

Habitat – The ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a
particular species.

Information Management - The collection and management of information
from one or more sources, and the distribution of that information to
one or more audiences.

Land Conservation - Planning and managing land and its resources to
prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect.

Land Preservation - Land that is permanently protected from development
with a perpetual conservation, open space easement, or fee ownership,
held by a Federal, state, or local government or non-profit organization
for natural resource, forestry, agriculture, wildlife, recreation,
historic, cultural, or open space use, or to sustain water quality and
living resource values.

Management Tool Development - The development of computer based tools,
such as models to support environmental decision making.

Mitigation - The restoration, creation, or enhancement of resource lands
to compensate for permitted resource or function losses.

Monitoring - To test or sample, especially on a regular or ongoing
basis, keeping track of conditions systematically through the collection
of data.

Program Management - The discipline of planning, organizing, and
managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific
project goals and objectives.

Protection- Removal of a threat to or preventing the decline of, wetland
conditions by an action in or near a wetland. Includes purchase of land
or easements of 30 years minimum duration and does not result in a gain
of wetland acres or function.

Regulation – The drafting and promulgation of regulations and the
implementation of local, state, and federal regulatory programs.

Remediation - The removal of pollution or contaminants from
environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface
water for the general protection of human health and the environment.

Reporting - Giving an account of or describing a specified state by
creating a written record or summary.

Research - Engagement in scientific investigation or experimentation at
the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories
or laws in the light of new facts, or practical application of such new
or revised theories or laws.

Restoration - The return of an ecosystem to a close approximation of its
condition prior to disturbance, through the manipulation of physical,
chemical, and/or biological characteristics of a site.

Targeting – Prioritizing and directing implementation resources
towards particular geographic locations and/or towards specific sets of
prevention/reduction practices and restoration activities.  

Technical Assistance - Professional technical advice or help in the
installation of structural and non-structural practices directed toward
reducing/preventing excess hydrology, nutrient, and sediment loads to
local streams and the bay.

Technical Support – The conduct of statistical data analysis and
interpretation, geospatial analysis, model simulation and evaluations
diverted toward assisting program implementation.

TMDL Development - The calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant
a water body can receive and still meet applicable water quality
standards (accounting for seasonal variations and a margin of safety),
including an allocation of pollutant loadings to point sources (waste
load allocations) and non-point sources (load allocations).

Trading/Credit – As an alternative to command-and-control regulations,
a market-based approach is used to comply with regulations to achieve
pollution abatement goals at lower costs to society. Environmental
credit trading allows regulated firms to meet their obligations by
purchasing pollution abatement services (credits) from lower-cost
providers.

APPENDIX B – ACRONYMS

CAP – Chesapeake Action Plan

CBO – Chesapeake Bay Office

CBP – Chesapeake Bay Program

CBPO - Chesapeake Bay Program Office

COE – Corps of Engineers

EAID – Environmental Assessment and Innovation Division

EPA – US Environmental Protection Agency

FY – Fiscal Year

GAO – US General Accounting Office

NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

NPS - National Park Service

NRCS - Natural Resource Conservation Service

SME - Subject Matter Expert

USFWS - United States Fish and Wildlife Service

USFS – United States Forest Service

USGS - United States Geological Survey

WPD – Water Protection Division

APPENDIX C – EXAMPLES OF REPORTING DATA

C.1:  Managing Point Source Data

 

C.2:  Conducting a Feasibility Study

 APPENDIX D – REPORTING HIERARCHY

APPENDIX E – REPORTING ELEMENTS

Activity Reporting Elements

Reporting Element	Description	Purpose	Rules & Guidance	Examples

Goal	An identifier that specifies the name of the goal under which the
activity is undertaken	Overarching framework and broad categorization of
activities and related tasks

Listing of all activities and tasks by goal; summarize funding for
activities and tasks by goal

Allows for the aggregation and summarization of activities by goal.	One
goal for each activity

Select the goal that best describes the activity.  In some cases,
several goals may be appropriate, select the one that is most
appropriate.

This is a required field.	Goal 1: Restoring Healthy Waters

Goal 2: Restoring Healthy Habitats

Goal 3: Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management

Goal 4: Maintaining Healthy Watersheds

Goal 5: Fostering Chesapeake Stewardship

Goal 6: Partnership, Leadership & Management

Topic Area	An identifier that specifies the name of a specific topic
area under which the activity is undertaken	More detailed framework for
categorization of activities and related tasks

Listing of all activities and tasks by topic area; summarize funding for
activities and tasks by topic area; summarize measures by topic area

Allows for the aggregation and summarization of activities by topic
area.	One topic area for each activity

Select the topic area that best describes the activity. In some cases,
several goals may seem appropriate; select the one that is most
appropriate.

This is a required field.	Wastewater Treatment

Oysters

Forest Buffers

IT Support

Activity Category	A short title that describes the nature of the
activity	Generic function to categorize related activities

Link activity with associated topic area	One or many activities for a
topic area

Click the View/Modify button to select an activity category

Select the activity category that best describes the support provided
for the topic area.  

If an appropriate category does not exist, select “other” to add a
proposed new title.  Add the title to the Activity Description field,
enclosed in parentheses.

This is a required field.	Monitoring

Assessment

 Activity & Funding Reporting Elements

Reporting Element	Description	Purpose	Rules & Guidance	Examples

Activity Description	A detailed narrative description of the activity.
Main reporting element that links all other elements in the activity and
funding area

Identify the specific role of the activity category	Enter a description
of the activity in the text box; include sufficient detail to
distinguish from another organizational element.

Maximum characters allowed for this field is 500.

This is a required field.  	Publish 11 issues of the Bay Journal.

Lead Org/Source/Program	An abbreviation for the program that has the
lead for the specific activity	The source/program field allows for the
aggregation of data by program.  This field is also useful for data
verification, ownership and QA.

Links activity to the specific organization leading the activity	Select
from the pick list the funding organization or program that conducts the
activity.  

One for each activity.

This is a required field.  	EPA/CBPO

Point of Contact	The first and last name of the staff person within the
lead organization that is responsible for the activity	The lead staff is
required for accountability purposes.

Link activity to the individual responsible.	Enter Point of Contact
first and last name in the text box.  Maximum characters allowed for
this field is 500.

This is a required field.  	Joe Smith

Jane Doe

Collaborating Organization	A list of organizations that are contributing
resources to the project	This field will be used for additional data
verification.

Link activity to the organizations collaborating with the lead
organization.	Enter collaborating organizations in the text box. 
Maximum characters allowed for this field is 500.

Use standard terminology to assist with reporting by organization.

This is an optional field.	CRC

Status	An identifier that specifies the status of the activity	The
status field allows for aggregation of activities and associated funding
by current or planned activities.

Link with the funding year.	Select the activity status from the pick
list.  Current=2008, Planned=2009 and beyond, Completed=2007.

Cancelled is used when previously entered dollars/activities for a
future year do not get funded; change the status to Cancelled.

This is a required field.  	Current 

Planned 

Completed

Cancelled

Geography

	Longitude 	The longitude in decimal degrees that represents the
location of the activity	These fields will be used to designate, as
accurately as possible the pertinent center point of the geography for
the funding to be allocated.

One of the Geography fields must be entered.	Enter a numerical value in
the text box

This is an optional field	-79.12345

	Latitude 	The latitude in decimal degrees that represents the location
of the activity

Enter a numerical value in the text box

This is an optional field	39.12345

	State	An identifier of the state in which the activity is performed

Select the appropriate state from the pick list if the activity is not
watershed-wide. 

If more then one statue, use the watershed-wide button or make 2 records
for each portion of the budget tied to a state.	MD

	Watershed-wide	An identifier that indicates if the activity is
ubiquitous across the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed

Select Yes/No radio button as appropriate.	watershed-wide

Primary C2K Commitment	An identifier that specifies the primary
commitment from the Chesapeake 2000 agreement under which the activity
is performed.	Link activities and their associated tasks to specific C2K
commitments

Listing of all activities and tasks by C2K commitment; summarize funding
for activities and tasks by C2K commitment; summarize measures by C2K
commitment

Allows for the aggregation and summarization of activities by C2K
commitment.	Select a C2K commitment from the pick list.  Choices will
vary based upon the goal.  One C2K commitment can be selected for each
task.  

In some cases, several commitments may seem appropriate; select the one
that is most appropriate.

If an activity does not fit a C2K commitment, select other and enter
text in the blank field to describe the activity.  For example, if the
activity supports all commitments, select other and enter “supports
all commitments” in the blank field.

This is a required field.  	2.3.2.1- By 2010, achieve a net resource
gain by restoring 25,000 acres of tidal and non-tidal wetlands.

“Hard” Dollars	Total Dollars allocated by the organization for the
activity	The “hard” dollars field is used to help estimate the total
cost of the activity.	Enter the total dollars allocated to the activity
by the listed organization for the specified funding year.  

For 2009, Federal funding is based on President’s budget (projected). 
Entering 2010 funding is optional at this time.

Do not enter dollar signs, commas, or cents.  You can enter FTEs as
dollars here.  If FTEs are being entered, do not enter the dollars here
that are associated with the FTEs.  Enter “0”

This is a required numeric field.  	$563,365

Total FTE’s	The total number of full time equivalent employees
dedicated to the activity	The total number of FTEs will be used to help
estimate the total activity cost.	Enter the FTEs allocated to the
activity by the listed organization for the specified funding year. 
FTEs can be expressed as whole or partial numbers.

If an individual supports more then one activity, estimate the
percentage for each activity.

It is recommended that dollars be entered instead of FTEs at this time;
the number of FTEs can be entered in the description field.

If not entering FTEs, enter “0”

This is a required numeric field.  	0.25, 0.5, 1.0

Funding Year	An identifier that specifies the fiscal year in which the
funding was provided for the activity	The funding year allows for the
aggregation of activities and associated funding by major activity
functions.	Select from pick list.  There can be planned funding for 2009
and 2010 and current funding for 2007 and 2008 for the same activity.

To capture the same activity category and activity data for more then
one year, use the “Clone Funding” button after you have entered the
data on the current form.

For 2009, Federal funding is based on President’s budget (projected). 
Entering 2010 funding is optional at this time.

This is a required field.  	2007

2008

2009

2010

Measure 	A numeric measure of the actual activity expressed as a linear,
area or numeric measure	Quantitative summary metric	Enter the measure
for the activity for that year only.  This should include the number of
“on the ground” practices occurring for this activity; this does not
include the number of events or reports.

This is an optional free text field.	50

Units	The units of the measure 	Further defined measure	Select units of
measure from the pick list.

This is an optional field.	Acres

Miles

Pounds per year

Unit Description	A textual description of the unit of measure.	Further
defined unit	Enter additional information to describe the unit of
measure if needed.

This is an optional free text field.

	Milestone 	A short description of a major event for the activity	The
milestone field is used to identify a major event or subtask to be
completed as part of the activity.

Used to show future completion of an activity.	0, 1 or many milestone
descriptions for each activity; milestone date must coincide with
milestone description.

This is an optional field.	Launch New Website

Milestone Date	The date related to the major event as identified in the
milestone	The milestone date field is used to identify the completion of
the specific milestone.	0, 1 or many milestone dates for each activity;
milestone date is related to milestone description.

A milestone date must be entered in order to save the milestone.

This is an optional field.	1/12/2006



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