MDE and EPA Have Established a "Pollution Diet" (i.e., a TMDL) for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed   

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has furthered local implementation of the tenets of the Clean Water Act by establishing a landmark "Pollution Diet" to help further restore the aquatic habitat of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary streams and rivers.  

The Diet, formally known as the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), identifies specific target reductions of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment originating from the various jurisdictions within the overall Bay watershed. Varying by jurisdiction, specific implementation plans call for the following:

• More stringent nitrogen and phosphorus limits at existing and proposed wastewater treatment plants;
•  Urban stormwater management and permitting programs;
• Increasing agricultural education, enforcement & compliance to reduce farm-related pollution sources; and 
• Animal manure-to-energy conversion technologies.