Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership s Investment in the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative: What s Different This Time Around

Transcription

1 Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership s Investment in the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative: What s Different This Time Around Rich Batiuk Associate Director for Science, Analysis and Implementation Chesapeake Bay Program U.S. Environmental Protection Agency October 13,

2 Key Policy Actions Influence Timing of Monitoring Program Reviews and Changes 1983 Chesapeake Bay Agreement 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement Chesapeake 2000 Agreement Presidential Executive Order 2009 Chesapeake Bay TMDL Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement

3 Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership s Monitoring Networks History Program Elements 1. Chesapeake Bay Mainstem and Tidal Tributary Water Quality Monitoring 2. SAV Aerial Survey 3. Shallow Water 4. Toxics Assessment 5. Phytoplankton 6. Zooplankton 7. Benthic 8. Ecosystem Process 9. Nutrient limitation 10. River Input 11. Nontidal Network Present

4 Back Then Mid-1980s to Mid-1990s

5 Back Then.Mid-1980s to Mid-1990s Citizens Program for Chesapeake Bay Kathleen Elliott Citizens Monitoring Coordinator Objective: test the proof of concept that volunteers could collect data of known quality tidal Patuxent and James rivers Programmatic Focus Funded limited citizen monitoring programs on individual tidal creeks and rivers Volunteer monitors collected samples off their docks or piers dissolved oxygen, ph, Secchi depth

6 Now

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8 Goals of Project Integrate non-traditional data into Chesapeake Bay watershed health assessments Provide technical support and resources to volunteer and non-traditional monitoring groups Build a database that is the central hub for non-traditional data in the Bay watershed that is user friendly and accessible to monitors and data users Work with the CBP Partnership to benefit and support the work they are already undertaking Chesapeakemonitoringcoop.org

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11 Using Monitoring Data To Measure Progress and Explain Change Foundation: Partnership s Monitoring networks 11

12 Using Monitoring Data To Measure Progress and Explain Change Foundation: Partnership s Monitoring networks 12

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14 Preliminary site coordinates of non-traditional monitoring groups Chesapeakemonitoringcoop.org

15 Preliminary site coordinates of Susquehanna monitoring groups Chesapeakemonitoringcoop.org

16 Preliminary site coordinates of Potomac monitoring groups Chesapeakemonitoringcoop.org

17 Preliminary site coordinates of James monitoring groups Chesapeakemonitoringcoop.org

18 Preliminary site coordinates of Maryland tributary monitoring groups Chesapeakemonitoringcoop.org

19 Survey results Clear areas for further inquiries Chesapeakemonitoringcoop.org

20 Survey results Clear areas for further inquiries Chesapeakemonitoringcoop.org

21 What s the Investment? Six year cooperative agreement with Alliance for Chesapeake Bay $400,000 in EPA funds annually w/$300,00 in cost share funds Parts of a number of CBPO staff 1 dedicated to building up the non-traditional partners becoming part of the Partnership s watershed and tidal monitoring networks 1. Mary Ellen Ley, Mike Mallonee, Peter Tango, CBPO Data Center staff, CBPO GIS Team members

22 What s the Return on the Investment?

23 What s the Return on the Investment? Chesapeakemonitoringcoop.org

24 What s the Return on the Investment? Greater confidence in assessing states Chesapeake Bay water quality standards attainment Ability to assess the status of many more stream and river miles for impaired waters Greater monitoring network temporal and spatial coverage that the Partnership alone could never afford nor sustain over time

25 Rich Batiuk Associate Director for Science, Analysis and Implementation U.S. EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Office Work Mobile

26 Questions