EPA Orders Surrounding States to Draw Up Watershed Implementation Plans for Chesapeake

In a series of letters sent out on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, the Acting Administrator of EPA Region III informed states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that they will be expected to draft state initial "watershed implementation plans" (WIPs) by next June on how they will meet targets for how much nutrient (i.e. nitrogen and phosphorus) and sediment run-off will be allowed to drain into the Bay from each state. EPA will use these WIPs to establish a final rule on the total maximum daily load (TMDL) of run-off that will be allowed into the Bay, under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), and various consent decrees between EPA and the states involved . EPA expects to complete this final rule by December 2010--it is asking states for these initial WIPs so it can issue a draft next August. Further, more specific state WIPs will be required in two stages by 2017.