WV Tributary Strategies for Chesapeake Bay Restoration

Partners:

West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
West Virginia Conservation Agency
West Virginia Department of Agriculture
Cacapon Institute

Services:

• Geospatial Analysis
• Cartography
• Facilitate Stakeholder Participation and Input
• Compile and Analyze Data for Stakeholder Assessment
  

Summary:  While the Chesapeake Bay has played important roles in our nation’s heritage, the current impacts of pollution have created environmental consequences for the bay.  In an effort to restore the bay’s health, jurisdictions in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agreed to substantially reduce the flow of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and sediment to the Bay by setting maximum amounts for each of these pollutants by 2010. 

Challenge:  States were left to determine their methods to achieve the agreed-upon reductions or else face stricter regulatory environment in the future.

Solutions:
Working with a DEP facilitator, Freshwater Institute staff produced maps and other documentation to improve the stakeholder decision-making process.  We shared that information with the public via printed documents, presentations and a website. 

Results: West Virginia Potomac Tributary Strategy and Implementation Plan