State of the Chesapeake Bay Program Nick DiPasquale, CBP Director, EPA Executive Council Annual Meeting June 16, Topics for today Highlights Funding update Increased collaboration Aligning of goals/outcomes Restoration Progress Looking Ahead 2 3 FY13 ($54 mil) FY14 ($70 mil) State Grants Almost 80% of increase going to state grants Local government set-aside for implementation ($5 million) Increase for New Agreement Headwaters states Signatory states Restore monitoring funding to FY12 levels FY2014 EPAs CBP Budget 5 FY2014 EPAs CBP Budget (contd) Other Investment Areas Goal Implementation Team Support Management Strategy Development Implementation Projects & Tools BMP Expert Panels BMP Verification Programs CAST/FAST Tools Climate Change Citizen Monitoring Initiative FY $73 million Presidential Budget Request Increased Collaboration Internally across issues/Goal Teams - Fisheries bringing habitat into the work - Habitats providing info to all on services offered by various habitats - Water Quality a foundation for habitats and creatures - Healthy Watersheds identifying healthy sub- watersheds and educating teams about them - Stewardship connecting people, places and science 6 Increased Collaboration - Example GIT Collaboration: Harris Creek Oyster Restoration Efforts 7 Alignment 8 Stage 1: Align Interests, Priorities, & Efforts Stage 2: Develop Negotiation Protocols for Establishing New Agreement Stage 3: Negotiate New Agreement Stage 4: Implement New Agreement Four-stages over last 2 yrs The New Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement Clarity Clearer goals and more well defined outcomes than previous agreements Flexibility Allow us to adapt our thinking and management decisions to adjust to changing conditions and circumstances Transparency & Accountability Partners set priorities & commit resources through management strategies 9 Accomplishments Communicating partners work in print Accomplishments 5,000,000 = views of website since ,000 = single day high for views 3,800+ = views of 6 blog posts on indicators of Bay health and restoration successes 9000 = views of top three videos in 2013 Social media reach grew 54% on average in Facebook alone grew 145% ! Communicating partners work www. chesapeakebay.net (Bay 101 & Unscripted Series - most viewed by teachers, students, others) 12 Accomplishments Health&Restoration At A Glance Accomplishments Overall Crabs are not overfished Shad show a positive return Bay grasses challenged & resilient Chemical contaminants a concern Water quality still challenged Accomplishments -- Science Accomplishments Partners Efforts CBP partners progress to reduce Nitrogen 2013 estimate Accomplishments -- Partners Efforts 28% of N target achieved Approximately million pounds nitrogen delivered to Bay in 2013, down from in 2009 Improving locally, long term Flow adjusted monitoring trends ( ) 17 = Less N flowing in / improving trend ian.umces.edu/link/newinsights Accomplishments A collaborative project Science-based evidence of water quality improvements, challenges and opportunities 19 Looking Forward New Climate Change Coordinator Will work across all issues/GITs Brings climate change lens to all the partnerships efforts Toxics Strengthen our research efforts Identify BMPs that can also reduce toxics Consider additional policies, programs, practices ChesapeakeStat Redesign underway Will focus on Agreement implementation & tracking progress Development of Management Strategies More than 20 strategies to be developed in the next year Implementation has already begun in some cases Commitment to openness, transparency & public input