The Water Quality Steering Committee is charged with responsibility for providing the forum for the watershed jurisdictions and EPA to work through an array of policy and technical issues and challenges during the development of the Chesapeake Bay TMDL. Technical data, information, policy analysis, options and recommendations, generated by the work of the Chesapeake Bay Program's Reevaluation Technical Workgroup, the Nutrient Subcommittee and its technical workgroups, other Subcommittees and workgroups and Chesapeake Bay Program Office staff are presented to the Water Quality Steering Committee. Based this technical and policy input, the Water Quality Steering Committee makes decisions for the partnership as well as develops recommendations for decisions by the Principals' Staff Committee and the Chesapeake Executive Council. EPA is ultimately responsible for establishing the Federal TMDL for the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Membership
The Water Quality Steering Committee is composed of senior water quality, agricultural and natural resource management state agency representatives from all six Bay watershed states--New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and West Virginia--the District of Columbia, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regions 2,3 and Headquarters, the Chesapeake Bay Commission, and the Susquehanna and Potomac interstate river basin commissions. Other partners and stakeholders are directly involved with the activities of the Steering Committee.
Meeting Schedule
Based upon its work plan schedule, the Committee expects to conduct monthly meetings via conference call and in person meetings at least twice a year.
Planning Frameworks