Members of the Executive Council sit at a table in a room.
The Chesapeake Executive Council signs a document for the partnership at its January, 2018 meeting.
The Chesapeake Executive Council—consisting of the governors of the six watershed states, the mayor of the District of Columbia, the chair of the Chesapeake Bay Commission and the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—establishes the policy direction for the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay.

Executive Council Meetings

Upcoming Meetings

No upcoming meetings.

Scope and Purpose

The Chesapeake Executive Council was established by the Chesapeake Bay Agreement of 1983. Under the 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement, membership changed from cabinet secretaries to the governors of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia; the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the mayor of the District of Columbia; and the chair of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a legislative body serving Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Chesapeake 2000 marked the official inclusion of the Bay’s “headwater states”—Delaware, New York and West Virginia—in the Bay Program’s restoration efforts. The governors of New York and Delaware committed to the agreement's water quality goals through a memorandum of understanding signed in 2000. The governor of West Virginia added his signature in 2002.

The Executive Council:

  • Establishes the policy direction for the restoration and protection of the Bay and its living resources.
  • Exerts leadership to marshall public support for the Bay effort.
  • Signs directives, agreements and amendments that set goals and guide policy for Bay restoration.
  • Is accountable to the public for progress made under the Bay agreements.

The Executive Council meets annually. Its Principals' Staff Committee meets as needed to facilitate communication among the Implementation Committee, the advisory committees (Citizens Advisory Committee, Local Government Advisory Committee and the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee) and the Executive Council.

Publications

Resolution to Support Local Government Engagement

At the 2016 Chesapeake Executive Council meeting, members of the council adopted a resolution to support and collaborate with local governments and noted the signs of resiliency that are beginning to be seen throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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Resolution in Support of the Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership

At the 2017 meeting of the Executive Council, representatives from the six Chesapeake Bay watershed states, the District of Columbia and the Chesapeake Bay Commission signed a resolution in support of the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership. The resolution calls upon the President and United States Congress to continue the current level of federal support for the Chesapeake Bay Program, including the coordinating role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program. It also calls for science, monitoring, modeling and restoration to continue with the full participation of local, state and federal agencies and private sector partners as appropriate. Because of advocacy statements contained within the resolution, federal law and practice prohibited the EPA from signing.

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Memorandum of Understanding among Chesapeake Executive council, Headwater State Jurisdictions and me

Nutrient losses from all contributing activities on developed lands account for about one quarter of the excess phosphorus and one eighth of the excess nitrogen loads entering the Chesapeake. Members of the Lawn Care Product Manufacturing Industry, represented by the The Scotts company LLC, have been working diligently with the Chesapeake Bay Program and the Land Grant Universities of the watershed to develop a scientifically based, environmentally beneficial and economically viable Stewardship Program to reduce nutrient losses from homeowner fertilized lawns.

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Members

Wes Moore (Chair), State of Maryland
Address:
100 State Circle
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Email:  moore.wes@maryland.gov
Rachel Felver (Coordinator), Director of Communications, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
Address:
1750 Forest Drive Suite 130
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Email:  rfelver@chesapeakebay.net
Phone:  (410) 267-5740
Muriel Bowser, District of Columbia
Address:
Office of the Mayor, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Suite 316
Washington, DC, District of Columbia 20004

Email:  eom@dc.gov
John Carney, State of Delaware
Address:
Carvel State Office Building, 820 North French Street, 12th Floor
Wilmington, Delaware 19801

Email:  jcarney@de.gov
Kathy Hochul, State of New York
Address:
State Capitol Building
New York, New York 12224

Email:  gov.hochul@chamber.state.ny.us
Jim Justice, State of West Virginia
Address:
1900 Kanawha Boulevard East
Charleston, West Virginia 25305

Email:  jjustice@wv.gov
Scott Martin, Chesapeake Bay Commission
Address:
Senate of Pennsylvania
Senate Box 203013
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120-3013

Email:  smartin@pasen.gov
Phone:  717-787-6535
Michael Regan, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Address:
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Mail Code: 1101A
Washington, District of Columbia 20460

Email:  regan.michael@epa.gov
Josh Shapiro, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Address:
225 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120

Email:  governor@pa.gov
Glenn Youngkin, Commonwealth of Virginia
Address:
Patrick Henry Building
1111 East Broad Street, 3rd Floor
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Email:  glenn.youngkin@governor.virginia.gov