Publications

The draft revised Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement was published on July 1, 2025 and is undergoing a public feedback period. 

View document [PDF, 959.4 KB] Draft Revised Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement

As signed by the Chesapeake Executive Council on August 18, 2020, the Statement in Support of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice reaffirms the commitment of the Chesapeake Bay Program to the just and inclusive engagement of all communities living throughout the watershed. Recognizing that the word “citizen” if not inclusive of all who reside, work and recreate in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the Chesapeake Executive Council approved the following modifications to address the use of the word “citizen” in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

View document [PDF, 1.2 MB] Edited Watershed Agreement

The data in Bay Barometer reflect the Chesapeake Bay’s health over the course of many years and, in some cases, decades. The publication offers a snapshot of the best available information from 2017 and 2018 on ecological health and our efforts to protect and restore the nation’s largest estuary, as well as our progress toward achieving the goals and outcomes of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

View document [PDF, 22.7 MB] Bay Barometer: Health and Restoration in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (2017-2018)

This resolution commends local governments, commits the Chesapeake Executive Council to advocate for clean water and raise awareness about the benefits of investing in watershed protection and restoration efforts, and directs the Principals’ Staff Committee to seek increased funding and investment for local conservation and restoration activities.

View document [PDF, 150.3 KB] Resolution to Support Local Government Engagement

This resolution calls upon the President and United States Congress to continue federal support for the Chesapeake Bay Program.

View document [PDF, 635.5 KB] Resolution in Support of the Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership

This PowerPoint is designed for audiences that have some background in watershed implementation plans and knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (Bay TMDL). It will inform them about the co-benefits associated with implementing certain conservation practices. The majority of these practices not only help in meeting your state’s water quality goals under the Bay TMDL, but also can meet other restoration goals not only for the Chesapeake Bay, but for the local waterways in your community. These conservation practices can benefit you and your community by providing economic and public health benefits; your state by helping to meet their goals for reducing nutrient pollution; and your local waterways by helping with their restoration and protection.

View document [PPTX, 13.6 MB] Including co-benefits in Phase III Watershed Implementation Plans (PowerPoint)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided expectations for the Phase I and Phase II Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) in 2009 and 2011, respectively, for the seven Chesapeake Bay watershed jurisdictions to demonstrate reasonable assurance that those allocations assigned to the jurisdictions would be achieved and maintained, and that the 2017 targets would be achieved. Through signing the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, the jurisdictions reaffirmed their commitment to achieving these goals by 2025. In recent discussions, the jurisdictions remain committed to the 2025 goal.

View document [PDF, 318.2 KB] EPA's Phase III WIP Expectations

This plan for collaboration clarifies the Chesapeake Bay Program's vision, mission and values and establishes a set of goals and outcomes for the restoration of the Bay, its tributaries and the lands that surround them.

View document [PDF, 1.6 MB] Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement

This fact sheet explains why the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement includes a Land Use Options Evaluation Outcome and how this outcome was developed.

View document [PDF, 603.3 KB] Land Use Options Evaluation Outcome Justification

This fact sheet explains why the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement includes a Land Use Methods and Metrics Outcome and how this outcome was developed.

View document [PDF, 419.0 KB] Land Use Methods and Metrics Outcome Justification