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Scope and Purpose

The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) uses loading estimates to quantify expected amounts of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) or sediment loads to water from specific land uses or point sources and makes adjustments based on an estimate of the effectiveness of a best management practice (BMP). BMP Expert Panels are convened to develop the BMP effectiveness estimates and the Water Quality Goal Implementation Team (WQGIT) is responsible for approving the loading rate reductions, and percentage adjustments to these rates, used in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Model (CBWM). Since the definitions and values used for both loading and effectiveness estimates have important implications for the CBP and the various partners, it is critical that they be developed in a process that is consistent, transparent, and scientifically defensible.

The scope and charge of each BMP Expert Panel is unique, but all are convened in accordance with the Protocol for the Development, Review, and Approval of Loading and Effectiveness Estimates for Nutrient and Sediment Controls in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Model, which outlines the process for determining the need for a Panel review, the Panel membership criteria, and fundamental elements that all final Panel reports are to include.

Projects and Resources

BMP Expert Panels Actively Underway

  • Agricultural Ditch BMPs
  • Cropland Irrigation Management 
  • Nontidal Wetland Rehabilitation, Enhancement and Creation
  • Onsite Treatment Systems III
  • Boat Pump-Out

The following BMP Expert Panel reports were approved by the Partnership in December 2016. Final versions of the reports are hyperlinked below, and posted on the Water Quality Goal Implementation Team website under Publications.

BMP Expert Panel Charge Documents and Membership Lists

Approved Expert Panel charge documents and membership lists for approved and ongoing BMP Expert Panels.

BMP Expert Panel Status Updates

The document below contains the most recent status updates for the BMPs currently undergoing the Expert Panel process.

BMP Protocol

The seven Chesapeake Bay watershed jurisdictions implement Best Management Practices (BMPs) to achieve the goals set forth in the 2010 Bay TMDL. Through the Protocol for Development, Review, and Approval of Loading and Effectiveness Estimates for Nutrient and Sediment Controls (BMP Protocol), newer practices and technologies are considered and evaluated for inclusion in the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership modeling tools.

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Publications

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