Federal officials will hold a news conference on Kingman Island in Washington, D.C. at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 12 to release a new federal strategy for protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay watershed that was drafted under President Obama’s Executive Order.  

WHO:  Nancy Sutley, Chair, Council on Environmental Quality

Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Tom Vilsack, Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Ray Mabus, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Navy

Anne Castle, Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of the Interior

Monica Medina, Principal Deputy Undersecretary for Oceans and Atmosphere,  U.S. Department of Commerce 

WHEN: 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 12

WHERE: Kingman Island, Washington, D.C. Directions at http://www.kingmanisland.org/8301.html

Due to the forecast for winter weather (snow, sleet and ice) in West Virginia, western Maryland and northwestern Virginia, and resulting concern for public safety, the public forum on the Chesapeake Bay Executive Order in Martinsburg, WV was postponed. The public forum has been rescheduled for Tuesday, January 5 at 7pm at the Holiday Inn Martinsburg at 301 Foxcroft Avenue.

 

A series of public forums will be held throughout December on the recently released draft strategy for restoring the Chesapeake Bay, a document required by a Presidential Executive Order issued in May 2009.  The public forums will feature officials from multiple federal agencies including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The public can also submit questions about the draft strategy by recording a 30-second or less video and uploading it to YouTube with a tag of “chesapeakebayeo.”  A selection of these video questions will be used for an online question-and-answer session with federal officials in January. People can also join conversations about the draft strategy on Facebook by visiting the Chesapeake Bay Executive Order page and clicking on discussions. Additionally, updates on Executive Order news are available through Twitter by following @chesapeakebayeo.

Public Forum Schedule

District of Columbia: Tuesday, December 1 - 7:00-8:30 pm

Penn Quarter Conference Center, 701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20004

Watch the D.C. public forum

 

Maryland: Wednesday, December 2 – 7:00-8:30 pm

National Aquarium in Baltimore (Auditorium), 501 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 

 

Delmarva Peninsula: Thursday, December 3 - 7:00-8:30 pm

Wicomico County Civic Center (Midway Room), 500 Glen Avenue, Salisbury, MD 21804

Watch the Delmarva public forum

 

New York: Thursday, December 10 – 7:00-8:30 pm

Holiday Inn Binghamton-Downtown Hotel, 2-8 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13901

 

Pennsylvania: Tuesday, December 15 – 7:00-8:30 pm

Farm Show Complex & Event Center (Banquet Hall), 2301 North Cameron Street, Harrisburg, PA 17110

 

Virginia: Thursday, December 17 – 7:00-8:30 pm

Nauticus National Maritime Center (Auditorium), One Waterside Drive, Norfolk, VA 23510

 

West Virginia: Tuesday, January 5 – 7:00-8:30 pm

Holiday Inn Martinsburg, 301 Foxcroft Avenue, Martinsburg, WV 25401

 

EPA plans to hold several outreach sessions with stakeholder groups during the weeks leading up to the November 9 release of the Executive Order draft strategy.  The sessions are intended to solicit feedback on ideas in EPA's draft 202(a) report and inform stakeholders about the draft strategy, and provide them a forum to discuss various measures, answer questions and voice concerns.  The formal public comment period on the draft strategy will begin on Nov.9.

The following sessions have been scheduled:

• Local government: Thursday, Oct. 22 from 11am-1230pm – via webinar
  
• Stormwater (homebuilders/developers): Tuesday, Oct. 27 from 2-4pm at D.C.’s Wilson Building, room 415, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.
• Agriculture: Thursday, Oct. 29 from 10am-12pm at Adams County Agricultural & Natural Resources Center, Conference Rooms 2-3, Gettysburg, PA.
  

Contact: Greg Barranco, 410-267-5778, barranco.greg@epa.gov

Representatives of homebuilders and developers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed met with officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on August 10 in Washington, D.C. to discuss stormwater issues. Urban and suburban runoff is the only source of pollution to the Bay that is increasing and the listening session focused on ways to address the problem, particularly under the Executive Order. A list of meeting attendees is below. Share your ideas for reducing polluted runoff from cities and town by clicking on "feedback" or join the discussion on Facebook. 

EO Outreach Stormwater Attendees 8.10.09.pdf (42.12 kb)

As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency develops recommendations for reducing pollution and improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, officials are holding listening sessions for stakeholder groups. Because agriculture is the largest source of pollution to the Bay, EPA will be meeting on August 13 in Frederick, Maryland, with members of the agriculture community to discuss the Executive Order and ideas for reducing pollution from farm land in the watershed.

The session is open to the public and will be held on Thursday, August 13 from 10am-12pm at the University of Maryland Extension Frederick County Office located at 330 Montevue Lane, Frederick, MD 21702

Aug 13 Ag Listening Session Attendees.pdf (50.75 kb)

Environment Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation will hold a town hall meeting from 6:30-8:00 pm on Tuesday, August 11 at St. Philips Church at 730 Bestgate Road, Annapolis, Md. The meeting will focus on Chesapeake Bay issues, including the Executive Order. The meeting will feature a panel discussion with Chuck Fox, EPA senior advisor; Will Baker, CBF president, Dr. Don Boesch, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science president; and Rev. Rick Edmund, United Methodist Churches, Smith Island.

The Executive Order requires that federal agencies submit draft reports to a Federal Leadership Committee on September 9. These reports make recommendations on how to address key challenges to the Chesapeake Bay including water quality, targeting of resources, public access, stormwater at federal facilities, scientific monitoring, wildlife and habitat, and climate change. The reports will be published on this website.