2017 SWCS Annual Conference July 30-August 2, 2017 Monona Terrace Convention Center

1. Ensuring the Effectiveness of
Agricultural Best Management
Practices: a Pilot Project in the
Chesapeake Bay watershed
Jason Keppler
Alisha Mulkey

2. Chesapeake Bay watershed
Bay-wide:
8.5 million acres of cropland
2.5 million acres of pasture
87,000+ farm operations
Maryland:
1.3 million acres of cropland
160k acres of pasture
12,256 farm operations
22%
13%
59%
3%
3%
Agriculture
Developed
Forest
Mixed Open
Wetland

3. Maryland’s TMDL History
• In 2010, EPA mandated the 6 Bay States and the
District of Columbia (D.C.) to reduce nutrient and
sediment delivery to the Bay
• Further divided at state level – “allocated loads”
• Achieve reductions by 2025 with 2-year interim
milestones
• All states and D.C. outlined Watershed
Implementation Plans (WIPs) as their “road
maps” to meeting the required reductions
• 2017 designated as the Mid-Point Assessment to
achieve 60% of necessary reductions at state
levels
– Coincides with updating WIPs and modeling
tools

4. BMP Verification
• New requirement, effective 2018, for all states and
sectors to strengthen the accountability and
transparency of reported BMP practices
• 100% of BMPs will have to be verified to receive initial
“credit” and ~10% of BMPs will have to be re-verified to
receive continued “credit”
– Continued presence of water quality benefits
– Quality Assurance Project Plan
http://www.chesapeakebay.net/about/programs/bmpverifi
cation

5. Duration of Credit for Cumulative BMPs
• 10 years:
– Barnyard Runoff Controls
– Soil Conservation & Water
Quality Plans
– Grass Buffers
– Land Retirement
– Pasture Management
– Streamside Fencing
– Shoreline Restoration
– Water Control Structure
• 15 years:
– Animal Waste
Management
– Mortality Composters
– Wetland Restoration
– Riparian Forest Buffers
• Resource Improvements (RIs)
will be credited at one-half the
duration of comparable BMP

6. BMP Verification Task Force
• MDA proposed developing a 6-member Verification Task
Force:
– Ensures compliance with Maryland’s QAPP
– Prevents additional workloads for the Soil Conservation
Districts, and
– Provides objective third-party review of BMP
• Team members will have assigned regions
• Verification conducted at the parcel level, rather than BMP
type, to more effectively conduct site assessments
• Parcels ranked according to potential N reduction credit, and
grouped with additional parcels under same operator

7. Task Force Regions

8. Pilot Project Results
• Five counties selected for Pilot Project – September
through December 2016
• 2,128 individual BMPs evaluated in 4 months
• 72% of BMPs were still Meeting Standard!
• Tracking administrative issues to improve data quality
• Verifiers are now working across assigned regions in 3
week increments
• Evolving to digital-based platform for all project
components
• Refining process and coordination with Soil Conservation
Districts

9. Results through June 30, 2017
70%2%
4%
24%
Meets Standard
Admin
Does Not Meet Standard
No Longer Present

10. Summary by BMP Type
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Alternative
Crop/Switchgrass
Riparian Forest
Buffer
Riparian
Herbaceous Cover
Roof Runoff
Structure
Streamside Fence
(10'-34')
Waste Storage
Facility
No Longer Present
Does Not Meet Standard
Admin
Meets Standard

11. Spatial data records

12. THANK YOU
QUESTIONS?