Ensuring Accountability: CBP's Partnership Approach

1. CBP Partnership Approach for Ensuring Full Accountability of Best Practices and Technologies Implemented Jim Edward, CBPO Deputy Director CBP Citizen Advisory Committee Briefing March 1, 2012 Meeting

2. Verification Requests • Citizen Advisory Committee • Repeated requests for BMP verification • Chesapeake Executive Order Strategy • USDA and EPA commitment to develop/implement mechanism for tracking/reporting ‘voluntary conservation practices’ by July 2012 • NRC’s Ches Bay Independent Evaluation Report • Five science-based conclusions focused on ‘accurate tracking of BMPs’ • Chesapeake Bay TMDL’s Appendix S • EPA expectations for offset credit verification

3. Verification-Related Work Underway • NEIEN • Successful submission of 2010 progress data • NACD • Project for development of data collection/verification protocols for non-cost shared ag practices • USGS MOU’s with NRCS/FSA • Improving access to federal cost-shared data • USDA Office of Environmental Markets • Synthesis of verification of environ. credits • Responses to NRC CB Indep. Evaluation Report • MB’s recommended responses sent to PSC

4. Partnership Approach • Build a Partnership-wide BMP Verification Program working up through CBP Partnership • Workgroups GITs MB PSC • Address full array of practices across all sources • Agricultural lands, forest lands, wetlands, developed lands, on-site treatment systems, abandoned mine lands, wastewater dischargers, stream corridors, tidal shorelines • Factor in innovative approaches taken by jurisdictions, local municipalities, districts

5. Verification Framework • Verification principles • Partnership agreement on principles to guide the jurisdictions’ development/implementation of verification programs • Source sector-specific verification protocols • Developed through the GITs’ workgroups and approved by the Partnership • Verification panel • Verification experts charged by the Partnership to review/make recommendations on jurisdictions’ proposed verification programs (aka BMP panels)

6. Other Key Elements • Federal Cost Shared Practices: Complete work by USGS through MOUs with NRCS and FSA to provide jurisdictions and wider partnership with full access to all federal cost shared agricultural conservation practices • Double Counting: Complete work by USGS, states, NRCS and FSA to put in place protocols for preventing double counting of individual practices funded by multiple sources

7. Other Key Elements • Historic Data Clean-up: Jurisdictions’ completion or commitment to finish clean up for tracked and reported practices from1985 to present using CBRAP funds and/or EPA contractor resources • Practice Life Spans: Partnership agreement on practice specific life spans and information management protocols for enforcing those life spans within each jurisdictions’ NEIEN-based BMP tracking, verification and reporting system

8. WQGIT review, approval of proposed process/schedule Completed 1/9/2012 PARTNERSHIP APPROACH Completed 2/9/2012 MB review, approval of proposed process/schedule Completed 2/16/2012 PSC review, approval of proposed process/schedule Workgroups with tracking, reporting and accountability systems, offset/trading program responsibilities work to resolve issues, refine existing systems Source sector-specific verification protocols developed by workgroups Work Underway Weave together initial workgroup products into preliminary draft BMP verification principles and protocols Late March 2012

9. PARTNERSHIP APPROACH (Con’t) Preliminary draft BMP verification principles and protocols April 2012 March*/April** 2012 WQGIT review/modification/ of preliminary draft BMP verification principles, and protocols Briefings for CAC, STAC, and LGAC*; review of draft BMP verification principles, protocols by the other GITs** May/June 2012 MB review/modification/approval to present proposed BMP verification principles, protocols to PSC Summer 2012 PSC review/modification/adoption of BMP verification principles, protocols for the Partnership PSC communication of the Partnership’s BMP Verification Program to partners/stakeholders through some formal agreement mechanism Fall 2012 Starting Fall 2012 BMP Verification Panel Reviews States’ Proposed Verification Programs

10. Proposed Schedule* • Starting Fall/Winter 2012: jurisdictions present their proposed BMP verification programs to the Panel for review • 2013: Following CBP Partnership approval of their BMP verification program, jurisdictions can track, verify, report, and receive credit for the full array of cost shared and non-cost shared practices • 2014: Account for expanded verified practices, technologies when reporting on 2012-2013 milestones and developing 2014-2015 milestones *Subject to change based on partnership decision.

11. Key Next Steps • CBPO staff developing a BMP verification section on the partnership’s www.chesapeakebay.net web site • A BMP Verification Steering Committee being convened this month under the WQ Goal Implementation Team • Management Board will made decisions on BMP Panel membership based on forthcoming recommendations • Other GITs will be engaged in the process

12. Questions for the Citizens Advisory Committee • Are we missing any key elements in developing a comprehensive BMP verification program across the CBP partnership? • How can we ensure we get input from involved stakeholders during the BMP verification framework development process?

13. Questions for the Citizens Advisory Committee • What are your recommendations for the types of experts we should have on the BMP verification panel? Do you have specific recommendations for specific panel members? • What specific role(s) would the CAC like to play during development of the BMP verification framework? How involved do you want to be?

14. What to get more directly involved? Contact Rich Batiuk directly at: Rich Batiuk Associate Director for Science U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Chesapeake Bay Program Office 410 Severn AvenueAnnapolis, MD  21403 410-267-5731 (office) 443-223-7823 (cell) batiuk.richard@epa.gov www.chesapeakebay.net