BMP Expert Panels Publications

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Oyster BMP Expert Panel Second Incremental Report: Assimilation and Enhanced Denitrification

Published on January 1, 2023

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Reduction Associated with Harvest of Hatchery-Produced Oysters and Reef Restoration: Assimilation and Enhanced Denitrification

Approved by Watershed Technical Work Group (WTWG): May 4, 2023

Approved by Water Quality Goal Implementation Team (WQGIT), in coordination with the Sustainable Fisheries and Habitat GITs: June 26, 2023

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Cropland Irrigation BMP Expert Panel Report

Published on December 12, 2019 in Report

This report details the work done by the Cropland Irrigation Expert Panel to improve the BMP definition and efficiency values for cropland irrigation, create unique BMP definitions and recommendations for three different cropland irrigation categories, and investigate differences in BMP efficiencies and irrigation practices across regions. This work draws on pre-existing literature on cropland irrigation and focuses on applications in the Delmarva Peninsula and Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The WQGIT approved final report from the Cropland Irrigation Expert Panel.

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Wetland Rehabilitation, Enhancement and Creation BMP expert panel report

Published on March 18, 2020 in Report

The Wetland Workgroup approved the formation of this expert panel to evaluate the effectiveness of nontidal wetland best management practices (BMPs) to reduce loads of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment to the Chesapeake Bay. This panel was formed to expand on the CBP-approved report by a previous Wetland Expert Panel that clarified the wetland restoration BMP and established two nontidal wetland land uses in the Phase 6 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Model (WEP, 2016).
The current panel first convened in November 2017 and deliberated its approach and recommendations over the subsequent months. This report describes the panel’s recommendations for review, feedback and approval under the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Protocol for the Development, Review, and Approval of Loading and Effectiveness Estimates for Nutrient and Sediment Controls in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Model, or “BMP Review Protocol.”
The expert panel worked diligently to articulate BMP efficiencies for wetland creation, rehabilitation and enhancement with respect to the available literature and the CBP-approved wetland restoration BMP. As with wetland restoration, the recommended wetland creation BMP is simulated as a land use change that also reduces upland loads using the above efficiency value. The recommended wetland rehabilitation BMP is not a land use change, but the efficiency is applied to upland land uses. Further details for how the BMPs will be reported for progress runs and simulated in the Watershed Model are provided in Appendix B. As explained in section 5, the panel recommends that wetland enhancement should not be a BMP for purposes of achieving nutrient and sediment reduction targets under the TMDL, as simulated in the Watershed Model.

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