Photo credit: Chesapeake Bay Program

The Chesapeake Bay is one of America’s greatest treasures. Made up of a network of hundreds of thousands of rivers and streams that span over 64,000 square miles, this watershed is a vital source of recreation, food, and drinking water for millions of Americans. Additionally, thousands of members of the tourism and fishing industries depend on the Chesapeake Bay to provide for their families.

The whole reason we’ve been able to restore the Chesapeake Bay over the past few decades into the economically and recreationally viable resource it is today is because those at the federal, state, and local levels have made its cleanup a top priority.

In 2010, states within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed worked with the Environmental Protection Agency to set pollution limits that would restore water quality in local rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay by 2025. Each state a part of the watershed developed its own Watershed Implementation Plan designed to ensure practices are put in place to achieve those goals.

Virginia is currently developing Phase III of its Watershed Implementation Plan. This is the blueprint for Chesapeake Bay restoration, which will bring measurable local benefits to creeks and rivers throughout the Bay watershed through accountable reductions in sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus pollution.

During the month of June, the Local Government Advisory Committee to the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council is hosting a series of roundtables to hear from local elected officials. Each roundtable will last approximately 90 minutes and will include a facilitated discussion about the challenges, successes, and opportunities communities across the Commonwealth face in protecting and restoring waterways. The information provided will be shared with Virginia’s leadership in order to foster a better understanding of the connection between local issues and priorities and the state’s commitments to protecting downstream waters.

Currently scheduled roundtables include:
  • June 7, 2018 – Harrisonburg (8:30-9:30 am)
  • June 11, 2018 – Doswell (6:00-8:30 pm)
  • June 14, 2018 – Annandale (8:00-9:30 am)
  • June 15, 2018 – Charlottesville (11:00 am -1:00 pm)
  • June 18, 2018 – Virginia Beach (8:00-9:30 am)
  • June 19, 2018 – Hopewell (8:00-9:30 am)
  • June 22, 2018 – Culpeper (9:30-11:00 am)
  • June 26, 2018 – Tappahannock (8:30-10:00 am)

If you are a local elected official unable to attend the roundtable in your region, you are welcome to attend one of the other events.

To RSVP, please fill out the following form. If you have any questions, please contact LGAC Assistant Coordinator, Jennifer Starr, at 512-228-2552 or e-mail lgac@allianceforthebay.org.