chapte r\/l 
Recommended 
Implementation Procedures 
This chapter presents implementation procedures as regional guidance to the Chesa¬ 
peake Bay watershed states and other agencies, institutions, groups or individuals 
applying the criteria to determine the degree of attainment. In accordance with 
Section 117(b)(2)(B)(iii) of the Clean Water Act, these procedures accompany the 
regional criteria to promote their consistent, baywide application in common tidal- 
water designated uses across jurisdictional boundaries. 
The Chesapeake Bay criteria, as presented in the previous three chapters, will protect 
designated uses if they are applied strictly following current EPA national guide¬ 
lines. The regional implementation procedures described in this chapter are tailored 
to the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries, the refined tidal-water designated 
uses and the current and anticipated enhancements to the baywide coordinated moni¬ 
toring program. Adoption and application of the Chesapeake Bay-specific 
implementation procedures across jurisdictions will give the states and other partners 
a greater degree of confidence in assessing the attainment of criteria and protection 
of designated uses. The extensive shared tidal waters should be assessed consistently 
across the four jurisdictions using these recommended procedures that account for 
natural conditions and processes, highlight the magnitude and extent of remaining 
impairments and provide up-front diagnostics of possible reasons for criteria nonat¬ 
tainment. The EPA strongly encourages states to adopt these implementation 
procedures into their water quality standards. 
The chapter includes: 
• A brief review of the criteria, defining the spatial and temporal boundaries 
within which criteria attainment will be measured; 
• A method for quantifying and visualizing the degree of criteria attainment or 
exceedance that incorporates the amount of area or volume of a region that 
meets or exceeds a criterion and how often a criterion is met or exceeded; 
• A description of successful criteria attainment recognizing that 100 percent 
attainment is not necessary to protect designated and existing uses; 
chapter vi • Recommended implementation Procedures 
