It is estimated to cost billions of dollars to reduce nutrients and sediment loads to the Bay to improve water quality enough to support fish, shellfish and other living resources and provide safe and clean water for recreational uses by the year 2025. To that end, state and federal agencies involved with the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP)partnership have gone to great lengths to ensure an open, science-based, and transparent process thorough all aspects of the 2017 TMDL midpoint assessment.