Workshop Publications

During the development of the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), USEPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program Office (CBPO) determined that the 30-day mean dissolved oxygen (DO) criteria was sufficient to determine attainment of the open-water and deep-water designated uses of the Bay. This assumption, which cam to be called the “umbrella criteria assumption,” came under scrutiny by members of the Chesapeake Bay’s scientific and management communities. In response to their concerns, the Chesapeake Bay Program formed an Umbrella Criterion Assessment Team and requested a STAC workshop to discuss the team’s preliminary findings in March, 2011. This report summarizes the workshop and the team’s work.