Live broadcast 4/25/17 at 8:00-9:00 pm EST

2017 is a critical year for the future of Chesapeake Bay. It is the midway point in the federal government’s bay cleanup plan, a time when EPA-mandated milestones in water quality improvement will be measured. The goal is to see if cleanup techniques mandated in 2009 are succeeding. Some states have been very successful in implementing federal “pollution diet” practices that have reduced nutrient and sediment pollution in the main stem of the bay and southward. Not all states, however, have completely met, or even come close, to meeting their target goals.

The Chesapeake Bay Summit 2017 will ask the obvious question: Why not? Why have any states failed to regulate and enforce nutrient and sediment pollution that flows into the Susquehanna River, especially since the river is the leading single source of Chesapeake Bay pollutants? Why have officials failed to meet the federal mandate to clean up the river, and will the Environmental Protection Agency punish the state’s recalcitrance by applying tough sanctions as promised?

The Chesapeake Bay Summit 2017 will assemble a panel of world-class experts on Chesapeake Bay science, policy and culture. During this 60-minute forum, moderated by Frank Sesno, panelists will explore and explain what the 2017 milestone outcomes mean moving forward. Maryland and Virginia officials be on hand to discuss what has and has not worked in their states, as well as what successful strategies can be used to move forward.

For more information, please visit http://www.mpt.org/stationrelations/thebaysummit/