New Guidance for the Prevented Sediment Protocols

This webinar provides an overview of newly approved guidance for the prevented sediment protocol used to credit stream restoration projects under the Chesapeake Bay TMDL framework. Presenters Josh Running of Stantec and Lisa Fraey-McNeal from the Center for Watershed Protection trace the evolution of stream restoration crediting beginning with the original 2013 expert panel report. Stream restoration has become one of the fastest-growing best management practices (BMPs) used by jurisdictions to meet nutrient and sediment reduction goals for the Bay, with hundreds of miles of projects already completed and many more planned. Because of this rapid growth, inconsistencies in how credits were being calculated, monitored, and reported began to emerge, prompting a comprehensive reevaluation of the original protocol. In response, the Chesapeake Bay Program convened five technical workgroups beginning in 2018, engaging more than 80 stream restoration experts, to revisit every aspect of the original protocols. Focusing on the Group 3 recommendations, presenters explain why updates were needed and the steps being taken to align credit calculations more closely with real-world stream processes.