Analysis of the Legal Framework & Policies Driving Nutrient Reductions in Agriculture: How Restoration Efforts in the Chesapeake Bay Compare to Restoration Efforts in the Baltic Sea
Open Access
Author:
Ulsh, Allyson
Area of Honors:
Environmental Resource Management
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Matthew B Royer, Thesis Supervisor Robert David Shannon, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Chesapeake Bay Baltic Sea Agriculture Nonpoint Source Pollution Phase 3 WIP Baltic Sea Action Plan Agriculture and Environment Center TMDL
Abstract:
This thesis juxtaposes the legal policies surrounding water quality and the framework of Pennsylvania’s Phase 3 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan with the Baltic Sea Action Plan, with particular emphasis on Sweden, as a means to critique and pose recommendations to existing Chesapeake Bay and Baltic Sea cleanup efforts. With a deadline to ‘Clean Up the Bay’ by 2025 and revise the BSAP by 2021, analyzing the areas where increased conservation efforts exist is crucial to success in these ecosystems. While Sweden has had their own set of challenges in restoring the Baltic Sea, their innovative approaches to governance and funding provide different perspectives which illuminate disparities within Chesapeake conversation efforts. The structure of this thesis first provides a comparative overview of the physical characteristics and ecosystem services/economic value of the Chesapeake Bay and the Baltic Sea. Next, the legal and policy frameworks governing the respective restoration efforts are provided as background. Using these differences noted in the legal frameworks and existing action plans, the gaps in Pennsylvania’s Phase 3 Watershed Implementation Plan and the Baltic Sea Action Plan are analyzed and several innovative recommendations are proposed. Finally, this thesis highlights several case studies ranging from a local to federal scale that showcases where certain gaps have already been addressed in order to increase nutrient reductions and deliberates further on ways local, federal, and non-government organizations can learn from each other.
