In order to better understand how fertilizer runoff is affecting the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed, scientists must first be able track its usage back to the stores and distributors. However, as it turns out, each state collects this data differently, making it virtually impossible to compare how and in what quantities each state uses its fertilizer. Additionally, the states’ individual fertilizer accounting systems, originally designed to separate fertilizer sales into taxable and non-taxable fractions, often lend to double counting and miscounts all together. Subsequently, even the best available data is deemed as unreliable data sources for modeling nutrient flows to the Bay.

STAC and the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Nutrient Subcommittee co-hosted a workshop in May 2007 aimed to initiate a discussion that would address some of the key concerns with current state fertilizer accounting systems and provide recommendations for syncing state collection methods. A detailed summary of the workshop discussion and recommendations can be found in the following workshop proceedings report. Links to the workshop presentations are also available for download. These initial collaborative steps will serve well in the Bay Program’s current and future efforts to improve Chesapeake Bay water quality.

• Agenda
• Workshop Participants
• Workshop Briefing Materials and Products
• Workshop Presentations
• STAC Workshops