Presidential DocumentExecutive Order 144282026-19335
Providing Meaningful Water Quality Improvements Through Collaboration and Oversight of Federal Support
Primary source
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Published
September 21, 2026
Signed
September 16, 2026
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 181 (Monday, September 21, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 181 (Monday, September 21, 2026)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 59975-59977]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-19335]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 91 , No. 181 / Monday, September 21, 2026 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 59975]]
Executive Order 14428 of September 16, 2026
Providing Meaningful Water Quality Improvements
Through Collaboration and Oversight of Federal Support
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, and in furtherance of the purposes of the
Clean Water Act of 1972, as amended (33 U.S.C. 1251 et
seq.), it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose and Policy. The Chesapeake Bay is
the largest estuary in the United States and serves a
critically important economic purpose to the
communities it directly and indirectly touches. In
managing the Chesapeake Bay, as with other resources,
governmental actors should prioritize environmental
protection and economic objectives. Executive Order
13508 of May 12, 2009 (Chesapeake Bay Protection and
Restoration), which has been in effect for 17 years,
instituted a broad mandate for States and
municipalities to contribute to improving the
environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay, without
providing clarity on how to implement that order's
requirements.
In some instances, this lack of clarity has led to
harmful economic impacts on affected Americans. For
example, many localities have implemented stormwater
management fees, commonly referred to as ``rain
taxes,'' that impose hundreds of dollars in annual
financial burdens on residents and small businesses in
the name of implementing Executive Order 13508, though
nothing in that order required or explicitly justified
such measures, with little to no measurable benefits to
Chesapeake Bay or to those residents. States use these
rain taxes to pay for their stormwater infrastructure,
whether or not it contributes to the environmental
health of the Chesapeake Bay.
Since Executive Order 13508 was signed, a number of
other Federal, State, and local government initiatives
and programs have resulted in significant improvements
in water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. As of 2025, the
jurisdictions of the Chesapeake Bay watershed--New
York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, the District of
Columbia, Delaware, and West Virginia--have
collectively met 100 percent of their goal for sediment
reduction, 90 percent of their goal for phosphorus
reduction, and 57 percent of their goal for nitrogen
reduction. These pollution reductions are improving
Chesapeake Bay health and have resulted in thousands of
acres of restored reefs and remain consistent with
commitments made in the 2025 revised Chesapeake Bay
Watershed Agreement, to which the Federal Government
and the executive departments and agencies (agencies)
mentioned in section 3 of this order are signatories.
In 2026, scientists from the College of William & Mary,
the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, FlowWest, and
the University of Maryland Center for Environmental
Science reported that the Chesapeake Bay's annual dead
zone is projected to be among the smallest since 1985,
about 31 percent below the long-term average.
Given this significant progress, and the need to
provide clarity on how to continue improving the
environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay, it is
appropriate to revoke Executive Order 13508, which
relevant jurisdictions have erroneously relied on to
impose rain taxes, and to implement new actions and
best practices that promote the economic health and
wellbeing of the communities the Chesapeake Bay serves.
Sec. 2. Revocation of Order. Executive Order 13508 is
hereby revoked.
[[Page 59976]]
Sec. 3. Prioritization of Programs Directly Benefiting
and Protecting Bay Health. (a) The Secretary of War,
the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of
Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary
of Homeland Security, and the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency shall assess the
current support that their respective agencies provide
for the health of the Chesapeake Bay and focus any
resources--fiscal or personnel--on more direct, on-the-
ground projects, in areas of highest need, that would
result in the most impactful water quality
improvements. All agencies that provide funding to
support the health of the Chesapeake Bay shall
prioritize funding in a manner that addresses water
quality goals directly, redirecting funding away from
activities that do not generate measurable progress
towards stated goals, to implementation of projects
that will directly reduce nutrient and sediment run-off
into the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
(b) The Environmental Protection Agency shall
coordinate with the States of Maryland, Virginia,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and West Virginia,
and the District of Columbia, to:
(i) assess the additional financial burdens placed on residents of these
jurisdictions through the imposition of stormwater management fees;
(ii) explore initiatives and opportunities to effectuate this order and
promote the environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay that do not increase
costs on individual residents of these jurisdictions; and
(iii) take measures to encourage the repeal or rescission of stormwater
management fees imposed by States or localities and funded by their
respective residents.
(c) Actions taken pursuant to this section shall
prioritize strategies that are grounded in objective
metrics and proven water management practices,
supported by empirical data and scientific analysis,
and measurable in impact. Strategies shall use and
rigorously document performance indicators and
outcomes, such as reductions in sediment, phosphorus,
and nitrogen loads, and improvements in water quality.
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
[[Page 59977]]
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(d) The costs of publication of this order shall be
borne by the Environmental Protection Agency.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
September 16, 2026.
[FR Doc. 2026-19335
Filed 9-18-26; 11:15 am]
Billing code 6560-50-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 21, 2026.
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