President Donald Trump has signed an executive order revoking a 2009 directive on Chesapeake Bay restoration and directing federal agencies to focus funding on projects that produce measurable water-quality improvements.

The order rescinds Executive Order 13508, which established a framework for federal coordination of Chesapeake Bay restoration. It also directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to work with the six watershed states and the District of Columbia to assess financial burdens associated with local stormwater management fees and encourage approaches that improve Bay health without increasing costs for residents.

The administration refers to stormwater fees as “rain taxes” and argues that some jurisdictions have used the 2009 order to justify fees that impose unnecessary costs on households and small businesses. However, the Chesapeake Bay Program says stormwater fees are among several financing mechanisms used by watershed partners to support restoration. Local governments also use stormwater fees to fund drainage infrastructure, flood control, pollution reduction and water-quality projects.

“For too long, families in Luzerne County have opened their mailbox to find a bill for the rain that falls on their own roofs and driveways, all to fund a faraway cleanup effort that has fallen dramatically short of its goals after four decades and tens of billions of dollars,” said Pennsylvania Rep. Rob Breshnahan in a press release.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has criticized the order, saying the 2009 directive strengthened federal coordination, Clean Water Act implementation and accountability for Bay restoration.

"For 17 years, the 2009 executive order has helped provide the federal leadership, coordination, science and accountability needed to restore the Chesapeake Bay," said Chesapeake Bay Foundation President and CEO Hilary Harp Falk in a statement. "Repealing it weakens this historic federal-state partnership at exactly the moment we need greater accountability and collaboration. Its replacement undermines the federal government’s role while eroding the ability of states and local governments to fix problems ranging from pollution to flooding.

The order directs federal agencies to prioritize projects that directly reduce nutrient and sediment runoff and use measurable performance indicators. The change comes as Bay partners continue work under a revised 2025 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. As of 2025, modeled reductions had achieved 100% of the sediment goal, 90% of the phosphorus goal and 57% of the nitrogen goal, with nitrogen and phosphorus reductions remaining ongoing priorities.