EPA Research in Maryland

Explore EPA's research across the United States.

Photo of 2 people casting rods on the shores overlooking the bay bridge.

EPA researchers are working hard to protect communities across the nation. Learn about some of the work EPA researchers are doing in Maryland.

Coastal Resiliency Research in a Chesapeake Bay Community
Ebola Decontamination
Reducing Harmful Air Pollutants
Atmospheric Deposition of Nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay
Environmental DNA (eDNA) for Species Inventory
Stream Monitoring Network
EPA Stream Restoration Research Supports Chesapeake Bay Recovery
Launch of Web Application Shares Water Monitoring Data with Baltimore Community

For more EPA work, see EPA in Maryland.

Coastal Resiliency Research in a Chesapeake Bay Community

EPA is collaborating with partners and stakeholders in the City of Crisfield to investigate the ability of natural infrastructure, such as wetlands, tidal marshes, and seagrasses, to improve the resilience of coastal communities. The goal of this research is to support communities with knowledge and tools for building resilience while maximizing other benefits, including recreation and tourism. Read about the project.

Ebola Decontamination

EPA researchers in the Office of Research and Development supported states, including Maryland, in responding to the 2014 outbreak of Ebola in the United States. EPA researchers provided technical support related to decontamination products and best ways to use them, and they recommended the best decontamination methods for Person Protective Equipment, which was important to health care workers and others who came into contact with Ebola patients. EPA also provided instruction on how waste contaminated with the Ebola virus should be managed and the fate of the virus in wastewater.

Reducing Harmful Air Pollutants

For more than 25 years, EPA and states have been using the Office of Research and Development's Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Modeling System, a powerful computational tool for air quality management. CMAQ simultaneously models multiple air pollutants, including ozone, particulate matter, and a variety of air toxics to help air quality managers determine the best air quality management scenarios for their states and communities. The Maryland Department of the Environment uses CMAQ to develop and assess implementation actions needed to attain National Ambient Air Quality Standards mandated by the Clean Air Act.

Atmospheric Deposition of Nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay

Working in collaboration with the EPA Region 3 Chesapeake Bay Program, EPA Office of Research and Development scientists developed a consistent long term emissions dataset and tailored the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system so that it could be used to estimate atmospheric nitrogen deposition for historical (2002 – 2019), and future (2035, 2050) scenarios. The work was conducted to assist partner states, including Maryland, and watershed managers.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) for Species Inventory

Conservation and management of endangered species require being able to locate populations and determine their distribution in the environment. To provide support to various state agencies, including Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and in collaboration with EPA Region 3, EPA Region 9, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Pennsylvania Field Office, and the University of Kentucky Department of Forestry, EPA scientist developed eDNA tools and assessed the capability of eDNA to determine distribution and relative abundance of species of concern.

Stream Monitoring Network

EPA's Office of Research and Development is working with EPA regions, states (including Maryland), Tribes, river basin commissions and other entities to establish Regional Monitoring Networks for freshwater wadeable streams. The objectives are to collect long-term biological, thermal, hydrologic, physical habitat and water chemistry data to document baseline conditions across sites and detect long-term changes. This data can be used for many purposes, including informing water quality and biological criteria development and setting protection planning priorities, refining lists of biological, thermal and hydrologic indicators, and detecting trends in commonly used water quality and biological indicators.

Minebank Run in Baltimore; pre and post restoration from the same perspective — Minebank Run in Baltimore, Maryland. Before (top) and after (bottom) stream restoration.

EPA Stream Restoration Research Supports Chesapeake Bay Recovery

51 billion gallons of water flow into Chesapeake Bay on a daily basis, sometimes picking up harmful contaminants along the way. Natural habitats can act as a filter for the watershed, which is why several communities around the Chesapeake Bay are restoring local streams to a more natural-like state. EPA stream restoration research provides the science needed to continue to protect and restore the nation’s largest estuary. Read EPA Stream Restoration Research Supports Chesapeake Bay Recovery.

Launch of Web Application Shares Water Monitoring Data with Baltimore Community

EPA worked with the U.S. Geological Service and several local and state organizations to provide real-time water quality monitoring data to the Baltimore, Maryland, community. The project, Village Blue, has a web application that displays data collected via two sensors mounted underwater in Baltimore Harbor. Read Launch of Village Blue Web Application Shares Water Monitoring Data with Baltimore Community.