10 a.m., Oct. 27, 2010----The Chesapeake Bay is a national focal point for water quality issues. New environmental regulations will require Delaware and the other five bay states -- Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York -- and the District of Columbia to significantly reduce pollution entering the bay and its tributaries.

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These rigorous federal and state program aims to restore the bay's water quality by 2025.

Because the two main pollutants that are under consideration are nitrogen and phosphorous, agricultural entities in Delaware and the other bay states have a vital role in this process.

On Wednesday, Nov. 10, Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, the Delaware Department of Agriculture and the University of Delaware College of Agriculture and Natural Resources will host an agricultural issues forum to address agricultural and environmental concerns surrounding the health of the Chesapeake Bay as it relates to water quality.

“The Intersection of Agriculture, the Environment and the Chesapeake Bay” will be held in the Trabant University Center Multipurpose Room A from 7-9 p.m.

"The goal of this event is to bring awareness to one of the major environmental issues in our area," says Craig Parker, president of Alpha Gamma Rho. “We hope that UD students, faculty, and other community members will join us to learn about the issues from everyone involved.”

The program will be moderated by Ed Kee, secretary of the Delaware Department of Agriculture, who is also a CANR alumnus and former UD employee.

Kee will be joined by science and regulatory advisors Rick Batiuk, science adviser for the Chesapeake Bay Program, and Kathy Bunting-Howarth, director of the Division of Water at the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

Industry and government panelists for the evening include:

• Steve Schwalb, vice president, Environmental Sustainability, Perdue Farms;
• Shawn Garvin, regional administrator for Region III, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);
• Dave Baker, farmer and member of Delaware Nutrient Management Commission; and
• Jim Borel, executive vice president, DuPont.

The forum will conclude with networking and free UDairy Creamery ice cream.

For more information call (302) 831-1355 or send email to [kvo@udel.edu].