Huh?

I thought I understood the politics of nutrient and storm water control in the Bay. Then I saw this:

Chesapeake Bay Pollution Policies Under Scrutiny

A credit program approved by the Chesapeake Bay Program last year may change the way pollution control is handled in the region. The program “offers cities a way to get nutrient reduction credits by going beyond the minimum requirements of their stormwater permits,” the Bay Journal reported.
. . .
What changes this year: “In 2015, localities became eligible to seek nutrient credits for the ‘Advanced Nutrient Discovery Program’ by shifting their local programs away from traditional visual outfall screening methods and toward targeted nutrient screening and discovery methods,” the report said.

Still, it is unclear whether the new credit policy will prove effective.

If cities are allowed to get nutrient credits for reducing their output, that essentially locks the current nutrient outputs into law as allowable.