The Chesapeake Bay is one of America's most treasured waterways, but also one of the most polluted. Experts in this WRI Podcast examine nutrient trading as a potential solution.
nutrient trading
Nutrient Trading By Municipal Stormwater Programs In Maryland And Virginia: Three Case Studies
Restoring the ecological health of the Chesapeake Bay will require reducing nutrient pollution in urban stormwater runoff. Planning, designing, and constructing the local stormwater management projects that are needed will take many years and be very expensive. Implementing nutrient trading in...
A new online guide to water quality trading can help farms, utilities and other businesses cut pollution and restore U.S. waters to their swimmable, fishable best.
Advancing voluntary and market-based solutions for improving water quality in a manner that maximizes economic efficiency and maintains environmental integrity.
The Gulf of Mexico has the largest dead zone in the United States and the second-largest in the world. Dead zones form when excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous wash into waterways and spur algal blooms, depleting the water of oxygen and killing fish, shrimp, and other marine life. The Gulf of Mexico dead zone can range between an astounding 3,000 and 8,000 square miles. At its largest, it’s about the size of Massachusetts.
Reducing this growing dead zone problem is a huge scientific, technical, economic, and political challenge. It’s a conundrum that agricultural and environmental experts from across the United States will deliberate this week at the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force meeting in Louisville, Kentucky.
One new approach they’ll discuss is voluntary nutrient trading. According to a new study conducted by WRI staff for the EPA, this strategy could be used in the Mississippi River Basin to cost-effectively reduce nitrogen and phosphorous pollution and shrink the Gulf of Mexico dead zone.
- LEARN MORE: Download the full study on the economic feasibility of nutrient trading in the Mississippi River Basin.
Comparison Tables of State Nutrient Trading Programs in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
These tables serve as a reference document containing the key design elements of nutrient trading programs in four Chesapeake Bay states: Maryland, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, and West Virginia.
How Baywide Nutrient Trading Could Benefit Pennsylvania Farms
This working paper evaluates the opportunities for Pennsylvania farms to sell nutrient credits in a proposed nutrient trading program in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
How Baywide Nutrient Trading Could Benefit Maryland Farms
This working paper evaluates the opportunities for Maryland farms to sell nutrient credits in a proposed nutrient trading program in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
The federal commitment to develop and support environmental markets could have national significance.
How Baywide Nutrient Trading Could Benefit Virginia Farms
This working paper evaluates the opportunities for Virginia farms to sell nutrient credits in a proposed nutrient trading program in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
