Water Quality Trading
Click on the state name below, or scroll down, for information regarding state water quality trading programs and state policies.
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*ATTN: The following maps may only be re-used with permission. Please inquire with Mark Kieser for use (see Contact Us)
Trading Programs at the Watershed Scale |
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| Trading Programs at State Level |
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State Trading Programs:
Interstate Trading Programs:
| Arizona |
- Pinto Creek - Carlotta Copper Case: copper loading offsets - legal decision
| California |
- Sacramento River:
- Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District Mercury Offset Program
- Mercury Control Project Inventory Database Entry
- Watershed Program - San Joaquin Valley/Grassland Area Farmers Tradable Loads Program:
- Grassland Bypass Compliance Monitoring
- EPA success story - San Francisco Bay:
- Mercury TMDL webpage - Water Quality Control Plan - Lake Tahoe:
- 2009 Lake Clarity Crediting Program and Handbook
- 2008 TMDL Pollutant Reduction Opportunity Report
- 2007 Basin Characterization and Assessment of Exemplary Programs for Water Quality Crediting and Trading Feasibility Analysis
- EPA Targeted Watershed 2005 Annual Report
- Lake Tahoe Water Quality Crediting and Trading Feasibility Study (pdf).
- 2004 Proposal to EPA"Market Based Tools for Air and Water Pollutant Load Reduction to Protect Lake Tahoe Clarity" - Truckee River: Brief Program Plan
| Colorado |
- Chatfield Reservoir:
- 2007 Water Quality Trading Guidelines
- 2006 Control Regulation
- Cherry Creek Basin: Program Description
- Bear Creek: 2005 Watershed Control Regulation
- Colorado 2004 Pollutant Trading Policy
- Dillon Reservoir: Program Description
- Lower Colorado River: (Grand Junction) 2003 EPA News Release
| Connecticut |
- Long Island Sound:
- Nitrogen Control Program CT DEP webpage
- LIS Program Description
- LIS Factsheet - Nitrogen Credit Exchange: An Incentive-based Water Quality Trading Program
- Nitrogen Credit Advisory Board:
- Reports: 2009 - 2008 - 2007 - 2006 (for links to later reports see CT DEP webpage)
- Legislation: 2002 Public Act 01-180: An Act Concerning Nitrogen Reduction in Long Island Sound
- State of Connecticut Nitrogen Program Fact Sheet
| Delaware |
- Lower Delaware River Basin: 2006 Report "Water Quality Trading in the Lower Delaware River Basin: A Resource for Practitioners"
- Delaware Department of Natural Resources:
- Watershed-based Nutrient Trading Factsheet
- "An Industry in a Bind" Factsheet - Inland Bays Watershed: Pollution Control Strategy Allowing Trading
- Indian River and Bay, Rehoboth Bay, Little Assawoman Bay Watersheds: 7403 Regulations Governing the Pollution Control Strategy
| Florida |
- Pollutant Trading Advisory Committee: webpage
- Tampa Bay: Estuary Program
- Lake Okeechobee Watershed:Factsheet - WWF page - RFF article
-Florida Ranchlands Environmental Services Projects (FRESP) is funded by the USDA NRCS, FDACS, SFWMD, WWF, and Florida DEP. It is a 5 year pilot market-based project to restore Lake Okeechobee Watershed by paying Ranchers for environmental services such as water retention, phosphorus retention, and wetland enhancement.
- Lower St. Johns River Basin: Florida DEP mainpage (overview of action and trading plans)
- Water Quality Credit Trading: 2006 Report to governor and legislature
| Georgia |
- Lake Allatoona Watershed: A framework for trading phosphorus credits in the Lake Allatoona Watershed - River Center Webpage
- 2008 Georgia Comprehensive State-wide Water Management Plan
- Water Quality Trading Feasibility Papers:
- 2006 Building a Foundation for Water Quality Trading in Georgia" paper
- 2005 "An Evaluation of Water Quality Trading for Georgia Watersheds" working paper and conference proceedings
- 2005 "A Feasibility Analysis of Applying Water Quality Trading in Georgia Watersheds" Paper
- 2005 "Water Quality Trading: Addressing Two Potential Impediments to Success" Paper
- 2003 "Developing Offset Banking Systems in Georgia" working paper
| Idaho |
- Legislation:
- State of Idaho Pollutant Trading Page
- 2010 Pollutant Trading Guidance
- Bear River:
- Bear River Watershed Water Quality Trading Page
- Water Quality Model used for Trading
- 2000 Feasibility Study: "Lower Boise River Effluent Trading Demonstration Project: Summary of Participant Recommendations for a Trading Framework"
- Trading Calculator
- Trading Calculator Technical Documentation - Upper Snake Rock Watershed: NPDES general permit that includes a pollutant trading provision
- Lower Boise River: Trading Documents
- Big and Little Wood Rivers Watershed: 2003 Watershed-based Nutrient Trading System Design
- Boise Wastewater 2020: Planning for a Sustainable Future (video)
| Illinois |
- Piasa Creek Watershed: Project: 2005 AWWA Journal - 2008 NPDES Permit Notice - Great Rivers LandTrust Website
- Big Bureau Creek Watershed:
- 2009-2011 Study Description
- "Growing Wetlands for Clean Water" Factsheet
- "Measuring a Test Market for Nutrient Farming" Factsheet
| Indiana |
- Wabash River Watershed: Study Overview
| Iowa |
- Iowa Market Feasibility Assessment Study: Three Project Sites - 1. Raccoon River Watershed, 2. Walnut Creek Watershed, 3. Boone River Watershed "The Allocation of Nutrient Load Reduction Across a Watershed: Assessing Delivery Coefficients as an Implementation Tool" Working Paper - Link to Journal Abstract
| Kentucky |
- Kentucky River Watershed:
- 2011 Paper: "Non-Point Source Abatement Costs in the Kentucky River Watershed"
- 2009-2011 Study "Assessment of Market-based Water Quality Trading System for the Kentucky River Watersheds" (study still being done)
| Maryland |
- Chesapeake Bay Watershed: Nutrient Trading Program:
- MDE Webpage
- Guidelines for: Agricultural Credit Sellers, Agricultural Credit Buyers
- 2008 Policy for Nutrient Cap Management and Trading
- Nutrient Trading Video
- Nitrogen Credit Trading in Maryland: 2002 "Market Analysis for Establishing a Statewide Framework" WERF Executive Summary
| Massachusetts |
- Charles River Watershed:
- EPA Information
- News Release
- Pilot Online Trading Program for Phosphorus in Stormwater
- Mass DEP Stormwater Report as starting point for trading framework - Implementation Planning: Report "TMDL for Nutrients in the Upper/Middle Charles River" - Massachusetts Estuaries: Pilot Project
- MassDEP Webpage - Project Page - Project Proposal
| Michigan |
- Legislation:
- 2002 Water Quality Trading Rules
- Water Quality Trading Working Group Page (includes all meeting summaries)
- MDEQ Water Quality Trading Program - Kalamazoo River:
- 2004 Targeted Watershed Grant Project
- 2001 Demonstration Trading Project
| Minnesota |
- Draft Water Quality Trading Rules:
- Water Quality Trading Rule Development Page
- MPCA Phosphorus Strategy - Policy Study 265 "Environmental Flexibility in Action: A Minnesota Case Study"
- 2011 Watson Partners and the Southern Minnesota Sugar Beet Cooperative:
- Phosphorus Trading "Farm of the Future" Project - Minnesota River Basin: General Phosphorus Permit Phase I
- MN Water Quality Trading Rules:
- 2009 Kieser & Associates Report "A Scientifically Defensible Process for the Exchange of Pollutant Credits under Minnesota's Proposed Water Quality Trading Rules" - USDA Conservation Innovation Grant:
- 2006 "Improving Conservation and Agricultural Economics with Water Quality Credit Trading and the BMP Challenge" BMP Challenge
- Preliminary White Draft Paper MN Agricultural Participation in Credit Trading - Lower Minnesota River:
- 2006 Article "Pollutant Trading to Improve Riparian Habitat"
- Rahr Malting: Program Description ; Watershed-based Permitting Case Study: Final Permit EPA Fact sheet - Minnesota River: 2004 Summer Low Flow DO TMDL Report
- Vermillion River:
- Targeted Watershed Grand "Thermal Credit Trading System" webpage (includes links to Project findings and methods)
- 2008 Maps of Thermal Credit Potential
- 2007 Paper "Thermal trading in a Local, State, and Federal Regulatory Context: the Vermillion River"
| Nevada |
- Nevada Water Quality Trading Homepage
- Truckee River:
- Quality of Life Indicator Water Data - Truckee Meadows Tomorrow Site
- Technical Memorandum: Chalk Creek Treatment Feasibility Assessment
- 2011-2030 Comprehensive Regional Water Management Plan
- 1999 Water Rights and Pollution Offset Program - EPA Summary - Las Vegas Wash: Pollution Trading System NV EPA Permit Factsheet
| New Jersey |
- Non Tidal Passaic River Basin:
- Factsheet
- Water Quality Trading Program Webpage and Presentation (through Rutgers University) - Passaic Valley: Sewerage Commissioners Pretreatment Trading Program
| New York |
- Phosphorus Offset Pilot Program
| North Carolina |
- Neuse River:
- Protection Rules and Factsheets
- Permit: Part 1 - Part 2 - Tar Pamlico River Basin:
- Project Description and Program Links
- Nutrient Sensitive Water Strategy: Soil and Water Conservation Page - Cape Fear River:
- Targeted Watershed Grant : Cape Fear River Assembly Page
- 2009 Final Report: A Nutrient Credit Trading Framework for the Jordan Lake Watershed: Using Market-Based Mechanisms to Make Watershed Restoration more Cost Effective Executive Summary - Full Report
| Ohio |
- Legislation:
- Water Quality Trading Rules
- Ohio EPA Water Quality Trading Website - Great Miami River Watershed:
- Water Quality Credit Trading Program page
- Miami Conservancy District: Improving Water Quality Demonstration Projects page
- Preliminary Economic Analysis Study
- 2005 Water Quality Trading Program Operations Manual
- Report: "An Economic Comparison of USDA-NRCS EQIP Payments and Water Quality Trading in the Great Miami River Watershed in Ohio"
- Little Miami River:
- Description
- Clermont County EPA Proposal and News Release - Sugar Creek Watershed:
- 2011 Article: Alpine Cheese Water Quality Trading Project Proves Successful
- Alpine Cheese Phosphorus Nutrient Trading Program 2006 Trading Plan - Shepherd Creek:
- Research: "Using Economic Incentive to Manage Storm water Runoff" Part 1 and Evaluation - Ohio River Basin:
- EPRI Ohio River Basin Webpage
- Power Facilities Map
| Oregon |
- Legislation:
- State of Oregon Water Quality Trading Website
- Chap 468B Water Quality Statutes
- 2009 Update to Water Quality Trading Internal Management Directive and News Release - Clean Water Services:
- Permit Factsheet
- 2002 Temperature Management Plan
- NPDES permit Webpage
- Willamette Watershed:
- Willamette Partnership Webpage
- Willamette Ecosystem Marketplace Development Webpage
- Willamette Watershed Improvement Strategies Page
- 2005 EPA Project Proposal
- 2006 Environmental Defense Article
- 2006 Conservation Markets roundtable presentations
- 2006 Ecosystem Marketplace article - Portland Tradable Stormwater Credit Project
- Oregon DEQ Water Quality Trading Webpage
- Oregon Water Quality Trading Factsheet
- Water Quality Credit Trading in Oregon: Case Study
- Paper: Dynamic Simulation of Thermal Water Quality Trading Program and Implications for Policy Design
| Pennsylvania |
- Legislation: DEP Nutrient Trading webpage and policy/guidelines
- Pennsylvania Water Quality Trading: NutrientNet Online Trading Marketplace
- DEP News Releases:
- 2006 Article: State's Nutrient Trading Program Garnering Attention
- 2006 Article: First Credit Sale - Nutrient Credit Trading for Watershed Improvement: 2003 PA Discussion Paper
- DEP Chesapeake Bay Webpage: includes links to "Trading of Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Credit: Policy and Guidelines", information from the trading workgroup and all documents related to the Chesapeake Bay.
- Conestoga Watershed: Nutrient Trading Pilot Project
- 2009 CCX Final Report: Outline for PENNVEST's Role as Nutrient Credit Clearinghouse in Pennsylvania's Water Quality Nutrient Credit Market. To request this publication, contact Michael Walsh (Exec. VP) or Jeffery O'Hara (Economist).
- 2008 Chesapeake Bay Tributary Stategy Compliance Cost Study
- 2007 Article: Ready to Trade: PA Approves Policy to Exchange Nutrients
- 2006 Primer on Water Quality Trading in the Mid Atlantic Region
- Lawsuit: Borough of Bedford et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
| Tennessee |
- Beaver Creek Watershed: The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Project
Project Introduction
Project Full Pilot Study Report
| Utah |
- Bear River Watershed:
- 2004 Targeted Watershed grant to develop trading
- "Nomination of the Tri State Bear River Basin for the US EPA Watershed Initiative Program" Proposal
- Water Quality Model used to determine amount of tradable pollutants
- Conclusions of Water Quality Trading Study
| Vermont |
| Virginia |
- Legislation:
- VPDES Watershed General Permit for nutrient Discharges to the Chesapeake Bay: Webpage
- DEQ Chesapeake Bay Program: Webpage - Nutrient Credit Exchange Study
- Nutrient Credit Exchange Association, Inc. Page
- 2010 Chesapeake Bay TMDL Phase I Watershed Implementation Plan
- 2009 Evaluation: "Nutrient Trading Options in Virginia: A Role for Agriculture"
- 2005 Report: "Chesapeake Bay Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Tributary Strategy for the James River, Lynnhaven, and Poquoson Coastal Basin"
| Washington |
- 2010 Draft Water Quality Trading Framework Paper
- 2011 Water Quality Trading Program Update
- Spokane River Watershed:
- 2010 Spokane River and Lake Spokane Dissolved Oxygen Total Maximum Daily Load Water Quality Improvement Report - Publication Summary
- 2005 Water Quality Trading Suitability Analysis Final Report
| West Virginia |
- Potomac River Watershed:
- Water Quality Bank and Trade Program Webpage (includes links to 2008 Draft Trading Guidance Documents)
- 2008 "TMDL for Selected Streams in the Potomac Watershed" Final Report
- Nutrient Trading in Potomac River Brochure - Cheat River:
- EPA Document: Trading Framework and Water Quality Credits on Former Mine Lands
- 2003 Document: "Completed and Future Projects and use of TMDL Trading" - Coal River Watershed: 2006 TMDL for Selected Streams in the Coal Watershed" Final Report
- WV Water Quality Nutrient Credit Trading Program Guidance Document
| Wisconsin |
- Red Cedar River: Wisconsin DNR Watershed Based Pollutant Trading Page (includes links to City of Cumberland Phosphorus Trading Progress Reports)
- Fox-Wolf Lake Alliance:
- Program Description
- Water Quality Credit Trading White Paper - prepared to guide and support the assessment of the feasibility of trading to assist with water quality improvement in the Fox River Watershed. - Rock River Partnership Webpage
- 2002 Fourth Progress Report on the Trading of Water Pollution Credits - DNR Webpage
- Water Quality Trading Blog Site - provides information on the latest happenings related to water quality trading
- Water Quality Trading Framework for Wisconsin 2011 Draft Report
Interstate Trading Programs:
| Chesapeake Bay Program |
- Main Page
- Program Description
- 2001 Chesapeake Bay Program Nutrient Trading Fundamental Principles and Guidelines - Endorsement of the Principles
- State Pages:
- PA Nutrient Trading DEP Webpage
- VA Watershed Permit Webpage
- WV Trading Program Webpage - 2005 Article "Nutrient Credit Trading: The New Bay Cleanup Tool"
- Workshop Proceedings:
- 2001 Nutrient Trading Public Workshop - Public Comments Summary
- 1998 "Nutrient Trading to maintain Nutrient Cap in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed" Workshop Proceedings - Reports:
- 2009 "Evaluation Framework for Water Quality Trading Programs in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed" Report
- 2009 "Cost and Cost Efficiencies for some Nutrient Reduction Practices in Maryland" Report
- 2001 "Nutrient Trading for the Chesapeake Bay" Report
| Ohio River Basin |
- Trading Pilot Project Main Page
- 2011 Project Notice: Pilot Trades for Compliance with Nutrient Criteria and Greenhouse Gas Targets
