Water Quality Trading by Water Quality Agency
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Business
Water Quality Trading,a Market-Based Approach to Achieve Water Quality
Pacific Northwest USA drafting approaches to water trading. Water quality agency staff from Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, U.S. EPA Region 10, Willamette Partnership and The Freshwater Trust released draft recommendations on approaches to water quality trading in the Pacific Northwest.
The recommendations are based on the group's evaluation of policies, practices, and programs across the country.
The evaluation identified common principles and practices that should be used to develop a consistent approach to water quality trading in the region and focused specifically around trading between non-point and point sources.
Willamette Partnership and The Freshwater Trust facilitated the group through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Conservation Innovation Grants program.
Water quality trading is a market-based approach to achieving water quality goals for pollutants such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and temperature.
Trading allows businesses that reduce pollution beyond minimum requirements to form partnerships through credit trading with other businesses struggling or unable to reach the minimum requirement. The outcome is an overall reduction in pollution. Often the partnership leads to lower costs for both businesses involved.
"Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is a strong supporter of water quality trading and the regional trading workgroup efforts," said DEQ Director Dick Pedersen who spoke at the recent Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies annual conference in Bend.
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