Climate co-benefits of water quality trading in the Chesapeake Bay watershed

Water Policy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 758-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca R. Gasper ◽  
Mindy Selman ◽  
Matthias Ruth
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Chesapeake Bay ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
The United States ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Water Quality Trading ◽  
Chesapeake Bay Watershed ◽  
Multiple Markets ◽  
Water Quality Markets

Water quality markets are gaining worldwide popularity as strategies to provide flexibility and cost savings to sources managing pollution. One prominent example is the establishment of water quality trading programs in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in the United States to manage nonpoint and point source pollution. Some of the agricultural land use practices that can be used to generate offsets in water quality markets in this region have other environmental benefits including greenhouse gas (GHG) sequestration. This study describes the structure of Maryland's water quality trading program, its climate co-benefits and its potential link with GHG markets. Results reveal that Maryland's agricultural sector could offset half of its GHG emissions by 2020 through projects primarily designed to improve water quality. The potential opportunity for agricultural sources to participate in multiple markets could provide incentives for the adoption of management practices that have climate co-benefits. The results of this study could guide the continued development of multiple markets in the Bay watershed and other regions of the world where ecosystem markets play a role in pollution management.

scholarly journals Valuing Ecological Improvements in the Chesapeake Bay and the Importance of Ancillary Benefits

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Moore ◽  
Dennis Guignet ◽  
Chris Dockins ◽  
Kelly B. Maguire ◽  
Nathalie B. Simon
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Chesapeake Bay ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Stated Preference ◽  
The United States ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Sediment Pollution ◽  
Quality Improvements ◽  
Ancillary Benefits ◽  
Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Reducing the excess nutrient and sediment pollution that is damaging habitat and diminishing recreational experiences in coastal estuaries requires actions by people and communities that are within the boundaries of the watershed but may be far from the resource itself, thus complicating efforts to understand tradeoffs associated with pollution control measures. Such is the case with the Chesapeake Bay, one of the most iconic water resources in the United States. All seven states containing part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed were required under the Clean Water Act to submit detailed plans to achieve nutrient and sediment pollution reductions. The implementation plans provide information on the location and type of management practices making it possible to project not only water quality improvements in the Chesapeake Bay but also improvements in freshwater lakes throughout the watershed, which provide important ancillary benefits to people bearing the cost of reducing pollution to the Bay but unlikely to benefit directly. This paper reports the results of a benefits study that links the forecasted water quality improvements to ecological endpoints and administers a stated preference survey to estimate use and nonuse value for aesthetic and ecological improvements in the Chesapeake Bay and watershed lakes. Our results show that ancillary benefits and nonuse values account for a substantial proportion of total willingness to pay and would have a significant impact on the net benefits of pollution reduction programs.

A System Dynamics Approach to Changing Perceptions about Thermal Water Quality Trading Markets

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Asmeret Bier
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
System Dynamics ◽  
Point Source ◽  
Thermal Water ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
The United States ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Shade Trees ◽  
Dynamics Modeling ◽  
Water Quality Trading

Thermal water quality trading markets give point source thermal polluters the option to comply with effluent restrictions by paying nearby landowners to plant shade trees. The shade trees cool the water, offsetting thermal pollution emitted by the point source. Thermal trading has the potential to create greater environmental benefits at a lower cost than traditional regulation, however; only one such program has been implemented to date in the United States. In this regard, a shift in potential stakeholders’ perceptions of these markets could be useful in allowing the markets to spread. This paper explains why system dynamics modeling is a useful tool for creating such a shift in perception, and describes a method of teaching participants about thermal trading. The method begins with a classroom simulation exercise, uses lessons from that exercise to create a model of a thermal trading market, and uses that model to conduct policy design and uncertainty analyses.

scholarly journals Simple vs. Complex: Implications of Lags in Pollution Delivery for Efficient Load Allocation and Design of Water-quality Trading Programs

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Shortle ◽  
David Abler ◽  
Zach Kaufman ◽  
Katherine Y. Zipp
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Chesapeake Bay ◽  
Dynamic Optimization ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Nitrogen Emissions ◽  
Water Quality Trading ◽  
Best Management ◽  
Static Allocation

Water-quality markets that allow point-nonpoint trades assume that nonpoint best management practices (BMPs) achieve the targeted reductions as soon as they are implemented. However, changes in water quality in response to BMPs occur over time—from a few months to decades. We simulate emission allocations using static and dynamic-optimization models to determine whether a simple static allocation can produce results comparable economically and environmentally to complex multi-period designs for nitrogen emissions to Chesapeake Bay. We find that static rules provide relatively large cost savings compared to dynamic rules but result in a delay in achievement of water-quality targets.

A System Dynamics Approach to Changing Perceptions about Thermal Water Quality Trading Markets

2012 ◽  
pp. 182-194
Author(s):  
Asmeret Bier
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
System Dynamics ◽  
Point Source ◽  
Thermal Water ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
The United States ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Shade Trees ◽  
Dynamics Modeling ◽  
Water Quality Trading

Thermal water quality trading markets give point source thermal polluters the option to comply with effluent restrictions by paying nearby landowners to plant shade trees. The shade trees cool the water, offsetting thermal pollution emitted by the point source. Thermal trading has the potential to create greater environmental benefits at a lower cost than traditional regulation, however; only one such program has been implemented to date in the United States. In this regard, a shift in potential stakeholders’ perceptions of these markets could be useful in allowing the markets to spread. This paper explains why system dynamics modeling is a useful tool for creating such a shift in perception, and describes a method of teaching participants about thermal trading. The method begins with a classroom simulation exercise, uses lessons from that exercise to create a model of a thermal trading market, and uses that model to conduct policy design and uncertainty analyses.

scholarly journals Revised Method and Outcomes for Estimating Soil Phosphorus Losses from Agricultural Land in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Model

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 1388-1394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alisha Spears Mulkey ◽  
Frank J. Coale ◽  
Peter A. Vadas ◽  
Gary W. Shenk ◽  
Gopal X. Bhatt
Keyword(s):  
Chesapeake Bay ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Soil Phosphorus ◽  
Watershed Model ◽  
Chesapeake Bay Watershed ◽  
Phosphorus Losses

scholarly journals A Review on the Current State of Knowledge of Growing Conditions, Agronomic Soil Health Practices and Utilities of Hemp in the United States

Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ifeoluwa Adesina ◽  
Arnab Bhowmik ◽  
Harmandeep Sharma ◽  
Abolghasem Shahbazi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Contaminated Soils ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Hemp Seed ◽  
Wide Range

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is an emerging high-value specialty crop that can be cultivated for either fiber, seed, or cannabidiol (CBD). The demand for hemp and its products has been consistently on the rise in the 21st century. The United States of America (USA) has reintroduced hemp and legalized its production as an agricultural commodity through the 2018 Federal Farm Bill. Although there is a renewed interest in the adoption of hemp due to the emerging market, its production in the United States (US) remains limited partly because of unclear agronomic guidance and fertilization recommendations. This review article provides information on the current agronomic management practices that are available in the literature and identifies the future research needs for cultivating this multipurpose crop to address the growing market demands. Hemp production could be beneficial if managed properly. Hemp fertilizer requirements vary in accordance with the type of hemp grown (seed, fiber, or CBD), soil, environmental conditions and requires a wide range of macro- and micronutrients. Integrating management practices in hemp cultivation intended to build soil health is promising since the hemp cropping system is suitable for crop rotation, cover cropping, and livestock integration through animal waste applications. Hemp also has significant environmental benefits since it has the potential to remediate contaminated soils through phytoremediation, convert high amounts of atmospheric CO2 to biomass through bio-sequestration, and hemp biomass for bioenergy production. This review identifies that most of the agronomic research in the past has been limited to hemp fiber and, to some extent, hemp seed but not CBD hemp. With the increase in the global markets for hemp products, more research needs to be conducted to provide agronomic guidelines for sustainable hemp production.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal variation of bacterial water quality and the relationship with pasture land cover

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 839-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin E. Scott ◽  
Mansoor D. K. Leh ◽  
Brian E. Haggard
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
The United States ◽  
Illinois River ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Pasture Land ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Pathogens are a major cause of water quality impairment and public health concern world-wide. In the United States, each state is tasked with developing water quality standards (WQS) to protect the designated use(s) of waterbodies. Several streams in the Illinois River Watershed in northwest Arkansas are currently listed as impaired due to elevated levels of pathogens. Our objective was to evaluate Escherichia coli (E. coli) numbers at 29 stream sites, compare these numbers to the applicable WQS, and investigate the relationship between E. coli numbers and land cover variables. E. coli numbers in samples collected at most sites were within allowable limits, although there were several instances of violations of the WQS. Violations were variable from year to year at some sites, and elevated levels of E. coli were spatially localized during baseflow. Violations also were positively related to pasture land cover in the drainage area, and particularly within the riparian buffer area. This relationship was non-linear, or threshold based, where there was a significant increase in the mean E. coli exceedances when riparian pasture land cover was greater than approximately 50%. These results can be used to identify specific stream reaches where E. coli numbers might be elevated and the implementation of best management practices can be geographically targeted.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document