Many people remember the ugly green “bloom” of algae on the James River arm of Table Rock Lake in the late 1990s. Since then, the problem of excessive nutrients, mostly phosphorus and nitrogen, has been recognized statewide. In the early 2000s, wastewater treatment plants in the James River Basin installed phosphorus removal facilities which reduced algae growth in the James River and Table Rock Lake. Like Phosphorus, excess nitrogen can also lead to excess algae growth and affect human and animal health. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the state’s water quality enforcement agency, has set a target level of 1.5 milligrams per liter of total nitrogen, measured at Galena on the lower James River, with permit limits to be achieved by 2035.
To help achieve this goal, the James River Basin Partnership in cooperation with the Southwest Missouri Council of Governments received a water quality planning grant to establish a nutrient-trading framework for the twelve largest wastewater treatment plants in the James River Basin. Under a trading program, communities are provided the opportunity to reach compliance by buying or selling nutrient credits, rather than solely relying on making costly improvements to their wastewater treatment plants. Communities could generate nutrient credits by making plant improvements that reduce nitrogen below a threshold level or by utilizing approved best management practices to make in-stream water quality improvements. Potential best management practices could include streambank stabilization projects, riparian restoration, and other practices that reduce nonpoint source pollution. With a successful trading system established, nitrogen levels could be reduced basin-wide at a cost savings to all the trading partners.
Nutrient trading has been used successfully in other states, but this is the first time it is being tried in Missouri.
For a program to work effectively, there should be a “third party” to manage the sale and purchase of credits by participating communities. Because the James River Basin Partnership is an independent, not-for-profit organization with a mission to protect and improve water quality in the James River Basin, it would be eligible to serve as a third-party trading facilitator.
In the coming months, the James River Basin Partnership will be hosting meetings with potential trading partners to discuss the means and benefits of a trading framework. This webpage will provide ongoing progress reports on the establishment of the framework.
James River basin wastewater treatment plants
The Water Quality Management Planning Grant, plan, and implementations are funded thanks to:
The United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has provided partial funding for this project (G22-WQM-03) under Section 604(b) of the Clean Water Act.
