NUTRIENT FARMING

Nitrogen is a powerful nutrient. It can make grass green and dramatically increase corn yields. Yet when too much of it reaches our rivers and streams, it threatens human health, chokes out aquatic life, and fouls our coastal waters.
For example, there is abundant scientific evidence that nitrogen contributes to the growing Dead zone in the gulf of mexico. In 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that the nation needs to reduce excess nutrients, such as nitrogen, in our streams and rivers.
Currently, state EPAs are mandated by the federal EPA to write and enactwater quality standards for nitrogen and phosphorous or to adopt the proposed federal criteria. In response, Illinois water reclamation districts predict1 it will cost their ratepayers more than $5 billion to install the best technology available—and $500 million annually to operate—yet even this investment will not produce water that meets the proposed federal criteria. Nor will it address the region’s needs for open space, wildlife habitat, and flood control.
The Wetlands Initiative and its partners have developed an alternative: Restored wetlands, financed by the purchase of nutrient removal credits, either through an open market or through long-term contracts. We call this strategy “nutrient farming.” In addition to removing nutrients, the restored wetlands will provide important environmental benefits for humans and wildlife—benefits that are unavailable through the use of traditional treatment technologies.
The potential market for nutrient credits is huge. For example, an immediate market could be industrial and municipal dischargers. Annual operating and maintenance costs at upgraded treatment plants are estimated to be $4.8 billion nationwide (extrapolated from Illinois per capita costs). This money would be better spent re-creating wetlands, which provide many other environmental benefits.
Nutrient farming could be conducted throughout the Mississippi River Basin and other watersheds across the United States where high nutrient concentrations are of concern.