EPA Issues Water Quality Trading Guide
August 20, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a water quality trading guide that is designed to provide guidance on the fundamental concepts of trading, which can accelerate water quality improvement and reduce compliance costs.
Water quality trading is a voluntary option that regulated point sources can use to meet requirements under the Clean Water Act.
The Water Quality Trading Toolkit for Permit Writers provides permitting authorities with the tools they need to incorporate trading provisions into required permits, said the EPA.
The guide is focused on trading nitrogen and phosphorus but other pollutants may be considered for trading on a case-by-case basis.
The toolkit discusses the fundamental concepts of designing and implementing trading programs including the relevant geographic scope, effluent limitations and other factors involved in defining a credit, said the EPA.
While the toolkit is geared toward state and regional permitting authorities, all stakeholders including permitted entities, agriculture and other nonpoint sources watershed groups and other parties interested in trading will use the toolkit.
The toolkit discusses the relationship between pollutant trading and NPDES permits.
To be implementable and enforceable under the Clean Water Act, trading provisions involving permitted point sources should be incorporated into NPDES permits, said the EPA.
The toolkit provides guidance and sample permit language for states to consider when creating and implementing a Clean Water Act-based pollutant trading program as well as detailed case studies of existing trading programs.
Water quality trading scenarios discussed include:
- Single point source - single point source trading scenario.
- Multiple facility point source trading scenario.
- Point source credit exchange trading scenario.
- Point source - nonpoint source trading scenario.
- Nonpoint source credit exchange trading scenario.
The toolkit is designed to provide detailed guidance on the important issues to be considered in a trading program, said the EPA.
It can be summarized in five keys to success. Every water quality trading program should strive to be:
- Transparent.
- Real (reductions).
- Accountable.
- Defensible.
- Enforceable.
The EPA seeks public comment on the toolkit.
Comments received through the EPA's Water Quality Trading web site at http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/trading/WQTToolkit.html will be considered for future updates.
A limited number of hard copies are also available through the National Service Center for Environmental Publications at epa.gov/nscep/.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).