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A Regional Water Quality
Trading Program
Many agriculture producers in the Ohio River Basin already know about the benefits of using conservation practices in their operations. Some of those advantages include better soil, cleaner water and higher profits. But what if you could earn even more from implementing those same conservation practices? The Ohio River Basin Water Quality Trading market may make that possible.
AFT is one of several groups working with the Electric Power Research Institute in the Ohio River Basin to establish a regional, multi-state water quality trading program. Specifically, the project will target Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia
What is Agriculture's Role?
Water quality trading is an innovative market-based approach to achieving water quality goals for nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, through programs that allow permitted emitters to purchase nutrient reductions from another source, like agriculture. It offers a financial incentive for farmers in the Ohio River Basin to implement conservation practices, while at the same time improving water quality and saving money. American Farmland Trust’s role in the project is to ensure that the program is developed in a way that allows for full participation of farmers. Not only will these practices improve the health of the entire river basin, but they will also contribute to the economic viability of farmers by adding a new source of income to their operations – the sale of nutrient reduction credit to utility companies, wastewater treatment plants and other regulated point sources. To learn more about how this works, visit our Water Quality Trading Tutorial.
With the onset of the Ohio River Basin Water Quality Trading market, agricultural producers in New York, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois who operate within the Ohio River Basin watershed may be eligible to participate in trading.
If you are a farmer in the Ohio River Basin and interested in participating, read Selling a New Commodity from Agriculture: Cleaner Water or e-mail us at tbullock@niu.edu
Recent Listening Workshops
Learn More
To learn more about the project, visit the official project page. If you would like to receive quarterly updates on the project, please send an email to OhioRiverTrading@epri.com.
This project, lead by Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), is supported by a coalition consisting of American Farmland Trust, Kieser & Associates, LLC, Hunton & Williams LLP, University of California at Santa Barbara, The Miami Conservancy District, and Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO). American Electric Power and Duke Energy are also participating in the development of this project.
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