Nutrient Control Actions for Improving Water Quality in the Mississippi River Basin and Northern Gulf of Mexico (2009) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
3 Getting Started: A Nutrient Control Implementation Initiative (NCII)
3 Getting Started: A Nutrient Control Implementation Initiative (NCII)
Pages 27-40
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 27... ...
PILOT PROJECTS AND AN ADAPTIVE, ACTION-ORIENTED APPROACH TO THE HYPOXIA PROBLEM The targeting of specific watersheds for priority nutrient control actions can be approached in different ways. One approach could be to identify high priority watersheds within the Mississippi River basin, apply cost-effective best management agricultural and conservation practices to those watersheds, measure effects of those practices on nutrients loads, and adjust practices as necessary to satisfy a given nutrient reduction goal.
|
From page 28... ...
Regardless of the general approach taken to reduce nutrient loadings, the information and experience gained through the Nutrient Control Implementation Initiative projects recommended in this chapter will be important to initial implementation decisions and subsequent adjustments. The coordinated network of the NCII pilot projects would represent a systematic approach to better understanding and managing nutrient inputs across the basin, and evaluating their potential local benefits and downstream impacts.
|
From page 29... ...
There is also a large network of county extension agents and other soil and water conservation experts in the basin's rural areas. A limitation of this knowledge base, however, is that outcomes of the many nutrient control and related conservation efforts are not systematically monitored or formally evaluated and compared across the river basin (Schempf and Cox, 2006; Cox, 2008)
|
From page 30... ...
The NCII and its projects are not envisioned as short-term efforts to be terminated after one or two years. On the contrary, initial projects should be viewed as long-term endeavors that represent the start of basinwide implementation and that will serve as nuclei for the extension of additional projects to other watersheds across the river basin.
|
From page 31... ...
Box 3-1 presents further examples of interagency cooperation in nutrient management and control programs. BOX 3-1 Historic Examples of Interagency Cooperation on Nutrient Control Implementation Two important historical examples of interagency cooperation for watershed based nutrient implementation projects are the Rural Clean Water Program (RCWP)
|
From page 32... ...
The initial number of NCII projects should be large enough to encompass a representative range of watershed types and runoff quality, and a corresponding range of nutrient control technologies and approaches; this will allow a good sampling of nutrient control prospects in the wide variety of landscapes and geographical settings in the Mississippi River basin. The initial number of projects also should not be so large that it overwhelms the capacity of scientists, farmers, and administrators involved in the nutrient control and water quality monitoring and assessment activities.
|
From page 33... ...
EPA AUTHORITY REGARDING PILOT PROJECTS An important aspect of establishing nutrient pollution control demonstration projects is the Clean Water Act authorities that would enable or constrain such efforts. The EPA has multiple sources of authority under the federal Clean Water Act to authorize and implement demonstration or pilot projects designed to test methods for reducing nutrient loading into the river and the Gulf of Mexico.
|
From page 34... ...
. Finding/recommendation 4: The EPA and USDA should jointly establish a Mississippi River basin Nutrient Control Implementation Initiative (NCII)
|
From page 35... ...
Over time, nutrient control actions should be amenable to changes and improvements, and additional watersheds can be added to the NCII as leading agencies and participants see fit. The NCII also should be designed to identify questions for further inquiry, to enhance knowledge, and to realize land management and water quality improvements in three areas: 1)
|
From page 36... ...
Preliminary results of the evaluation of effectiveness are likely to be seen earlier in watersheds that have a history of cooperative, participatory nutrient management programs. Furthermore, it is in those watersheds where evaluation of socioeconomic viability is likely to be most productive -- landowners in these watersheds have developed perceptions and opinions regarding various nutrient control and conservation actions; perceived impacts of nutrient management programs are more likely to have materialized; and issues related to equity are more likely to have arisen.
|
From page 37... ...
FINANCING THE NCII As agricultural sources contribute the largest share of nutrients that are delivered from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers to the northern Gulf of Mexico, USDA-sponsored conservation programs and the Farm Bill2 recently reauthorized by Congress -- with billions of dollars set aside for conservation and environmental quality -- will be essential to both local water quality improvements and to reducing the areal extent of the hypoxic zone. The largest of the USDA conservation programs that provide incentives to farmers for voluntary participation are the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
|
From page 38... ...
. The Agriculture's Clean Water Alliance is a group of 16 agricultural retailers that provide products and services to farmers in the Raccoon and Des Moines River watersheds in Iowa.
|
From page 39... ...
In addition to EQIP and CSP programs, two other key programs that USDA could use to target support for nutrient reduction water quality enhancement projects (beyond individual farmer operations) in the Mississippi River basin are the Agriculture Water Enhancement Program (AWEP)
|
From page 40... ...
Although these resources are less than those of the USDA conservation programs, the NCII could use funds from, for example, EPA's Clean Water Act Section 319 (which covers nonpoint source pollution management) grant program.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.