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Issues in water quality trading: Introduction to featured collection
Citation:
HEBERLING, M. T. Issues in water quality trading: Introduction to featured collection. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION. Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, NJ, 47(1):1-4, (2011).
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
Water quality trading is a type of market mechanism for water pollution control. Policy makers have discovered that market mechanisms can play important roles in protecting and improving environmental quality by changing the economic signals an individual or firm faces. Potential advantages of using these economic approaches include reducing the costs of meeting environmental goals and encouraging innovation (Woodward, 2005). Applications of water quality trading have been promoted by various agencies and have grown in popularity in recent years (e.g., King, 2005; USEPA, 2007a; Abdalla et al., 2007; Shabman and Stephenson, 2007; Morgan and Wolverton, 2008; Shortle and Horan, 2008; Selman et al., 2009). Many states have been looking into using this economic approach to address their water quality problems, especially related to nutrients and sediment (e.g., Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and Vermont have statewide trading frameworks; USEPA, 2009a). In addition, agencies are examining the potential of using this market mechanism for large watersheds, such as the Mississippi River Basin and the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed (USEPA, 2009b; WSTB, 2009).
