Alabama Water Quality Information System

— Choose a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) —


	1.-		Are there any success stories or reports from pilot programs on pollutant trading?


	2.-		Can and should pollutant trading be conducted in a watershed impaired by pollution before a TMDL is in place?


	3.-		Does EPA support watershed-based pollutant trading?


	4.-		Does watershed-based pollutant trading require a change or variance in current rules?


	5.-		For watershed-based pollutant trading for phosphorous, do we need water quality-based standards for phosphorous?


	6.-		For watershed-based pollutant trading, are pounds of phosphorous removed based on “textbook” (modeled) or based solely on results of BMP (Best Management Practice) installation?


	7.-		How can nutrient trading be used to reduce nutrient pollution?


	8.-		How can nutrient trading benefit me and my watershed?


	9.-		How can phosphorous discharges be balanced in trading with other pollutant parameters?


	10.-		How does a community subscribe to a five-year trade permit when they must also commit to a 20-year window for plant facilities planning?


	11.-		How does a state establish a water quality trading program as an option to deal with pollutants contributing to the total maximum daily load (TMDL) of a given watershed, and how does such a program function?


	12.-		How does pollution credit marketing work as a type of pollutant trading to improve water quality?


	13.-		How does water quality trading work?


	14.-		How does watershed-based trading relate to anti-backsliding and anti-degradation?


	15.-		How is a pollutant trade written into a permit?


	16.-		How many permitees might be considered under a pollutant trading scheme?


	17.-		How will incentives be added for point source trading with nonpoint sources?


	18.-		How will trading programs avoid "hot spots?"


	19.-		How will watershed-based pollutant trades be implemented?


	20.-		How will watershed-based pollutant trades be monitored?


	21.-		Is watershed-based trading the same everywhere?


	22.-		Isn't watershed-based pollutant trading just a way for point sources to buy their way out of treatment?


	23.-		Should pollution trades mesh with county and/or watershed-based land and water resource plans?


	24.-		What are some of the things pollution trading is not and does not do?


	25.-		What are the limitations or barriers to watershed-based pollutant trading?


	26.-		What are the physical boundaries for pollutant trading?


	27.-		What can I do with the tools in NutrientNet?


	28.-		What does the EPA’s guidance mean when it requires compliance of watershed-based pollutant trading with technology-based standards under the Clean Water Act (CWA)?


	29.-		What is a pollutant trading ratio, and what kind of trading ratio should be required?


	30.-		What is the EPA framework for development, submission and approval of watershed-based pollutant trades? Does EPA support watershed-based trading?

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This website was developed by the ACES Water Quality Team, under the leadership of Dr. James E. Hairston. It is funded, in part, by USDA-CSREES water quality grant support under Section 406 of the Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998.