69th SWCS International Annual Conference July 27-30, 2014 Lombard, IL

1. Lessons from the Nation’s First
Interstate Water Quality Trading
Project in the Ohio River Basin
SWCS Annual Meeting
July 28, 2014

2. 2© 2009 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.
Excessive Nutrients = Risk & Impacts
Impact: Algae blooms, hypoxia, fish kills, drinking water
contamination, acid deposition, loss of biodiversity, forest
declines, and human health problems.
Scale: Reactive Nitrogen is one of the most pressing global
environmental issues. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005.

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Nitrogen in Power Plants
Sources of Nutrients

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Full Scale Program
46 Power plants
230,000 Farmers
Thousands of WWTP
Millions of Pounds of Nutrients

5. 5© 2009 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.
What is WQT Trading?

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Ancillary Benefits
•Improved Soils
•Carbon Sequestration
•Pollinators
•Biodiversity
•Corporate Stewardship
•Private money to farmers
•Support local communities

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Stakeholder Engagement
Collaborators:
Electric Power Research Institute
American Farmland Trust
Ohio Farm Bureau Federation
ORSANCO
Tennessee Valley Authority
American Electric Power
Hoosier Energy
Duke Energy
Exelon
UC Santa Barbara
Agencies:
USEPA
USDA
States:
Ohio
Indiana
Kentucky
Steering Committees:
WWTP
Agriculture
Power Plants
Environmental Groups

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Steering Committee - Agriculture
• IN State Department of Agriculture, KY Division of
Conservation and OH Department of Natural Resources
• USDA ARS and NRCS
• Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana Farm Bureaus
• Illinois and Indiana State Conservationists
• Kentucky Corn Growers Association
• Land Stewards, LLC.
• National Pork Producers
• National Milk Producers Federation
• Agricultural Retailers Association

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Other Steering Committees
• WWTP – National Association of Clean Water Agencies
(NACWA) host EPRI via their WQT working group
• Power Companies – Duke, AEP, TVA, Hoosier, Exelon
• Environmental Groups:
– The Nature Conservancy OH
– Sierra Club OH & IN
– OH Environmental Council
– Environmental Law and Policy Center
– MN Center for Env’t Advocacy
– KY Waterways Alliance
– Kentucky Resources Council
– Environmental Defense Fund

10. 10© 2009 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.
OH, IN, and KY Sign Trading Plan!
August 9th, 2012 in Cincinnati Ohio
June 22, 2012: A nutrient pollution article in The Economist mentions EPRI's Water
Quality Trading Program.

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Details of Pilot Program
• Consistency & Rigor
• Watershed Model
• Agricultural Baselines
• Reserve/Insurance Pool
• Incentives for Early Buyers
• Adaptive Management
• Verification & Monitoring
Pilot Program Plan can be downloaded at:
http//wqt.epri.com

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Opportunities for Conservation
• All projects must be NEW
o( “Additional”)
• BMP Examples:
– Cattle Exclusion Fencing
– Nutrient Management
– Cover Crops
– Buffer Strips
– Heavy Use Pads,
– Manure Pits

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Trading Plan, as Amended

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Uses Watershed Modeling (WARMF)
Model Provides Scientific
Foundation for Project:
– Agriculture Best
Management Practices
– Trading Ratios
– WQ Hot Spots
– Nutrient Attenuation
– Future land use
scenarios
– Adaptive Management

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Upper Ohio
Middle Ohio
Pilot Trade Locations
Pilot Trades (2013-2015)
30+ farmer contracts
66,000 lbs N
33,000 lb P
KY, IN, OH

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EPRI Funded Project – Heavy Use Area
Protection (HUAP)
Before
Runoff, erosion,
sedimentation.
After
Reduced erosion &
sedimentation, easier manure
management, proud farmer.

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Counties and BMPs
Counties:
• Kentucky: Boone, Bracken, Mason, Greenup, Carter, Elliott
• Ohio: Jefferson, Columbiana, Mahoning, Holmes
• Indiana: Ripley, Dearborn, Wayne, Ohio, Switzerland
BMPs:
• Cattle Exclusion Fencing, Nutrient Management, Cover
Crops, Buffer Strips, Grass Waterways, Heavy Use Pads,
Manure Pits
• Enhance ecosystem services: carbon sequestration, native
plants, habitat, etc.

18. 18© 2009 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.
Projects: By the Numbers
• Indiana
– 5 counties, 11 contracts (5 year contracts)
– HUA, cover crops, hay conversion
– 28,170 pound TN and 9,525 pounds TP
• Ohio
– 3 counties, 6 contracts (5 and 10 year contracts)
– Milkhouse waste systems, feedlot runoff controls/HUA, exclusion
fence
– 18,856 pounds TN and 6,612 pounds TP
• Kentucky
– 5 counties, 10 contracts (10 year contracts)
– Gravel and concrete HUA
– 36,840 pounds TN, 8,290 pounds TP

19. 19© 2009 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.
Evaluation Criteria
• Primary
– Cost per pound of N
• Additional
– A range of practices to gain max knowledge
– SWCD and state priority concerns are addressed
– Ancillary benefits addressed
– Outreach potential

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Project Documentation
Credit Creation
SWCD Installation Certification
BMP Verification Report
Credit Certification Report
Credit Transactions
Credit Release Letter
Credit Suspension Notice
Credit Cancellation notice
Guiding Principles:
•Enforce Trade Plan
•Legally Robust
•Appropriately Simple
•Protective of Program Integrity

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Credit Trading Registry

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Our First Stewardship Credit Transactions
March 11, 2014 in Cincinnati Ohio

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Website
http://wqt.epri.com/

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Discussion
Questions or comments?
http://wqt.epri.com/
Brian Brandt
bbrandt@farmland.org
(614) 430-8130