Feasibility of Pollutant Trading in the Bear River Watershed

The Bear River Watershed Initiative is an EPA funded project which is improving water quality coordination and management for the entire Bear River watershed.

An important element of the Bear River Watershed Initiative is to explore the feasibility of pollutant trading as a means of reducing point and non-point source phosphorous inputs to the watershed in the most cost effective manner.

The study has focused on total phosphorus pollution in the following areas (provide link to map?):

• Cub River to the Middle Bear
• Bear River from Oneida Narrows Reservoir to Cutler Reservoir
• Little Bear River
• Spring Creek

Each of these reaches of river has existing TMDLs for total phosphorus. Each TMDL has a point of compliance, which is where the actual TMDL must be met. These compliance points have been incorporated into the trading models, using a “cap and trade” approach. This approach requires a maximum amount of phosphorus that can be in the water at the compliance point, which is set by the TMDL.

The system is complicated, however, because the value of phosphorus for a trade is dependent on where the phosphorus enters the river. Phosphorus particles that have washed off a field or been discharged from a pipe may still have quite a journey to the compliance point. Along the way, the phosphorus may drop out of the water, be used by plants, or otherwise be trapped or transformed. Therefore, fields with the same amount of phosphorus runoff may contribute very different amounts of phosphorus to the compliance point, depending on the distance from the fields to the compliance point.

A water quality model (add link to water quality model stuff) has been developed which predicts the fate of phosphorus from any point in these watersheds, and determines how much of that phosphorus is likely to make it the compliance point. This is important because only phosphorus at the compliance point is eligible for trade. This value will obviously vary with season, so the model accounts for that as well.

Other findings from study?

Conclusions from study?

Decisions that still need to be made:

Who to contact if interested in learning more:

• Contact USU Water Quality Extension regarding pollutant trading in the Bear River watershed at (435)797-2580 or email susan.anderson@usu.edu.
•  If you are interested in participating in an ongoing citizen/stakeholder advisory committee or in having a presentation about trading, contact USU Water Quality Extension at (435)797-2580 or email susan.anderson@usu.edu.

Somewhere incorporate part or all of Power Point Presentations

Terry and Bethany’s presentation – Su has the file

Other power point presentations from the water quality trading workshop – all have been uploaded on to the WIS, Su has the files as well