Can Water Quality Trading Fix the Agricultural Nonpoint Source Problem?

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Date

Oct. 1, 2017

Authors

Kurt Stephenson and Leonard Shabman

Publication

Journal Article

Reading time

1 minute

Policy analysts and government agencies promote a particular form of what they term water quality trading as a means to address the most vexing obstacle to meeting water quality standards: reducing nutrient pollutants from agricultural nonpoint sources. However, agricultural nonpoint sources’ participation in water quality trading programs will only make limited contributions to lowering overall pollutant loads. We argue that economists need to more clearly articulate the limitations of current and proposed water quality trading programs as a water quality management strategy. A new generation of market-like incentive policies will be necessary to make significant progress in reducing agricultural nonpoint source loads.

Topics

Authors

Kurt Stephenson

Leonard A. Shabman

Senior Fellow

Len Shabman is a Senior Fellow at RFF. His current work balances time spent in research with advisory activities in order to have a direct bearing on the design and execution of water and related resources policy.

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