Hypoxia Task Force develops new strategies for nutrient reduction in MS River, Gulf of Mexico

Feb. 12, 2015
The 12 states of the Hypoxia Task Force have announced that they are devising new strategies to speed up reduction of nutrient levels in waterways in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin. 

Feb. 12, 2015 -- The 12 states of the Hypoxia Task Force (HTF) have announced that they are devising new strategies to speed up reduction of nutrient levels in waterways in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin. The HTF is a partnership of five federal agencies, tribes and environmental quality, agricultural and conservation agencies from 12 basin states working to address nutrient pollution and the hypoxic zone, or dead zone, in the Gulf of Mexico.

High nutrients levels are a key contributor each summer to the hypoxic zone, a large area of low oxygen in the Gulf of Mexico. Each state has outlined specific actions it will take to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin from wastewater plants, industries, agriculture, and stormwater runoff.

The HTF has decided to extend the target date for shrinking the dead zone from its current average size of almost 6,000 square miles to about 2,000 square miles from 2015 to 2035. Progress has been made in certain watersheds within the region, but science shows that a 45-percent reduction is needed in the nitrogen and phosphorus entering the Gulf of Mexico. In order to track progress and spur action, the Task Force is also aiming at a 20-percent reduction in nutrient loads by 2025.

High nutrient levels are one of America's costliest, most widespread, and most challenging environmental problems. Too much nitrogen and phosphorus in the water leads to large algae growth, called algal blooms. These algal blooms can severely reduce or eliminate oxygen in water, creating dead zones and harming aquatic life, as well as harm humans because they produce elevated toxins and bacterial growth.

Examples of actions in state nutrient reduction strategies include:

  • The Illinois Fertilizer Act, which ensures that a $0.75/ton assessment on all bulk fertilizer sold in Illinois is allocated to research and educational programs focused on nutrient use and water quality.
  • Iowa's Water Quality Initiative, which has four main components: outreach and education, statewide practice implementation, targeted demonstration watershed projects, and tracking and accountability.
  • The State of Minnesota, which is providing $221 million in state funds to support a wide range of activities including development of watershed restoration and protection strategies, groundwater and drinking water protection, and monitoring and assessment.
  • The State of Wisconsin, which is using state and Clean Water Act funding to expand the use of conservation practices in 45 agricultural watersheds and critical sites in the Mississippi River Basin.

The HTF will focus on several areas in addition to the state nutrient reduction strategies, including:

  • Quantitative Measures: States and federal agencies will need to predict and measure how much nutrient levels are reduced by certain actions. At their meeting in May 2015, members will describe how tracking mechanisms, watershed monitoring and computer modeling will be used to quantitatively measure progress, particularly by the state nutrient reduction strategies.
  • Federal Programs: Federal agencies will work to integrate, strengthen and quantify the nutrient load reductions from programs including, the USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program; USDA Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watershed Initiative; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Mississippi River Habitat Initiative and Landscape Conservation Cooperatives; and EPA Water Pollution Control Program Grants and Nonpoint Source Management Program.
  • Funding: Reducing nutrient levels requires significant financial resources so that HTF members will identify funding needs for specific nutrient reduction actions and then better target existing resources and pursue additional funding.
  • Partnerships: The HTF aims to expand existing and forge new partnerships through agriculture, businesses, cities and communities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and universities, as indicated below:

1. Agriculture -- Farmers have a long tradition of commitment to soil and water conservation and have been a critical part of the development of state strategies. Farm innovations, and the examples set by early adopters, help improve solutions and provide needed demonstration, accelerating actions that improve agricultural productivity and water quality.

2. Businesses -- Many businesses are actively working to reduce their environmental impacts and have lessons to share that will enable other businesses to implement similar actions. Nitrogen inhibitors and other products already help keep nutrients in the soil and deliver nutrients to plants.

3. Cities and Communities -- The HTF will rely on municipal wastewater agencies and the communities they serve to improve performance of sewage treatment facilities as a component of state nutrient strategies.

4. NGOs -- Many non-governmental organizations share the HTF's goals and mission and are working on initiatives to address water quality and nutrient pollution in the region.

5. Universities -- Land Grant Universities have helped develop state nutrient reduction strategies and will continue playing an integral role in implementing them.

See also:

"NOAA, partners forecast 'dead zone' conditions in Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay"

"National leaders make health of Mississippi River a priority"


About the HTF

Members of the Hypoxia Task Force are the Army Corps of Engineers; U.S. Department of Agriculture; Department of the Interior; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and the states of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. Tribes are represented by the National Tribal Water Council. For more information, click here.

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