The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) is pleased to announce Erie P Market — a partnership with its member states of Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and the province of Ontario – that will examine the potential market for water quality trading across state and provincial boundaries within the Western Lake Erie Basin. A meeting last month brought together additional stakeholders from the agricultural, environmental, and business communities to advise GLC staff as the project gains momentum toward pilot trading demonstrations slated for 2017.

The Erie P Market project will determine whether water quality trading may be an additional tool to help address the nutrient pollution problem in the Western Lake Erie Basin. The ability to measure pollution reductions – for example, pounds of phosphorus reduced – is fundamental to water quality trading. As with most other trading programs, only a portion of the pounds reduced would be counted as actual credits. This ensures that the “trades” result in water quality improvements. The two-year project also aims to develop a common approach for who can trade with whom, and how, where and when trading can occur, as well as examine ways to verify that conservation practices are working to improve water quality.  The agreed-upon approach will then be tested through the pilot trades.

The Great Lakes Commission team is also pleased to have been selected to present a workshop on water quality trading at the 12^th Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference this September in Sandusky, Ohio. Please join us and our colleagues to learn more about the good work happening around the Great Lakes.

Erie P Market is funded by a Conservation Innovation Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.  As the project matures, additional information will be posted to https://www.glc.org/projects/water-quality/eriepmarket.