This project has ended. Archived project materials are available below.

From 2013 to 2016, in partnership with the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance, U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Great Lakes Commission developed and piloted the Fox P Trade program with funding from a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant. This project was designed to alleviate high nutrient levels and algal blooms in Wisconsin’s Lower Fox River Watershed by establishing a water quality trading market.

The Lower Fox River flows into Lake Michigan’s lower Green Bay, both of which suffer from excessive sediment and nutrient loads. The Lower Fox River is considered an “impaired” waterway and is therefore subject to a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). A TMDL sets a limit on the amount a pollutant that a water body can receive without violating federal water quality standards. Phosphorus credit trading is a cost-effective way for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permittees operating under phosphorus limits to achieve regulatory compliance while maximizing both economic and environmental outcomes.

In the summer of 2016, the Fox P Trade water quality trading program was piloted with the signing of a stewardship trade agreement between NEW Water and Bob Van De Loo and Sons, Inc., as well as a verification services agreement between NEW Water and Outagamie County. A final outreach event was held to promote the news about this successful pilot stewardship trade. In addition, a handbook on water quality trading in the Lower Fox River Watershed (Fox P Trade Handbook) and several templates (Handbook Appendix B) were developed to guide future trades.

For More Information

Nicole Zacharda
Program Manager, Great Lakes Commission
734-971-9135
[email protected]

Return to the Library main page