Questioning the Effectiveness of Reducing Farm Runoff Phosphorus as a State-Sponsored, Voluntary, Market-Based Environmental Inducement

Tile drains, used in the farming industry, increase yields but intensify the environmental problems with nitrogen and phosphorus runoff: eutrophication and aquatic dead zones in major streams and watersheds. Midwestern states have developed voluntary nutrient loss reduction strategies to minimize the environmental impact of discharges. Instead of direct regulations, farming strategies of Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri focus on inducements for best management practices (BMP). This study examines the success of the voluntary BMPs by using (1) original rainwater samples collected from priority watersheds ranked for high phosphorus runoff based off; (2) SPARROW model by the United States Geological Survey, and (3) STORET data on phosphorus levels of tested watersheds from the Environmental Protection Agency. Analyzing these three datasets will provide information to assess voluntary environmental strategies for pollution reduction. Due to the amount and progressive types of BMPs to manage run-off, Iowa watersheds are expected to be the most effective. This research questions the possibility of using only market-based policy inducements to manage environmental damages of excess nonpoint source pollution without any agency regulations