GLLC 2020 Virtual Meetings Briefing Book

Task Force on Nutrients Action Plan

Goal: To reduce nutrient pollution in water bodies in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region.

Priorities: • Enact evidence-based, stakeholder-informed policies that have a high potential to produce measurable improvements in water quality. o Encourage the adoption of best management practices (BMPs) for all nonpoint and point sources (e.g., agricultural lands, communities, and wastewater treatment plants), including the installation of green and/or low-impact infrastructure. o Promote the restoration of natural systems and wetlands to contain and filter polluted runoff and to reduce flooding. • Explore innovative programs that are intended to reduce nutrient pollution, including: o Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP); o Minnesota’s Buffer Law; o H2Ohio, with a focus on the western Lake Erie watershed; o Québec’s “Act respecting the conservation of wetlands and bodies of water” (ACWBW); and o Peer-to-peer mechanisms such as Wisconsin’s Farmer-Led Conservation Grants; and o Other programs suggested by task force members. • Consider a variety of innovative approaches for equitable, sustainable financing measures to reduce nutrient pollution, including: o Minnesota’s Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment; o H2Ohio (funded for two years), as well as SB 299, which funded Soil and Water Conservation districts to encourage best practices for farmers; o Fertilizer fees similar to the one that funds MAEAP; o Watershed management fees; o Water-quality trading (especially for smaller point sources); o Allowing state and provincial funding to be used for investments in machinery and equipment; and o Other approaches suggested by task force members.

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