title: An economic inquisition of water quality trading programs, with a case study of Jordan Lake, NC.
abstract: A water quality trading (WQT) program was promulgated in North Carolina to address water quality issues related to nutrients in the highly urbanizing Jordan Lake Watershed. Although WQT programs are appealing in theory, the concept has not proved feasible in several attempts between point and nonpoint polluters in the United States. Many application hurdles that create wedges between success and failure have been evaluated in the literature. Most programs, however, face multiple hurdles; eliminating one may not clear a pathway to success. Therefore, we identify and evaluate the combined impact of four different wedges including baseline, transaction cost, trading ratio, and trading cost in the Jordan Lake Watershed program. Unfortunately, when applied to the Jordan Lake program, the analysis clearly shows that a traditional WQT program will not be feasible or address nutrient management needs in a meaningful way. The hurdles individually would be difficult to overcome, but together they appear to be unsurmountable. This analysis shows that there is enough information to pre-identify potential hurdles that could inform policy makers where, and how, the concept might work. It would have saved time, energy, and financial resources if North Carolina had done so before embarking to implement their program in the Jordan Lake Watershed.
authors.affiliation: Clemson University, Baruch Institute of Costal Ecology and Forest Science, P.O. Box 569, Georgetown, SC 29442, United States. Electronic address: mmotall@clemson.edu.
authors.forename: Marzieh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Motallebi
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, B330 Clark Bldg, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1172, United States. Electronic address: dana.hoag@colostate.edu.
authors.forename: Dana L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Hoag
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, A207F, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1372, United States. Electronic address: tasdighi@engr.colostate.edu.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tasdighi
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, A207F, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1372, United States. Electronic address: mazdak.arabi@colostate.edu.
authors.forename: Mazdak
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arabi
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7619, United States. Electronic address: deanna_osmond@ncsu.edu.
authors.forename: Deanna L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Osmond
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007597:Jordan; D060106:Lakes; D009657:North Carolina; D014481:United States; D014876:Water Pollution; D060753:Water Quality
keywords: Jordan Lake; Non-point sources; North Carolina; Water quality trading; Wedges