The 12 states of the Hypoxia Task Force have devised new strategies to speed up reduction of nutrient levels in waterways in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin. High nutrients levels are a key contributor each summer to the large area of low oxygen in the Gulf of Mexico known as a dead zone.
Each state has outlined specific actions it will take to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin from wastewater plants, industries, agriculture, and stormwater runoff.
The Task Force has decided to extend the target date for shrinking the dead zone from its current average size of almost 6,000 square miles to about 2,000 square miles from 2015 to 2035. Progress has been made in certain watersheds within the region, but science shows a 45 percent reduction is needed in the nitrogen and phosphorus entering the Gulf of Mexico. In order to track progress and spur action, the Task Force is also aiming at a 20 percent reduction in nutrient loads by 2025.
“It’s going to take time to vastly improve water quality in very large bodies of water like the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. Federal agencies and states are committing to comprehensive actions and increased resources to spur progress on the ground and in the water,” said Ellen Gilinsky, senior advisor for Water for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Task Force co-chair.
“Each of the states within the Mississippi River Basin are best able to understand what they need to do to achieve these aggressive goals. The Hypoxia Task Force has been supporting the states as they develop voluntary, science-based strategies that work to achieve the shared goals of our states,” said Bill Northey, Iowa secretary of Agriculture and state co-chair of the Task Force.