A report finds that nutrient credit trading by Maryland counties is made less attractive by the State’s regulatory framework.

As described by the Bay Journal,

Despite being touted as a less costly approach to curbing stormwater pollution, nutrient trading has yet to catch on among Chesapeake Bay localities. A recent report by the World Resources Institute and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation details the hurdles that are keeping the market-based approach from getting off the ground.

The Journal notes,

In Maryland, the report’s authors say, the problem is cities and counties are required to treat runoff from impervious surfaces, rather than meet specific nutrient reduction limits. That makes it difficult to quantify credits for trading.

“It needs to be laid out in a transparent, thoughtful way and, from our perspective, they haven’t done that yet,” Beth McGee, senior scientist for the Bay Foundation, said of Maryland’s regulatory framework for trading.

For more, see Localities not buying into nutrient trading – for now from the Bay Journal.