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INTERNATIONAL
IIED Released Study on Payment for Watershed Services & Launches Watershedmarkets.org
The UK Department for International Development funded a four-year study by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), which focused on payments for watershed services. The findings are summarized in two briefing papers and posted on a new website - www.watershedmarkets.org - that present profiles of active and proposed payment schemes from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
– View the IIED article
Australia: Water trading below the Barmah Choke
The Victorian and New South Wales governments recently decided to allow water trade across the natural barrier of the Barmah Choke on the Murray River. This has resulted in extra water flowing below the Choke. Victorian Water Minister, Tim Holding, says the two governments agreed to lift normal constraints on water trade on the Barmah Choke following a request from the Murray-Darling Basin Commission to allow limited trade in water allocations below the Choke. "This opening up of trade gives some buyers and sellers access to a broader market and will help some irrigators to manage through these difficult times," Mr. Holding said. Australia has been suffering through one of the worst droughts in it’s history.
– View the North Queensland Register article
Water: New Growth Area for Law Firms in Australia
With new major regulatory changes related to water and water trading being introduced in Australia, there are big opportunities for lawyers who know their way around this new environment. Andrew Mansour, a partner at Allens Arthur Robinson who heads the firm's water projects practice, says there are two parts to the firm's water business, which has been a focus for the firm since 2001. "A lot of our work is infrastructure-related -- the building of new desalination plants, water recycling plants and pipelines; and the other area is more regulatory -- things like water trading and compliance with water legislation," Mansour says. "It is a growing business. We've seen that especially over the last 12 months, when a lot of projects have come to market."
– View The Australian article
NORTH AMERICA
EPA Launches New Trading Maps & Water Quality Trading Toolkit for Permit Writers
The US Environmental Protection Agency introduced its first "how-to" manual on designing and implementing water quality trading programs, The Water Quality Trading Toolkit for Permit Writers, late this summer. The Toolkit helps National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting authorities incorporate trading provisions into permits. It will help improve the quality and consistency of all trading programs across the nation. The Toolkit is in response to the need for more guidance on how to design and implement trading programs by expanding on EPA’s Trading Policy and featuring real-life examples. By providing guidance on design and implementation, EPA hopes to kick-start the creation of successful water quality trading programs.
The EPA has also launched a new map of trading programs around the U.S. (see the story on Trading in the US):
– View the EPA Toolkit website
– View the EPA Water Quality Trading Map
California: Schwarzenegger proposes a $9 billion water bond
On September 18th, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a $9 billion water bond for the February ’08 ballot. This proposal comes less than a year after California voters approved $9.5 billion for water infrastructure projects bonds. The proposal includes: $5.6 billion in water storage projects, $2 billion in delta restoration; $1 billion for conservation and regional water projects; and $500 million for water-restoration projects. The Governor's Office said the new bond should complete the water portion of the governor’s Strategic Growth Plan, a $222 billion proposal to fund improvements in transportation, schools, water and other infrastructure. If approved, local water agencies would have to match the state funds with an additional $5 billion, bringing the total cost to at least $14 billion.
Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, has also proposed a $5.4 billion water bond. The major difference between the proposals is reflected in one of the biggest obstacles to approving a water bond - opposition by Democrats and environmentalists to the construction of massive new dams in Northern California, seen as damaging to local ecosystems. "Our water crisis has gotten worse with the dry conditions and the recent federal court action that is going to have a devastating impact on the state's economy and the 25 million Californians who depend on Delta water," Schwarzenegger said in a written statement.
– Read the ABC article
– View the California Chronicle article
Senate Bill Authorizing $23.2 Billion in Water Projects to White House
On September 24, the Senate voted 81-12 to send the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) conference report to the White House, despite the White House’s threats to veto the conference legislation, The bill, encompassing about 940 projects, would authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to spend $23.2 billion for hurricane protection, flood control, ecosystem restoration and navigation projects. A veto is unlikely to be sustained in the House, which approved the conference report in August by a vote of 381-40.
– View the Water Environment Federation article
Citizen Groups Petition EPA on Iowa's Clean Water Act Authority
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, the Sierra Club, and the Environmental Integrity Project petitioned EPA to revoke the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' (IDNR) authority to issue National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. Filed on September 20, the petition claims that Iowa lacks proper oversight of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), argues that IDNR operates in violation of the Clean Water Act, and asks EPA to hold a public hearing on the matter.
– View the Water Environment Federation article
Congressman Moran, EPA Help Launch World Water Monitoring Day
World Water Monitoring Day 2007 (WWMD) was kicked off by Rep. Jim Moran (Va.–D) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water Benjamin Grumbles. They joined the Water Environment Federation and more than 200 participants on September 18th. WWMD marks an international outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting global water resources by engaging communities globally in monitoring the condition of local rivers, streams, estuaries, and other water bodies for a month. Monitoring results are entered into an international database and summarized on the program’s Web site in December.
– For more information, see www.WorldWaterMonitoringDay.com
TECNOLOGY & SCIENCE
Goliath (Monsanto) and David (Evogene) ink research deal
The world's biggest seed maker, Monsanto Co., has formed a partnership with smaller biotech firm Evogene Ltd. on September 24 to help it accelerate development of crops that require less nitrogen fertilizer, a significant expense for farmers.
Though neither company disclosed financial terms, Monsanto will now have exclusive rights to a variety of genes discovered by Israel-based Evogene that allow crops like corn, soybeans and cotton to use nitrogen more efficiently. Nitrogen-based fertilizers cost U.S. farmers about $3 billion annually, accounting for roughly 20 percent of their operating costs. If successful, this sort of technology would result in significant decreases in the use of fertilizers by crops worldwide. And, since nutrient pollution is one of the more serious water pollution threats around the world, this could lead to significant benefits in water quality worldwide.
– View the CCN Money article
TRAINING
EPA’s Introduction to Water Quality Trading
Kansas City, Kansas. Oct. 23, 2007
How can water quality trading help your watershed? Not sure how trading improves water quality? Interested in how to design a credible trading program? Attend EPA's free one day training course and learn all about water quality trading.
– Details on the event
by Virginia Kibler and Kavya Kasturi
As carbon markets continue to grow, people are asking themselves, what is the world's next big environmental market. One possibility is water, specifically water quality trading. And, although there are no large-scale water quality trading examples anywhere in the world, there are now dozens of small-scale experiments into this concept around the world. In this article, Virginia Kibler and Kavya Kasturi of the US Environmental Protection Agency look at the nearly two dozen examples of this type of trading taking place across the US.
by Sara Bushey
As the carbon market matures into a multi-billion dollar affair, people are beginning to eye the concept of water trading more closely. Nowhere are people more interested in water trading's potential than in the big dry land down under. The Ecosystem Marketplace explores water trading in Australia.
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