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State's New Phosphorus Standards Get EPA Approval
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 07/26/2012

Nearly two years after Wisconsin became the first state in the nation to adopt phosphorus water quality standards for lakes, reservoirs, rivers and streams, the revised rules have finally been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. According to State Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp, the initiative helps bring communities and businesses together to make meaningful phosphorus reductions

"EPA's approval of Wisconsin's phosphorus rule is a great step forward in our efforts to reduce phosphorus entering our lakes, rivers, and streams," Stepp says. "Wisconsin DNR will continue to work with EPA to ensure that we have the needed flexibility to implement the law in a manner that brings water quality improvements."

Under the new rules, the DNR determines the phosphorus discharge limits based on the condition and quality of a watershed. Limits can vary depending on whether a waterway is already impaired by phosphorus, among other factors. The agency can then include a compliance schedule in its Clean Water Act permits if phosphorus discharge limits are either new or more stringent than in the past.

Stepp says the rule also allows new flexibility while pollution controls are being put in place, depending on the watershed.

"For example, the rule and new state laws now allow for innovative nutrient trading programs including tools that allow for more of a holistic watershed approach," she says.

Phosphorus pollution fuels algae and plant growth. A comprehensive national analysis of nutrients in streams and groundwater from 1992 through 2004 shows that levels of phosphorus and nitrogen have stayed the same or increased since the 1990s despite major federal, state, and local efforts to control point and non-point sources and transport of these nutrients.

Wisconsin began regulating some forms of phosphorus discharge about 20 years ago and had shown some early progress in phosphorus control.


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