Arlington County, Chesapeake Bay Reaping Results from Water Pollution Control Plant Upgrades
January 24, 2012
- Nutrients discharged from plant to Bay well below state permit limits
- County Board votes to join Virginia Nutrient Credit Exchange Association
- Move will create new revenue source for County
Arlington, VA – Arlington’s nearly completed massive upgrade of its Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) is already producing environmental benefits for the Chesapeake Bay – and a new source of revenue for the County.
The $568 million expansion and modernization of the WPCP has reduced the amount of nutrients – harmful nitrogen – flowing into the Bay from the plant to well below state permit limits.
The reduction has resulted in tradable credits that can be sold through the state’s Nutrient Credit Exchange Program, a market-based nitrogen and phosphorus reduction and trading program at the heart of the Commonwealth’s plan to meet its Chesapeake Bay point source nutrient caps. Some 74 regulated municipal wastewater treatment plants and industrial facilities discharging nitrogen and phosphorus within the Chesapeake Bay watershed are members of the Virginia Nutrient Credit Exchange Association and trade through the exchange program.
“The County has made a huge investment in expanding and upgrading the Water Pollution Control Plant, and it is great to see that – even before the upgrade is completed – the effort is producing significant benefits for the Bay and creating a new source of revenue for Arlington,” said Arlington County Board Chair Mary Hughes Hynes. “This expansion is proving to be a worthwhile investment for our County and the region.”
County Board approves membership
The Arlington County Board voted today to approve Arlington’s membership in the association. The Board also voted to participate in the Nutrient Credit Exchange Program and approved modifications to the County’s existing Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF) Grant Agreement. Together, the actions allow Arlington to receive revenue for good performance and also help further reduce nutrients discharged to the Chesapeake Bay. Membership in the Exchange will:
- Create a new revenue source for the County.
- Help provide a return on the investment to recent Plant upgrades.
The County’s membership in the Exchange will be a potential source of revenue for the utility fund. The County could receive approximately $22,000 to $410,000 annually for available credits, though the amount ultimately is dependent on the demand for credits. Non-participation by a locality in the program allows all credits to revert to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, which would then be eligible to realize any revenue associated with the credits. As a new member in the association, the County is required to wait three to five years before beginning to receive money for its credits.
A portion of the revenue generated would be allocated to the Plant’s inter-jurisdictional partners as they contribute toward the plant's operating and maintenance expenses, and also its capital improvements. An annual membership fee of $3,125 per year is required for participation.
How the Exchange works
The Nutrient Credit Exchange is an impartial association that serves as a central trading exchange to allow its 74 members (waste water treatment plants and industrial facilities that are permitted point sources) in the same major basins to buy and sell credits and improve the overall water quality throughout the watershed. All credit trades require Virginia Department of Environmental Quality approval to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and that there is no environmental degradation.
Nutrient credit trading:
- Allows the State of Virginia to meet overall nutrient reduction goals.
- Addresses future regional growth.
- More rapidly reduces nutrients discharged to the Bay.
- Provides nutrient reductions for the long-term future.
- Ensures that water quality is protected.
Nutrients – a major scourge to the Bay
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined in the early eighties that the principle problem facing the Chesapeake Bay was dangerously low dissolved oxygen due to nutrient – nitrogen and phosphorus – over-enrichment. An overabundance of nutrients causes algae blooms, which decrease light penetration in the bay, harming living plants and animals.
Background
In 2005, Virginia passed legislation to create the Nutrient Credit Exchange Program and achieve nutrient reductions in a timely and cost effective manner. The program accelerates reduction of nutrients discharged into State waters and the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the country, by allocating limited capital funds to facilities that are more cost effective at nutrient removal. Part, or all, of the payments made for the credits are allocated to the watershed for additional nutrient reduction improvements. The trading results in more nutrients removed for the same funds invested.
The program has been strongly supported by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and is unanimously supported by Arlington’s Environment and Energy Conservation Commission.
