Bill Proposes Pro-Habitat, Voluntary Water Quality Trading Program

HB 99 would direct the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to establish a voluntary program that would increase opportunities to treat polluted water while benefitting fish and wildlife.

This type of program will set the stage for collaboration between agricultural water users, industrial facilities, municipalities, and more by applying a tangible value to water quality and a means of exchanging pollution credits. By allowing facilities or municipalities to sell pollution credits, it provides an incentive to reduce pollutant discharge by allowing the sale of pollution credits. Essentially, they make money by keeping water clean.

So it follows that the first benefit to fish and wildlife is a healthier aquatic habitat with less polluted water draining back into our water bodies where we fish. Great for fish and riparian wildlife. The second benefit is that incentives to treating polluted water can include the creation of settlement pond wetlands. Wetlands function much like a water treatment facility, filtering heavy metals and other pollutants from water. The creation of such wetlands not only benefits water quality, but creates habitat for all sorts of wildlife (think cattail filled marsh). In fact, this solution is already being employed with promising results by cities in the Treasure Valley who are not currently meeting their discharge standards.

Our friends at the Idaho Water Users Association are spearheading the effort and deserve the pat on the back for coming up with creative solutions to solve complex water issues.