Gulf of Mexico and Environmental Protection

1. Gulf of Mexico and Environmental Protection By: Amanda Hassid and Tiffany Pouldar AP Government, Period 2 December 3, 2007

2. What’s going on? • Dead Zone: • A barren portion in the Gulf of Mexico where no sea life exists • Currently the size of New Jersey and is expanding KEY: -RED:harmful algal blooms -YELLOW: other bloom areas

3. What’s causing this? • Hypoxia • Excess nitrogen from fertilizer (mostly from Ohio, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and southern Minnesota) runs into the Mississippi River • Eventually carried into the gulf of Mexico • Causes immense algae growth • When the algae die, they absorb oxygen, leaving a short supply, killing sea life

4. Sources of Pollution in Gulf of Mexico

5. Who does it affect? • Southern Fishermen (commercial fishing closures) • Sea Life • Causes fish kills, shellfish toxicity, and water discoloration • Respiratory distress in humans • Recreation and tourism losses • Economic impact of algae blooms in US estimated to average $75 million annually

6. Possible Solutions Discussed in 1999 • Reducing nitrogen based fertilizer • Returning 5 million acres of farmland to wetlands • Agricultural operations improve manure-control operations (another nitrogen source) • Corn farmers require to plant prairie buffer strips between fields and streams

7. Conflict: Northern/Midwestern farmers VS. Southern fishermen • Northern/Midwestern Farmers • Worried that fertilizer limits could wipe them out and destroy rural communities where crops are already not prospering • Are still recovering from agricultural crisis in the 80s • Another setback will hurt them • Southern Fisherman • Less fish for them to catch meaning less revenue and declining business

8. Gulf of Mexico Dilemma similar to New England states encounter with acid rain • Environmental effect of acid rain: loss of fish in acid sensitive lakes and streams • New England states experience acid rain due to burning of fossil fuels in Midwest and other states • What was done in 2005? Federal Gov. took control as the EPA issued the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) which aimed to permanently cap emissions of SO2 and NOx in the eastern US.

9. How Illinois Responds to Hypoxia Reports • “The reports do not present a clear cause-effect relationship between fertilizer use and hypoxia in the Gulf, and includes many invalid assumptions and erroneous conclusions.” –Governor George H. Ryan • Midwestern states alike feel that it is not proven that nitrogen is what is causing the dead zone, which is why a restriction on fertilizer should not be made

10. States trying to work with Federal Government • Cooperative Federalism • Local, State, and the Federal Governments are coming together to solve this issue of environmental protection, instead of making separate policies • Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force • comprised of federal, state, and tribal reps • composed of 9 states along the Mississippi River • Wants to reduce the size of the hypoxic area to less than 5,000 square kilometers by 2015

11. State and Federal Agencies Represented in Task Force • Federal Agencies Represented on the Task Force: • Council on Environmental Quality National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Army Corps of Engineers U.S. Department of AgricultureU.S. Environmental Protection AgencyU.S. Department of the Interior White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Council on Environmental Quality • State Agencies Represented on the Task Force: • Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission Illinois Department of Agriculture Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land StewardshipLouisiana Department of Environmental Quality Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Missouri Natural Resources Department Ohio Department of Natural Resources Tennessee Department of Agriculture Wisconsin Natural Resources Department

12. What the Task Force is doing? • NOOA(National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science): operates the system geared to predict harmful algal blooms • CWA (Clean Water Act): renovate and preserve the chemical, physical, and biological state of the Nation’s waters -For example, before dumping anything into waters, a permit must be authorized, which is the Act’s principal enforcement tool.

13. Has the problem been solved despite these attempts? • What the Task Force is doing is not very effective because the Dead Zone is only increasing • in 1999 it was the size of New Jersey, now it is the size of Massachusetts • annually enlarging dead zone becoming an even bigger threat to the fishing industry and to public health

14. How do we think the issue of hypoxia in the Gulf Coast can be solved? The Federal Government should get more involved! • Congress should intervene and should amend the Clean Water Act; it should adjust the jurisdictional lines and clarify the law • Congress should do this by demanding more aggressive action to restore these waters in light of the risk of ecosystem collapse • For example, Congress should clearly delegate to the EPA the duty to set water quality standards for ALL federal waters

15. How can the issue of hypoxia in the Gulf Coast finally be solved? The Federal Government should get more involved! (CONT.) • Due to implied powers and the elastic clause, Congress has the right to help regulate environmental issues even further • Not enough evidence proves that nitrogen is the main cause of the algae bloom; more research should be done to uncover another source -Research and monitoring of Gulf hypoxia should be more adequately funded

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