For Immediate Release Friday, Jan. 19, 2001Contact: Jeff Stein, 319-884-4481 (w) 630-886-5066 (c)
Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" gets action plan in final hours of Clinton Administration
The Clinton Administration has announced a long term plan for dealing with the problem of the "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico, a growing area of the ocean that no longer supports life because of pollution that results in low levels of dissolved oxygen.The final plan, released yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency, calls for a reduction of the Gulf dead zone to less than 5,000 square kilometers through a series of specific, practical, and cost-effective voluntary actions.
To meet this goal, the White House plan calls for increases in financial and technical assistance for landowners implementing conservation measures and the development of new partnerships to reduce polluted runoff into the basin. The plan also calls for additional water quality monitoring and public education.
The "dead zone" is caused when excessive nutrients Ð including nitrogen and phosphorous Ð trigger paid growth of algae. When the algae die and decompose, dissolved oxygen levels plummet. The condition is known as "hypoxia." High nutrient levels cause similar problems in rivers throughout the Midwest Ð threatening water quality and wildlife habitat.
"Steps taken in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois to reduce the dead zone will have benefits close to home," said Jeff Stein, Mississippi River Regional Representative of American Rivers, the national river conservation group. "This plan identifies clear steps needed to reduce polluted runoff of excess nutrients and sediment into the Mississippi River Basin. These nutrient reductions will benefit the Gulf of Mexico and reduce hypoxia, but they will also help improve water quality here at home."
Existing conservation programs, such as the Conservation Reserve Program and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, provide farmers with the resources needed to install buffer strips and protect highly erodable land, protecting water quality locally and abroad. Demand for these programs is high.
"Two out of five farmers are turned away from these programs because Congress has not provided enough funds to meet the demand," said Stein. "Its time for a new Congress and a new Administration to step up to the plate and help farmers Ð help all of us Ð protect the environment."
Last year, Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) led 40 members of Congress in support of legislation to reduce polluted runoff in the Upper Mississippi River Basin Ð a major source of the nutrients reaching the Gulf.
The Upper Mississippi River Conservation Act of 2000 is "a model for other basins draining into the Gulf," said Stein. The bill would boost landowner assistance programs, create a regional water quality monitoring network to target new funds, and create a stakeholder advisory group to establish goals and improve coordination in the five-state basin.
Stein also called for greater federal funds for floodplain habitat restoration, including funds to buy floodplain land from willing sellers.
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