Implementing a Cap and Trade Market System in Nutrients for the Lake Okeechobee Watershed
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Stanton, Michael
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Abstract
Lake Okeechobee in South Florida has been classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as an impaired waterway. It continuously fails to meet its water quality standards and the effects have been devastating. Valuable and sensitive coastal estuaries that receive the majority of water leaving Lake Okeechobee have seen dire environmental impacts in recent years. The first step in the long process of restoring the historic water systems of South Florida is to reduce pollution levels in Lake Okeechobee. To this effect, a market driven, cap and trade system may be a highly useful solution for achieving efficient results. This project analyzes the legal and economic factors of the Lake Okeechobee watershed to determine whether this type of system would be a valuable pursuit for local agencies and legislators. It additionally evaluates some essential communication factors that would ensure the program would be able to operate at a successful and efficient level. After looking at these various factors, it was concluded that the Lake Okeechobee watershed most likely could benefit from the implementation of a cap and trade style credit trading program due to its watershed characteristics sufficiently meeting the established criteria.