National Sewerage and Septage Management Program

      Category:  Price-Based Instruments; Environmental Outreach & Education
      Policy Type:  Subsidies, Grants & Incentive Payments; Public Awareness
      Sector:  Urban
      Region:  Asia
      Country:  Philippines
      Description: The Philippine National Sewerage and Septage Management Program (NSSMP) is created under the Clean Water Act of 2004. NSSMP aims to enhance the ability of local implementers to build and operate wastewater treatment systems for urban centers, and to promote the behavior change and supporting environment needed for systems to be effective and sustainable. The main strategy for NSSMP to achieve the objectives is to facilitate a bottom-up, demand-driven project development process by providing national government capacity building support, financial incentives, and sustained, effective promotion campaign.
      Outcome:  The National Sewerage and Septage Management Program contributes to water quality improvement by developing sewerage and septage management projects which could remove nitrogen and phosphorus before discharging into waterways. By 2020, it is expected to divert about 346 million kilograms of BOD from the environment per year as a result of the sewerage and septage management projects.

      Reference:  National Sewerage and Septage Management Program (Philippines)

      National Water Quality Management Strategy (NWQMS)

      Category:  Institutions & Capacity; Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation
      Policy Type:  Partnerships; Frameworks & Guidance; Monitoring
      Sector:  Mixed
      Region:  Oceania
      Country:  Australia; New Zealand
      Description: The National Water Quality Management Strategy (NWQMS) is a joint national approach to improving water quality in Australian and New Zealand waterways. It consists of three major elements: policy, process, and guidelines. Firstly, the main policy objective of the NWQMS is to achieve sustainable use of water resources by protecting and enhancing their quality, while maintaining economic and social development. Secondly, the NWQMS process involves development and implementation of a management plan for each catchment, aquifer, estuary, coastal water or other water body, by community and government. These plans focus on the reduction of pollution released into coastal pollution hotspots and other aquatic ecosystems around the country. And finally, NWQMS provides guidelines for groundwater protection, rural land uses and water quality, urban stormwater management, sewerage system, effluent management, water recycling, etc. Through the application of NWQMS, the Australian Government is working in collaboration with States and Territories to develop Water Quality Improvement Plans (WQIPs) to reduce pollution being released into aquatic ecosystems with high ecological, social and/or recreational values across the country.
      Outcome:  The NWQMS aims to protect the nation's water resources by improving water quality while supporting the businesses, industry, environment and communities that depend on water for their continued development. The WQIPs help identify the most cost-effective and timely projects for investment in order to deliver significant reductions in the discharge of pollutants.

      Reference:  National Water Quality Management Strategy (NWQMS)

      Nitrogen Credit Exchange (NCE) Program

      Category:  Market-Based Instruments
      Policy Type:  Regulatory Environmental Markets
      Sector:  Wastewater
      Region:  North America
      Country:  United States
      Description: The Connecticut (United States) Nutrient Credit Exchange (NCE) program provides an alternative compliance mechanism for 79 of Connecticut's publicly owned treatment works (POTW) to meet the nitrogen discharge limits adopted in response to the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for nitrogen in Long Island Sound. The program allows the excess nitrogen removed to be sold in the form of a nitrogen credit to the exchange where other sources may purchase them at a cost lower than would be incurred by upgrading the facility at those sources. The NCE program is managed by the state Department of Environmental Protection, with the support from the Nitrogen Credit Advisory Board. The Nitrogen Credit Advisory sets the price of an equivalent nitrogen credit for each year. The state serves as a clearinghouse for purchases and sales. At the end of the year, the state Department of Environmental Protection calculates the amount of nitrogen discharged by each plant and whether the plant will be paid for excess credits or must purchase them. If there are more credits created than purchasers need, the State must buy them. Credits do not carry over from year to year.
      Outcome:  Connecticut's NCE program rovides substantial flexibility to the regulated sewage treatment plants. It could minimize the management cost for nitrogen removal, and serve as the best way to meet water quality goals.

      Reference:  Nitrogen Credit Exchange (NCE) Program

      Nitrogen Fertilizer Tax

      Category:  Price-Based Instruments
      Policy Type:  Taxes, Fees, Levies
      Sector:  Agriculture
      Region:  Europe
      Country:  Sweden
      Description: The Sweden Nitrogen Fertilizer Tax is levied on commercial fertilizer manufactured in Sweden or imported. The tax rate has remained stable since 1994 and is equivalent to approximately EUR 0.21/kg of nitrogen. All nitrogen fertilizer is subject to the same tax rate, and no tax exemptions apply.
      Outcome:  The Sweden Nitrogen Fertilizer tax aims to reduce the use of fertilizers in agriculture, thereby reducing the adverse impact of agriculture on the environment. Tax revenues are used to fund other measures to control nitrogen losses from farms.

      Reference:  Sweden Nitrogen Fertilizer Tax

      North Carolina Nutrient Offset Program

      Category:  Market-Based Instruments
      Policy Type:  Regulatory Environmental Markets
      Sector:  Mixed
      Region:  North America
      Country:  United States
      Description: North Carolina (United States) Nutrient Offset Programs in the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico basins along with the Falls and Jordan watersheds provide flexible options to meet nutrient reduction requirements for new development and redevelopment. The rules of these programs allow developers that cannot meet the nutrient requirements on their site to have the option of offsetting nutrient loading by making a payment to a Division of Water Resource (DWR)-approved third-party credit provider such as the Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP) or a private nutrient offset bank. These payments "buy down" their nutrient loads to where they meet targets for nutrient export. When developers participate in the nutrient offset program, their payments are used to transfer the responsibility for offsetting increases in nutrient load from the developers to the EEP or other third party provider. Third party nutrient offset providers, in turn, report compliance with regulatory requirements in annual reports and as requested to DWR. Participation in the EEP Nutrient Offset Program is voluntary.
      Outcome:  The payments from the Nutrient Offset Programs are used to fund implementation of nutrient-reducing projects in the same hydrologic area as where the impact occurred. The program allows for new growth while preventing new pollutant loads.

      Reference:  North Carolina's Nutrient Offset Option (US)