NUTRIENTS - Marine Pollution: What Everyone Needs to Know - page 36

plans identify the correct timing and amounts of fertilizer that
should be applied to ields, thereby reducing the chance for it
to be carried away in runoff. Farmers can use manure or litter
generated by their cows or poultry as fertilizer for their ields.
However, the amount of manure and litter generated on a farm
may exceed the amount that is needed for the crops. To help
farmers avoid stockpiling extra manure, some states support
nutrient transport programs that export it to farms where the
nutrients are needed.
Some groups are working to ind new uses for manure
which might be used in energy production or sold as fertil-
izer. Some creative approaches include anaerobic digesters
that convert the methane from cow manure into electricity
that runs the farm and produces extra electricity that can be
sold to the power company to provide electricity for nearby
homes. This approach not only reduces methane emissions
(which contribute to global warming) and turns a waste into a
resource, but it also eliminates runoff.
The state of Pennsylvania is trying to get farmers to
reduce runoff by letting them apply for pollution credits that
can be sold to developers to build sewage treatment plants.
Pennsylvania has asked farmers to build barriers to reduce
runoff into Chesapeake Bay and, with monetary incentives, to
plant crops year-round so that the roots will prevent the soil
from washing away in big storms. The state will estimate how
much pollution has been eliminated, using an equation that
combines the impact of the improvement and the distance of
the farm from the bay.
Much effort and a huge amount of money has been expended
over the years in attempts to improve water clarity, seagrass
populations, and oxygen levels in Chesapeake Bay, but the
results have been disappointing. Every year, people wade into
the bay to see how deep they can go and still see their feet, a
test of water clarity. The deeper they can go, the clearer the
water. Unfortunately there has not been much improvement as
the number of people in the watershed continues to increase.