Going Beyond Carbon: Mitigating Nitrogen Pollution from Agriculture in the U.S. Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

Nitrogen overloading impacts human and environmental health across the globe, presenting serious challenges to planetary systems and exacerbating key problems like climate change. Yet synthetic nitrogen fertilizers have transformed modern agriculture, facilitating rapid population growth and supporting economies around the world. These fertilizers are the primary cause of nitrogen overloading, yet their use has continued to increase in recent decades, even in wealthy nations with access to funding for conservation agriculture incentives and alternative management practices. Better understanding the federal and state policy that influences nitrogen pollution in the United States is critical to mitigating its impacts and securing a sustainable future. This paper examines federal nitrogen management policies as well as four state contexts—Iowa, California, Maryland, and Georgia—to better understand what types of policy interventions may have the most potential to deliver transformative reductions in N loading. Three potential leverage points for effective action to reduce N pollution from fertilizer use are: 1) innovative legal approaches to and interpretations of existing environmental laws; 2) targeted educational and regulatory policies that address location-specific concerns and incentivize the simultaneous adoption of multiple conservation practices; and 3) efforts to shift humanity away from current exploitative agricultural systems towards sustainable and just farming.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... 1

Methods …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... 7

Federal Policy ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....... 13

Background ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………................... 13

Farm Bill ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………….................. 16

Clean Air Act …………………………………………………………………………………………………..………….................. 19

Clean Water Act ………………………………………………………………………………………………..……….................... 21

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ………………................................... 25

Safe Drinking Water Act ……………………………………………………………………………………………...................... 26

Endangered Species Act ……………………………………………………………………………………..……....................... 28

Incentive Programs and the Inflation Reduction Act ………………………………………………................................. 30

Combining Mandatory and Voluntary Approaches …………………………………………………................................. 36

State Policy …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………..... 39

Background ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….……….................. 39

Iowa ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…............... 41

California ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….................. 46

Maryland …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………................... 54

Georgia ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………................... 58

Contexts of State Policymaking ….................................................................................................................. 61

Characteristics of Innovations ……………………………………………………………………………………...................... 66

Discussion and Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………………............ 77

Works Cited ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......... 82

Tables and Figures

Table 1. Summary statistics for cropland agriculture in Iowa, California, Maryland, and Georgia………………...... 39

Table 2. Summary statistics for N application in Iowa, California, Maryland, and Georgia………......................... 40

Table 3. Descriptions of the six criteria adopted in the California Nitrogen Assessment

to evaluate potential N pollution management policies………………………………………………………………........... 50

Table 4. Descriptions of the six five policy instruments evaluated in the California Nitrogen Assessment……...... 51

Table 5. Sociopolitical Factors Relevant to N Mitigation Policy and State-Level Policy Portfolios…………............ 64

Table 6. Examples of Rogers’ characteristics of innovations as they apply to conservation agriculture practices... 68

Figure 1. Percent of State-Level Harvested Cropland Acreage with Cover Crops, 2017…………….......................... 32

Figure 2. Percent Change in Cover Crop Acres by State, 2012-2017………………………………………….................... 34

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Environmental Studies
Degree	B.S.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Environmental Management Environmental Sciences Environmental Law
Palabra Clave	climate environment fertilizer Iowa California policy nitrogen Maryland Georgia law pollution sustainability United States agriculture
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Saikawa, Eri, Emory University
Committee Members	Burchfield, Emily, Emory University Rich, Michael, Emory University

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