USDA Funding Ready to Pay Maryland Oyster Farmers for Nitrogen Reductions
April 9, 2024, College Park, MD–The Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) executed contracts with three oyster farmers that will allow them to be paid directly for their nitrogen reductions in the Chesapeake Bay. This is the latest example of a new Pay for Success contracting system which allows producers and restoration organizations to be compensated directly for the ecosystem services they provide.
The recipients of these awards are Maryland Seafood Cooperative, Madhouse Oysters LLC, and Farm Creek Oysters LLC. The Maryland Seafood Cooperative, representing numerous oyster producers, serves as an aggregator for the ecosystem services they provide. Together over the next 4 years, oyster farmers will remove 2400 to 3800 pounds of deadzone-inducing nitrogen from the Chesapeake Bay.
"Oyster farmers are getting the recognition they deserve and payment for the public benefit they provide," said Harry Huntley, EPIC's Agriculture Policy Lead. “This provides an exciting model for a better way to fund Bay restoration.”
This initiative is funded by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and is structured around the groundbreaking Maryland Clean Water Commerce Program. EPIC’s is the first project of this federal program within the Chesapeake Bay watershed to use performance-based payments. Performance-based payments, also known as pay-for-performance or Pay for Success, were highlighted in the CESR report as an innovative solution to address the nonpoint pollution reduction needs of the Chesapeake Bay. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources was awarded funding in 2023 for its own performance-based RCPP (which is still in contracting).
“We are excited to see the power of public-private partnerships in delivering results for agriculture and conservation in Maryland,” State Conservationist Suzy Daubert said. “This innovative project leverages our collective resources to meet our critical goals for improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.”
These oyster farmers were among the 29 applications to Maryland’s Clean Water Commerce Program. Projects were selected for funding based on their cost-effectiveness by the Maryland Department of Environment, Maryland Department of Agriculture, and through this US Department of Agriculture-funded project.
Nitrogen reductions are calculated using the Maryland Department of Environment's Oyster Credit Calculator and are based on harvest records certified by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. This approach ensures that water quality improvements are verifiable without imposing additional paperwork burdens on busy aquaculturists.
“We are seeing increased growth in Maryland’s commercial shellfish aquaculture industry, and these businesses are providing sustainable seafood as well as important ecosystem services such as denitrification,” said Brian Callam, Director of the Aquaculture and Industry Enhancement Division for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. “During the last 10 years, oyster aquaculture has removed over 35,000 pounds of nitrogen from the state’s waters. It’s exciting to see partnerships such as this one developing that can continue this economic growth for an industry that’s beneficial to the ecosystem.”
A Pay for Success approach ensures farming practices, such as shellfish aquaculture, that have a net environmental benefit are encouraged while providing a stable food supply. Pay for Success can drive down costs and slash unnecessary paperwork.
The Clean Water Commerce Program, Maryland’s flagship Pay for Success initiative, will continue to accept applications every year for over $20 million of nitrogen reductions. Interested potential applicants are encouraged to contact mde.wqfa_announcement@maryland.gov.
“Last year there was almost five times more demand for funding than this program could provide, and we are hoping legislators find more creative ways to Pay for Success across Maryland and the whole watershed,” said Huntley. $90 million in applications were received last year.
USDA also recently announced $1.5 billion is available for new Regional Conservation Partnership Projects; visit www.nrcs.usda.gov to learn more.
Mary Horseman of Farm Creek Oysters made sure to add, "Any effort that involves watermen to restore the health of the Bay is newsworthy to us."
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Media Contact:
Harry Huntley, Agriculture Lead, Environmental Policy Innovation Center
hhuntley@policyinnovation.org, 410-528-3109
The mission of the Environmental Policy Innovation Center - EPIC - is to build policies that deliver spectacular improvement in the speed and scale of conservation. We believe that innovation and speed are central to broadening efforts to conserve wildlife, to restore special natural places, and to deliver people and nature with the clean water they need to thrive. To achieve those goals, conservation programs must evolve to accommodate our modern understanding of human behavior and incentives, and the challenges posed by humanity’s expanding footprint. www.policyinnovation.org
This material may be based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Regional Conservation Partnership Program project number 2659. .Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
