The PA Infrastructure Investment Authority and the Department of Environmental Protection announced today they will host an auction March 20 for the sale and purchase of nutrient credits in the Susquehanna and Potomac watersheds.

The auction, intended to encourage and facilitate the trading of nutrient credits, will be a “forward” auction, where certified credits will be sold at auction; delivered later; and applied to 2013 and future compliance years.

It will afford wastewater treatment plants in the two watersheds the opportunity to purchase credits to meet their nitrogen and phosphorus discharge limits for the compliance years.

DEP’s nutrient credit trading program provides a cost-effective way for facilities that are subject to nitrogen and phosphorus limits to meet those limits by working with other facilities, non-point sources or both.

PennVEST has chosen Markit Inc. to provide the platform for enrollment and eligibility, auctions and registry services.

PennVEST anticipates charging buyers and sellers 2.5 cents per credit to offset administrative costs.  Future auctions are set for June 12, September 11 and November 6.

For more information on these auctions, visit the Markit Inc. Nutrient Credit Auction webpage.  For more information on nutrient trading visit the PennVEST Nutrient Credit Trading webpage or call Robert Boos at 717-783-4493 (PennVEST) or Veronica Kasi at 717-772-4053 (DEP).

1/28/2013