Reaching Gulf dead zone reduction goals will cost $7B, study finds

By Harlan Kirgan on Wednesday, February 5, 2025
  • An illustration shows how runoff from river basins leads to hypoxic “dead zones” in the Gulf of Mexico. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration video capture)
    An illustration shows how runoff from river basins leads to hypoxic “dead zones” in the Gulf of Mexico. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration video capture)
    New research on the cost of reducing the Gulf of Mexico’s dead zone places a $7 billion dollar annual price tag on reaching the Environmental Protection Agency’s goals. Funded by a National Science Foundation grant, researchers from West Virginia University, Iowa State University and the Texas Soil and Water Research Laboratory estimate decreasing nitrogen runoff from agriculture in the Miss...

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