Kentucky basin team curbs farmers from polluting Mississippi River

Published: Dec. 11, 2009, 5 a.m.

A nearly 6-thousand square mile "Dead Zone" meets fisherman near the Mississippi river Delta at the northern edge of the Gulf of Mexico. The dead zone is caused by nutrient enrichment from the Mississippi River, particularly nitrogen and phosphorous. Watersheds within the Mississippi River Basin drain much of the United States. Most of the nitrogen input comes from major farming states including Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee and Missouri. Rebecca Feldhaus has more.