North Carolina's statewide basin management approach has resulted in more innovative, cost-effective management. In the Tar-Pamlico River Basin, the state water quality management agency, a consortium of municipal and industrial discharge permittees, a local environmental organization, a national environmental advocacy group, and the state's soil and water agency forged a partnership to implement a pollutant trading program. The discharger consortium agreed to fund development of tools to evaluate management alternatives, and provide cost-share funds to implement agricultural best management practices in lieu of more costly nutrient removal processes at the wastewater treatment facilities. The process was driven by the realization among these parties that point source controls alone could not solve the problems of most concern, and that forcing more restrictive point source controls would only yield marginal returns on investment.