Twelve states of Hypoxia Task Force have devised strategies to speed up reduction of nutrient levels in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin, which are a key contributor each summer to large area of low oxygen in the Gulf of Mexico known as a dead zone. Each state has outlined specific actions it will take to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater plants, industries, agriculture, and stormwater runoff. Target date for shrinking dead zone from 6,000 to 2,000 square miles is 2035.