In 2008, Gulf Hypoxia Task Force legislation and the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Action plan both initiated strategy developments by the top 12 states in the Mississippi River Basin that contribute to nutrient pollution in the Gulf. The largest dead zone in the U.S., and the second largest in the world, exists in the Gulf of Mexico near where the Mississippi River drains near Louisiana and Texas, near the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Each state has developed a strategy to reduce the nutrient loads leaving their borders and to protect and restore waters within their state and those downstream. In 2011, the U.S. EPA recommended a strategy framework for states to meet the goals of the Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan.