As part of a process of considering options for responding to hypoxia, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formed the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force during the fall of 1997, and asked the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to conduct a scientific assessment of the causes and consequences of Gulf hypoxia through its Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR). A Hypoxia Working Group was assembled from federal agency representatives, and the group developed a plan to conduct the scientific assessment. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has led the CENR assessment, although oversight is spread among several federal agencies. The objectives are to provide scientific information that can be used to evaluate management strategies, and to identify gaps in our understanding of this complex problem. While the assessment focuses on hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, it also addresses the effects of changes in nutrient concentrations and loads and nutrient ratios on water quality conditions within the Mississippi-Atchafdaya River system. As a foundation for the assessment, six interrelated reports were developed by six teams with experts from within and outside of government. Report 3 identifies the sources of nutrients within the Mississippi-Atchafalaya system and Gulf of Mexico.