Environmental Policy - Environmental Economics - Lecture Slides, Slides of Environmental Economics

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Environmental Policy

Water Pollution

Air Pollution

State & Local Issues

Global Environment

Types of Water Pollutants

• Organic wastes
  • Sewage, residuals from

factories, pesticides, oil,

detergent

• Inorganic substances
  • Toxic metals, salts, acids,

nitrates

• Non-material
  • Radioactivity, heat
• Infectious agents
  • Bacteria, viruses

 Point source vs. Non-

point source

 Continuous vs

episodic

 Persistent vs

degradable

Technology-Based Effluent Standards

 Effluent standard set at the level of emissions a source would

produce if it used particular technologies

 Best Practicable Technology (BPT) by 1977

 Best Available Technology (BAT) by 1983

 Best Conventional Technology (BCT) after 1984

Estimated Total Costs and Emissions from Sugar-Beet Plants Using

Alternative Abatement Technology

Technological Options

Emissions

(kg/kkg of raw product

processed

No

Control A B C D E

BOD 5.80^ 3.60^ 2.20^ 1.05^ 0.23^ 0.

TSS 10.20^ 5.70^ 2.50^ 1.02^ 0.30^ 0.

Total Costs

($ mil/yr)

0.0 $8.00 $14.40 $23.40 $36.50 $78.

BAT =?

BPT =?

BCT =?

Comparison of Point Source Water Pollution-Control Costs: TBES vs

Least-Cost

Study Water Resource Water Quality Target

(mg/liter)

Ratio of TBES to Least-Cost

Johnson (1967) Delaware Estuary 2.0 mg/liter DO

3.0 mg/liter DO 4.0 mg/liter DO

O’Neill (1980) Fox River (Wisconsin)

2.0 mg/liter DO 4.0 mg/liter DO 6.2 mg/liter DO 7.8 mg/liter DO

Eheart, Brill, and Lyon (1983) Willamette River

Deleware Estuary

4.8 mg/liter DO 7.4 mg/liter DO 3.0 mg/liter DO 3.6 mg/liter DO

Kneese and Bower (1968) Delaware Estuary 2 ppm DO

3-4 pm DO

Kerri (1966) Willamette River 5.0 mg/liter DO 1.

Goodwin and Dobbins (1966) Merrimack River 3.0 ppm DO 1.

Bennett, Thorpe, and Guse (2000)

Long Island Sound Total nitrogen loading (tons) 1. Docsity.com

EPA estimates 50%+ of water violations due to NPS

Water Policy Innovations

 Focus on Non-point sources

 Design standards

 No agricultural cultivation on steep slopes

 Designs on urban storm sewers

 Home builders must control run-off

 Tax materials/activities leading to NPS

 Fertilizers, chemicals

 Total Maximum Daily Load program

 Emission limits if TBES don’t achieve ambient standards

 Tradable Discharge Permits

 Fox River, Chesapeake Bay, Long Island Sound, Dillon Reservoir

 Problems

 Thin markets

 Trading ratios

78% Nitrogen

21% Oxygen

Ozone: filters out ultraviolet radiation

Other gases provide for “greenhouse” effect

Federal Air Pollution Control Laws

• Early law was local in nature; focus on “nuisance laws”
• Air Quality Act (1967)
  • Required states to established ambient standards for “criteria pollutants”
  • expanded grants to states for air pollution control plans
• Clean Air Act (1963, 1966, 1970, 1977, 1990)
  • Established uniform NAAQS
  • Established TBES
  • Stationary vs mobile sources
  • SO 2 tradable discharge permits

National Primary and Secondary Ambient Air-Quality Standards (NAAQS)

Pollutant Primary Standard Secondary Standard

Particulate Matter (PM10)

Daily mean 150 μg/m^3 Same as primary

Particulate Matter (PM2.5)

Annual mean Daily mean

15 μg/m^3 35 μg/m^3

Same as primary Same as primary

Carbon Monoxide

8-hour mean 1-hour mean

9 ppm 35 ppm

None None

Nitrogen Dioxide

Annual mean 0.053 ppm^ Same as primary

Ozone

8-hour mean 0.075 ppm^ Same as primary

Lead

Quarterly mean 0.15 μg/m (^3) Same as primary

Sulfur Dioxide

Annual mean 24-hour mean 3-hour mean

0.03 ppm 0.14 ppm none

Same as primary Same as primary 0.50 ppm

Source: http://www.epa.gov/air/criteria.html

Stationary Source Control: TBES

• Non-Attainment Areas
  • Existing Sources: RACT (Reasonably Available Control Technology)
  • New Sources: LAER (Lowest Achievable Emission Rate)
• Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Areas
  • Existing Sources: None
  • New Sources: BACT (Best Available Control Technology)

Note: New Source Bias

• Creates incentives to hold onto older, dirtier, factories
• Creates incentives for older factories to produce to capacity whereas newer factories may have excess capacity

Clean Air Markets in Action

Affected Sources

Allowance Prices

Trends in SO2 Emissions

Cross-State Air Pollution Rule

 AEP Muskingum River Plant

 98,515 tons of SO2 in 2010

 4 coal-units producing 840 MW

 159 full-time workers

 AEP Dresden

 Natural gas unit producing 580 MW

 25 full-time workers

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$1,

1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

EPA Acid Rain Allowance Auction

Spot 7-year Advance

Emissions (million short tons)

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Carbon monoxide

Stationary Mobile

Nitrogen oxides

Stationary Mobile

Volatile organic compounds

Stationary Mobile

Sulfur dioxide

Stationary Mobile

Particulate matter (PM10)

Stationary Mobile

Lead

Stationary Mobile

Stationary and Mobile Sources of Criteria Pollutants in the US

Source: Table 15.1, Field and Field (5e), p302 Docsity.com