Point Source Water Pollution

 Melissa Enoch  Madoka Yoshino  Leslie Tomic   Temirlan Moldogaziev  Courtney Bonney  V625 Environmental Economics 2 April 2008

Which of these are point sources? ScienceDaily (Nov. 8, 2007) — Emissions from coal-fired power plants may be an important source of water pollution and fish contamination, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Higher Levels Of Pollutants Found In Fish Caught Near A Coal-fired Power Plant Hoosic River Watershed Association “ While a municipal wastewater treatment plant might receive water from many sources, it discharges into a water body at a single point.” -USGS- YES NO YES

In your opinion, is clean water a…? Right 54% Privilege Neither 26% 17% Who do you believe should be responsible for funding the necessary improvements to the nation’s water and wastewater infrastructure? Federal Government 54% Local Ratepayers Both 21% 20% The Luntz Survey (2004)

Why Regulate Point Source? Increased public interest due to visibility Easy to locate source and monitor Difficulty/cost of cleaning up polluted groundwater E.g. approximately 4 liters (about one gallon) of pure trichloroethylene, a common solvent, will contaminate over 1 billion liters (300 million gallons) of water EPA reports that more than one-third of the nation's waters are still not meeting water quality standards, however, non-point source pollution has been identified as the primary cause.

The Push Towards Clean Water legislation

The Cuyahoga River June 23, 1969 Other fires: 1962, 1952, 1948, 1941, 1936, 1922, 1912, 1887, 1883, 1868. 1952 fire caused $1.5 million in damages In 1968 Cleveland passed a $100 millon bond issue for clean up; 60% of what the US Gov’t paid for nationwide cleanup efforts Photograph by Carol Brown, 1952

History of Sewage Treatment Sewer (Sewage pipe): since 5000 years ago 19 th C: Cholera and water borne disease threats public health for increased wastewater into open sewers. 20 th C: The first sewage treatment plant using biological process built in the UK. 1920s: Sludge dumping to the ocean began 1992: Ocean dumping of activated sludge ban in effect. ? ; EPA mandated all wastewater through POTWs to receive at least secondary treatment http://www.cqs.com/sewage.htm

Clean Water Act of 1972 Water quality became the responsibility of the federal government Main Goal: Zero-discharge by 1985 Interim Goals: Nation’s waters to be “fishable and swimmable” by 1983 Elimination of toxic pollutants in amounts harmful to human activities or aquatic ecosystems

Legal Definition Federal Clean Water Act (§402) defines a "point source" to mean: "any discernable, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged." Ferrey, S. (2007). Environmental Law: Examples & Explanations . New York: Aspen Publishers.

Three Major Sources of Point Source Water Pollution

Regulators of Point Source Water Pollution 10 Regional EPA Offices State Departments of Environmental Quality POTWs Citizens???

Regulations for Point Sources National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Requires permits for all significant dischargers of wastewater into surface waters Permits state effluent discharge limits (kg of pollutant per day)

Discharge Requirements for POTWs Limitations on pollutants in both wastewater and sludge Toxic pollutant limitations Criteria on acceptable uses for sludge Removal efficiency requirements Operating requirements for effective operation and maintenance

Discharge Requirements for Industrial Facilities- Direct dischargers Technology-based standards Best Practicable Technology (BPT)-by 1977 Best Available Technology (BAT)-by 1983 New Source Performance Standards

Example of BPT Regulations for Direct Discharger Resources for the Future, Harrington 2003

Example of BPT regulations for direct discharger (continued) Resources for the Future, Harrington 2003

Discharge Requirements for Industrial Facilities- Indirect dischargers Technology-based Standards Pretreatment guidelines Established to deal with a number of problems associated with industry discharging through POTWs Guidelines for both new and existing sources Note: In this case, POTWs have two roles— 1) Regulator 2) Service provider

Major Pollutants http://www.epa.gov/safewater/mcl.html

Major Pollutants Cont. http://www.epa.gov/safewater/mcl.html

Human Health www.epa.gov/safewater

Damages Heavy metals from industrial processes toxic to aquatic life Toxic compounds from industrial waste damage the health of aquatic animals and those who eat them toxins can affect the reproductive success Microbial pollutants (from sewage): Increases number of infectious diseases Increases the number of mortalities

Damages Cont. Organic matter and nutrients Increases in aerobic algae, which depletes oxygen from the water column Sulfate particles Changes the pH Damages health Increases the number of mortalities within an environment Suspended particles Reduces amount of sunlight penetrating the water Disrupts the growth of photosynthetic plants and micro-organisms

Wastewater treatment technologies POTWs: Publicly Owned Treatment Works Septic tanks, on-site wastewater treatment sewage treatment plants advanced treatment: aerobic/ anaerobic treatment, nitrification/denitrification, phosphorus removal, granular activated carbon absorbtion, rapid sand filtration, UV disinfection, ozone disinfection, chlorine disinfection wastewater reuse, land application of biosolids Combined Sewer Overflows Industrial Facilities http://www.epa.gov/OW-OWM.html/mtb/mtbfact.htm

Wastewater Treatment System Water from households, industry, streets flow into the sewer POTWs Sewage treatment at the POTWs Primary treatment (settling/sedimentation) Secondary treatment (biological treatment) Tertiary treatment (advanced Treatment) Water Environment Federation Go with the Flow! http://wef.org/apps/gowithflow/theflow.htm

Wastewater treatment coverage Japan Sweden Holand Germany Canada U.S. U.K. Wastewater treatment Advanced wastewater treatment Population coverage rate of advanced wastewater treatment plants in various countries. Population coverage rate of wastewater treatment plants.

Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Management Technologies Combined Sewer Systems: single pipe sewer systems that convey sanitary wastewaters and storm water runoff to a publicly owned treatment works CSO affects the environment and human health: CSOs may contain high suspended solids, BOD, oil and grease, flotables, toxic pollutants, pathogenic microorganisms

CSO management Proper operation and regular maintenance (O&M) Routine inspections, maintenance and cleaning of CSS. O&M reporting, record keeping systems, reviewing, up-dating, and revising Training Pipe separation Water flow control Source: Kentucky Division of Water

Industrial Wastewater Treatment Agricultural and Food Industry Iron and Steel Industry Organic chemical Industry (pharmaceuticals, pesticides, plastics, detergents, etc.) Mining Industry Paper Mills

Agricultural Wastewater Aerobic & Anaerobic Lagoons Land Spreading Constructed Wetlands High Nutrient Nitrogen, Phosphorus Solids Antibiotics Pathogenic bacteria Parasites Synthetic hormones Organic matters Treatment

Livestock waste management http://cryo.naro.affrc.go.jp/index_e/1302A.jpg

Technology? Nature , 2003, July 3rd issue

The process of internalizing externalities to improve overall social welfare.

Nitrogen Phosphorus Ammonia BOD COD pH Selenium Water flow Temperature TSS Heavy metals Source: Pharino C. 2007. Sustainable Water Quality management Policy, Springer Netherlands.

Direct Methods Command-and-Control: Quantity based regulation: Quotas w/o trading Technology-based regulation Best Available Technology (BAT) Grandfathering Subsidizing Pollution Abatement Taxes

Indirect Methods Permits and trading (Marginal Abatement Cost = forgone profits or rent) Credit trading, cap-and-trade, one-time or ongoing offset program Problems: Failure due to insufficient market Few traders large trader ratio (buyers: consumers, or consumers: buyers) Size of watershed Hoarding, over allocation of permits Reluctance to trade with competition Insufficient division of property rights

Tradable Permits Bilateral negotiation : buyer and seller exchange information and negotiate the terms High initial costs to establish infrastructure for communication and enforcement Banking and borrowing Third party broker Water Quality Clearinghouse : converts production with variable price and quality into a uniform product Reduces search and information costs Eliminates all contractual or regulatory links between sellers and buyers Reduces uncertainty Publicly visible and standardized practices allow for reduced costs with bargaining and negotiation

Transaction Costs Research and information Bargaining and decision Monitoring and enforcement Unidirectional vs. multidirectional Seller or buyer liability

Sole Source Offsets A source is allowed to meet water quality standard at one point if pollution is reduced elsewhere, either on-site or by carrying out pollution reduction activities off-site Problems Does not introduce any additional parties No incentives for pollution reduction by entities that are already in compliance

Methods Used Trading: PS-PS PS-NPS NPS-NPS Source: Pharino C. 2007. Sustainable Water Quality management Policy, Springer Netherlands .

Approximated cost-savings from US trading programs Source: Pharino C. 2007. Sustainable Water Quality management Policy, Springer Netherlands.

Wisconsin Fox River 1981: Market for BOD discharged by pulp/paper mills and municipal waste treatment plants Limited trading with marketable discharge permits (6-7 plants in two clusters) Flexibility in abatement options administered by the state Five year permits that define waste load allocation Permit negotiation for a year Permits can expire High transaction Costs Estimated $7 million savings/year Existed 6 years with one trade

Projected Increase in BOD Source: EPA, 2002. The Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Gap Analysis

What approaches (policy tools) could be used to implement a policy for the pollutant in question? Historical Trend - Control vs. incentive spectrum of politically acceptable practices: Started with Command-and-Control Switched to Taxes Tradable Permits (Kieser et al, 2002) Setting up marketable permits - Marketable permits are preferred lately (Woodward et al, 2002): A total cap on Pollution Established Rights and Responsibilities are Allocated Trading is Allowed to reallocate these resources among the sources

Market Structure vs. Type of Program Incentive based programs may have different market stuctures (Pharino 2007) – market structure example from Economics section Market structure is important for allocative efficiency and size of transaction costs As of 2007, there were 47 incentive based programs in the US, either running or at early implementation stages.

Type of trading vs. number of programs Are all the trading programs strictly PS to PS? Source: Pharino C. 2007. Sustainable Water Quality management Policy, Springer Netherlands.

Pollutant vs. Number of Programs Type of pollutant affects a choice of policy instrument Source: Pharino C. 2007. Sustainable Water Quality management Policy, Springer Netherlands.

Design Structure vs. Number of Programs Program Design structure determines who is in or out Source: Pharino C. 2007. Sustainable Water Quality management Policy, Springer Netherlands.

Numbers of trades vs. number of programs Are all the trading programs effective? Source: Pharino C. 2007. Sustainable Water Quality management Policy, Springer Netherlands.

Political processes determine – Who gets What, When, and How? Where do the policies come from? Direct contact/Participation in Decision making Execution of Decisions/Feedback/Gov Services

Interested parties: Organized or Unorganized Parties/Actors Companies/Industry: directly affected by clean-up costs and transaction costs Point-source and non-point source polluters: NPS traders have a superior trading position, availability of additional places to buy savings from Environmental Protection Groups: Organized to protect the rights of nature and/or intra- and intergenerational justice: now vs. later (Solow, Ch. 26). Citizens/publics: directly affected by effluent discharges and quality of water

Interested Parties Cont. Levels of Government: convergence/divergence of goals and resources Specific agencies charged with overseeing the regulation NGOs and civil society: advocacy for the rights of special populations or equity goals Government institutions: division according to the branch of government, checks and balances are an important part of decision making

Issues facing our POTWs Source: EPA, 2002. The Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Gap Analysis Aging Infrastructure Increasing and Geographically Shifting Population Insufficient Treatment Decreased Expenditures in Water Pollution Abatement Research & Development Inefficient monitoring of private septic tank systems Small communities are less able to meet standards than large communities.

Capital Payment Gap No Revenue Growth Revenue Growth Source: EPA, 2002. The Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Gap Analysis

Other Options Pollution Prevention Pet Non-Industry Examples The Composting Toilet Hoop-House Hog Farming Source: Nature Loo

Savings from Pollution Prevention Source: Overcash, M., Environmental Management for the Future

Source: Horowitz, John., et. Al. 2006. Do Plants Overcomply with Water Pollution Regulations? The Role of Discharge Variability. Topics in Economic Analysis and Policy

Would Regulation Tightening Reduce Pollution? A 2006 study shows that plants are often polluting below standards Discharge Variability In a study of plants releasing BOD, plants polluted up to 60 percent below set standards Discharge variability leads plants to reduce their average discharges in order to reduce their chance of violation Community Pressure Richer-type communities have higher compliance rates Richer-type described as white, high income, low-manufacturing, medium population Source: Horowitz, John., et. Al. 2006. Do Plants Overcomply with Water Pollution Regulations? The Role of Discharge Variability. Topics in Economic Analysis and Policy

We would like to encourage a debate regarding the best options for future regulation in point source pollution.

Point Source Water Pollution

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