An economic inquisition of water quality trading programs, with a case study of Jordan Lake, NC

JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

卷:193

Article

Motallebi, Marzieh¹  Hoag, Dana L.²  Tasdighi, Ali³  Arabi, Mazdak³  Osmond, Deanna L.⁴ 

[1] Clemson Univ, Baruch Inst Costal Ecol & Forest Sci, POB 569, Georgetown, SC 29442 USA

[2] Colorado State Univ, Dept Agr & Resource Econ, B330 Clark Bldg, Ft Collins, CO 80523 USA

[3] Colorado State Univ, Dept Civil & Environm Engn, A207F, Ft Collins, CO 80523 USA

[4] North Carolina State Univ, Dept Soil Sci, Raleigh, NC 27695 USA

关键词: Water quality trading;    Non-point sources;    Wedges;    Jordan Lake;    North Carolina;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.02.039

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

A water quality trading (WQT) program was promulgated in North Carolina to address water quality issues related to nutrients in the highly urbanizing Jordan Lake Watershed. Although WQT programs are appealing in theory, the concept has not proved feasible in several attempts between point and nonpoint polluters in the United States. Many application hurdles that create wedges between success and failure have been evaluated in the literature. Most programs, however, face multiple hurdles; eliminating one may not clear a pathway to success. Therefore, we identify and evaluate the combined impact of four different wedges including baseline, transaction cost, trading ratio, and trading cost in the Jordan Lake Watershed program. Unfortunately, when applied to the Jordan Lake program, the analysis clearly shows that a traditional WQT program will not be feasible or address nutrient management needs in a meaningful way. The hurdles individually would be difficult to overcome, but together they appear to be unsurmountable. This analysis shows that there is enough information to pre-identify potential hurdles that could inform policy makers where, and how, the concept might work. It would have saved time, energy, and financial resources if North Carolina had done so before embarking to implement their program in the Jordan Lake Watershed. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free