User Charges as a Means for Pollution Control: The Case of Sewer Surcharges
Volume: Volume 3, No. 1
Issue: Spring 1972
Pages: pp. 346-354
Authors: Don Ethridge
Title: User Charges as a Means for Pollution Control: The Case of Sewer Surcharges
Abstract: Some cities in the U.S. are using sewer surcharges based on the strength of wastes discharged to induce industrial firms to decrease their discharges of water-carried wastes. Many other cities are either in the process of instituting sewer surcharges or are considering instituting them. This study reports the estimates of the responses of the poultry and beet processing industries to sewer surcharges which were derived using two different estimation procedures. A surcharge of $0.02 per pound of biochemical oxygen demand is estimated to decrease the total pounds by 75 percent for beet processing firms and approximately 25 percent for poultry processing firms.