Table 1.
CBAs of water quality programs
| Regulation | Study time frame | Benefit-to-cost ratio | Benefits, per year | Costs, per year |
| CWA | ||||
| Freeman (6) | 1985 | 0.19–1.23 | $13.6B to $65.9B | $53.7B to $71.6B |
| Carson and Mitchell (7) | 1990s | 0.61–1.25 | $98.1B | $78.3B to $160.2B |
| Lyon and Farrow (8) | 1990s | 0.25–1.16 | $10.9B to $22.0B | $18.9B to $43.7B |
| US EPA (21, 61) | 1990s | 0.79–0.88 | $18.9B | $21.5B to $24.0B |
| Keiser and Shapiro (1) | 1962–2001 | 0.24 | $3.9B | $16.3B |
| WOTUS | ||||
| Obama Administration | 2015 | 1.10–2.41 | $0.3B to $0.6B | $0.2B to $0.5B |
| Trump Administration | 2017 | 0.11–0.30 | $0.03B to $0.07B | $0.2B to $0.5B |
| CRP | ||||
| Hansen (47) | 2000s | 0.76–0.87 | $2.1B | $2.4B to $2.7B |
| Effluent Guidelines | ||||
| Centralized Waste Treatment | 2000 | 0.07–0.23 | $4M to $14M | $60M |
| Landfills | 2000 | 0.00 | <$0.1M | $13M |
| Transportation Equipment Cleaning | 2000 | 0.11–0.33 | $3M to $9M | $27M |
| Waste Combustors | 2000 | 0.15–0.5 | $0.3M to $1M | $2M |
| Coal Mining | 2002 | >1 | $22M to $24M | $0M |
| Iron and Steel Manufacturing | 2002 | 0.11–0.58 | $2M to $11M | $19M |
| Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations | 2003 | 0.61–1.06 | $320M to $557M | $526M |
| Metal Products and Machinery | 2003 | 0.09 | $2M | $22M |
| Concentrated Aquatic Animal Production | 2004 | 0.05 | $0.1M | $2M |
| Meat and Poultry Products | 2004 | 0.05 | $4M | $86M |
| Construction and Development | 2009 | 0.39 | $429M | $1,108M |
| Steam Electric | 2015 | 0.94–1.18 | $464M to $582M | $493M |
The study time frame describes the time period for which benefits and costs were estimated for the CWA and CRP estimates. For the WOTUS, the initial rule was released in 2015 during the Obama Administration. The Trump Administration calculations reflect a 2017 proposed recodification of existing rules. For effluent guidelines, the time period indicates the year that the rule was released. Freeman (6) estimates benefits in 1985 of removing conventional water pollutants. Corresponding costs are estimates of annual control costs in 1985 based on the Council of Environmental Quality’s estimate of water pollution control costs in 1978. Carson and Mitchell (7) estimate the benefits and costs of moving water quality from a national baseline of nonboatable to swimmable water. Cost estimates range from Department of Commerce’s estimates of $78.3B in 1988 expenditures to projected expenditures of $160.2B in the year 2000. Lyon and Farrow (8) estimate benefits of a one-step ($10.9B) or two-step ($22B) improvement in the water quality ladder. Cost estimates reflect various control options considered by the authors. US EPA (21) estimates in-place annual benefits due to the CWA in the mid-1990s. Corresponding cost estimates from US EPA (61) are incremental costs of controlling water pollution due to the CWA for 1994 ($21.5B) and 1997 ($24B). Keiser and Shapiro (1) estimate the benefits and costs of the CWA’s municipal grants program. The $16.3B in costs per year reflect total of $650B in costs spread over 40 y. Benefits reflect the increase in housing values due to the grants program (0.24*$16.3B, where 0.24 comes from the last column of table 6 in Keiser and Shapiro). Costs and benefits for WOTUS taken from the 2015 rule and 2017 proposed rule published in the Federal Register. Reported benefit-to-cost ratios for WOTUS reflect two individual scenarios considered by the rule, while cost and benefit ranges reflect the lower and upper bounds of these scenarios. Costs and benefits for effluent rules taken from finalized rules published in the Federal Register. All dollars have been deflated to 2014 dollars using the Engineering News Record 2014 Construction Price Index. Abbreviations: B, billion; M, million.