THE COST OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE CLEAN AIR ACT – A COMPARATIVEANALYSIS OF US EPA'S EMISSIONS REDUCTION AND COST IMPACT FORCOMPLYING WITH THE NSPS REGULATIONS

摘要

US EPA promulgated the New Source PerformancernStandards for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (LandfillrnNSPS) on March 12, 1996. As part of the rulerndevelopment process, US EPA determined emissionsrnreduction and cost impacts resulting fromrnimplementation of the Landfill NSPS.rn"Cost effectiveness", in the context of the rules affectingrnlandfills, is the annualized cost per megagram (Mg) ofrnnon-methane organic compound (NMOC) reduction. Inrnthe preamble to the Landfill NSPS, the US EPArnexamined the "cost effectiveness" of implementation atrnclosed/existing landfills (i.e. sites that would potentiallyrnbe subject to the Emission Guidelines (EG) regulations)rnand new landfills (sites subject to the Landfill NSPS).rnFor closed/existing landfills, US EPA determined thatrnthe NMOC average cost effectiveness to reduce NMOCrnemissions to less than 50 Mg/year was $1,147 per Mg.rnFor new landfills, the NMOC average cost effectivenessrnwas estimated to be $816 per Mg (USEPA, 1996).rnThis paper explores the true "cost effectiveness" of thernNSPS on landfills. Incurred costs from five NSPS andrnEG landfills, compiled since the Landfill NSPS becamerneffective, will be compared to those established by USrnEPA.