Controlling water pollution from animal wastes: A reconsideration of economic and legislative approaches

Abstract

Practical approaches to pollution control have involved the determination of an environmental quality standard and the use of various policy instruments, market or non-market, to achieve this desired standard. These ideas have been developed to deal with point source pollution, polluter and pollutant being identifiable. However, environmental problems arising from agriculture tend to involve nonpoint source and, often, indirect pollution. Animal wastes, in particular, have certain characteristics which pose especial problems for pollution control, both in determining and in achieving an environmental standard. In this study, a basis for a standard is suggested, and an animal waste management scheme is proposed which, it is hoped, could be effective in achieving this standard. A linear programming framework is explained for comparing this scheme with alternative pollution control policies in terms of efficiency and changed patterns of agricultural production.