RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Effects of Water Quality Monitoring on Plant-Level Pollution: Evidence from the Clean Water Act
JF Land Economics
JO Land Econ
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 349
OP 365
DO 10.3368/le.96.3.349
VO 96
IS 3
A1 Chakraborti, Lopamudra
YR 2020
UL http://le.uwpress.org/content/96/3/349.abstract
AB This paper utilizes a 70% drop in ambient water quality monitoring to show that point sources increase their pollutant discharges in the posttreatment period. Our sample examines 264 major municipal plants in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia from 1990 to 2010. Results show that plants in the treatment group increase the relative quantity and concentration discharges of biological oxygen demand between 18% and 39% in contrast to the control group. Estimated coefficients are large in magnitude given prior evidence on the inflexibility of water pollution abatement levels relative to discharge limits. (JEL Q52, Q53)