Understanding the role of trading in water quality management : based on U.S. experience

This research demonstrates an overview of the performance of water quality trading programs currently implemented within the U.S. The role of trading in water quality management is identified through systematical comparisons of all possible aspects related to trading process, structure, and scale of existing water quality trading programs. The role of trading focuses on the output of achieving standard ambient water quality and on increasing the flexibility of water quality management to enhance effectiveness and accommodate economic growth. The trading encourages independent polluters to make pollution control decisions that best suit their own situations. The trading reduces overall operating costs and distributes equity on water pollution control abatements between point sources and nonpoint sources. The achievement of each program is mainly affected by various factors that include (a) the flexibility of trading rules and water pollution regulations, (b) the polluters' obligation and financial ability to meet regulatory requirements, and (c) the localized characteristics of water pollution problems and diversity of polluters in a watershed. Any water quality trading framework should promote the principle of simplicity, reliability and minimal costs.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Pharino, Chanathip

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• David H. Marks and A. Denny Ellerman.

• Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/34614
• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Identifier URI

http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/34614

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/34614