SOUTHERN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS DECEMBER, 1982 EFFICIENCY AND EQUITY ASPECTS OF NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION CONTROLS

Achieving water quality goals will necessitate goals. Second, uniform restrictions achieve a adoption of best management practices (BMP's) given level of total abatement at a higher re-by some or all farmers.l Water quality is ex- source cost than taxes on pollution emissions or pected to improve as farmers adopt BMP's such subsidies on pollution abatement. The fact that as conservation cropping systems, structural soil loss standards are more costly (excluding measures, and conservation tillage methods. administrative costs) than taxes or subsidies is Currently, there is an absence of pollution not new (Randall, pp. 174-75). However, some abatement incentives strong enough to induce states have adopted soil loss standards (some farmers to abate sediment, nutrients, and pes- being accompanied by cost-sharing programs) ticides to desirable social levels. Although a spe- and it appears that many other states may do the cific socially optimal level of pollutants may be same (Harder et al.). An alternative policy to uni-difficult (or impossible) to quantify, the U.S. form restrictions, taxes, and subsidies which has Congress, by passing the Federal Water Pollu- not usually been considered is one in which re-tion Control Act Amendments of 1972 (P. L. 92- strictions are set at different levels for different 500), has demonstrated the need for improve- polluters. The argument presented in this pape