Economic Impact of Water Pollution Control Regulations on the Tomato Processing Industry

The economic impact of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 on the tomato processing industry is examined. The 1972 Act calls for uniform effluent limitations, and requires that municipalities establish pretreatment standards for waste and recover a proportionate share of capital and operating costs from industrial users. Tomato processors generate a highly seasonal, large-volume, biogradable waste load, characterized by substantial variations in volume and composition among processing plants and throughout the processing season. Municipal treatment, spray irrigation, and evaporation-percolation ponds are the preferred means of pollution abatement. Water pollution control regulations are expected to speed the decline of the tomato processing industry in the East and Midwest as many small plants close. In California the number of large-volume plants may increase slightly. Prices of processed tomato products are expected to rise 1.0 to 4.2 percent per year due to pollution control costs