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CONTROLLING STORM WATER RUNOFF WITH TRADABLE CREDITS FOR IMPERVIOUS SURFACES
Citation:
Thurston**, H, H C. Goddard, B Lemberg**, AND D C. Szlag*. CONTROLLING STORM WATER RUNOFF WITH TRADABLE CREDITS FOR IMPERVIOUS SURFACES. Presented at Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association Meeting (NAREA), Bar Harbor, ME, 6/10-12/2001.
Description:
Storm water flow off impervious surface in a watershed can lead to stream degradation, habitat alteration, low base flows and toxic leading. We show that a properly designed tradable runoff credit (TRC) system creates economic incentives for landowners to employ best management practices (BMP) to maintain a waterway "in regime." Attributes such as percent impervious surface, soil type, etc., determine a given parcel's credit requirements. As a case study, we show that the TRC system is a low-cost method for attaining reductions in stormwater runoff in a small watershed in Cincinnati.