Economic analysis of the proposed revised definition of Waters of the United States on nationwide permitting in West Virginia
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2015-04
Authors
Advisors
Journal Title
Series/Report No.
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE PROPOSED REVISED
DEFINITION OF WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES
ON NATIONWIDE PERMITTING IN WEST VIRGINIA
By Adam Andrew White.
In March 2014, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) collectively released a proposed rule that would revise the definition of “waters of the United States” under the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) to the public. The proposal intends to (i) enhance protection for the nation’s public health and aquatic resources, and (ii) increase CWA program predictability and consistency by increasing clarity as to the scope of “waters of the United States”. According to the agencies, the rule would increase jurisdictional areas by approximately three percent and is intended to clarify the protections for “upstream waters and wetlands that are absolutely vital to downstream communities”. The EPA used data dating back to 2002 to predict the permitting costs of this regulatory change. These data do not appropriately represent current costs and are missing factors that should be considered. The EPA also fails to analyze the association between this regulatory change and the impacts on specific industry types, such as private landowners and small businesses. This paper analyzes the direct costs of permitting on specific markets and explores how regulatory change is associated with predictions of increased costs to West Virginia businesses.
