ABSTRACT:
Benefits of a combined program to control agricultural runoff and upgrade municipal wastewater treatment in the St. Albans Bay watershed of Lake Champlain in Vermont are estimated to exceed costs by $1.7 million for the period 1981-2030. Control of runoff from dairy farms in the watershed may increase net farm income due to cost-share payments and more efficient use of manure nutrients. Appreciation in property values and enhanced recreational experiences were the primary water quality benefits. Insufficient information is available to isolate the marginal benefits attributable to the individual control efforts and to determine optimal levels of water quality improvements.
Footnotes
C. Edwin Young is an agricultural economist with the Commodity Economics Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC. 20005-4788. James S. Shortle is an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 16802. The views expressed are the authors and do not reflect the views of ERS or USDA.
- Copyright 1989 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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