资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

When exploring environmental policy options, sometimes neither the current state of the environmental good being analyzed nor the effectiveness of the proposed policy is known with certainty. This is the case with privately owned, residential, onsite wastewater treatment systems (septic systems)-there is ample evidence that they can contribute to water quality impairment, but their contribution is generally stochastic in nature and the efficacy of technological solutions is uncertain. Furthermore, the benefits of ameliorating water quality impairments are public in nature. Septic system owners are legally responsible for maintaining their systems, but requiring them to upgrade otherwise properly functioning tanks is outside the scope of water quality regulations. An incentive structure is necessary to induce private homeowners to invest in septic upgrades that deliver both private benefits in addition to the positive externality for the wider public and environment. The question for policy makers is how these private incentives should be financed, and whether public support can be garnered. Results of a choice experiment in Gwinnett County, Georgia, accounting for both sources of uncertainty-the current state of water quality and the efficacy of the intervention-in the design of water quality policy are presented. We find baseline water quality conditions and policy efficacy significantly affect public support for a policy transferring public funds to private homeowners, in terms of both sentiment and willingness to pay. The manner in which costs are shared across stakeholders also affects the selection of a policy option, but not willingness to pay for it.