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Title: Economic and institutional aspects of risk and liability in the control of ground-water pollution. Technical report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5117207

Two alternative means of controlling negative externalities (pollution), namely the use of ex ante regulation and the use of ex post liability, are compared. Alternative forms of liability, in particular strict liability and negligence, are discussed. The different approaches are first compared using theoretical models of externalities to determine when one might be theoretically preferred to another. The results of the theoretical analysis suggest that, because no single alternative is a perfect control mechanism, the joint use of regulation, and some form of liability is perhaps best. The results are used as background information in an analysis of two case studies of groundwater pollution. The first is contamination from the Kohler Company landfill in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. The second is contamination from a municipally owned landfill in Onalaska, Wisconsin.

Research Organization:
Wisconsin Univ., Madison (USA). Water Resources Center
OSTI ID:
5117207
Report Number(s):
PB-88-155940/XAB; WIS-WRC-87-03
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English