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<br />. <br /> <br />that assessments of losses and gains be made in terms of rEgional dis- <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />locations as well as basin-wide efficiency. Effectiveness of regional <br /> <br />protest will likely be a function of local, state, and federal political <br /> <br />~ <br />o <br />-.J <br />o <br /> <br />power of the groups which are affected by controls. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Abatement Schemes: Control and Response <br /> <br />The efficacy of various public responses to external pollution <br />^ . <br />. 49' . <br />costs is discussed in an article by Mills . from which the following <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />excerpts are taken. When Mills refers to air pollution, the water pol- <br /> <br />lution problem is analogous. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />It is easy to state the principle by which the socially <br />desirable amount of pollution abatement should be determined: <br />II Any given pollution level should be reached by the least <br />costly combination of means available; the level of pollution <br />should be achieved at which the cost of a further reduction <br />would exceed the benefits. II <br />To clothe the bare bones of this principle with the flesh <br />of substance is a very tall order indeed. In principle, if ev- <br />ery relevant number were' known, an edict could be issued to <br />each polluter specifying the amount by which he was to reduce <br />his discharge of pollutants and the means by which he was to <br />do so. In fact, we are even farther from having the right <br />numbers for air pollution than we are from having those for <br />water pollution. <br />In this situation, I suggest that any scheme for abate- <br />ment should be consistent with the following principles: <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />1. It should permit decision-making to be as decentral- <br />ized as possible. Other things being equal, a rule that dis- <br />charges must be reduced by a certain amount is preferable to <br />a rule that particular devices be installed, since the former <br />permits alternatives to be considered that may be cheaper <br />than the devices specified in the latter. <br />2. It should be experimental and flexible. As experience <br />with abatement schemes accumulates, we will gain information <br />about benefits and costs of abatement. We will then revise <br />our ideas about the desirable amount and methods of abate- <br />ment. Without benefit-cost calculations, we cannot determine <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />32 <br /> <br />. <br />