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原文传递 Environmental Compliance Costs: Where the Rubber Meets the Road; Final rept. May 95-1997.12

题名：	Environmental Compliance Costs: Where the Rubber Meets the Road; Final rept. May 95-1997.12
作者：	Smith, V. K.; Von Haefen, R.; Zhu, W.
关键词：	Economics; Licenses; Environmental law; Water quality; Regulations; Highway construction; Highway maintenance; Highway planning; Transportation departments; Wetlands; Ground water; Environmental impact assessments; Cost analysis
摘要：	This paper reports the results of an evaluation of the direct and indirect information on the compliance costs state departments of transportation (DOTs) experience in responding to environmental regulations. After reviewing the statutory requirements and a series of environmental impact statements, four data sets were assembled to consider the extent of these compliance costs. The first is based on a survey of the designated environmental officials at state DOTs. Limited responses and incomplete records require that the available information from this source be treated cautiously. Based on the responding states, compliance costs range from nearly 8 to 10 percent of construction and repair expenditures for Federal-aid highway projects. The second data set compares construction expenditures for the Federal-aid highway program with construction expenditures for state roads from 1990 to 1994. Statistical analyses suggest that these expenditures for Federal-aid construction were impacted by measures of the resources or regulatory activity likely to be associated with environmental mandates. The last two data sources relate to the delays associated with the permitting requirements for some environmental impacts, related to wetlands. Both data sources provide evidence indicating that other environmental regulations increase the time required for transportation projects to obtain standard permits under Section 404 of the Water Quality Act. These results, taken together, suggest appreciable compliance costs but also imply that standardized methods to gauge their impact are unlikely to be feasible. Instead, a modification of current practice that considers both the costs and the benefits associated with proposed changes to highway projects to meet environmental regulations would likely improve the efficiency of the process. Equally important, greater attention to the resources available to enhance inter-agency cooperation could save costs in responsing to the multiple conflicting mandates.
总页数：	110p
报告类型：	科技报告