Clean Air Act Amendments Benefit Cost Analysis (BCA)

IEc provided wide-ranging support for the U.S. EPA’s Second Prospective Analysis of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) (focusing on 1990 to 2020).  IEc specified baseline and policy scenarios, developed cost and emissions projections across multiple source categories (e.g., electric utilities), and prepared cost, emissions, and benefits reports for release to the public.

IEc’s analysis of costs accounted for the fuel efficiency effects of technologies implemented to comply with CAAA regulations and the corresponding cost impacts. In addition, the analysis reflected the influence of “learning curve impacts” on CAAA compliance costs.

IEc’s assessment of CAAA-related benefits examined a range of impacts associated with reduced criteria pollutant emissions. IEc’s work included:

• Configuring EPA’s BenMAP model for the assessment of human health impacts (e.g., selection of concentration-response functions).
• Estimating physical effects to agricultural crops and timber stands affected by ozone exposure.
• Estimating the value of changes in plant growth through coordination with the developers of the Forest and Agricultural Sector Optimization Model (FASOM).
• Estimating recreational visibility effects based on air quality modeling, and valuing these effects consistent with accepted resource economic practices.

IEc’s approach enabled EPA to assess the extent to which the positive economic impacts of CAAA-related health improvements offset the negative economic impacts of CAAA compliance costs. At EPA’s request, IEc presented the results of the analysis to a special review panel of EPA’s Science Advisory Board.