Escaping the “Polluter Pays” Trap: Financing Wastewater … FISCHHENDLER.pdf · 2005. 8....

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Escaping the “Polluter Pays” Trap: Financing Wastewater Treatment on

the Tijuana-San Diego Border

Itay FischhendlerDepartment of Geography, The Hebrew University of

Jerusalem

Introduction•Addressing transboundary hazards require dividing the cost of pollution prevention•The solution often suggested is the “polluter pays principle” (PPP)

PPP means that the polluter should be the one to bear the cost of measures to prevent pollution.

•The PPP is endorsed by many international organizations and agreements

Among them:Organization for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentThe European Union NAFTA Rio de Janeiro Declaration Agenda 21World Summit on Sustainable Development

Introduction (Cont)

The rationale behind it:- economic efficiency - environmental effectiveness- fairness

The problem:cost-sharing arrangements other than PPP are often adopted instead

Research aim:To explain the gap between theory and reality

Theoretical background

Infeasibility Ambiguity Unfairness Lack of property

rights

Lack of international

law

Barriers forPPP

Research hypothesis Cost-sharing principle

offset

Effect onAsymmetries

ignores

EffectiveWastewatertreatment

Ineffective wastewater treatment

Research MethodCycle II Cycle III

The evolution of cost-sharing, and its underlying reasons, of thepollution abaitment regime along Tijuana and San Diego

Cos

t-bu

rden

pri

ncip

le

?

1958 2004time

Ability to pay & beneficiary

pays

outfall construction

Cos

t-bu

rden

pri

ncip

le

outfall operation

Equally pays

Polluter pays

1938Years

Cost-burden evolution of wastewater infrastructure along the San Diego/Tijuana border

Treatment plant

Pump station

Collection system

Point Loma TP

Years

Ability to pay & beneficiary

pays

outfall construction

Cos

t-bu

rden

pri

ncip

le

outfall operationEqually pays

Tijuana early wastewater

plant

1958

Polluter pays

1938

Cost-burden evolution of wastewater infrastructure along the San Diego/Tijuana border

Treatment plant

Pump station

Collection system

Emergency connection

Polluter pays

Ability to pay & beneficiary

pays

outfall construction

Cos

t-bu

rden

pri

ncip

le

outfall operationEquallypays

Tijuana early wastewater

plant1958 1965

Emergency connection

1938 YearsCost-burden evolution of wastewater infrastructure along the San Diego/Tijuana border

Treatment plant

Pump station

Collection system

Emergency connection

International WastewaterTreatment Plant

Ocean Outfall

Treatment plant

Pump station

Collection system

Emergency connection

International WastewaterTreatment Plant

Ocean Outfall

San Antonio TP

Proposed Rio Almar

Polluter pays

Ability to pay & beneficiary

pays

outfall construction

Cos

t-bu

rden

pri

ncip

le

outfall operationEquallypays

Tijuana early wastewater

plant

1958 1965

Emergency connection

1985

Tijuana wastewater

plant1938 Years

Cost-burden evolution of wastewater infrastructure along the San Diego/Tijuana border

Treatment plant

Pump station

Collection system

Emergency connection

International WastewaterTreatment Plant

Ocean Outfall

Proposed Rio Almar

San Antonio TP

Defensive measures

Polluter pays

Ability to pay & beneficiary

pays

outfall construction

Cos

t-bu

rden

pri

ncip

le

outfall operationEquallypays

Tijuana early wastewater

plant

1958 1965

Emergency connection

1985

Tijuana wastewater

plant

Defensive measures

19871938

Cost-burden evolution of wastewater infrastructure along the San Diego/Tijuana border

Treatment plant

Pump station

Collection system

Emergency connection

International WastewaterTreatment Plant

Ocean Outfall

Proposed Rio Almar

San Antonio TP

Defensive measures

Polluter pays

Ability to pay & beneficiary

pays

outfall construction

Cos

t-bu

rden

pri

ncip

le

outfall operationEquallypays

Tijuana early wastewater

plant

1958 1965

Emergency connection

1985

Tijuana wastewater

plant

Defensive measures

1987

International wastewater plant

1938 1996

Cost-burden evolution of wastewater infrastructure along the San Diego/Tijuana border

Treatment plant

Pump station

Collection system

Emergency connection

International WastewaterTreatment Plant

Ocean Outfall

Proposed Rio Almar

San Antonio TP

Defensive measures

Conveyance system

1938

Polluter pays

Ability to pay & beneficiary

pays

outfall construction

Cos

t-bu

rden

pri

ncip

le

outfall operationEquallypays

Tijuana early wastewater

plant

1958 1965

Emergency connection

1985

Tijuana wastewater

plant

Defensive measures

1987 1996

International wastewater plant

1997

Conveyance system and

improve existing wastewater

system

Cost-burden evolution of wastewater infrastructure along the San Diego/Tijuana border

Treatment plant

Pump station

Collection system

Emergency connection

International WastewaterTreatment Plant

Ocean Outfall

Proposed Rio Almar

San Antonio TP

Defensive measures

Conveyance system

Proposed Bagaagua

1938

Polluter pays

Ability to pay & beneficiary

pays

outfall construction

Cos

t-bu

rden

pri

ncip

le

outfall operationEquallypays

Tijuana early wastewater

plant

1958 1965

Emergency connection

1985

Tijuana wastewater

plant

Defensive measures

1987 1996

International wastewater plant

1997

Conveyance system and

improve existing system

2004

Rehabilitation of Tijuana collection

system

Tijuana master plant and

Bajaagua project

Cost-burden evolution of wastewater infrastructure along the San Diego/Tijuana border

Cycle i Cycle II Cycle III

1938

Polluter pays

Ability to pay & beneficiary

pays

outfall construction

Cos

t-bu

rden

pri

ncip

le

outfall operationEquallypays

Tijuana early wastewater

plant

1958 1965

Emergency connection

1985

Tijuana wastewater

plant

Defensive measures

1987 1996

International wastewater plant

1997

Conveyance system and

improve existing system

2004

Rehabilitation of Tijuana collection

system

Tijuana master plant and

Bajaagua project

Cost-burden evolution of wastewater infrastructure along the San Diego/Tijuana border

Research hypothesis Cost-sharing principle

offset

Effect onAsymmetries

ignores

EffectiveWastewatertreatment

Ineffective wastewater treatment

----PPPEarly wastewater plant -Wastewater plant

Operationalcapacities

Willingness to pay

Ability to pay

Power asymmetry

Effect of cost-burden principle on Tijuana/San Diego asymmetries

Cost-burden principle

Agreementsigned

Projects built and programs adopted

1938

Polluter pays

Ability to pay & beneficiary pays

Cos

t-bu

rden

pri

ncip

le

Equally pays

1958

Tijuana early Wastewater

system

Emergency connection

1965 1985

TijuanaPlant

defense measures

1987 1996

InternationalWastewater

plantConveyance system

Rehabilitation of Tijuana collection

system

Tijuana master plant and Bajaagua project

2004

+---Soft version of PPP

Minute 222- Emergency connection

++++ Polluter pays the difference

Minute 283, 296

- IWTP

++-+ Equally paidNAFTA side agreement;

conveyance system; improve existing system; rehabilitation of tijuana collection system

+-+-beneficiary pays

- Bajaagua project- Tijuana Master plan

conclusions•To understand the choice of the cost-burden principle there is need to lookbeyond the traditional debate on what principle is efficient, fair and normative

•It requires focusing on how the principles affect the asymmetries and thus correspond with effectiveness differently

•It is the PPP that was to provide ineffective wastewater treatment since it ignored the existing political and economic asymmetries

•This is why the PPP was replaced with other principles that better addressed the asymmetries in in power, willingness and ability to pay and operationalcapacities.

LowHighMilitary, economic and political power

Power balance

LowHighAbility to enforce pretreatment

LowHighAvailability of technology

Operational capacities

LowHighEconomic capacities

LowHighUser fee collectionAbility to pay

LowHighWater qualitystandards

UpstreamDownstreamLocationWillingness to pay

TijuanaSan DiegoIndicatorsPollution control asymmetries

Pollution control asymmetries between San Diego and Tijuana

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