ABSTRACT
In 1988, EPA concluded that existing criteria for municipal solid waste landfills (MSWLFs) were not sufficient to protect human health and the environment. As part of its process for formulating additional criteria, EPA conducted a regulatory impact analysis to assess the costs and benefits of various regulatory options. The scope of the RIA expanded over time, to accommodate increasing concerns about the costs of regulation. In 1991, after much debate, EPA promulgated the Subtitle D (Municipal) Landfill Criteria to establish design and management requirements for MSWLFs. A number of RIA-related issues were given significant attention during final rule development, including those associated with the true incremental costs of the rule (additional costs beyond those already imposed by state and local governments), the protectiveness of the statutory minimum option (that relied on corrective action to clean up groundwater contaminated by landfills), the technical feasibility and cost of groundwater cleanup at various types of landfills, the economic impact on small communities, the value of clean groundwater, and the level of benefits (including nonquantified, noncancer-related benefits) associated with various regulatory options. The extent to which the RIA influenced the final rule is still debated within the policy community, with Office of Management and Budget staff arguing that its role was minor 234 (since the most cost-efficient option according to the RIA was not chosen) and EPA analysts arguing that it was significant (at least in identifying ways to keep the costs of the final rule down). At any rate, it is clear that political considerations dominated the decisionmaking process. In this case study, Sara Rasmussen explores the many issues surrounding the development of the rule, discusses the scope and use of the economic analysis, and critiques specific aspects of the MSWLF analysis.
