593 



economy by providing standards to optimize economic consequences 

 of estuarine resource activities. Additionally, or alternativelv, since 

 it is likely that the development of realistic evaluation procedures in 

 this difficult area will require generations of research, recognition of 

 marginal concepts and extra market utility in the context of risk and 

 uncertainty would be of immense value to management policy and 

 program formulation. 



Pollution control 



In the specific area of water pollution control, studies should be 

 made on the development of a better information system on the capi- 

 talization of in-place pollution abatement facilities. Adequate report- 

 ing of investment data exists only for the period from 1952 to the 

 present, and there is little in the way of reliable depreciation informa- 

 tion relating to sewers and wastes treatment facilities. Development of 

 historical investment and depreciation levels would be useful in the 

 development of national investment policies informed by an adequate 

 awareness of capital requirements. 



There is a requirement for research into the effectiveness of the 

 various pollution abatement strategies. Comparative evaluation of 

 results of the several program emphases, that is, various controlling 

 jurisdictions, consequences in terms of financial outlays, water quality 

 preservation or degradation, water utilization constraints, would be 

 useful in forming least cost national and State-controlled programs 

 in the future. 



Related to this is research into the influence of water availability 

 and public policy regarding water use and pollution control on in- 

 dustrial location decisions. There is evidence that separate industrial 

 categories are affected by and react to a single set of water conditions 

 in different fashions, but no comprehensive survey of response to con- 

 ditions has been conducted at this time. There are a large number of 

 conditions where controls must be developed to deal with diffuse pol- 

 lutional influences of natural runoff (siltation, water-borne pesticides, 

 concentrated urban runoff, etc.) and where costs have been in- 

 adequately examined or are unknown. Such cost data are essential to 

 formulation of meaningful abatement programs and their develop- 

 ment should provide a number of research projects. In general, how- 

 ever, these kinds of information requirements cannot be satisfied by 

 economists alone, since they require technical determinations demand- 

 ing the skill of hydrologies, biologists, engineers, and others. 



Economic planning units 



One of the most immediate needs is for the delineation of suitable 

 economic planning units for comprehensive estuarine management. 

 What is the minimum area of the estuarine resource that must be in- 

 corporated into a system before it can be managed effectively? If 

 suitable economic planning units can be delineated and the economic 

 research can begin, then these management units can be modified 

 as knowledge of other factors — hydrology, ecology, geology — becomes 

 available. 



LAW 



As in the area of economics and planning, it is difficult to conceptu- 

 alize the research and study needs involved with legal aspects of 



