What were the cost estimates associated with the October 2005 final rule?
Total annual social costs associated with the final standards were estimated at $22.6 million per year. This estimate included all relevant government costs, and anticipated market adjustments (e.g., price changes, waste diversions, system exits). Under this scenario, commercial incinerators, cement kilns, and lightweight aggregate kilns were projected to experience net gains as a result of the final standards. This was based on increased waste receipts, marginal price increases, and comparatively lower upgrade costs. Our conservative cost scenario, of $40.7 million per year, assumed no market adjustments. Under this scenario, liquid and solid fuel boilers, and hydrochloric acid production furnaces accounted for about 85 percent of the total costs.
