Comparing Pollution Where You Live and Play: A Hedonic Analysis of Enterococcus in the Long Island Sound

Abstract:

Hedonic property value studies of water quality conventionally focus on water quality levels measured nearest a home. This study examines whether water quality at the nearest access point (i.e., a beach) matters more to local residents.  Megan Kung, Dennis Guignet and Patrick Walsh conduct a hedonic analysis of water quality in the Long Island Sound, where an aging infrastructure and heavy precipitation lead to frequent sewage overflows. The analysis focuses on bacteria contamination and beach closures at various access points and monitoring sites. Results suggest that decreases in water quality measured at the nearest beach yield a larger negative effect and impact homes at a farther spatial extent than previously suggested in the literature.

...

Model 1 has two variants (SAC and FE) which follow the conventional approach in the literature and link homes to the water quality measures at the closest monitoring site.  The SAC is a general spatial model, which includes a spatiotemporal lag of neighboring house prices as a means to account for spatially correlated omitted variables and FE is a municipality-by-year fixed-effects model.  The SAC 1 results suggest homes within 500 meters (m.) of the Sound are affected the most, experiencing an average decrease in price of 0.16% for a 10% increase in enterococci. For the homes in this distance bin, which have an average price of $1,001,651, this translates to an average decrease in home value of $1,583. A similar elasticity is estimated for the 500–1,000 m bin. Any negative elasticity estimates beyond 1,000 m are statistically insignificant. The estimated price effects are small relative to the overall price of a home, but are in line with previous estimates.  The corresponding FE 1 model suggests a negative, but small and statistically insignificant, elasticity in the nearest-distance bin. The –0.0127 elasticity in the 500–1,000 m bin is similar to that of the SAC 1 model, but the two models differ in that the FE 1 model suggests possible negative elasticities as far as 2,000 m.

Cladophora, a wiry green seaweed, is found in great abundance in Little Narragansett Bay, fertilized by a high load of nitrogen entering the bay. Dense mats of the seaweed are oxygen factories during the day, but use up all of the oxygen during the night, leaving none for the animals. Only animals tolerant of very low oxygen, ones who can essentially hold their breath through the night, are found in areas where this seaweed is thick. In mid-summer, the seaweed is so abundant and productive, excess oxygen bubbles out of the water and can cause large mats of the seaweed to float to the surface. Credit: Jamie Vaudrey, UConn https://phys.org/news/2017-02-unveils-tool-cleaner-island.html

In SAC and FE Models 2 and 3, the authors deviate from the conventional approach of matching to the nearest monitoring site, and instead explicitly account for water quality at the nearest beach. In doing so, they see that any previously negative coefficients corresponding to water quality at the portion of the waterbody nearest the home are now statistically insignificant.

In Model 2 when they consider water quality at the closest beach (conditional on water quality measured nearest the home), there is a strong negative effect that is larger in magnitude and spatial extent. SAC 2 shows that among homes nearest a beach (0–500 m bin), a 10% increase in enterococci decreases house prices by 0.31%. These homes have an average price of $1,259,349, and so this translates to an average implicit price of $3,904. This result is virtually identical in the FE variant of Model 2.  Results suggest that the negative elasticity associated with water quality at the nearest beach could extend to 3,500 m. For homes in the farthest significant distance bin in SAC 2 (3,000–3,500 m, which have an average price of $844,851), the mean implicit price for a 10% increase in enterococci levels at the nearest beach is a decrease of $1,369.  The FE 2 model suggests that this effect is even larger; the estimated –0.0531 elasticity for the 3,000–3,500 m bin suggests an average implicit price of $4,486. The statistically significant effects of beach enterococci levels are not consistently found in all distance bins out to 3,500 m.

...

In a meta-analysis of hedonic property value studies examining water quality, Guignet et al. (2020) report a mean elasticity with respect to fecal coliform counts of –0.018 and –0.020 for waterfront and non-waterfront homes within 500 m, respectively. These are quite similar to our estimated elasticities with respect to enterococci counts.

...

In the SAC 3 and FE 3 models, they account for the number of beach closure days in summer. The results suggest that home buyers and sellers do, on average, respond more to beach closures than to enterococci levels. The estimated price effects of beach closures are of the expected negative sign, with robust and statistically significant negative effects in all distance bins out to 2,000 m from the beach. With the exception of the 2,000–2,500 m bin, we find significant negative effects extending out to 3,500 and even 4,500min models SAC 3 and FE 3, respectively. In general, the estimated beach closures effect in the SAC and FE models are very similar. These more robust, farther extending, and statistically significant estimates seem reasonable given that beach closures and notifications are a more direct and salient signal to local residents regarding water quality. When comparing estimates across the variants of Models 2 and 3 in table 3, we see that accounting explicitly for beach closures decreases the magnitude and/or significance of the estimated beach enterococci elasticities, especially in the nearest-distance bins.

...

For one additional beach day closed each summer season, the estimates translate to an average decrease in home value of $2,123 for homes in the 0–500 m bin, and $598 for homes in the 3,000–3,500 m bin. These estimates suggest that if the nearest beach is closed an additional week every year, there would be an average price decrease of $14,859 for homes in the 0–500 m bin, and $4,188 for homes in the 3,000–3,500 m bin. This is a plausible magnitud  given that the average number of beach days closed per season is seven, and there have been instances where beaches were closed for most of, or even the entire, season.

...

With these caveats in mind, local stakeholders can still make better-informed decisions by comparing the potential house price effects estimated in this study with the costs of policies and projects to improve water quality in the Long Island Sound.... Consider a hypothetical program in New Rochelle, a city in Westchester County, that reduces the number of beach closures each summer season from the average of seven days a year to zero. Our results from SAC 3, for example, suggest that this would yield a total increase in value of the 5,672 single-family homes and townhomes within 3.5 km of a beach in New Rochelle by about $50.2 million. Note that we omitted homes in the statistically insignificant 2,000–2,500m. bin for this calculation. As a rough comparison, a project to repair the sewer infrastructure and prevent stormwater infiltration and subsequent sewage overflows in New Rochelle cost about $20 million (Garcia 2015b), which is substantially less than the estimated capitalization effects in this purely illustrative example. These capitalization effects reflect only a portion of the benefits to local stakeholders because households farther away who use these beaches will also benefit.

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/suppl/10.1086/717265

by Megan Kung 1, Dennis Guignet 2, and Patrick Walsh 3

1. Economist, Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, 320 W. 4th Street #200, Los Angeles, CA 90013 USA (email: megan.kung@waterboards.ca.gov). 

2. Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Appalachian State University, 416 Howard Street, Room 3101B, Peacock Hall, ASU Box 32051, Boone, NC 28608 USA (email: guignetdb@appstate.edu).

3. Economist, National Center for Environmental Economics, US Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460 USA (email: walsh.patrick.j@epa.gov).

Published online December 3, 2021.

Marine Resource Economics via The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the MRE Foundation Volume 37, Number 1, January 2022.

New York Hospitals Tackle Zero-waste Goal with Help from EnviroPure Systems

EnviroPure, a self-contained food waste disposal system, is helping Montefiore Medical Center in New York reach its zero-waste goal by diverting more than 125 tons of food waste from landfills in less than two years, converting it instead into safe gray water.

Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital, a 242-bed facility located in New Rochelle, NY, installed the medical system’s first EnviroPure unit in September 2014 in order to handle 4,200 pounds of food waste produced each week.

...

After determining that the New Rochelle installation was successful in reducing costs and the environmental impact associated with food waste, Montefiore added a second unit at its Wakefield Campus, located in the Bronx, in 2015.

Within less than two years of installation, the New Rochelle unit alone has processed 250,000 pounds of food waste, resulting in 233,000 fewer pounds of carbon emissions and $15,000 in savings from waste hauling fees. Additional labor savings were realized over previous food waste management practices.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CrIEMJUWcAAE6ll.jpg

“EnviroPure has been a tremendous success for Montefiore. The system is simple to use for our staff, and data from the remote monitoring system shows us the impact we’re making on the environment and our bottom line,” Jeff Hogan, Montefiore Medical Center’s energy and sustainability manager said....

The EPA estimates more food reaches landfills and incinerators than any other single material in everyday trash and constitutes more than 20 percent of discarded municipal solid waste. Food waste in landfills produces environmentally damaging methane gas.

EnviroPure breaks down food waste in 24 hours through a combination of mechanical processing and aerobic decomposition and produces a gray water byproduct that meets or exceeds municipal wastewater requirements. A 100 percent natural micronutrient additive accelerates the digestive process with no intrusive odors, no invasive pests and no damaging carbon footprint.

For more information on EnviroPure, including an inside look at how the system works, visit www.enviropuresystems.com.

http://tinyurl.com/mtloaar

Press Release dated December 9, 2016

Health Care Facilities Today http://www.healthcarefacilitiestoday.com

Natural Resources Defense Council: Indian Point Nuclear Plant Can be Replaced with Cleaner, Safer Energy -Human and Financial Cost of Nuclear Crisis in New York Could Exceed Japan’s Fukushima Disaster

http://www.nrdc.org/media/2011/111017a.asp

A wide range of safer, cleaner energy options is available to replace Indian Point Energy Center if the nuclear plant is not relicensed in 2015, according to an independent analysis commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Riverkeeper. Thanks to an energy generation surplus it can be done at no impact to the reliability of the region’s electricity supply and at modest cost. A related new NRDC analysis of the costs and consequences of an accident at Indian Point also reveals it could cause a catastrophe far worse than the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

 

“The world watched the nuclear crisis in Japan with fear and heavy hearts; no one wants to see a repeat here in one of the most densely populated regions of the country,” said NRDC President Frances Beinecke. “Fortunately, we have a wealth of safer energy sources ready to go that can fully replace the power from Indian Point. When we consider the human and economic costs of a nuclear crisis in New York, and the host of benefits from investing in clean energy, the solution is common sense.”

 

NRDC’s new risk analysis compares the human and financial costs of the Fukushima disaster to the potential risks of a nuclear crisis at Indian Point, and reveals that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) still underestimates the danger posed to Indian Point from seismic activity. An accident at one of Indian Point’s reactors on the scale of the recent catastrophe in Japan could send a fallout plume south to the New York City metropolitan area, require the sheltering or evacuation of millions of people, and cost 10 to 100 times more than Fukushima’s disaster. 

 

Fortunately, a wide range of alternative energy options are available today that can replace the full electricity capacity provided by Indian Point Energy Center. Findings show that energy efficiency and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, alone could meet energy demand in the region. And there is additional capacity available through new transmission projects and by making existing natural gas power plants much more efficient. 

 

Safer Energy Alternatives – Available and Ready to Go 

A new report prepared for NRDC and Riverkeeper by economics consulting firm Synapse Energy Economics examines energy alternatives to Indian Point. The report finds that there is currently a surplus of electricity capacity in the regions near Indian Point, including New York City, and that even if the Indian Point units were closed when their current operating licenses expire by 2015, there would be no need for new electric capacity to meet reliability requirements until 2020. The replacement options identified in the report are either already underway or can be implemented well before then.

The report, Indian Point Energy Center Nuclear Plant Retirement Analysis; Replacement Options, Reliability Issues and Economic Effects, identifies the following conservative estimates of alternative energy sources that are available to replace Indian Point’s 2,000 MW of electric capacity by 2020:

• About 1,550 MW in savings from new energy efficiency resources in the Indian Point region, beyond those that are already planned. Additional savings are available in the rest of the state.
• Nearly 600 MW of renewable energy capacity to meet peak electricity demand (and up to 3,000 MW total capacity) by 2015. In total, more than 6,000 MW of renewable energy projects like wind and solar are already in the planning process in the state. 
• 8,000 MW from proposed new transmission lines to bring power to New York City from upstate New York and other regions, including the already approved 660 MW Hudson Transmission Line, and nearly 2,000 MW of lines are already well along in the approval process.
• More than 1,000 MW from increased efficiency at existing, outdated natural gas plants in New York City, which involves updating their technology to increase power output and reduce air emissions and other pollution.

Replacing Indian Point’s capacity can be done on time and without significant cost increases to consumers. Many of the projects and initiatives are already underway, and will be built whether Indian Point closes down or not. Our report estimates that this transition will likely add about $1 to $3 per month to consumers’ bills on the low end, or $4 to $5 per month on the high end. The more reliance on energy efficiency, the lower the costs will be, and customers who participate in new energy efficiency programs will be able to lower their bills.

“The more you learn about Indian Point, the more you know it must close,” said Robert Kennedy Jr., Chief Prosecuting Attorney for Riverkeeper and Senior Attorney at NRDC. “It’s too old, near too many people, and too vulnerable to fire, earthquake, outside attack and a host of other potential disasters. What’s more, we simply don’t need Indian Point’s dirty, dangerous power: current surpluses are sufficient to consign Indian Point to the scrap heap when its licenses expire if not sooner. By the time we start to need more power – in 2020 – we’ll have at least another 4,500 megawatts in replacement energy and efficiency savings in place. New York is safer, more secure and simply better off without Indian Point.” 

Risk and Consequence of a Severe Accident at Indian Point
Indian Point Energy Center is located on the Hudson River in Buchanan, N.Y., in Westchester County, just 34 miles north of the center of Manhattan.

NRDC’s report is the first to compare the human and financial costs of the Fukushima disaster to the potential risks of a nuclear catastrophe at Indian Point. It provides new information about the risk and consequences of an accident at this facility, including maps of radiation plumes.

Of the 104 operating U.S. nuclear reactors, it finds that Indian Point’s two reactors present extraordinary  risks for three reasons: First, the Indian Point units are located in a seismically active area without sufficient protection against losing electricity during earthquakes or other natural disasters like flooding, hurricanes or tornadoes. Second, very large populations could be exposed to radiation in the event of a major accident. And third, owners Entergy Nuclear Northeast have applied to the federal government for permission to continue to operate these units for another 20 years beyond their engineered 40-year lifespan.

An accident at only one of Indian Point’s reactors on the scale of the recent catastrophe in Japan could require the sheltering or evacuation of up to 5.6 million people in the metro area, putting them at increased risk for cancer and genetic damage due to radiation exposure. The plume could contaminate a swath of land to uninhabitable levels of radiation down to the George Washington Bridge.

An accident nearly 10 times worse than Japan’s – where there is a meltdown at only one of Indian Point’s reactors, releasing radiation on the scale of Chernobyl – could put New York city residents at risk of 25 times higher radiation doses than a Fukushima-sized accident, requiring the administration of stable iodine tablets to 10 million people. In the aftermath of an accident on this scale, if Manhattan were downwind from the reactor, it would become too radioactively contaminated to live in. This more severe accident could also put thousands at risk for potentially fatal radiation sickness in the Hudson Valley.

Finally, the estimated cost alone for cleanup and compensation for the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plants is at about $60 billion and counting, and NRDC estimates that an accident at Indian Point could cost 10 to 100 times more. The costs of a severe accident at Indian Point would be significantly higher here because of the value of real estate and economic activity that would be lost in its wake. 

Related NRDC Document: Report: Indian Point Nuclear Plant Study

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)  www.nrdc.org
Press Release dated October 17, 2011

With Post-Its and Checklists, Schools Cut Their Energy Bills

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/education/15energy.html

Simple yellow Post-it notes with the message “When not in use, turn off the juice,” pointedly left on classroom computers, printers and air-conditioners, have helped the Mount Sinai School District on Long Island save $350,000 annually on utility bills.

Energy consumption in New York City’s 1,245 school buildings is down roughly 11 percent since 2008, as motion detectors have been installed on classroom lights and unused refrigerators and freezers have been unplugged for the summer.

In Yonkers, energy savings have financed $18 million in new boilers, windows and other capital improvements that the Westchester County district could not otherwise afford.

Schools, once known as energy wasters, are embracing conservation in increasing numbers. A desire to practice the environmentally friendly principles discussed in classrooms has been heightened by soaring energy costs and tighter budgets. With the help of a growing industry of energy consultants, school officials are evaluating every detail of their daily operations, like the temperature of the swimming pool and the amount of electricity the cafeteria ovens use, and are replacing energy-guzzling equipment with more efficient models.

Supporters say that even small adjustments can pay off almost immediately. “If we tested schools in efficient use of energy, many of them wouldn’t get a passing grade,” said C. David Myers, president of building efficiency for Johnson Controls, which has joined with 60 of the 125 school districts on Long Island to reduce energy use by 20 to 40 percent annually.

... More than two dozen states ... have used millions in federal stimulus money since 2009 to pay for energy programs and upgrades in school buildings, said Judy Marks, director of the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities in Washington. These efforts include replacing light fixtures, adding solar panels and building geothermal heating and cooling systems.

Some states have also started programs to finance school conservation efforts and to create local contracting jobs....  Oregon passed legislation in June to provide school districts with low-interest loans and grants for school efficiency improvements; Washington State started a similar grant-based program in 2009.

In some instances, districts like Mount Sinai have appointed an official energy manager — in its case, Chris Heil, ... to police hallways and classrooms to root out energy waste. Armed with yellow notes, he inspects 100 classrooms a day and “tickets” violators. Teachers have been known to run back to their classrooms when they see him coming. When one instructor refused to shut down his classroom computers at night, Mr. Heil sent him an e-mail calculating how much money was being wasted, and promised to share the next message with the superintendent.... Mr. Heil sometimes shows up at schools at 4 a.m. to make sure the custodial staff remembered to turn off the lights. He has rummaged through storage closets to locate switches to shut down rooftop exhaust fans that ran nonstop. Such vigilance has reduced the district’s utility costs by 30 percent since 2007, Mr. Heil said.

As part of the Bloomberg administration’s campaign to reduce the municipal government’s energy consumption and carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2017, the city awarded $100,000 in May to schools that voluntarily decreased their energy use in a monthlong competition. Martin Luther King Jr. Educational Campus in Manhattan won top honors with a 35 percent reduction. And this fall, rooftop solar panels are being installed on three school buildings.... Dennis M. Walcott, the city’s schools chancellor ... regularly checks on schools that he sees lighted up at night.

Many districts across the country have financed conservation efforts through so-called energy performance contracts with companies that advise them on how to be more energy-efficient and guarantee them specific savings, either in dollars or kilowatts. If the district’s actual savings fall short, the company writes a check to make up the difference.

With contracts involving equipment investments — which can be $50,000 to tens of millions of dollars ... districts typically use existing utility budgets or borrow money through third-party lenders, and then pay it back out of their immediate energy savings so that no budget increase is needed.

In Yonkers, the improvements included replacing Lincoln High School’s 60-year-old boilers, which guzzled 137,500 gallons of heating oil a year.... The new boilers burn only 80,000 gallons.

Three consultants — Johnson Controls, Trane and Energy Education — have reported that their school business has grown by at least a third since 2006. The companies send in engineers and specialists to conduct extensive audits of each district — Energy Education uses a checklist of 1,200 items — and then custom-design conservation programs. “Anything that consumes energy, natural gas or water is going to get evaluated,” said Larry Wash, Trane’s president of global services.

In New Jersey, the schools in Holmdel Township have lowered their electric and gas bills by about half since 2009, to $1 million annually..... That breaks down to 3.5 million fewer kilowatts of power and 240,000 fewer therms of heat a year.

William Balicki, Holmdel’s energy manager, said he kept a tight check on thermostats, and installed automatic timers on outdoor lights in bus yards and parking lots that once stayed on long after the drivers left.
Mr. Balicki also considered placing motion sensors on classroom lights, but instead settled for $75 worth of stickers to post above light switches as a reminder to flip them off.

...
by Winnie Hu
FOR FULL STORY GO TO:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/education/15energy.html
The New York Times www.NYTimes.com
August 15, 2011

Citizens Budget Commission of New York Study Analyzes the Efficiency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority

http://ec2-50-17-180-122.compute-1.amazonaws.com/sites/default/files/press_release_04062011.pdf
Finds New York’s Subways Among The Most Efficient In The Nation; Buses Operations and Commuter Railroads Are Relatively Inefficient

On April 6, 2011 The Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) of New York released a report on the efficiency of the services of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA): its subways, bus operations, and commuter railroads. The report is part of an ongoing effort by the CBC to support and encourage cost controls at the MTA. The study uses unit-cost comparisons to benchmark the efficiency of the MTA compared to other large mass transit systems in the United States.

Key findings of the report – titled “Benchmarking Efficiency for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Services” – include the following:
* New York’s subways are among the most efficient in the nation. Among the ten largest subway systems in the United States, the MTA has the lowest cost per passenger trip; it has the second-lowest cost per passenger mile (behind Atlanta) and second-lowest cost per hour of service (behind Chicago), and it is third (behind Philadelphia and Chicago) in cost per active vehicle. New York is fifth in cost per mile of service. In non-vehicle operations (stations and other facilities), the MTA scores only in the middle of the group – a notable opportunity for further improvement.
* The MTA’s bus operations are relatively inefficient. Among the ten largest urban bus systems in the nation, the New York City Transit bus operations rank last in three of five cost indicators: cost per mile of service; cost per hour of service, and cost per active vehicle. The MTA Bus Company ranks seventh or below in all five indicators; the other two being cost per passenger trip and cost per passenger mile.
* The two MTA commuter railroads, the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North, also are relatively inefficient. Among the ten largest commuter railroads in the nation, the Long Island Rail Road was at or near the bottom on three of five indicators (last on cost per passenger mile; ninth on cost per active vehicle; eighth on cost per mile of service) and below the median on the other two (seventh on cost per passenger trip and sixth on cost per hour of service). Metro-North was in the bottom half of the group on all five indicators (eighth on cost per active vehicle; seventh on cost per hour of service, and sixth on the other three indicators: cost per mile of service; cost per passenger trip, and cost per passenger mile).

“This benchmarking analysis highlights both the national leadership of the MTA and specific opportunities for improvement,” said CBC President Carol Kellermann. “It’s a very valuable tool for understanding the efficiencies and inefficiencies of the system and how the taxpayers’ money can be better spent.” “This benchmarking study also provides a basis for judging the MTA’s performance going forward,” said CBC Executive Vice President and Research Director Charles Brecher. “We can now gauge improvement – or decline – against these key unit-cost comparisons.”

The table below shows that for "Heavy Rail Service" in 2009 operating expenses per mile of service in New York City were $9.40 per mile of service (ranked 2nd lowest and below the median of $10.30), $171.48 per hour of service (2nd), $1.40 per passenger trip (1st) and $0.33 per passenger mile (2nd).



For Bus Service in 2009 operating expenses per mile of service in New York City were $22.29 per mile of service (ranked 10th lowest and above the median of $12.79), $172.48 per hour of service (10th), $2.72 per passenger trip (3rd) and $1.25 per passenger mile (8th).

For Commuter Rail Service operating expenses per mile of service in New York City were $16.98 per mile of service (ranked 8th lowest and above the median of $14.34), $496.19 per hour of service (6th), $11.35 per passenger trip (7th) and $0.57 per passenger mile (10th).

The full report is available at http://ec2-50-17-180-122.compute-1.amazonaws.com/sites/default/files/report_mta_04062011.pdf

The Citizens Budget Commission of New York www.CBCNY.org founded in 1932, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civic organization devoted to influencing constructive change in the finances and services of New York City and New York State governments.
2 Penn Plaza * 5th Floor * New York, NY 10121; 212-279-2605, ext. 322 212-279-2605, ext. 315
April 6, 2011