Voter evaluations regarding the tradeoffs between agricultural production and water quality in Lake Erie

Abstract

This research note examines public support for policies to regulate and incentivize pollution control in the farm sector to protect water quality in the western basin of Lake Erie. We conducted an experiment in which local residents indicated whether a policy was fair depending on whether it targeted waste from animal feeding operations or fertilizer runoff from crop farms and if it used regulations or incentives. We then asked how they would vote in a referendum on the policy. Our results show that while support for such policies is widespread, residents are most willing to support regulating fertilizer runoff (i.e. nonpoint source pollution) from crop farms.

Keywords

• Water pollution
• Harmful algal blooms
• Policy
• Consequentiality
• Clean water act
• Great lakes