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Hazardous Waste and Home Values: An Analysis of Treatment and Disposal Sites in the U.S

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  • Dennis Guignet
  • Christoph Nolte

Abstract

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is a cornerstone of environmental policy in the United States (US). It regulates the generation, use, transportation, and eventual disposal of hazardous chemicals. Focusing on the 2,389 treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) in the contiguous US, we frame a difference-in-differences and triple differences quasi-experiment that exploits the temporal and spatial variation in contamination and cleanup events. Hedonic property value regressions are estimated using a sample of over 9.6 million single-family home transactions from 2000-2018. The discovery of contamination and subsequent investigation is associated with up to a 5% depreciation in the value of homes within 750 meters of a TSDF, but the evidence is mixed. In contrast, we find robust, causal evidence that the completion of cleanup leads to an average 6-7% increase in the value of homes within 750 meters. This implies that a total increase in housing stock value of $323 million can be attributed to the 195 TSDFs that have been remediated since the inception of the RCRA cleanup program. The completion of cleanup at a TSDF is estimated to yield an average lower bound, ex post benefit of about $8,400 per household. Key Words:

Suggested Citation

  • Dennis Guignet & Christoph Nolte, 2021. "Hazardous Waste and Home Values: An Analysis of Treatment and Disposal Sites in the U.S," Working Papers 21-07, Department of Economics, Appalachian State University.
    • Handle: RePEc:apl:wpaper:21-07
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    References listed on IDEAS

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