Before turning to a description of effluent taxes, it is useful to briefly describe the status quo approach to regulation: command-and-control effluent reduction requirements. 2 The centerpiece of . water quality regulation is the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. The NPDES program requires polluters to obtain permits, or licenses, to discharge. These permits specify pollution amounts that can be legally discharged. The limits are determined by reference to the “best conventional” control technology or “best economically achievable” control technology, depending on the type of pollutant. The control technology standard in turn typically generates.
