FOR WIRE TRANSMISSION: 10:00 A.M. EDT, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1996 Mary Roy: (202) 606-9983 BEA 96-29 Christine Vogan: (202) 606-9989 POLLUTION ABATEMENT AND CONTROL SPENDING INCREASE LARGEST SINCE 1984 Real spending for pollution abatement and control increased 7.3 percent in 1994, compared to a 2.5 percent increase in 1993, according to the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis. The 1994 increase was the largest since the 8.3 percent increase in 1984. Among major components of real spending for pollution abatement and control, the largest increase was for air pollution abatement and control, which increased 12.4 percent in 1994 after increasing 7.3 percent in 1993. The increase primarily reflected increases in purchases of motor vehicle emission abatement devices. Spending for solid waste pollution abatement and control increased 6.3 percent in 1994 after increasing 2.6 percent in 1993. Spending for water pollution abatement and control increased 3.4 percent in 1994 after decreasing 2.9 percent in 1993. BEA's estimates of pollution abatement and control (PAC) spending are being discontinued. The estimates presented in this release--and in more detail in the September issue of the Survey of Current Business--are the last of the annual series. BEA is reallocating resources away from some existing programs in order to move ahead with the most urgent priorities for maintaining and improving the U.S. economic accounts--national, regional, and international--as outlined last year in BEA's Mid-Decade Strategic Plan. In addition to discontinuing the PAC estimates, BEA has discontinued its regional projections, has transferred the business cycle indicators to The Conference Board, and will scale back a joint project with the Census Bureau to obtain plant-level data on foreign direct investment in the United States. BEA prepared its first set of PAC expenditure estimates in 1975, in response to the growing concern for the environment and the significant levels of public and private spending for PAC. Since then, BEA has produced PAC estimates on an annual basis. Among major sectors, the largest increase for real pollution abatement and control spending was for personal consumption, which increased 11.8 percent in 1994 after increasing 4.2 percent in 1993. The increase primarily reflected increases in purchases of motor vehicle emission abatement devices. Real business spending increased 7.4 percent in 1994 after increasing 1.9 percent in 1993. Government spending increased 6.9 percent in 1994 after increasing 4.0 percent in 1993. Real spending for regulation and monitoring decreased 5.7 percent in 1994 after decreasing 11.7 percent in 1993. Spending for research and development increased 6.2 percent in 1994 after increasing 16.3 in 1993. Current-dollar spending for pollution abatement and control increased 10.4 percent in 1994, to $121.8 billion, after increasing 5.2 percent in 1993. * * * Real spending for pollution abatement and control in this release reflects the use of chained-type measures of real output. Revised estimates of current-dollar spending reflects the incorporation of updated and newly available source data. Additional details on pollution abatement and control spending in 1994 and revised estimates for 1972 through 1993 will appear in the September issue of the Survey of Current Business, BEA's monthly journal. * * * BEA estimates are available in several forms besides the printed news release. News releases are available at the time of public release through three subscription services offered by the Commerce Department's STAT-USA. Information on how to receive releases by FAX may be obtained by calling (202) 482-1986 (voice). Information about the Economic Bulletin Board (EBB) and about Internet services may be obtained at the same voice number and on-line, as follows: EBB (202) 482-3870 Internet http://www.stat-usa.gov In addition, BEA's most frequently requested statistical series are available on the Internet, as follows:  The Federal Statistics Briefing Room (FSBR) on the White House web site provides summary statistics for GDP and other major aggregates on its output, income, and international statistics pages. http://www.whitehouse.gov/fsbr  The FSBR provides links to BEA's web site, which provides summary tables and charts on BEA's national, international, and regional data. http://www.bea.doc.gov  The BEA's web site provides links to detailed BEA databases on STAT- USA's Internet subscription service. http://www.stat-usa.gov Most of BEA's estimates and analyses appear in the Survey of Current Business, BEA's monthly journal. The Survey of Current Business is available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. First class mail: Annual subscription $90.00 domestic. Second class mail: Annual subscription $49.00 domestic, $61.24 foreign; single issue $11.00 domestic, $3.75 foreign. In addition, the Survey of Current Business is now available on the Internet in a searchable, retrievable electronic format at least a week before the printed version. To subscribe to STAT-USA's World Wide Web system, go to http://www.stat-usa.gov. Subscriptions for single-user unlimited access to STAT-USA's Internet information are $50.00 for 3 months or $150.00 for 1 year. For further information, call (202)482-1986. * * * Table 1.--Annual Change in Real Spending for Pollution Abatement and Control by Type and by Sector (In percent) Percent change from preceding year 1993 1994 Total pollution abatement and control/1/.................................................... 2.5 7.3 Air...................................................................................... 7.3 12.4 Water..................................................................... -2.9 3.4 Solid waste................................................................................ 2.6 6.3 Other......................................................................................................... .......... .......... Pollution abatement and control.............................. 2.5 7.3 Pollution abatement............................................... 2.6 7.6 Personal consumption....................................... 4.2 11.8 Motor vehicle emission abatement devices.................................................. 4.2 11.8 Operation of motor vehicle emission abatement devices................................ ........... ........... Business .................................................................... 1.9 7.4 Capital account............................................................. 7.0 11.3 Motor vehicle emission abatement devices.................................................. 9.7 26.2 Plant and equipment...................................... 6.4 4.0 Other...................................................... ........... ........... Current account................................................................ -.6 5.3 Operation of motor vehicle emission abatement devices.............................. ........... ........... Operation of plant and equipment.................. -2.2 6.9 Operation of public sewer systems/2/......... -2.7 1.2 Cost recovered/3/.......................................................... -18.8 5.8 Other........................................................................ ........... ........... Government ..................................................... 4.0 6.9 Public sewer system fixed capital/2/........................................... .6 5.4 Other...................................................... ........... ........... Regulation and monitoring..................................... -11.7 -5.7 Research and development.................................... 16.3 6.2 1. Pollution abatement and control spending consists of spending by persons, business, and government to abate air and water pollution and to collect and dispose of solid waste. Most of pollution abatement and control spending is for pollution abatement, which consists of activities involved in the direct reduction of pollution; the remainder is for regulation and monitoring and for research and development. 2. For consistency with past presentations, spending to operate public sewer systems is classified as business spending, and government purchases of fixed capital for public sewer systems is classified as government spending. Government spending excludes consumption of fixed capital. 3. Cost recovered is the value of reclaimed materials from pollution abatement. Table 2.--Current-Dollar Spending for Pollution Abatement and Control by Type and by Sector (Millions of dollars) Percent change from Spending level preceding year 1992 1993 1994 1993 1994 93 94 Total pollution abatement and control/1/........................................................ 104,626 110,052 121,811 5.2 10.7 100 110051.61 Air..................................................................................... 29,789 32,475 37,597 9.0 15.8 100 107.3 120.6 Water...................................................................... 39,065 39,383 42,384 .8 7.6 100 93.4 93.7 Solid waste.................................................................................. 36,582 38,374 41,736 4.9 8.8 100 102.6 109.1 Other......................................................................................................... -811 -181 94 ........... ........... 100 23 12.7 Pollution abatement and control............................... 104,626 110,052 121,811 5.2 10.7 100 101.1 107.3 Pollution abatement........................................... 100,461 105,840 117,622 5.4 11.1 100 101.1 107.6 Personal consumption........................................ 7,897 8,436 9,756 6.8 15.7 100 104.2 116.6 Motor vehicle emission abatement devices..................................................... 7,897 8,436 9,756 6.8 15.7 100 104.2 116.6 Operation of motor vehicle emission abatement devices.................................. 0 0 0 ........... ........... Business ........................................................................ 65,925 69,010 76,631 4.7 11.0 100 99.7 105.2 Capital account.......................................................... 22,042 24,103 27,743 9.3 15.1 100 107 119.1 Motor vehicle emission abatement devices..................................................... 5,892 6,625 8,649 12.4 30.6 100 109.7 138.5 Plant and equipment....................................... 14,139 15,338 16,512 8.5 7.7 100 106.4 110.7 Other........................................................... 2,011 2,140 2,582 ........... ........... Current account..................................................................... 43,883 44,908 48,889 2.3 8.9 100 96.1 98.5 Operation of motor vehicle emission abatement devices................................... 0 0 0 ........... ........... Operation of plant and equipment.............. 28,628 28,584 31,336 -.2 9.6 100 97.2 103.5 Operation of public sewer systems/2/........... 11,310 11,596 12,395 2.5 6.9 100 86.6 79.7 Cost recovered/3/................................................................ -1956 -1612 -1733 -17.6 7.5 100 81.2 86 Other.......................................................................... 5,901 6,340 6,891 ........... ........... Government ................................................. 26,639 28,394 31,234 6.6 10.0 100 104 111.2 Public sewer system fixed capital/2/............................................ 11,455 11,797 12,825 3.0 8.7 100 100.6 106.1 Other...................................................... 15,184 16,597 18,410 ........... ........... Regulation and monitoring....................................... 2,604 2,343 2,201 -10.0 -6.1 100 88.3 83.3 Research and development................................. 1,561 1,869 1,989 19.7 6.5 100 116.3 123.5 1. Pollution abatement and control spending consists of spending by persons, business, and government to abate air and water pollution and to collect and dispose of solid waste. Most of pollution abatement and control spending is for pollution abatement, which consists of activities involved in the direct reduction of pollution; the remainder is for regulation and monitoring and for research and development. 2. For consistency with past presentations, spending to operate public sewer systems is classified as business spending, and government purchases of fixed capital for public sewer systems is classified as government spending. Government spending excludes consumption of fixed capital. 3. Cost recovered is the value of reclaimed materials from pollution abatement.