Determination of Optimal Multiyear Air Pollution Control Policies

A general theoretical framework for the determination of multiyear air pollution control strategies for an airshed is presented. It is assumed that emission control procedures are changed on a year-to-year basis. The problem considered is to determine the set of control measures that minimizes the total cost of control while maintaining specified levels of air quality each year. It is assumed that an airshed model exists which is capable of predicting pollutant concentrations as a function of source emissions in the airshed. It is shown that the general multiyear problem can be solved by discrete dynamic programming. The method is illustrated on the problem of determining control strategies for carbon monoxide for a three-year period in the Los Angeles basin.