There is a cost, regardless. If you do nothing and allow anyone to pollute anywhere they want, then you get a public health crisis and many people die and many

There is a cost, regardless. If you do nothing and allow anyone to pollute anywhere they want, then you get a public health crisis and many people die and many more get sick. If you prohibit the pollution and heavily police the people who try to pollute anyway, then you have to pay for all the efforts to enforce the prohibition plus you have the possibility of job loss as those companies go somewhere else that does allow them to pollute freely. If you allow the pollution but charge a cleanup fee, then you have the increased beauracracy, etc.... There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.