Ž . JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT 32, 204218 1997 ARTICLE NO. EE960963 Estimating the Social Value of Geologic Map Information: A Regulatory Application* R ICHARD L. BERNKNOPF U.S. Geological Sur  ey, Menlo Park, California D AVID S. BROOKSHIRE AND MICHAEL MCKEE Department of Economics, Uni  ersity of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico AND D AVID R. SOLLER U.S. Geological Sur  ey, Reston, Virginia Received January 22, 1996; revised May 23, 1996 People frequently regard the landscape as part of a static system. The mountains and rivers that cross the landscape, and the bedrock that supports the surface, change little during the course of a lifetime. Society can alter the geologic history of an area and, in so doing, affect the occurrence and impact of environmental hazards. For example, changes in land use can induce changes in erosion, sedimentation, and ground-water supply. As the environmen- tal system is changed by both natural processes and human activities, the system’s capacity to respond to additional stresses also changes. Information such as geologic maps describes the physical world and is critical for identifying solutions to land use and environmental issues. In this paper, a method is developed for estimating the economic value of applying geologic map information to siting a waste disposal facility. An improvement in geologic map information is shown to have a net positive value to society. Such maps enable planners to make superior land management decisions.  1997 Academic Press I. THE ISSUE The physical environment represents a resource whose productivity is affected by land use decisions that may be subject to regulatory rule making. In this paper a model of regulatory land use decision making is developed which incorporates the individual objectives of the regulator and makes explicit use of geologic map information. This model is applied to a particular land use decision. 1 In conducting this analysis the following question is addressed: is investment in additional geologic map information socially justified? The benefits of additional geologic information are computed by comparing the economic impacts of decisions that *We received several helpful comments from Janie Chermak, Ron Cummings, and two anonymous referees. 1 This paper is based on a study that evaluates the social value and describes the use of digital  geologic map information in land management decisions. For further details see Bernknopf et al. 2. 204 0095-069697 $25.00 Copyright  1997 by Academic Press All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.