abstraction and pollution pricing through charges and taxes are means towards the internalisation of environmental costs into prices ws atkins international this includes households municipalities businesses public institutions farmers etc it also includes nonconsumptive water users such as hydropower companies and thermal power companies and industries using water for cooling purposes before returning it to a public water course although these penalties are theoretically part of a command and control regulatory regime in practice these fines are often treated more like a cost of doing business akin to a tax oecd eap task force b