Primacy Implementation of Environmental Policy in the U.S. States

Neal D. Woods

Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 2006, vol. 36, issue 2, 259-276

Abstract: Environmental regulation is frequently implemented through a system that allows states to choose whether to assume primary authority, or "primacy," for implementation and enforcement. This study looks at what causes states to assume this authority in two important areas of environmental policy: air and water pollution. It finds that in each policy area, primacy assumption is unrelated to the "greenness" of state environmental policy generally and negatively related to indicators of policy innovation within that area. Rather than being driven by commitment to the environment, primacy assumption appears to be driven predominately by other factors, which differ substantially across the air and water policy arenas. These findings call into question the widely held view that primacy assumption is an indicator of state environmentalism and indicate that a more nuanced view of what causes states to assume primacy is necessary to fully understand the dynamics of intergovernmental policy implementation. Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.

Date: 2006
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