Law Commons^™

Competing Visions: Epa And The States Battle For The Future Of Environmental Enforcement, Clifford Rechtschaffen

Publications

First, the Article describes the enforcement approach being advocated by many states. To some, it represents an innovative, superior way to achieve compliance. To others, the states' vision is a pretext for weakening enforcement that will result in more widespread violations by regulated facilities. The Article also examines how EPA has shifted its own enforcement policies in response to state pressures.

Next, the Article discusses what we know empirically about which system works better. There is relatively little evidence about compliance assistance programs, more for deterrence-based approaches. The evidence shows that deterrence-based approaches work, and that in the absence of …