Enforcement at the Epa High Stakes and Hard Choices

At the beginning of the 1990s, the United States was spending over $80,000,000,000.00 a year on pollution control and regulation, as thousands of industries and businesses attempted to comply with a complex body of governmental requirements. Between these businesses and the lawmakers in Washington stands the Environmental Protection Agency, the governmental body responsible for implementing federal statutes respecting environmental quality and the public health. This book offers the first comprehensive history of an often neglected part of EPA' responsibilities--the enforcement of federal environmental standards. Drawing on extensive interviews with the political appointees, administrators, and staff who have provided the agency' direction, as well as his own professional experience with EPA, Joel A. Mintz explores the historical evolution of the agency' enforcement program, its institutional setting within the larger political arena, and its current strengths and shortcomings. As he tells the EPA enforcement story, Mintz provides significant insights into the Superfund program. He also examines the controversial tenure of Reagan-appointed administrator Anne Gorsuch and the agency' attempts to restart its enforcement programs following her ouster. He concludes with a discussion of how to evaluate regulatory enforcement effectiveness and offers practical suggestions on how to improve EPA' long-term enforcement effectiveness.Mintz, Joel A. is the author of 'Enforcement at the Epa High Stakes and Hard Choices' with ISBN 9780292751873 and ISBN 0292751877.