Keeping Pace with Science and Engineering Case Studies in Environmental Regulation (1993) / Chapter Skim
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Environmental Regulation and Technical Change: Overview and Observations
Environmental Regulation and Technical Change: Overview and Observations
Pages 251-262
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From page 251... ...
The cases deal with decisions at the state and local level as well as with deci sions made by the federal government. The state of scientific understanding relevant to each decision varies widely, from a relatively well understood problem like acid rain to a situation like disinfecting by-products in drinking water where half the by-products are still unidentified.
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From page 252... ...
The status quo can be defined both for the public sector and for the private sector. The public sector status quo consists of all the previous decisions made by the government.
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From page 253... ...
Although scientific uncertainty may increase the discretion exercised by regulators, in the cases involving compliance with ambient standards (Chesapeake Bay, tropospheric ozone) the complexities of the sources, transport, and effects of various pollutants may lead to increasing reliance on models and on the scientists who construct and run the models.
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From page 254... ...
The municipal waste combuster case provides a good example of such pressures at work. The other factor involves the limitations on the science base for makin environmental decisions and the uncertainties inherent in our technical understanding of environmental problems.
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From page 255... ...
For example, it is well established scientifically that nitrogen oxides simultaneously contribute to the problems of tropospheric ozone, acid rain, and visibility. However, the regulatory process does not take account of this simultaneity and treats nitrogen oxides separately in the context of each problem because each problem is addressed through a separate regulatory program, which in turn is authorized by separate legislative provisions.
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The Chesapeake Bay case suggests that physical events can influence the political agenda. lIere, Hurricane Agnes led to the Chesapeake Bay study, which in turn led to political action.
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For example, the ozone study notes that VOC and NOx levels are not measured and that, "This paucity of information severely limits the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of emissions control programs" (p.
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We have then two characteristics that we all would agree the environmental regulatory system should exhibit: it should respond dynamically to changes in our understanding of the technical aspects of the issues, and it should remain stable on a time scale sufficient for regulated parties to comply with some measure of economic efficiency. It is evident that these two normative characteristics can be, and frequently are, in conflict." A related point that needs to be made is that the regulatory process involves many considerations besides "science" and "politics." A Manichean view of the process that sees it as a contest between the bad politicians and the good scientists is no more helpful than a view that puts all the emphasis on changing to adapt to new information or a view that only emphasizes stability.
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From page 259... ...
For example, the authors of the Chesapeake Bay study state (p.
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128-129~. The authors of the Chesapeake Bay case note the same disregard of scientific data but draw an opposite conclusion with respect to stringency: "In contrast to the perspective of federal officials and reports by local scientists and citizens' groups, state officials in Maryland insisted that the Bay was doing just fine ....
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From page 261... ...
Surprisingly, the cases deal very little with the role of the courts, although many environmental regulatory decisions are finally decided by litigation, as are the schedules for administrative action. The courts have their own difficulties dealing with technical information, and in recent years experiments have been performed using scientific advisers to judges, panels of expert technical witnesses that can be used by a judge, and other methods to facilitate the objective use of technical knowledge in the courtroom setting.
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From page 262... ...
Nierenberg et al., Report of the Acid Rain Peer Review Panel (Washington, D.C., Office of Science and Technology Policy, 1984) ; National Research Council, Atmosphere-Biosphere Interactions: Toward a Better Understanding of the Ecological Consequences of Fossil Fuel Combustion (Washington, D.C., National Academy Press, 1981)
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