Central Government Limitations on Local Policy Options for Environmental Protection∗

∗An earlier version of this paper appeared in the Proceedings of the Korea-U.S.A. Joint Seminar on Scientific Methodology for Regional Environment, sponsored by the Korea Section of the Regional Science Association, Seoul, Korea, November 1992.

The advantages of centralized environmental policy-making are widely assumed, but a corrective may be overdue. Central government environmental policy limits local policy options in at least three ways: (1) through federal pre-emption imposing solutions on local government; (2) through federal mandating of policy for implementation by subnational government; or (3) through federal disincentives to local adoption of innovative solutions. These constraints are illustrated by policy controlling the disposal of high-level radioactive waste, hazardous waste, and solid waste, respectively. The constraining effect of central environmental policy is felt regardless of whether the formal structure of environmental rule-making and implementation is centralized or decentralized. The analysis suggests the need for greater flexibility and coordination in the geographic structuring of environmental policy-making.

Key Words:

• environmental protection
• environmental policy
• waste disposal
• decentralization

Notes

∗An earlier version of this paper appeared in the Proceedings of the Korea-U.S.A. Joint Seminar on Scientific Methodology for Regional Environment, sponsored by the Korea Section of the Regional Science Association, Seoul, Korea, November 1992.

∗∗Associate Professor at the Center for Urban Policy Research at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.