The Effectiveness of NEPA

The eclipse of NEPA as Environmental Policy

“…The latter allows for input from a public that may have more immediate concerns regarding environmental problems than those of agency decision makers (Liroff 1980). Considerable attention has bee n paid to the impacts of NEPA on agency decision-making procedures (Culhane 1978, Hollick 1986, Liroff 1978, Yost 1985. Most federal agendes quickly became accustomed to dealing with the goals and requirements of NEPA.…”

Deflated Dreams: The EPA's Bubble Policy and the Politics of Uncertainty in Regulatory Reform

“…23 In public letters and complaints to the agency, environmental advocates also voiced concerns about the imposition of the bubble on the limited resources of state and local regulators. 24 Beyond worries about the taxing or disruptive effects of the bubble, state and local regulators shared the opinion of many in the air office that the bubble threatened continued improvements in air quality by removing the requirement that new sources of emissions apply the most advanced pollution-control technologies. Bill Becker, who became president of the national association of state air regulators in 1980, noted that regulators and regulated industry alike understood that the cheapest time to apply pollution controls was in the design phase of a new facility.…”

“…Liroff argued that the conference represented something of a turning point for Costle, with the avalanche of criticism convincing him that the promised benefits of the bubble would never be realized unless the EPA removed the bulk of the remaining constraints. 48 Two weeks later, Costle announced that the EPA would allow states to submit plans for generic bubbles that did not require EPA review. Writing Carter's economic advisor Stuart Eizenstat to inform him of the impending change, Costle noted that DuPont would be among the first companies to take advantage of the change, finally realizing that $12 million in savings that the EPA had bragged about back in August.…”

“…In January 1981, departing EPA administrator Costle promised that a consolidated controlled trading policy would be released within weeks. 61 Even more promising for reformers, several prominent firms had created bubbles by the time Reagan took office. An article in Chemical Week in January 1981 described DuPont's newly approved bubble to control volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at its Chambers Works plant in New Jersey.…”

“…91 During Ruckelshaus's tenure, the EPA consolidated its various economic incentive programs in the long-awaited Final Emissions Trading Policy Statement, which was issued in 1986-a year after Ruckelshaus had left the agency. 92…”