Environmental Agencies in the United States

Each state's physical environment, economy, and politics demands a unique approach to environmental enforcement. In some states, industry works closely with regulators to construct rules that protect state economic interests. In other states, regulators are more at odds with industry, arguing that there can be no cost placed on access to clean air and water. While we have long-considered powerful legislatures and governors the pilots of environmental enforcement behavior in the states, focusing on elected officials ignores the pivotal role environmental agencies and their employees play in determining the overall direction of environmental policy through day-to-day enforcement decisions—decisions to negotiate with industry or to stand firm. In Environmental Agencies in the United States, the author looks closely at the mandates assigned to environmental agencies and how those mandates mold agency understanding of the purpose of environmental enforcement. In arguing the importance of agency structure, organizational norms, and the mediating effects of state politics, the author crafts a more nuanced explanation of the environmental policy variation that shapes the health of all Americans.

"Why do some environmental agencies prioritize pollution control and stringently enforce environmental laws, while others take a more accommodating approach with polluting industries? One answer, this book persuasively argues, lies in the organizational design of the agency itself. Drawing on a wealth of original data, Hopper makes a compelling case that the performance of environmental agencies is affected in substantial ways by the way they are structured. This book will be of interest to anyone who cares about environmental policy, regulation, or the effectiveness of public policy implementation. "--Neal Woods, The University of South Carolina, "Dr. Hopper has ably detailed an important aspect of environmental federalism: that organizational structure matters, and matters a lot. All too often scholars look outside of an organization when exploring what makes programs effective. In this engaging book with extensive research using qualitative and quantitative methods, Hopper tells the story of state-level agencies that struggle with multiple, conflicting mandates; staff who have different organizational priorities as well as different values. The result is a must-read for students and scholars of intergovernmental relations, environmental federalism, policy implementation, or organizational dynamics in public environmental agencies."--Denise Scheberle, University of Colorado - Denver, "JoyAnna Hopper's welcome assessment of state environmental agency structures, norms, and values fills several important gaps in the literature on U.S. environmental policy and politics. She applies organizational design theory and uses agency documents, enforcement data, interviews, and case studies to explain what has long been wide and sometimes inexplicable variation among the states in how environmental functions are organized and carried out, often with notably different impacts. Its findings offer valuable insights into how well-chosen organizational designs as well as critical decisions about agency staffing, norms, and priorities can help to improve environmental policy implementation and therefore environmental quality and public health in the fifty states."--Michael Kraft, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, "With Congress gridlocked since the 1990s, much of the action in environmental policy has been in the states. JoyAnna Hopper gives us a detailed, insightful examination of the challenges faced by state environmental agencies today--especially in terms of how agency design shapes enforcement. Recommended for all students of U.S. environmental policy."--Christopher McGrory Klyza, Middlebury College

JoyAnna Hopper is assistant professor of politics at Sewanee: The University of the South.