State and Local Government
Innovative Regulatory Activities

Last revised October 1, 1998 (research conducted 1996 - 1997)
State and local governments are implementing many innovative environmentalactivities to improve environmental performance and to lower the cost ofcompliance. These innovative activities include regulatory experiments andvoluntary programs in partnership with many different stakeholders and in awide range of environmental approaches and activities.

Many states are providing compliance assistance and passing auditing lawsto help make it easier for industry to be in compliance. Regional, stateand local pollution prevention (P2) voluntary programs, technicalassistance activities, and state P2 planning laws are helping businessessave money and reduce the amount of pollution which they generate.Innovative facility and multi-media permitting and inspection programs arealso being implemented to improve environmental performance and/or reducethe regulatory burden on industry. U.S. EPA and the states have jointlydeveloped the National Environmental Performance Partnership System (NEPPS)which allows for more state priority setting and innovation in implementingU.S. EPA delegated programs. Many states are exploring the potentialregulatory benefits of industry implementing environmental managementsystems, such as ISO 14000. Regional, state and local governmentsustainable community, ecosystem management, watershed management and otherplace-based management approaches are another type of innovative approachto improve environmental performance. Many of these integrated place-basedapproaches have emphasized cooperation and collaboration of allstakeholders and have also included regulatory flexibility. Such state andlocal activities are helping to transform U.S. environmental policy andcould change the nature of our future regulatory structure.

For this study, the Science and Technology Policy Institute has been analyzingsuch activities to better understand how they impact the development, diffusionand use of environmental technologies. Another important emphasis has beenunderstanding their current and future impact on environmental policy and theregulated community. State and local government activities of primary focus havebeen:

Results of some of this work were presented at the Air & Waste ManagementAssociation's 90th Annual Meeting & Exhibition, June 8-13, 1997, in Toronto,Ontario, Canada. The paper presented is available as a RAND Reprint: "BeyondCommand and Control: An Evolution is Occurring in State and Local GovernmentEnvironmental Activities," Beth Lachman, RP-6421997.
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