Who Really Makes Environmental Policy?: Creating and Implementing Environmental Rules and Regulations

Review
“Who Really Makes Environmental Policy? offers a new take on U.S. environmental policy with an unusual but essential focus on the regulatory process and analysis of how regulation works. Rinfret assembles essays from well-established and respected political scientists and newer scholars with unique perspectives to offer a fresh and original examination of environmental rulemaking via diverse case studies. Her book offers a thorough and clear introduction to the often obscure world of regulatory decision making, including such matters as inspections and enforcement of rules that rarely receive attention.” —Michael Kraft, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Public and Environmental Affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, and coeditor of The Oxford Handbook of U.S. Environmental Policy
“Anyone who reads Who Really Makes Environmental Policy? will gain a clear understanding of the importance of the regulatory process, from promulgating a regulation to ensuring its enforcement. Concise explanations of what regulations are and who is involved lay the foundation for the book. Written by prominent scholars in the environmental field, this book contains engaging examples that illustrate how politics, litigation, and federalism may confound or accelerate policies, including studies of the Endangered Species Act, oil and gas regulation in Colorado, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s involvement in coal ash management. A highly recommended gem of a book for anyone who wants to learn more about environmental policy.” —Denise Scheberle, Clinical Teaching Professor at the University of Colorado–Denver, and author of Industrial Disasters and Environmental Policy: Stories of Villains, Heroes, and the Rest of Us
The United States Congress appears to be in perpetual gridlock on environmental policy, notes Sara Rinfret, editor of the significant collection, Who Really Makes Environmental Policy? As she and her contributors explain, however, most environmental policy is not made in the halls of Congress. Instead, it is created by agency experts in federal environmental agencies and it is implemented at the state level. These individuals have been delegated the authority to interpret vague congressional legislation and write rules—and these rules carry the same weight as congressional law.
Who Really Makes Environmental Policy? brings together top scholars to provide an explanation of rulemaking processes and regulatory policy, and to show why this context is important for U.S. environmental policy. Illustrative case studies about oil and gas regulations in Colorado and the regulation of coal ash disposal in southeastern states apply theory to practice. Ultimately, the essays in this volume advance our understanding of how U.S. environmental policy is made and why understanding regulatory policy matters for its future.