Regulating Air Pollution at the Expense of Waterside Regulation

    State EPAs face resources constraints. As such, more stringent air regulation under the Clean Air Act (CAA) may produce unintended consequences under the Clean Water Act (CWA). When a county’s air quality falls below... [ view full abstract ]

    State EPAs face resources constraints. As such, more stringent air regulation under the Clean Air Act (CAA) may produce unintended consequences under the Clean Water Act (CWA). When a county’s air quality falls below the standards established under the CAA, state EPAs tend to impose more stringent air regulation on major air polluting facilities in that county, which suggests a re-optimization of regulatory resources within the CAA. Limited EPA resources may unintentionally reduce the regulatory resources available under the CWA, which may provide firms with an incentive to reduce wastewater abatement efforts. This study examines the effect of how more stringent CAA regulation affects the severity of waterside regulation imposed on major water polluting facilities, between 1990 and 2015. Our findings suggest that more stringent air regulation is associated with a 34% reduction in the number of inspections received by electric services facilities on the waterside, on average.