Air and Water Pollution Policy

It is interesting to me to look at the history of the regulation on air and water pollution in the United States. It appears as if there is a constant tug of war over who should be setting the standards and regulating the sources until money and/or politics enters the fray. I say this because it appears that Chicago and Cincinnati were trying to work on the issue early on, 1881. Others either ignored or waited until the issues became so unbearable that the federal governmnet stepped in to regulate. In particular the vehicle emissions standards and the the air quality acts of 1965 and 1970 respectively. Subsequently, most, if not all states now have a state equivalent to the federal EPA.

Arizona's local EPA is the Department of Environmental Quality. That agency has departments within it that regulate air, water and waste. I spent five years in the Waste Programs Division, Underground Storage Tanks (UST) Section. In Arizona, for UST regulation and clean up efforts we see the federal reg's as the maximum. ADEQ's state regs are no more stringent than that of the EPA. Although the regulations may not be more stringent, the Arizona program has some administrative differences. For instance, Arizona requires a written report before ADEQ will close a leaking underground storage tank file. The feds do not have such a requirement. Some argue that makes our program more stringent. I think it is different, not more stringent.

As noted in the readings and lecture, California is usually on the cutting edge of regulations. That can serve as a double-edged sword. They impose standards that are greater than the federal standard in many areas. One such area is in the regulation of refrigerated trucks hauling perishable items into CA. As well as creating an overall benefit by reducing the amount of refrigerant in the air; this causes problems because the truck manufacturers cannot produce the CA standard trucks fast enough and the balance of trucks on the road face penalties for traveling into CA. Not to mention the budgetary burden on the trucking companies trying to meet a high standard that is only for one state. Like so many things in public policy we take the good with the bad and have to sometimes expect some unintended consequences. While I agree that the local government has a better idea of what its issues are, we may be better staying with a federal standard for most programs. The federal government still provides the bulk of the research data and the funding.

A Little Bit About Me...

I graduated from ASU with a degree in Justice Studies. Subsequently, I earned my paralegal certification and started working for the State of AZ. I spent five years with the Department of Environmental Quality in the Underground Storage Tanks Program. I can regale you with all kinds of interesting tidbits about USTs and the contamination they cause, also what ADEQ does to thwart such environmental damage! After my time at ADEQ I moved to the Attorney General's Office, first in the section that represents ADEQ and now in the Natural Resources Section (do you see a pattern?) In NRS I am the only paralegal to nine attorneys, I manage the water cases and assist the nine attorneys by conducting research (historical and legal), writing pleadings and attending meetings and settlement conferences among other things. We represent natural resource agencies of the state, but primarily Land and Parks. I am graduating in May 2010 with my MPA (God willing!) I am really looking forward to this class.

Helpful Water News Link

In my capacity as water paralegal for the State, I subscribe to this "Arizona Water News" newsletter from the environmental consulting firm, Brown and Caldwell. It is pretty nice, as they compile some interesting articles.

For your enjoyment: http://www.bcwaternews.com/AZWaterNews/azwn-012210.html

Welcome!

Hopefully I have created this blog correctly! Welcome to my class blog.