Linking water quality to water policy: The impact of differences in Clean Water Act implementation across regulatory regions

Keywords: Clean Water Act, water quality, performativity, federalism, environmental policy
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 2/25/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/25/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 4

Abstract

In contemporary US politics, most attempts to strengthen or weaken environmental regulations are met with apocalyptic rhetoric from opponents and ardent backing from supporters. These reactions occur even though it is often unclear how impactful environmental policies actually are. Policy scholars study the political and economic ramifications of these policy changes, but rarely attempt to assess their environmental impacts; physical scientists study how the environment changes, but generally do not tie those changes back to policies. Understanding what environmental policy actually does requires analyzing it both biophysically and socially. The federalist structure of the Clean Water Act creates a natural experiment, enabling comparison of environmental differences in relation to policy differences. Each state is given the authority to develop their own set of water quality standards tailored to their unique social, environmental, and technical influences and needs. Theoretically, these different policies should lead to different water quality outcomes between states. This research examines the relationship between environmental policy and quantitative water quality outcomes using a framework of performativity, in order to understand how the social and environmental factors that shape policies and their implementation produce (or do not produce) different environmental outcomes. I test this relationship using an iterative combination of quantitative water quality analysis, interviews with state and EPA water quality officials, and a comparative analysis of written state water quality standards and monitoring protocols.