ABSTRACT
Over $300 billion was spent on water pollution control in the United States between 1972 and 1986, with $69 billion of this being spent by the federal government on the municipal construction grants program alone (Conservation Foundation 1987). A reasonable question might be, what sort of return has this large public investment produced? In water policy, much like in air policy, little research focuses on environmental policy outcomes. Permitting and enforcement activities are related to environmental quality, however, and a few researchers have attempted to account for changes and variations in the number of NPDES permits issued, the size and average delay associated with permit backlogs, and rates of significant noncompliance with NPDES permits. The evidence suggests, moreover, that most water pollution control efforts actually focus on these procedural components of pollution control (e.g., permit compliance) rather than on improving water quality (Lowry 1992). Most research concludes that implementation in water pollution control is an extensive bargaining process between polluters and regulators over the conditions of regulation (Downing and Kimball 1982; Downing 1983).
