ABSTRACT
Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and Lynden B. Johnson's Great Society programmes began a long process of altering the policy dynamic between federal, state and local governments in the United States. Chief among the changes was a dramatic rise in the power and role of the federal government in directing and controlling social and economic areas that were once considered exclusively the province of the state and local governments. While some were opposed to the entry of the federal government in the regulation of social and economic affairs, in many areas, including the regulation of environmental pollution, most commentators accept that federal involvement brought about needed improvements in the conditions that were the subject of federal involvement and the overall capacity of state and local governments in these areas.
