ABSTRACT
Command-and-control. Those ominous words reflect a relationship in which one party tells another party what to do and has the power to ensure that it happens. Although it doesn’t sound like a healthy relationship, that is the phrase used to describe the U.S. regulatory framework designed to keep in check industry’s impact on the environment. Regulators at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., and in the various states carry out the regulatory laws enacted by Congress and state governments, while members of industry seek to ensure they are in compliance with those laws. Both the regulators and the regulated seek to work together to demonstrate compliance. Sometimes that relationship is contentious, and sometimes it is amicable. But the system ensures that the relationship is always adversarial — one group makes sure another group toes the line.
