Institutional Issues in the Enforcement of Future U.S. Greenhouse Gas Legislation

Abstract

Future U.S. legislation to curb the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) seems likely to include enforcement provisions and to give the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and individual U.S. states significant roles in enforcing its provisions. Following an overview of U.S. environmental enforcement approaches and authorities, this paper considers the history and current state of EPA’s organizational structure for enforcement. It assays the Agency’s working relations with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and its dealings with state environmental agency enforcement programs. The paper also considers the nature and sources of resource shortfalls that have long impaired the effectiveness of EPA’s enforcement work. It advances specific suggestions to redress the problems it identifies.