The institutionalization of citizen participation in the Clean Air Act

Abstract

In recent years Citizen Interest Groups (CIGs) have become an important factor in the implementation of environmental regulations and hence in the allocation of scarce resources via the political process. This study examines the impact of environmental CIGs on the implementation of the Clean Air Act. It does so by focusing on how changes in various institutions have affected the efficacy of the principal CIG tools of litigation, lobbying, and media usage.

The impact on CIG behavior of tax subvention, the judicial interpretation of standing and fee-shifting, and EPA implementation of provisions for citizen participation in the Clean Air Act is assessed. Los Angeles is employed as a case study in order to focus on the impact of the above-mentioned institutions on the implementation process. Positive criteria for the subvention of private externality producing activities are developed in the final chapter.