Decentralization of Environmental Enforcement

The Pennsylvania Air Quality Program

Abstract

This article examines the consequences of one organizational structure (regional decentralization) on the enforcement of environmental regulations. Using interviews conducted with the staff of and data drawn from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the results of this study suggest that the reporting structure in the Pennsylvania air quality program sometimes produces conflicting directives to the various regional offices while also making efforts to arrive at a common approach to enforcement more difficult.