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In this paper we examine states' use of local clean air agencies and provide a preliminary assessment of what causes states to devolve air quality policy authority to the local level. Data from a unique comparative state survey shows that states vary widely in the number of local clean air agencies they employ and the amount of authority these agencies have to set standards, monitor air quality, and enforce regulations. Multivariate analyses suggest that second-order devolution is partly driven by a general propensity to decentralize policy authority, but that policy-specific factors relating to the problem and interest group environment affect devolution as well. These findings indicate that local agencies play an important role in U.S. air quality regulation, and that the dynamics of state devolution to local agencies deserve further study. KEY WORDS: environment, pollution, regional governance, governance, Federalism is a defining feature of U.S. environmental policy. Most major national environmental laws assign an important role for states and localities in implementation and enforcement, and these governments themselves [...]

Proponents of federal environmental standards argue that competition for industrial development creates a 'race to the bottom' in which states relax their own environmental standards to avoid losing businesses to states with more 'business-friendly' regulations. This article presents results from a unique survey of state clean air programs that show--contrary to the race to the bottom--a substantial number of states exceed federal EPA standards in a broad variety of clean air programs. Multivariate analyses of these state policies indicate that states strengthen their environmental programs in response to citizen demands rather than weaken their programs in deference to economic pressures., From the lofty heights of Capitol Hill, it may appear the federal government makes all the important decisions about clean air policy. After all, United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) [...]

This study examines how administrative procedures structure the degree of policy influence different governmental and non-governmental groups exercise in states' air pollution control programs. Drawing on a variety of data, including a unique survey of state air pollution control agencies, our analysis shows that administrative procedures affect the degree of bureaucratic autonomy and level of influence legislatures and interest groups exercise in state air pollution programs. Overall, the results suggest that hardwiring administrative procedures theories may be more accurate than fire alarm theories of legislative oversight., A common perception is that government bureaucracies control private fiefdoms free from public accountability. To critics (bureaucracy has few proponents), the prototypical bureaucracy is wasteful, unresponsive, and undemocratic. These charges [...]