Toxic debts and the Superfund dilemma

Book · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:6541603

Barnett, H C

Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act in 1980. The act created the Superfund as a mechanism to rectify the toxic legacy of the industrial and chemical revolutions. The focus of this book is that Superfund has failed due to conflict over who will pay the toxic debt. This is a study in political economy, an approach emphasizing the economic foundations of political decision. An attempt is made to establish the linkage between these foundations and Superfund failure. The author examines the responsiveness of legislative and agency decisions to the political and economic power of parties with a stake in regulatory outcomes, the economic consequences of legislative and regulatory action, and the environmental consequences of political inaction. He demonstrates how the resolution of conflict among competing interests and between contradictory goals is manifest in the Superfund mandate. The relationship is illustrated between mandate, strategy, and resources, on the one hand, and Superfund failure, on the other.

• OSTI ID: 6541603
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290300* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety
ENFORCEMENT
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
LAWS
LEGAL ASPECTS
LIABILITIES
POLITICAL ASPECTS
POLLUTION LAWS
US SUPERFUND