Fragmenting regimes: how water quality regulation is changing political-economic landscapes

Conflicts over water quality regulation are entering local economic development policy and re-shaping political-economic landscapes. Across the United States, decentralizing scales of regulation, scientific uncertainty, and increasing citizen participation are creating new regulatory contexts. Using regime and regulation theory, I address how regulation of the environment is altering economic regimes and creating new alliances among stakeholders. The research shows the dominant regime in the state of Ohio, a pro-growth stakeholder coalition between point source businesses (including electric utilities and municipal sewage treatment plants) and real estate development interests, is fragmenting. At the same time, there is a policy coalition emerging between environmentalists and government staff that is advocating for nonpoint source water pollution regulation. These emergent coalitions exemplify the changing nature of environmental regulation and economic regimes. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.