Environmental Federalism in a Polarized Era

Abstract

Environmental policy making and implementation in the United States occurs within a federal system. This system has served its purpose for nearly five decades but is now being challenged by four trends: political polarization in Congress; increasingly divergent state policies; an erosion in federal funding; and federal policy instability. Taking the place of the old, relatively cooperative federalism is an increasingly disruptive federalism. It is time to reexamine the foundations of environmental federalism and the effects of the four challenges on the effectiveness and capacities of the US system. Such efforts to evaluate environmental federalism should account for variations among programs and statutes as well as the effects on policy stability. A benefit of a federal system for environmental protection is its contribution to stability in an era of polarization and conflict.