Upset events, regulatory drift, and the regulation of air emissions at industrial facilities in the United States

Abstract

Upset events, emissions released to air due to accidental or unavoidable circumstances at industrial facilities, are often exempt from fines and enforcement actions by state regulators, even if state rules conflict with the Clean Air Act. State rules may allow upset events to become a substantial, yet little-studied source of emissions at large industrial complexes. Drawing from Jacob Hacker's theory of policy drift, upset events are framed theoretically as a problem of regulatory drift between state and federal environmental regulations. Supporting analysis is provided by a case study cataloguing the emissions generated during upset events at six petroleum refineries, 2003–2008. Findings demonstrate that upset events occurred routinely and released approximately 8.5 million pounds of air emissions. Future research should examine upset events at a variety of facilities in Texas. Regulators should enhance data accessibility to facilitate analysis in other states.