Full Description

The regulations mandated under the SDWA in many cases replace or formalize regulations that states or localities have routinely enforced because they are important to public health and are sound fundamental public policy. It is important that this fact not be lost in the furor over the unfunded mandate debate. In order to determine whether or not SDWAA regulations are truly unfunded mandates, one must separate the drinking water regulatory activities, which would normally be imposed by the states or municipalities from those "extra" regulatory requirements which are due solely to federal requirements. We could consider the baseline requirements due to state and local government, as investments in public health, and the additional requirements as unfunded mandates. This paper explores this problem by attempting to assess the impact of paying for drinking water regulations and separate the cost of regulations associated with routine state and local governments' responsibilities and the portion of the cost which might be called unfunded mandates. It attempts to lend some perception to the question as to whether this is an investment in public health or an unfunded mandate. It is clear that investment in drinking water regulations has resulted in substantial improvement in public health. However, as these regulations have increased in number and as their burden on local utilities has increased, the questions as to whether they are unfunded mandates becomes increasingly important. The original intent of the Safe Drinking Water Act was to have the consumers pay for this increased regulatory activity. Since most communities would invest in drinking water regulations without any federal regulation, the challenge is to determine how much of this investment is truly the responsibility of the state and local government and reflects its normal responsibility to its citizens and how much of this investment constitutes a true unfunded federal mandate.

Product Details

Published: 01/01/1995 ISBN(s): 0898678315 Number of Pages: 12File Size: 1 file , 460 KB