Organizational and Social Contributors to the Inequitable Enforcement of Environmental Regulations

• In Event: 536 - Regular Session. Environmental Sociology 3

Abstract

Concern has arisen within the environmental inequality literature regarding the potentially discriminatory nature of enforcement of environmental regulations. Current research in this area suffers from methodological shortcomings that have already been addressed in other areas of the environmental inequality literature. This paper applies these prior methodological improvements to the environmental enforcement literature and utilizes U.S. Census data and EPA enforcement data to do so. Other elements that may also factor into enforcement decisions, such as facility characteristics and regional variation as suggested by the environmental enforcement literature, are also incorporated. This paper finds evidence to suggest that the enforcement of environmental regulations is not solely a product of organizational characteristics. While organizational and regional characteristics are strong predictors of enforcement actions, sociodemographic characteristics, including race, income, and renter occupancy, also significantly contributes to the likelihood of enforcement of environmental regulations.

Author

• Katherine H. Bittinger, Washington State University