ABSTRACT
StatepollutioncontrolregulationisonlyonepartofalargerbodyofenvironmentalpolicyintheUnitedStates.Similarly,thepoliticssurroundingstatepollutioncontrolprogramsareembeddedwithinalargercontextofenvironmental policyatthenationallevel.Stateeffortsatprotectingandimprovingenvironmentalqualitycannotbefullyunderstoodapartfromthislargerenvironmental policycontextcreatedbytheinterplayofscientificevidence,economiccostsand benefits,anddemocraticpoliticalinfluence.Sciencewarnsusaboutthedamage stemmingfromenvironmentalpollutants(andthusthebenefitsofcontrolling pollution),whileeconomicsgivesusestimatesofthecostsassociatedwithrealizingthesebenefits.Inthiscontext,politicalactorsusescientificandeconomic datatocraftpolicysolutionstoenvironmentalproblems.Thischapterhighlights someofthemoreimportantfeaturesoftheenvironmentalpolicycontext.
