ABSTRACT
Stateresponsibilitiesinpollutioncontrolhaveincreasedsignificantlyinthelast twentyyears.Thisexpansionofstatepolicyresponsibilitydidnotoccurina vacuum,however.Importantchangesinstatepoliticalsystemspredisposedthe statestosuccessfullyhandleincreasedauthorityinpollutioncontrol,whether thesepoliciesweredevelopedspontaneouslybythestatesorthrustuponthemby nationalpoliticalfigures.Thischapterbrieflyrecapsnationalandstate-level politicalchangesthatledtothegreaterroleofstatesinenvironmentalpolicy. Thechapterthencloselyexaminesthespecificrolesplayedbythestatesin pollutioncontrolpolicyandnotablestatepolicyinitiativesintheseareas.
