Grantee Research Project Results
2002 Progress Report: Normative, Social, and Calculated Motivations for Compliance: Marine Facilities and Water Pollution
EPA Grant Number: R828825Title: Normative, Social, and Calculated Motivations for Compliance: Marine Facilities and Water Pollution
Investigators: May, Peter J.
Institution: University of Washington
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: June 16, 2001 through June 15, 2004
Project Period Covered by this Report: June 16, 2002 through June 15, 2003
Project Amount: $227,303
RFA: Corporate Environmental Performance and the Effectiveness of Government Interventions (2000) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Environmental Justice
Objective:
This research project addresses differing motivations to comply with environmental regulations. The main objectives of this research project are to: (1) test key hypotheses about the role of different motivations in shaping compliance with environmental regulations and adoption of best practices; (2) test key hypotheses about the influence of different regulatory enforcement approaches and assistance on compliance motivations; and (3) draw implications for improving compliance with environmental regulations and adoption of best practices. The research contributes to understanding of the motivations of firms to comply with environmental regulations and to adopt best practices for averting environmental harms.
Progress Summary:
Results To Date. This research addresses compliance behaviors of coastal marine facilities in the States of California and Washington under regulations and best practice guidelines for point and nonpoint sources of water pollution. The foci are behaviors of operators of boatyards (point sources of pollution subject to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System [NPDES] permits) and operators of marinas (both point and nonpoint sources of pollution typically subject to voluntary measures).
Parallel mail-out surveys of both sets of facilities were conducted during Year 1 of the project. Responses were received from 144 marinas (51-percent response rate) and from 61 boatyards (44-percent response rate) for an overall response rate of 49 percent. Data collected from the short phone contact with all facilities were used to gauge potential response biases. No statistically significant differences were found for marinas with respect to the number of slips or type of marina ownership, and none were found for boatyards with respect to number of employees or type of boatyard ownership. Summary statistics from the surveys were compiled and reported to respondents and cosponsors as of June 2002.
Year 2 of the project has focused on additional data collection and analyses. Telephone interviews were conducted with regional offices of relevant enforcement agencies to gauge variation in enforcement practices and compliance assistance.
Analyses of the questionnaire data have focused on explaining differences in actions taken to avert potential harms to water quality and motivations to take action. No substantial barriers to conducting the research have been encountered to date, and none are anticipated for the final year of the project. Given that enforcement officials are in the field much of the time and that marine facilities are a low priority for their attention, we have had some difficulty contacting relevant officials. For this reason, we found telephone interviews to be more effective than the originally planned in-person interviews.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) project continues to benefit from synergy with related projects that the Principal Investigator has conducted. A paper on compliance motivations as part of a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded study of compliance with building code regulations has been accepted for publication. A graduate student working on the EPA project has completed a dissertation entitled "At the Regulatory Front Lines: Building Inspectors and New Public Management" (Robert S. Wood, Ph.D., 2003). Although not using data from the EPA-funded project, Dr. Wood's dissertation research addresses related issues, and his involvement in the EPA project greatly enhanced the dissertation research. Using data from the EPA-funded project, another graduate student has completed a Master of Arts (MA) essay, "Interests and Influence: Third-Party Involvement in Environmental Regulation" (Chris Koski, June 2003).
Findings to Date. Two forthcoming articles present findings to date from analyses of these data. One, forthcoming in Coastal Management Journal, contrasts the influence of traditional and "voluntary" regulation upon facility operators' actions to address potential harms to water quality. Traditional regulatory approaches rely on enforcement of mandatory provisions, whereas voluntary approaches rely on noncoercive means to engender voluntary actions to address potential harms. This research shows that mandatory regulations are not always necessary, but voluntary approaches are not always sufficient to motivate action. The effectiveness of voluntary approaches may be enhanced by greater levels of information, technical assistance, and funding; and greater involvement of trade associations as conduits for information. In particular, these approaches may be enhanced by fostering a stronger collective sense of obligation to address potential harms.
The second article, forthcoming in Public Administration Review, addresses motivations to correct potential harms. These findings show that deterrent fears and sense of duty to comply are important motivations for action. Variation in these motivations is explained by whether or not a facility has been inspected, differences in peer reputation and in attitudes toward government. These findings show that fostering deterrence need not entail an elaborate enforcement regime because steps can be taken to instill a general deterrent effect through publicizing showcase actions and through education. At the same time, individual facilities' sense of duty to address harms can be enhanced by fostering a greater collective sense of a need for action.
Future Activities:
In the final year of the project, the emphasis will be on collecting data to provide a richer context for the study and completing analyses. We will conclude interviews with relevant trade associations and environmental groups to examine their roles in addressing water quality issues. In addition, the broader approaches to addressing nonpoint sources of water quality are being considered to place the findings from this study into the broader regulatory context. Additional papers are planned that address interest group influences and that more systematically relate the findings from this research to related research on regulatory enforcement and compliance.
Journal Articles on this Report : 2 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 18 publications | 5 publications in selected types | All 5 journal articles |
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May PJ. Regulation and compliance motivations: examining different approaches. Public Administration Review 2005;65(1):31-44. |
R828825 (2002) |
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Winter SC, May PJ. Information, interests, and environmental regulation. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice 2002;4(2):115-142. |
R828825 (2001) R828825 (2002) R828825 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
point and nonpoint sources of water pollution, coastal marine facilities, public policy, social science, water, pollution prevention, economic, social, behavioral science research program, geographic area, RFA, scientific discipline, sustainable industry/business, corporate performance, state, California, CA, Washington, WA, environmental compliance determinants, incentives, marine facilities, motivators, regulations, statistical model, survey., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Economic, Social, & Behavioral Science Research Program, Geographic Area, Sustainable Industry/Business, State, Corporate Performance, Economics and Business, Ecological Risk Assessment, Social Science, environmental performance, incentives, survey, Washington (WA), environmental compliance determinants, water pollution, regulations, California (CA), statistical model , corporate environmental behavior, motivatorsProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.