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Municipal Governments Under the Clean Water Act

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  • Rhiannon L. Jerch

Abstract

The 1972 Clean Water Act is one of the most expensive and effective environmental mandates in US history. I study how the mandate affected municipal finances, growth, and water quality using novel instruments for mandate compliance based on river networks and common law environmental legal precedents. I find that local governments financed the direct costs of mandated water treatment infrastructure through a threefold increase in resident user fees. Despite these higher fees, municipal populations grew faster in the 20 years following compliance among small communities with populations less than 10,000 people. Compliance also caused surface water quality within 25 miles of municipalities to improve by 19% over 20 years. These findings suggest that environmental mandates can alleviate underprovision of local public goods, particularly for small municipalities.

Suggested Citation

  • Rhiannon L. Jerch, 2026. "Municipal Governments Under the Clean Water Act," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(3), pages 791-830.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jaerec:doi:10.1086/739574
    DOI: 10.1086/739574
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