Abstract
Before passage of the Clean Water Act, water pollution was controlled by the common law of nuisance and the law of water rights. Had the common law not been superseded, it might have provided more ecologically sound pollution control than has occurred under the command-and-control statutory regime. The Clean Water Act imposes mechanical definitions and is subject to political interference. In contrast, the principle of the common law lies in its evolutionary and competitive nature, which is consistent with the market process.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, T.L. (ed) (1983)Water Rights: Scarce Resource Allocation, Bureaucracy, and the Environment. San Francisco: Pacific Institute.
Baumol, W. (1972) “On Taxation and Control of Externalities.”American Economic Review 62 (June): 307–322.
Bone, R. (1986) “Normative Theory and Legal Doctrine in American Nuisance Law: 1950–1920.”Southern California Law Review 50: 1101–1226.
Bosso, C. (1987)Pesticides and Politics. University of Pittsburgh Press.
Bovard, J. (1989)The Farm Fiasco. San Francisco: ICS Press
Buchanan, J.M. (1969)Cost and Choice. Chicago: Markham.
Buchanan, J.M. (1990) “The Domain of Constitutional Economics.”Constitutional Political Economy 1(1): 1–18.
Buchanan, J.M. and G. Tullock (1975) “‘Polluters’ Profit and Political Response: Direct Controls versus Taxes.American Economic Review 65 (March): 139–147.
Davis, P. (1971) “Theories of Water Pollution Litigation.”Wisconsin Law Review: 738–816.
General Accounting Office (1991a)Observations on the EPA and State Enforcement Under the Clean Water Act. GAO/T-REC-91-53 (May 14).
General Accounting Office (1991b)Environmental Enforcement. GAO/RECD-91-166 (June).
Goldfarb, W. (1988)Water Law (2d ed.) 63.
Hahn, R. and R. Stavins (1990) “Incentive-Based Environmental Regulation.”Ecology Law Quarterly 18: 1–42.
Hodas, D. (1988) “Private Actions for Public Nuisance: Common Law Citizen Suits for Relief from Environmental Harm.”Ecology Law Quarterly 16: 883–908.
Jorgensen, E. (ed) (1989)The Poisoned Well: New Strategies for Groundwater Protection.
Menell, P. (1991) “The Limitations of Legal Institutions for Addressing Environmental Risks.”Journal of Economic Perspectives 5(3): 93–113.
Meiners, R. and B. Yandle (eds) (1989)Regulation and the Reagan Era. New York: Holmes & Meier.
Prosser, W. (1955)Torts. (2d ed.) 405.
Rabin, E. (1977) “Nuisance Law: Rethinking Fundamental Assumptions.Virginia Law Review 63: 1299–1384.
Staaf R. and B. Yandle (1991) “Common Law, Statute Law, and Liability Rules.” In: R. Meiners and B. Yandle (eds) (1991)The Economic Consequences of Liability Rules. Westport, CT: Quorum Books: 11–28.
Stavins, R. and A. Jaffe (1990) “Unintended Impacts of Public Investments on Private Decisions: The Depletion of Forested Wetlands.”American Economic Review 80: (June) 337–352.
U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Public Works (1971)Hearings on Water Pollution Control Legislation. 42d Cong. (Dec. 7–10).
Legal references
Arkansas v. Oklahoma, 60 LW 4176 (1992).
Garland Grain Co. v. D-C Home Owners Improvement Assn., 393 SW2d 635 (Tex. Civ. App., 1965).
Georgia v. Tennessee Copper Co., 206 U.S. 230 (1907).
Hallstrom v. Tillamook County, 110 S.Ct. 304 (1989).
Illinois v. Milwaukee, 406 U.S. 91 (1972).
Milwaukee v. Illinois, 451 U.S. 304 (1981).
Missouri v. Illinois, 200 U.S. 496 (1906).
Restatement (Second) of Torts §821B (1977). Restatement (Second) of Torts §829A.
Rylands v. Fletcher, L.R. 3 H.L. 330 (1868).
Stoddard v. Western Carolina Regional Sewer Authority, 784 F.2d 1200 (1986).
Tennessee v. Champion Int'l Corp., 479 U.S. 1061, 107 S.Ct. 944 (1987).
Texas v. Pankey, 441 F.2d 236 (10th Cir., 1971).
Trevett v. Prison Association, 98 Va. 332, 336; 36 S.E. 373, 374 (1900), quoting H. Wood, 1 Nuisances §427 (3d ed. 1893).
Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty, 272 US 365 (1926).
Village of Watsonville v. SCA Services, 426 N.E.2d 824 (1981).
Weston Paper Co. v. Pope, 155 Ind. 394, 57 N.E. 719 (1900).
Whalen v. Union Bag & Paper Co., 208 N.Y. 1, 5, 101 N.E. 805, 806 (1913).
Wood v. Picillo, 433 A.2d 1244 (1982).
4 Water and Water Rights 45 §30.02(c) (1991 ed.) Charlottesville: Michie.
5 Water and Water Rights §49.03(b) n. 43 (1991 ed.) Charlottesville: Michie.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Meiners thanks the Political Economy Research Center of Bozeman, Montana for support during his visit in 1992. We thank Terry Anderson, Robert Natelson, Jane Shaw and Richard Stroup for helpful comments. We owe a large intellectual debt to Bob Staaf, who made us think about the relationship between competitive markets and the common law.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Meiners, R.E., Yandle, B. Constitutional choice for the control of water pollution. Constit Polit Econ 3, 359–380 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02393141
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02393141