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Who really makes environmental policy? Creating and implementing environmental rules and regulations. Sara R. Rinfret. Temple University Press, 2021, 205 pp. ISBN: 978‐1‐43992‐019‐0

Document Cited in Related
Published date01 December 2022
AuthorSara Hughes
Date01 December 2022
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12856
BOOK REVIEW
Who really makes environmental policy?
Creating and implementing environmental
rules and regulations
Edited by Sara R. Rinfret.
Temple University Press, 2021, 205 pp. ISBN: 978-1-43992-019-0
Environmental policy in the United States has undergone significant shifts over the last 50 years. What emerged in
the 1970s as a largely bipartisan concern—securing clean air and water and protecting important species and
landscapes—has become highly polarized along party lines (Egan et al., 2022; Kim & Urpelainen, 2017; Vig
et al., 2022). As a result, environmental policy is now primarily made outside of Congress via the courts, state and
local governments, and collaborative forums (Klyza & Sousa, 2008). These shifts to other policymaking pathways are
increasingly informing environmental policy scholarship, but may not yet have infiltrated the public consciousness or
our classrooms.
This is the starting point for the edited volume, “Who Really Makes Environmental Policy? Creating and
Implementing Environmental Rules and Regulations”by Sara Rinfret. More specifically, the book focuses on the fed-
eral rulemaking and regulatory process as an important and under-appreciated site of U.S. environmental policy. It
provides a thorough and very accessible introduction to these actors and processes, with the twin goals of explaining
the rule-making process and its importance for U.S. environmental policy, and providing lots of rich examples of how
these processes play out in practice. The book's focus is largely at the federal level but the chapters highlight inter-
governmental dynamics in the rule making and implementation process as well as dynamics between the three bra-
nches of government and how these influence policy outcomes. It brings together a strong set of authors with deep
expertise in their fields who can share not only theoretical knowledge but historical context and contemporary exam-
ples. University students are the primary audience for this book but it also provides a valuable introduction for
scholars new to the field. Despite multiple authors and perspectives, the book hangs together very coherently as an
edited volume.
The book begins with Rinfret's chapter defining environmental rulemaking and regulation, including where and
how these decisions enter into the environmental policy process. She provides a clear overview of agency missions
and rulemaking processes and federal and state government roles and institutional settings.
Chapters 2–7 are arranged to provide an overview and examples of the different stages of environmental
rulemaking: rule development (Chapter 2), notice and comment (Chapter 3), institutional constraints (Chapter 4), and
implementation dynamics (Chapters 5–7). The chapters are written in very accessible language for students and pro-
vide lots of concrete examples and clear breakdowns of the process, the actors, and the interests at play in the
rulemaking and regulation process. The authors also guide readers to additional important literature on their topic,
and provide an introduction to key theoretical concepts such as responsive regulation,venue shopping, and cooperative
federalism. In the process the reader is also introduced to key environmental legislation including the National Envi-
ronmental Protection Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Safe Drinking
Water Act (SDWA) and the federal agencies most central to their implementation (e.g., Bureau of Land Management,
Received: 3 May 2022 Accepted: 5 May 2022
DOI: 10.1111/padm.12856
Public Admin. 2022;100:1183–1184. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/padm © 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 1183

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