Search

This paper will compare the U.S. and Japan's evolving regulatory styles, with a focus on public voluntary programs for environmental cleanup. In order to achieve increased site remediation, both countries have advanced devolutionary initiatives to encourage private voluntary cleanup without employing a command-and-control mode. Cleanup in both instances is accomplished through government-approved plans or agreements between agencies and private parties. However, each country's approach is informed by its unique legal and social background. This paper will comment on the distinctive backgrounds of each country and explain how each voluntary program demonstrates a shift toward a hybrid system of public/private collaboration and enforcement. This paper takes five steps. Chapter One, Introduction, will briefly describe each country's regulatory styles in legislative and administrative processes and elucidate the purpose, perspective, and methodology for this research. Chapter Two will propose a theoretical framework of this research, setting up two axes of comparison: legalism-nonlegalism and coercion-voluntariness. Chapter Three will overview the U.S. voluntary cleanup programs (VCPs) and a 2002 new federal legislation which supports state VCPs. In particular, Chapter Three will focus on the state of Wisconsin VCPs, as Wisconsin has been playing a leading role in establishing these partnerships in the United States. Chapter Four will introduce some of Japan's local government programs and 2002 Japan's new national legislation. Chapter Five will explain how each voluntary program demonstrates a shift toward a hybrid system of public/private collaboration and enforcement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]