Stormwater management actions under regulatory pressure: a case study of southeast Wisconsin
Abstract
In the United States, new legislation has given regulatory authorities greater oversight of municipal stormwater management programs. However, estimating the impact of greater oversight on municipal actions is difficult due to the uncertainty in current compliance efforts and their associated costs. This paper seeks to fill this gap through a case study of NPDES stormwater runoff permit reports from municipalities in Southeast Wisconsin. Specifically, this study evaluates the reported actions and expenditures against socioeconomic variables to identify the relationships between cost, socioeconomics, and the best management practices (BMPs) used for compliance. Results indicate that there are distinct differences between municipalities with and without financial and personnel resources, clear high- and low-cost BMPs, and large variation in the practices municipalities implement to meet regulatory requirements. Furthermore, results suggest that regulators should take a flexible and pragmatic approach that considers individual municipal constraints and limitations when exercising greater regulatory authority.
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- Authors
- McDonald, W. M., & Naughton, J. B.
- Affiliations
- Marquette University (US)
- Corresponding author
- McDonald, Walter M.
- Venue
- Journal of Environmental Planning and Management
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2019-02-15
- Volume
- 62
- Issue
- 13
- Pages
- 2273-2294
- ISSN
- 0964-0568 (ISSN-L)
- 1360-0559
- OpenAlex
- W2911447190
- Semantic Scholar
- 90f219d990c5af75065247781ce6d3b8c0307f57
- Cited by
- 13
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 0.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Environmental Planning and Management (publishedVersion)
- e-Publications@Marquette (Marquette University) (submittedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
- Marquette University
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Urban Stormwater Management Solutions
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Regulation and Compliance Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Integrated Water Resources Management
- Keywords
- stormwater management, best management practices, regulatory oversight, compliance costs, municipal financial resources
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