Fragmented local jurisdictions let developers evade strict septic regulation by building elsewhere

Evidence

The division of the nation’s metropolitan areas into dozens or even hundreds of political jurisdictions made the balancing act even more difficult. If a community enacted strict regulations on septic-tank use, homebuilders might build elsewhere, because land was almost always available nearby where oversight was negligible. Public health officials and urban planners recognized the problem: The difficulty of acting effectively in a world of fragmented authority was one of the basic arguments for the creation of regional planning authorities. But regional planning only became a reality in a few remarkable places. In most regions, the dream remained just that. — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside, 405

Categorization

• XREF: The jurisdictional-competition dynamic explaining why regulation failed locally and had to move to state/federal level — a structural parallel to the law-and-institutions course content on collective-action problems and federalism. — connects to: Septic-tank numbers kept rising despite regulation because housing grew — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside:…, 434; Septic tanks let builders develop cheap land beyond sewer lines — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside:…, 376; Septic failure forced sprawl residents to pay twice for waste disposal — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside:…, 391 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Flood barriers that protect one area flood its neighbors instead #epitomizes (0.85) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2777
• Fragmented small local governments could not keep up with pace of private development #complicates (0.82) — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside, 1076