BUILDING REGIMES IN GROUNDWATER POLICY - CONTAMINATING THE MESSAGE

Diverse situational factors (such as hydrogeological formations and ag ricultural cropping practices) and the lack of a clear federal mandate present a new challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency and st ate governments in implementing groundwater protection policy. An impl ementation regime framework is presented that calls on state and feder al administrators to negotiate an informal working relationship that i s appropriate for each state. This might include either the traditiona l implementation of a uniform federal mandate or a program tailored to specific state needs. The success of an implementation regime in achi eving its policy objectives is based on the ability of the federal gov ernment to frame a clear and consistent message that will reduce state implementers' concerns over federal government intrusion. A regime ty pology is presented depicting ideal regime types that may be used by t he federal government in selecting an appropriate federal message.