Not in My Watershed! Will Increased Federal Supervision Really Bring Better Coordination Between Land Use and Water Planning?

Abstract

This article challenges the assertion that increased federal leverage would successfully coalesce land and water planning throughout the country. Federalism will have the opposite effect, exacerbating tensions between competing management authorities and increasing the number of disparate policies to which local governments must adhere, as examples illustrate. Alternatively, we argue for enforcement of existing tools and creation of an institutional framework loosely modeled on federal–state–local partnership in transportation metropolitan planning organizations. While land use and water planning merit closer coordination, a more flexible institutional arrangement is preferable to expanded federal authority under the Clean Water Act.