Conference Agenda
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Daily Overview |
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Water Pollution Location: B129 Session Chair: Laura Grant, Claremont McKenna College | |
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Picking where to measure: Lack of equity in the distribution of water quality monitoring 1: Claremont McKenna College, United States of America; 2: Arizona State University, United States of America; 3: Oregon State University, United States of America Environmental monitoring is essential for detecting pollution and enforcing regulations, yet systematic evidence on monitoring equity remains limited. We examine whether water quality monitors in the United States are strategically placed to avoid minority communities. Comparing regulatory monitors (placed by state agencies) against randomly-placed monitors from the EPA's National Rivers and Streams Assessment, we find that strategic monitors are 4 to 5 percentage points less likely to appear in census tracts with above-median shares of Hispanic, Black, or Native American residents. Random monitors show no such pattern. This disparity persists after controlling for stream availability, geography, and socioeconomic factors, and translates to lower monitoring intensity in disadvantaged areas. Our findings are difficult to reconcile with stream geography and residential sorting alone and are consistent with regulatory siting decisions. Because water quality monitoring is the primary mechanism for identifying impaired waters and triggering enforcement under the Clean Water Act, these disparities imply systematic underdetection of pollution in minority communities and inefficient allocation of regulatory resources. | |