Overcoming Legal and Institutional Barriers to the Implementation of Innovative Environmental Technologies

Authors

David Strifling, Marquette University Law School, Water Law and Policy Initiative
Walter McDonald, Marquette University, Dept. of Civil, Construction, & Environmental Engineering
Hannah Hathaway, Marquette University Law School, Class of 2020
Joe Naughton, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, 2020 Sea Grant Knauss Fellow

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This paper examines the possible reasons that stormwater management system operators (typically municipalities) have generally been reluctant to adopt RTC technology.

Our interdisciplinary team of law faculty, engineering faculty, and graduate students from both disciplines studied dozens of examples involving RTC implementation in the United States and abroad. We also examined the literature detailing institutional barriers to RTC innovation. Finally, we reviewed numerous legal decisions related to municipal liability for stormwater management (or mismanagement).

From this foundation, we distilled several institutional and legal barriers that prevent municipalities from embracing this particular type of innovation. The paper suggests a variety of strategies to combat these institutional and legal barriers to smooth the transition to RTC systems.

Recommended Citation

David Strifling, Walter McDonald, Hannah Hathaway & Joe Naughton, Overcoming Legal and Institutional Barriers to the Implementation of Innovative Environmental Technologies, 1 Notre Dame J. on Emerging Tech. 280 (2020).