In environmental policy, the interactions of frontline environmental regulators and their counterparts in the regulated community constitute environmental protection in the United States. The authors offer a framework of the different types of interactions these actors may have with one another based on trust. Kettl and Fiorino, among others, have indicated that trust is a fundamental problem in environmental regulation. Building on these assertions, the authors delve into the extant trust literature and offer a definition of trust and, argue that trust is positive and should be sought in these relationships. The authors develop a framework of relationships between inspectors and facility personnel based on varying degrees of trust and offer testable hypotheses.
