Question 1: Suppose you are an administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency. It has been reported that a small plant in a small town is in violation of the environmental laws. If you enforce the laws' requirements, the plant will be forced to shut down. The plant is the major source of employment for the town, and its closure would impose severe economic hardships. Should that fact play a role in regulatory enforcement?
Question 2: The Environmental Protection Agency requires your company to self-report pollution discharges daily. It is your job to make those reports. The reports could be easily fudged if the compnay exceeded its designated limits. Excessive discharges would cost the company $ 25,000 for each day its limit is exceeded. One morning, your sperior forgot to start the pollution control device, and the designated amount of pollution was exceeded. Your superior strongly emplies that you should fudge the figures. You are worried that if you don't, you might be fired. Should you report the correct figures to the EPA? Would your answer be different if you knew whether or not the excessive pollution caused any damage?