As a licensed professional engineer I probably have a unique perspective. At this point, America runs on regulations. If a regulation doesn't exist to tell people what to do, they don't know what to do. Those who would know what to do without regulation have died off because they charged non-competitive rates for their services. I hope that makes sense. I'm not a proponent of any of this, by the way. That's just how I see it.

Taking the "Property Rights and Litigation" view, you still have a messed up lake for a long tikme and an even richer set of lawyers.
There is a simple clean are and water regulation that solves a lot of thie.
"The air leaving the factory must be as clean or cleaner than it was when it came in. The water leaving the plant must be a clean or cleaner than it was when it came in."
You get nmy meaning. if you mess it up you clean it up before it leaves the factory (or what ever) facility.