From public participation to stakeholder involvement: The rocky road to more inclusiveness Page: 5 of 21
19 p.View a full description of this article.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Congressional staff and lawyers and implemented by technocrats with little
expertise or interest in PP. Congressional ambivalence about PP has led to
"administrative marginality" for PP in agencies (Rosenbaum 1983).
Proponents include both government agencies and private developers. In the
absence of legislative guidance on PP, agencies often develop their own
guidance which can be quite lengthy and detailed. Agencies increasingly use
arcane quantitative tools to assist their decision making such as cost/benefit
analysis, contingent valuation or multi-attribute utility analysis. As framed
by agencies, most siting and other decisions are technically defined,
requiring expertise provided by internal experts. As a result, information
developed by non-experts (citizens) is often seen by technical experts as
either questionable or irrelevant.
Thus the role of expertise and access to expertise has become the focus of
numerous disputes between activist groups and agencies in PP processes and a
contributor to an adversarial "us" vs. "them" atmosphere. Funding for
independent expertise controlled by citizen groups is a continuing issue.
Public disputes between "their experts" and "our experts" and arguments over
the admissibility of information have become common, particularly with the
advent of "advocacy science" as practiced by national environmental public
interest groups (Mitchell 1979, Klapp 1988).
There is little recognition of the non-technical expertise which citizens can
supply (Wynne 1991). Citizen values, preferences and other non-monetary and
non-technical concerns have often been omitted or disallowed.
Seeking to change this emphasis, DOE's efforts in recent years focus more
directly upon including activist publics that have been previously excluded
from agency decision making. Examples are the extensive PP efforts being made
in Federal Facilities Compliance Act implementation, Hanford site cleanup and
the various defense waste site specific advisory boards (SSABs) (Beck &
Gallagher 1995). Elaborate guidance documents have been issued recently (see
for example the Public Participation Desk Reference by DOE EM or Effective
Public Participation under the NEPA {1994}).
Some of the most innovative PP processes have been undertaken by private
developers as in the voluntary siting of a waste facility by Browning Ferris
Industries in Eagle, NY (English et al 1993).
Organized activist groups are the primary subset of publics which take
part in PP activities, as they seek more recognition for their views and
objectives in agency decision making. Two types of organizational activists
are involved: 1) those from major national environmental groups with mass
membership, professional staffs and a bureaucracy of their own, and 2) those
from local grassroots organizations formed to protest some siting or action
perceived to threaten public health and/or property values.
Access to the complex set of scoping reviews, public hearings, remedial action
and feasibility studies, reviews of FONSIs, EAs and EISs in NEPA, RCRA,
Superfund and other government processes unfolds according to detailed
internal patterns and schedules. In general, only organized, attentive publics
such as activist groups can respond effectively and in time to such PP
opportunities. In my experience and from review of some of the extended
public comments made at hearings, such organized groups make up the vast
1 Though we focus upon DOE in this paper, much of the discussion applies to other federal as
well as state agencies when they act as proponents.
3
epeelle 4.24.95
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This article can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Article.
Peelle, E. From public participation to stakeholder involvement: The rocky road to more inclusiveness, article, July 1, 1995; Tennessee. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc791630/m1/5/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.