Community participation in superfund practice and policy
- Univ. of Houston, TX (United States)
Superfund has several statutory and regulatory provisions that provide vehicles for community involvement at Superfund sites including community relations plans, information repositories, public comment periods, and technical assistance grants to community organizations. There has been considerable debate about the effectiveness of these programs. The community participation requirement of the Superfund process are in a state of transition. The proposed Superfund Reform Act of 1994 contained additional community participation provisions. EPA appears to be incorporating some of these proposed changes and improvements learned from prior experiences into its current community relations practices. This study examines the status of community relations in Superfund and the effectiveness of the community information and public participation programs in meeting legislative objectives. In addition to addressing current requirements and practices, the study looks at proposals to amend the community participation provisions as well as alternative approaches used by the EPA, potentially responsible parties, and citizens to address or resolve community concerns. While the focus will be on the overall program, a few brief selected case studies, representing a diversity of experiences, will be included. The resulting paper will discuss successes and shortcomings of community involvement in Superfund. It will address the sometimes competing goals of the various players in the Superfund process, bringing in not only the community perspective, but also concerns for decreased complexity and cost and increased efficiency. The conclusion will evaluate alternatives to improve procedures for community involvement in the Superfund program. Superfund reform, public and stakeholder involvement, and dispute resolution are addressed in this study. These are prominent, contemporary issues as the nation seeks to constructively solve its environmental problems.
- Research Organization:
- National Association of Environmental Professionals, Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 125913
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9506115-; TRN: 95:006735-0007
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 20. National Association of Environmental Professionals annual conference and exposition: environmental challenges - the next twenty years, Washington, DC (United States), 10-13 Jun 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Environmental challenges: The next 20 years. Proceedings; PB: 932 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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