Opportunity is knocking: Are we listening?
Bureaucracies and regulations are created by laws usually with a single purpose in mind. Elected officials decide it is in the best interest of the public to protect the environment, protect the public health, and protect the public from themselves. The history of the relationship between the business community and the regulators is long and complicated. With this single purpose approach, regulators at the federal, state, county and city level have had deaf ears to the concerns and needs of the business community. There has existed a basic distrust between industry and regulators. Regulators have viewed industry as potential polluters who can never be trusted. This view may have some historical basis. Ignorance of the consequences of their actions did lead industry to inadvertently pollute the environment. There were, and still are, those in the industry that ignored environmental regulations. The business community, on the other hand, has seen the regulators as cold-hearted and callous. Regulators are perceived to be inflexible and inconsistent. Regulations are said to be imposed upon the industry without valid, scientific justification. Regulations are implemented in an inconsistent manner, depending upon the geographical region that imposes them and the person interpreting them. Frustration for industry is very real when their objective to comply is thwarted by uncertainty and inconsistency. Although these attitudes and perceptions have existed for many years, there is now an opportunity to create a true cooperative effort.
- OSTI ID:
- 78056
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9404125-; TRN: IM9531%%106
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: HazMat West `94 spring meeting: environmental management and technology conference and exhibition, Long Beach, CA (United States), 26-28 Apr 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of HazMat 94 West/Spring. Second annual environmental management and technology conference West/Spring: Proceedings; PB: 390 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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