Public involvement in environmental decisions

Legislation and public pressure have led federal agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture to involve the public in a wide range of environmental decisions, from how to clean up Superfund sites to how to manage federal forest land. Does this involvement tend to improve or -- as some critics have argued -- impair the quality of agencies' decisions? PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND DECISIONMAKING, new from the National Research Council, examines this question and outlines steps agencies can take to increase the likelihood that participation will have positive effects. The report will be released at 11 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 22.

Source: National Academy of Sciences