Monday,
April 9, 2012
6:00 - 7:30 pm
Pellissippi
State Technical Community College
10915 Hardin
Valley Road, Knoxville
J.L Goins Administration Building, Cafeteria Annex
APRIL
PRESENTATION
Public Participation in Department of Energy
Technical and Policy Decisions
By
Susan L. Gawarecki, PhD
Andersonville, Tennessee
Abstract
DOE solicits public participation during its decision-making and permitting processes to fulfill the requirements of NEPA, CERCLA and other legislation under which it is regulated. There are good reasons for the public, and especially technical experts, to take part in this process. These include: prioritization of limited budget resources, to influence the degree of cleanup, to provide outside expertise, to bring new approaches and technologies, to correct errors and false assumptions, and to represent community values to DOE and its regulators. There are numerous opportunities for stakeholder involvement as a private citizen or through an existing organization for decisions involving environmental management; historic preservation; land use and reindustrialization; and business, contracting, and mission-related issues. Public participation opportunities occur under a variety of regulations, including NEPA, CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA, Clean Air and Water Acts, and National Historic Preservation Act. Each of these has a different process for gathering input from the public. In a number of cases, stakeholder feedback has resulted in DOE changing its decision from the previously preferred option.
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