Interim Report Of The Federal Facilities Environmental Restoration Dialogue Committee: Recommendations For Improving The Federal Facilities Environmental Restoration Decision-Making And Priority-Setting Processes

The Dept. of Energy (DOE) has made great progress in accelerating the pace of cleanup over the past few years, and current estimates show that 80% of the Environmental Management site cleanups will be completed by the year 2021. These changes reflect a more focused technical baseline -- oriented towards results and fueled by performance-based contracts -- and a fundamental change in strategy, which involves: addressing urgent risks first; stabilizing sites; investing in technology development and basic science; reducing mortgage costs; and basing decisions on future land use considerations.

Williams examines the efforts of public agencies to better incorporate citizen participation in the administrative process. He focuses on the effort of the Department of Energy to use citizen advisory boards composed of stakeholders—persons who stand to gain or lose from policy implementation—in its economic transition, waste management, and environmental restoration programs. The Department's efforts to deal with hazardous and toxic wastes stemming from uranium fuel for the U.S. nuclear weapons program are examined in detail. The case study shows that the stakeholder model was effective: the advisory board was expeditiously organized, reached consensus on critical issues, and accomplished its primary mission. The board's performance was such that the Clinton administration considered it a major example of how federal agencies could be reinvented to produce a government that works better and costs less. Of particular interest to policy makers and researchers involved with US environmental issues and public policy.