Public participation

Within 6 months after enactment of the Qean Air Act Amendments of 1990, and at least every 3 years thereafter, the Administrator shall review and, if necessary, revise, the methods ( emission factors ) used for purposes of this Act to estimate the quantity of emissions of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and oxides of nitrogen from sources of such air pollutants (including area sources and mobile sources). In addition, the Administrator shall permit any person to demonstrate improved emissions estimating techniques, and following approval of such techniques, the Administrator shall authorise the use of such techniques. Any such technique may be approved only after appropriate public participation. Until the Administrator has completed the revision required by this section, nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the validity of emission factors established by the Administrator before the date of the enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. 

Air pollution and environmental officers, environmental protection associates, environmental quality managers and environmentalists, and specialists (air pollution, air pollution control, air quality, air quality control, air resource, envaronmental control, environmental health, environmental management, environmental quality, highway transportation, monitoring, pollution control, program, public participation, quality assurance, and unspecified). 

The new law is more specific than tlie original statute witli regard to remedies to be used at Superfund sites, public participation, and accomplislmicnt of cleanup activities. The most important part of SARA with respect to public participation is Title III. wliich addresses the important issues of community awareness and participation in the event of a chemical release. 

As U.S. EPA continues to revise the regulatory program for incinerators in order to adequately protect human health and the environment, the omnibus permitting authority, site-specific risk assessments, and public participation issues have received greater attention. The following discusses both issues in greater detail. 

Federal Register, Public Participation Rule, Vol. 59 FR 28680, June 2, 1994. 

The decision on the selection of measures has to be made by politicians/managers. Scientists can provide transparency for the decision makers by clarifying the current and potential future status of the system, the possible measures and their ecological, economical and social consequences. Scientists should learn the language and the interests of the public, because often information handed over from the scientists/ water managers to the public is perceived not reliable and/or relevant for them, moreover taking into account that public participation is mandatory according to the WFD. It is clear that public participation is important for the implementation of measures and for acceptance, because measures can have an impact on specific interests of the public (see example described in the previous section). 

Intensification and real effective public participation are expected in the development of the next generation(s) of RBMPs. 

One can identify two major categories of uncertainty in EIA data (scientific) uncertainty inherited in input data (e.g., incomplete or irrelevant baseline information, project characteristics, the misidentification of sources of impacts, as well as secondary, and cumulative impacts) and in impact prediction based on these data (lack of scientific evidence on the nature of affected objects and impacts, the misidentification of source-pathway-receptor relationships, model errors, misuse of proxy data from the analogous contexts) and decision (societal) uncertainty resulting from, e.g., inadequate scoping of impacts, imperfection of impact evaluation (e.g., insufficient provisions for public participation), human factor in formal decision-making (e.g., subjectivity, bias, any kind of pressure on a decision-maker), lack of strategic plans and policies and possible implications of nearby developments (Demidova, 2002). 

It is generally agreed that there should be some change in the law to facilitate public participation in the patent examination process. This is a result of the growing volume of the scientific literature and the increasing complexity of the sources to be searched. A person who knows of reasons why a patent should not have issued should be able to bring these reasons before the Patent Office, and the Patent Office should reexamine the patent and review its prior decision. These reasons are almost always published literature references—called prior art in the trade—that the patent examiner missed in the search. 

Opened governmental activities and projects to public scrutiny and public participation. 

Renn, O., T. Webler, and B.B. Johnson. 1991. Public participation in hazard management The use of citizen panels in the U.S. Risk Issues Health Safety 2(3) 197-226. 

State and public participation in the planning and development of repositories is essential in order to promote public confidence in the safety of disposal of such waste and spent fuel. 

Raising public awareness of the POPs-related issues and encouraging public participation are also important elements of the Stockholm Convention. On the public awareness campaign, the HKSAR Government has launched, as a priority action item of the HKSARIP, a dedicated EPD thematic website on POPs (available at http //www.epd.gov.hk/ epd/english/international conventions/pops/pops main.html) and integrated the topic into the overall environmental protection education programme. 

OECD (2001). Engaging Citizens in Policy-making Information, Consultation and public Participation. OECD PUMA Policy Brief No. 10... 

The use of pollution-prevention principles on the home front clearly does not involve the use of high-technology equipment or major lifestyle changes success is only dependent upon active and willing public participation. All can help to make a difference. 

The official open door policy with the goal of increased attendance presents other problems and challenges to public institutions. How can museums and historical societies charged with the preservation of the past balance the growing need for public participation in educational functions and maintain the stability of their collections How can visitor numbers be increased in a historic house structure with limited space accommodation and often difficult access Unsupervised crowds increase the possibility of theft, vandalism, and handling of objects. 

In practical risk management, the evaluation of options is done in close cooperation between experts and decision makers. As pointed out later, this is the step in which direct stakeholder involvement and public participation is particularly important and is therefore best assured by making use of a variety of methods (Rowe and Frewer 2000 OECD 2002 Renn 2008). 

Rowe, G. and Frewer, L. (2000) Public participation methods an evaluative review of the literature. Science, Technology and Human Values 25 3-29. 

The 1998 Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation In Decision-Making And Access To Justice In Environmental Matters... 

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