Evaluating the Effectiveness of Public Participation Efforts by Environmental Agencies: Repermitting a Smelter in El Paso,Texas,USA

Abstract

Public participation is central to environmental policy-making processes. Government agencies often scramble to involve the public in legitimizing policy decisions. No single tool exists to assess the effectiveness of public participation. Extending previous research, this paper clarifies a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of public participation and we apply this framework to the efforts of three levels of government in the United States—federal, state, and local—in the case surrounding the repermitting of atmospheric emissions from industrial activity at the American Smelting and Refining Company smelter located in western El Paso, Texas. Results show that the three government agencies assessed in this study did not effectively achieve adequate opportunities for public participation. This failure could lead to several undesired repercussions, including increasing public resentment and hostility and also future resistance to participation.