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IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND POLICY FAILURE: THE NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACT OF 1982
Author(s) -
Clary Bruce B.,
Kraft Michael E.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
review of policy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.832
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1541-1338
pISSN - 1541-132X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1541-1338.1988.tb00920.x
Subject(s) - opposition (politics) , radioactive waste , public administration , politics , nuclear energy policy , public policy , political science , process (computing) , policy analysis , nuclear power , energy policy , environmental planning , business , engineering , waste management , law , environmental science , computer science , renewable energy , ecology , biology , operating system , electrical engineering
We examine the role of environmental assessments in the siting process mandated under the ambitious Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. We analyze the effect of these assessments in both the western and eastern United States using the original documents, critiques of the methodology of the assessments, and public comments on the siting process, including a content analysis of hearings in Wisconsin and Maine. We conclude that the major effect of the assessments on the policy process was to stimulate public and state opposition to the Department of Energy's efforts to implement NWPA, leading to what could be called policy failure and a significant redirection of the act by Congress in late 1987. The paper represents an early report of a more comprehensive and ongoing study of the politics of nuclear waste disposal.