Summary of
Public Representation in Environmental Policy-making: The Case of Water Quality Management
Sheldon Kamieniecki
Summary written by T.A. O'Lonergan, Conflict Research Consortium
Citation: Public Representation in Environmental Policy-making: The Case of Water Quality Management, Sheldon Kamieniecki, (Colorado: Westview Press, 1980), 126 pp.
Public Representation in Environmental Policy-Making: The Case of Water Quality Management is the text of a research project undertaken to assess public participation in environmental policy-making and political leaders' predictions of citizens' views.
Public Representation in Environmental Policy-Making: The Case of Water Quality Management will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of the degree of public participation in policy-making and political leaders' perception and predictions of that participation. The author begins with an overview which describes the Water Pollution Control Act Amendments in 1972 which was the beginning of a comprehensive plan to encourage regional planning for future water quality management. This is followed by a legislative history of federal regulation of water pollution and a definition of public participation.
Chapter two addresses public participation and representation questioning how much citizens participate, who participates, and differences between the views of participators and non-participators. The author offers a theoretical perspective on comparing leaders' and citizens' environmental planning beliefs.
Chapter three reviews the methodology used to construct the survey instrument and the sampling strategies used to select participants in a study done by the State University of New York at Buffalo. This study hoped to develop a model process to show how the environmental beliefs of citizens and leaders could be incorporated into planning efforts. Chapter four is a careful comparison of the citizens' and leaders' views on environmental planning. The text is nicely supported with graphical analysis of the data and multiple tables and figures. Chapter five examines the perceptual accuracy of leaders, again, nicely supported by graphical analysis. Chapter six offers recommendations for broadening public input into environmental planning. The author considers the use of the mass media, the postal system, and workshops.
Public Representation in Environmental Policy-Making: The Case of Water Quality Management is a closely focused examination of the degree and variables affecting public participation in environmental policy-making, with emphasis on how leaders perceive this participation and how they might increase it.
