Multiattribute Utility Analysis as a Framework for Public Participation in Siting a Hazardous Waste Management Facility

This paper describes a public participation exercise in which stakeholders used an approach based on multiattribute utility analysis to select a site for a hazardous waste management facility. The key to success was the ability to separate and address two types of judgments inherent in environmental decisions—technical judgments regarding the likely consequences of alternative choices and value judgments regarding the importance or seriousness of those consequences. The approach enabled technical specialists to communicate the essential technical considerations and allowed stakeholders to establish the value judgments for the decision. Although rarely used in public participation, the multiattribute utility approach appears to provide a useful framework for the collaborative resolution of complex environmental decision problems.

[1]  Kent E. Portney.  Siting Hazardous Waste Treatment Facilities: The NIMBY Syndrome, Kent E. Portney. 1991. Auburn House, Westport, CT. 200 pages. ISBN: 0-86569-016-2. $37.95 , 1991 .

[2]  Ralph L. Keeney,et al.  Siting energy facilities , 1980 .

[3]  Lillie Craig Trimble.  What Do Citizens Want in Siting of Waste Management Facilities , 1988 .

[4]  Steve Selin,et al.  Developing a collaborative model for environmental planning and management , 1995 .

[5]  Raimo P. Hämäläinen,et al.  Decision analysis interviews in environmental impact assessment , 1995 .

[6]  Peter M. Wiedemann,et al.  Public participation in waste management decision making: Analysis and management of conflicts , 1993 .

[7]  Dennis W Ducsik.  Public Involvement in Energy Facility Planning , 1986 .

[8]  H. Fineberg,et al.  Understanding Risk: Informing Decisions in a Democratic Society , 1996 .

[9]  Dawn D. Roderique,et al.  Siting of Hazardous Waste Management Facilities , 1980 .

[10]  Egon R. Frech.  How Can we Deal with NIMBY in Nuclear Waste Management , 1991 .

[11]  V. Covello.  The perception of technological risks: A literature review , 1983 .

[12]  W. Edwards,et al.  Decision Analysis and Behavioral Research , 1986 .

[13]  R. L. Keeney,et al.  Decisions with Multiple Objectives: Preferences and Value Trade-Offs , 1977, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics.

[14]  R L Keeney,et al.  A multiattribute utility analysis of alternative sites for the disposal of nuclear waste. , 1987, Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis.