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Browsing by Author "Conn, W. David"

Now showing 1 - 17 of 17
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    Agenda-Setting: The Universal Service Case
    Eustis, Joanne D. (Virginia Tech, 2000-04-07)
    The goal of this dissertation is to test the agenda-setting theories of John Kingdon and Frank Baumgartner/Bryan Jones in terms of applicability. Universal service policy and the 1996 Telecommunications Act serve as the test case. Case study methodology guides the dissertation and employs a variety of methods including the quantitative and qualitative techniques used by John Kingdon and by Frank Baumgartner/Bryan Jones. These methods involve content analysis and the coding of media articles, an analysis of congressional hearings and government reports, and a review of scholarly literature on topics related to the policy-making in general, and telecommunications policy development, in particular. Universal service was selected for legislative action because it was bound up with telecommunications legislation, which required revision. Although some policy-makers preferred a market solution (that is the elimination of subsidized telecommunication services), universal service remained part of the telecommunications policy revision. Reasons include a new issue definition accompanied by a compelling image (information superhighway), the support of rural senators, and presidential leadership. With regard to fundamental differences between the Kingdon and Baumgartner/Jones' theories Kingdon's premise regarding the impact of cyclical events and systematic indicators has more applicability than Baumgartner and Jones' punctuated equilibria model of policy change. In addition, unlike Kingdon's research results, which indicate the media have a minor role in agenda-setting, Baumgartner and Jones' media attention indicators of policy change demonstrated a similar pattern to the universal service media indicators. The influence of interest groups is another point of difference. The universal case as with Baumgartner and Jones' research results that interest groups were major actors in setting the policy agenda. The contribution of this dissertation is to suggest elements of a new integrated model for the study of agenda-setting that incorporates aspects of the work of Kingdon and Baumgartner/Jones.
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    Application of cost benefit analysis to the expanded food and nutrition education program
    Sharman, Katherine L. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1988)
    In 1981, President Ronald Reagan issued Executive Order 12291 which requires Federal agencies to perform benefits assessments of proposed major regulations and prohibits them from taking regulatory action unless potential benefits exceed potential costs to society. A review of welfare economics literature and applications of the CBA model to health, education, and nutrition is presented. CBA for use in the Cooperative Extension Service Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is then systematically examined using the following criteria: 1) theoretical considerations - can the economic criterion appropriately be applied to EFNEP?; and 2) application of the CBA model - can it be made operational? Following the critique of application of CBA to EFNEP, conclusions are drawn as to the appropriate use of CBA or alternative techniques in evaluating EFNEP and similar programs.
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    An assessment of household hazardous waste collection
    Scott, Denise Whittington (Virginia Tech, 1987-03-15)
    Many civic groups and local governments are involved in campaigns to safely collect and dispose of "household hazardous waste." Although it is difficult to define, household hazardous waste is generally considered to be any chemical waste generated in a family dwelling which, if disposed of improperly, may be harmful to human health or the environment. Growing concerns are centered around the disposal of these potentially toxic wastes by burying them in landfills or pouring them down drains or storm sewers. The most popular method of addressing the problem of household hazardous waste is that of holding "collection days," at which householders are encouraged to bring their hazardous waste to some central location for proper handling by responsible authorities. Although the availability of information about the total costs of holding these collections days is presently limited, it is apparent that the expense per household served is quite high. Some people have questioned whether the expense is justified, since there has been little documentation of the risks associated with the handling of household hazardous waste in the municipal waste stream. This thesis presents the findings to date of a study examining the quantities of household hazardous waste present in the municipal waste stream (in order to assess the risks associated with their disposal) and the costs associated with collection days. A telephone survey was used to develop a preliminary estimate of the nature and quantity of hazardous waste generated by households in a Virginia city. Cost data from collection days held in Virginia and elsewhere in the United States are documented and discussed.
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    Assessment of the use of DRASTIC results by local governments in Virginia
    Burton, Patrick (Virginia Tech, 1990-06-06)
    Use of DRASTIC evaluation results in the study counties has varied. The widest use of the results, so far, has been as a reference in comprehensive plans. Future use of DRASTIC results is anticipated in several counties. The DRASTIC methodology is perceived as effective by a large majority of the study counties. Rural (more groundwater dependent) counties viewed DRASTIC evaluation results as more useful or more beneficial than did the urban (less groundwater dependent) counties. The lack of site-specificity of DRASTIC maps is viewed by several county officials as a limitation. The expectations/limitations/concerns cited by county officials suggest a low level of confidence in the DRASTIC results in several counties. Table 5 contains a partial summary of interview responses. Table 5 provides a summary of the use of DRASTIC results by particular counties in the study and also partially summarizes the opinions of county officials regarding the DRASTIC methodology and DRASTIC results.
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    Corporate recycling: interventions and person variables associated with participation
    Needleman, Lawrence D. (Virginia Tech, 1991)
    The efficacy of five different types of interventions for increasing the number of participants and the quantity of recyclables collected in a corporate-based recycling program were compared. Employees at a corporate research center (N=443) associated with a large state university were asked to bring aluminum cans, glass, and newspaper from home to bins located at work. In addition, in order to track individual employee's recycling behavior, they were asked to write identifying information on each bag of recyclables (i.e., last 4 digits of social security number or a computer identification name). Interventions included appeal messages, two kinds of reciprocity interventions, goals plus feedback, and raffles. A quasi-experimental, modified multiple baseline design was used. More specifically, interventions were given to one building first, and then after a delay, they were administered to the other three buildings simultaneously. Program and intervention information were disseminated by either traditional office memos, electronic mail, or phone mail. Results indicated that only a small percentage of employees participated in the program, and raffles were the only interventions that reliably increased the number of participants and quantity of recyclables. In the hope of being able to predict which employees would participate in the recycling program, prior to the interventions, employees were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing attitudes towards recycling and person variables. More specifically, employees' optimism, environmental concern, beliefs regarding their ability to control environmental outcomes (i.e., “environmental locus of control"), and psychological reactance were assessed. Mean scores on the environmental concern and environmental locus of control scales indicated that employees were quite concerned about the environment and believed that their behavior could have a positive impact on it. Although psychological reactance scores reliably depended on employees’ recycling status (i.e., whether they were non-participants in the recycling program, infrequent participants, or frequent participants), neither it nor any of the other variables could accurately differentiate participants from non-participants in the program. Reasons for the low participation rates and the discrepancy between person variables and participation were discussed, and suggestions for improving future research in this area were made.
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    Curbside collection of recyclable materials: fifteen cases studies in the United States
    Waterman, Donna Ruth (Virginia Tech, 1988-03-01)
    Fifteen curbside recycling programs in the United States, from communities representing a variety of economic, geographic and political situations, were reviewed in this study. Case studies were analyzed and discussed with respect to four areas of interest to program planners: administration, operations, promotion and evaluation. No objective rating of the programs was attempted, but approaches were reviewed with respect to their ability to satisfy the goals of the programs. Comparisons of participation rates, waste diversion rates, and costs were used cautiously because of the inconsistencies in how the data were developed from program to program. Administrative approaches found in the case studies included: (a) complete ownership of the collection and processing system by municipalities; (b) contracted service by private waste management firms; (c) contracted or subsidized service by non-profit organizations; and (d) combinations of municipal, private, and non-profit services. Operational systems were examined with respect to the effectiveness of the service in stimulating participation, given the practical, political, and budgetary constraints. Variables of operation are closely related and include: (a) which materials are collected; (b) the degree of materials separation required; (c) the type of collection vehicle(s) used; (d) collection frequency and coincidence with garbage collection; (e) the provision of in home containers; and (t) the extent of post-collection materials processing. Four categories of promotional techniques used in curbside recycling programs were discussed: (a) publicity and education; (b) personal contact; (c) economic incentives; and (d) ordinances mandating source-separation. The impacts of these techniques on participation in the case study programs were discussed. Techniques for evaluating the efficacy of curbside recycling programs were also discussed. Participation rates, waste diversion rates, and cost were reviewed with respect to current usage and recommendations were made for increasing their usefulness as indicators of the success of programs or program elements.
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    Decentralization: a case study in state wastewater discharge permit programming
    Smith, James Fielding (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1995)
    Using the state agencies that regulate wastewater discharges to surface waters, this quantitative study examined the validity of three theories about the effects of decentralization on organizational outcomes. It also used qualitative analysis to probe the internal adjustments to optimize outcomes. Theoretical advantages to decentralized organizations can be summarized as greater effectiveness or greater efficiency. Effectiveness here is the rate of compliance with legal and permit requirements for dischargers adjusted for enforcement actions. The model used consists of decentralization independent variables, exogenous independent variables (e.g., population, funding), efficiency dependent variables, and compliance (or effectiveness) dependent variables. Model calibration applied principal component analysis and multiple regression analysis to questionnaire and other data for FY93 from 39 states. Key intervening variables -- information costs, innovation, and strategic planning -- characteristic of the theoretical effects of decentralization received special attention. Case studies based on interviews and document studies in five states illustrate key points. The large survey sample (78%) of the 50 states reduced threats to external validity. A significant relationship to decentralization was found for major permit processing time and percentage of expired permits. When controlled for exogenous variables, no compliance common factor related to decentralization, but medium-term compliance unit-cost did. Time is essential to all compliance common factors. Innovation, information cost, and strategic planning were not found to be intervening variables. Highly decentralized states were found to be trending towards increased centralization, and vice versa. All states make internal adjustments to optimize their programs, and some adjustments are powerful enough to make highly dissimilar organizations converge; strong basin planning is one such adjustment. Neither decentralization nor centralization is automatically the best way to organize a complex system. Devolution, where transfer of functions goes with significant delegation of authority to autonomous local units, would probably give superior environmental, economic, and administrative outcomes over a uniform approach.
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    A discrete choice model of housing selection by low-income urban renters
    Murray, Margaret S. (Virginia Tech, 1992)
    The purpose of this study was to (1) develop a statistical model that classifies the housing problems of affordability, quality and crowding as elements in a choice set facing low-income urban renters, (2) identify the demographic, socioeconomic and regional factors which influence housing outcomes, (3) use the resulting model to estimate the probability that an individual household faces a particular combination of housing problems, and (4) consider how the receipt of housing assistance alters those probabilities by addressing the question of targeting assistance. The study used data from the American Housing Survey of 1989 to estimate the model. These were low-income renters who both lived in an urban area and moved from one residence to another during the prior twelve month period. The mean income level of the final sample was $14,336. Sixty-one percent of the sample had affordability problems, twenty-eight percent had quality problems and six percent had crowding problems. The theoretical framework for the study is discrete choice analysis based on a random utility function. The conceptual framework included the development of seven, binary, logit models. These models represent a sequence of choices which the low-income renter makes when finding housing. The assumed choice hierarchy was affordability decisions followed by quality decisions and finally crowding decisions. The affordability and crowding models performed well; however, the quality model was somewhat disappointing. It appears that either quality is not easily modeled using a binary variable or households perceive quality differently than do the policy makers who establish quality guidelines. The models clearly show that affordability problems constitute the biggest hurdle for the low-income renter. Regional location is a significant factor in estimating the probability of having housing problems. Households in the western region of the United States are most likely to have multiple problems. A major contribution of this study is the focus on housing assistance and how receiving assistance alters the probability of low-income households finding basic shelter.
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    Environmental impact assessment under NEPA: a redundant mechanism?
    Balasubrahmanyam, Sunil K. (Virginia Tech, 1993-11-15)
    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) declared the Federal government's commitment to comprehensive environmental protection. The cutting-edge of NEPA is its requirement for including an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for all major Federal actions significantly affecting the environment. Opinions about the effectiveness of NEPA's EIS requirement range along a continuum. On one extreme are those who view the NEPA process as essentially procedural and overshadowed by other environmental legislation which provide explicit standards of environmental protection for specific environmental values. On the other extreme are those who believe that NEPA provides substantive, comprehensive, and holistic environmental protection of all environmental values. Most of the research on NEPA and its EIS reqUirement has revolved around the act's procedural and substantive mandates. However, despite the proliferation of non-NEPA environmental legislation mandating the protection of such environmental values as air and water quality, land use, and wildlife and endangered species, very little attention has been paid to the role of the mandates and requirements of these legislation in the EIS process. This research effort characterizes the role of NEPA's EIS process in light of the mandates and requirements of this body of non-NEPA legislation to determine the extent to which it addresses the substance of environmental impact evaluation. Specifically, this research focuses on the following questions: • Is the body of non-NEPA legislation sufficiently comprehensive to cover the entire spectrum of environmental values making NEPA's EIS requirement redundant? • Does NEPA enhance the avenues for public participation in government decision-making provided by non-NEPA legislation? • Does NEPA address the impacts of large scale projects, public programs and policy decisions, and cumulative impacts in a more comprehensive manner than non-NEPA legislation? • Does NEPA enhance coordination and integration among Federal agencies in ensuring that environmental issues are addressed comprehensively? The study focuses on the civil works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). As such, all conclusions are applicable only to the Corps and are not generalized to other agencies to which NEPA's requirements apply. The study involved a literature review on the role of NEPA in Federal agency planning and decision-making and the development of five research hypotheses with respect to the questions outlined earlier. These hypotheses were then evaluated through a critical review of NEPA and of the role of NEPA and other legislation in Corps activities, and a case-study of a Corps-directed EIS of the Metropolitan Denver Water Supply System. This research effort concluded that there is a relative lack of redundence among the environmental policy and requirement provisions of NEPA and those of non-NEPA legislation—what exists is a complementary, albeit tenuous relationship. Complementary, because in theory and intent: • NEPA proclaims a national policy for all environmental values while specific legislation focus only on specific environmental values; • NEPA does not contain specific standards or requirements but draws from those contained in other legislation; • in the absence of NEPA, assessments of a project's impacts to specific environmental values would be disjointed and incomplete; • the antagonistic and synergistic impacts to various values preclude individualized assessments—such impacts may not be fully addressed in the absence of NEPA; and • NEPA's public participation mechanisms as well as its requirements to ensure coordination among agencies are necessary and complementary to the focused provisions of other legislation. Tenuous, because this complementary intent has not been fully realized in practice. While the intent of NEPA was to ensure the complete and comprehensive alignment of NEPA and non-NEPA legislation, the realities of NEPA’s implementation have brought to light a variety of obstacles. These include: • inadequate guidance on NEPA compliance with other legislation; • inadequate integration among agency planning procedures and procedures for compliance with the requirements of various legislation, and inadequate inter-agency integration mechanisms; • redundant pubic participation procedures; and • a general lack of internalization in Federal agencies of the true intent of NEPA’s national policy declaration. Recommendations to surmount these obstacles include among others: developing comprehensive guidance on NEPA compliance with other legislation; ensuring that agencies’ compliance procedures are standardized and consistent with one another; developing processes whereby NEPA's public participation procedures subsume those of other legislation; and creating a fully represented Federal task force to develop and recommend detailed options for streamlining NEPA implementation.
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    Financial responsibility provisions for underground storage tanks in Virginia
    Thompson, Paul S.; Conn, W. David; Geyer, L. Leon (Virginia Water Resources Research Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1988-08)
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    Improving federal interagency coordination: a model based on micro-level interaction
    Kovalick, Walter W. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1988)
    Public institutions are becoming ever more dependent upon one another due to their complexity and specialized programs. There is a growing potential for duplication and/or overlap. It is in the context of an increasing need for coordinated action—especially among Federal agencies—that this dissertation is written. This dissertation posits a model for Federal interagency cooperation that moves beyond traditional interorganizational coordination literature and its exchange-based concept of cooperation. Drawing from the principles of authentic management founded in humanistic psychology and the negotiation literature, it suggests that such interorganizational cooperation is developed and nurtured at the micro level. Only through contactful engagement of the principals can the interests of the parties be revealed and dealt with to completion. In addition, this dissertation recognizes the unique character of such engagement when it takes place in pursuit of the public interest, as opposed to more traditional private settings. This dissertation examines this model in the context of a unique interagency organization—the Interagency Regulatory Liaison Group (IRLG). This IRLG was formed by the chief executives of the five Federal health and safety regulatory agencies in 1977. It operated for four years with their personal involvement and enthusiasm until its charter expired in 1981. Involving hundreds of employees from the five agencies, it stands as a unique organizational experiment in cooperative activities. This dissertation applies the IRLG experience, as seen through in-depth interviews with the agency heads and staff, to the micro-level model. The IRLG experience illustrated the model concepts of contactful engagement and integrative bargaining at the Federal interagency level. It showed the importance of the agential perspective on the part of the chief executives as they worked together on joint projects. It also illustrated the essentiality of building a lingua franca—a common language—for discussion and resolution of interorganizational differences. Finally, the emphasis in the model on maintaining both the substantive and process aspects on on-going interagency coordination is shown in the IRLG.
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    Investigation of water vapor effects on the detection of nitric acid vapor with the tungstic acid technique
    Marinaro, Ralph Michael (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1986)
    An automated tungstic acid technique (TAT) has been successfully used to measure gaseous HNO₃ in the presence of water vapor. The TAT is based on the diffusion of gaseous HNO₃ to the interior walls of a tube coated with tungsten VI oxide (WO₃), where it is selectively chemisorbed. The collected HNO₃ sample is thermally desorbed from the WO₃ surface, as NO, and measured by a chemiluminescent oxides of nitrogen analyzer. The integrated analyzer response is directly proportional to the nitric acid collected. Based on nitric acid hydration characteristics, a decrease in the diffusion coefficient and thus collection efficiency for denuder type measurement techniques may result with increased atmospheric water vapor (i.e., relative humidity). This study emphasizes the effect of water vapor (i.e., relative humidity) as a potential interferent for HNO₃ collection with the TAT system. The effect of water vapor (< 78% RH) on the collection efficiency for HNO₃ with the tungstic acid technique is negligible at 25°C, but is significant only at elevated sampling temperatures. This threshold effect is further substantiated and eliminated when a modified sampling collection system was designed with coolant capabilities. The new design has been tested to sub-part-per-billion (NOx analyzer detection limit) levels with minimal loss of gaseous HNO₃ signal, thereby increasing sensitivity to atmospheric HNO₃ concentrations and maintaining the gas/aerosol sample integrity.
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    Local Emergency Planning Committees: Collaboration, Risk Communication, Information Technology and Homeland Security
    Blackwood, Matthew Joseph (Virginia Tech, 2003-02-21)
    Local emergency planning committees (LEPCs) were designed to develop emergency response plans and provide information through community right-to-know programs. A literature review identified operational effectiveness, collaboration, risk communication, information technology (IT), and homeland security as important issues for LEPCs. However, a lack of research on the interaction of these fields raises several questions that were addressed in this study: 1. How is the operational effectiveness of LEPCs related to their organizational characteristics? 2. To what extent does collaboration exist between LEPCs and other groups? 3. What types of risk communication strategies are used by LEPCs? How are these initiatives mediated through technology? 4. To what degree and to what purposes are LEPCs utilizing information technologies? 5. How will homeland security initiatives influence emergency planning and community right-to-know programs? How will potential opportunities and constraints posed by homeland security affect the future role of LEPCs? The sample for this study was randomly selected from LEPCs in US EPA's Region III, including the states of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Phase one involved mailing out 156 surveys; 66 were returned for a response rate of 42%. Phase two involved case studies of LEPCs in Greenbrier County, WV; Tazewell County, VA; and Elk County, PA. Findings indicate that LEPC activity level is lower than previously reported. This research shows that IT is considered important, but its use is limited. Respondents reported using computers for word processing and, on a limited basis, for planning. The level of IT use for data management, emergency response activities, and risk communication was unexpectedly low. The research did not find a significant relationship between LEPC characteristics and the level of IT use. Barriers to IT use and operational status related to lack of funding and training. Data from surveys, interviews, and physical evidence were used to triangulate these findings. This research is significant in its identification of the current operation of LEPCs. It provides an assessment of collaborative initiatives being used within LEPCs and highlights methods employed to develop and implement risk communication programs. These findings can be used to evaluate the potential role of LEPCs in homeland security initiatives, which will likely focus on emergency planning with a decreased emphasis on risk communication.
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    Speak no evil: the promotional heritage of nuclear risk communication
    Gwin, Louis (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1989)
    The electric utility companies that own and/or operate the nation’s 112 licensed commercial nuclear power reactors are required by federal law to provide emergency information to residents living around those plants in advance of a nuclear plant emergency. This requires the owner/operators to acknowledge certain risks (e.g., radiation, nuclear plant accidents, evacuation, etc.) that face people living near nuclear generating plants. This dissertation critiques the effectiveness of pre-emergency risk communication strategies by nuclear utilities. Specifically, the dissertation demonstrates that certain historic message themes about nuclear power- termed the "nuclear ethic" -have become embedded in the rhetoric of current nuclear risk communication programs and downplay or mask the seriousness of nuclear plant emergencies, thereby contributing to the apparent ineffectiveness of these communication programs. For example, a survey of residents living around four nuclear plants who receive utility risk communication materials found that nearly two-thirds said they would not follow official instructions in a nuclear plant emergency. Such promotional rhetoric and images remain a part of nuclear risk communication programs because agencies which regulate nuclear power delegate their responsibility for pre-emergency risk communication to the utilities operating the plants. Moreover, there is little involvement in pre-emergency nuclear risk communication by state and local governments. This suggests that risk communication serves a latent symbolic role rather than a functional role for both the regulatory agencies and the utilities by making both groups appear to be isomorphic with societal goals of safety and security for a risky technology. The dissertation concludes by suggesting federal regulatory agencies, and specifically the Federal Emergency Management Agency, intensify their vigilance of risk communication planning and take steps to create authentic two-way communication between the nuclear utilities and the public living near the plants. One way this could be done is by establishing local citizens advisory committees to assess utility risk communication programs and suggest improvements that would help bridge the gap between the nuclear industry’s view of nuclear plant risk and that of the public.
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    State policy effects on sulfur dioxide emission allowance trading
    Gilroy, Leonard (Virginia Tech, 1996-05-05)
    Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments established a market-based incentive approach to pollution control through the use of tradable allowances for sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions by electric utilities. Many researchers have theorized that this approach will be compromised by state regulatory policies that create incentives for utilities to invest in costly pollution control equipment, inhibiting the formation of a free and competitive allowance market. The pUrpose of this research is to investigate the impact of state regulatory policies on the development of the SO₂ allowance market. More specifically, this research examines whether the geographic distribution of traded SO₂ allowances (as determined by an analysis of EPA Allowance Tracking System data) has been affected by the actions of state regulators. The research also investigates the effect of Title IV on the Virginia coal industry. Several trends in the allowance market are identified in this study, including the declining price of allowances, over compliance at Phase I units, and the geographic patterns of trading. This research only partially supports earlier predictions that states with regulatory policies biased towards costly capital investments in flue gas desulfurization (scrubber) retrofits would become net allowance sellers in the national market. However, the research finds that these state policies, along with several other factors (including the Phase I Extension program, the tax treatment of allowances, and the risk-averse nature of utilities) have contributed to the slow growth in the allowance market. The research also concludes that Virginia low-sulfur coal producers are not benefiting from Title IV implementation.
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    Sustainable development: political/ideological aspects and implications for planning
    Roth, Richard A. (Virginia Tech, 1993)
    Recent evidence of widespread environmental degradation and global changes resulting from human activities have revived a debate about the sustainability of the progress of human welfare that began at least 200 years ago. In this renewed debate, the seriousness and causes of environmental degradation are subject to widely divergent interpretations. There are many conceivable sustainable futures; the most important differences among them are not technical but political and ideological. The practice of environmental planning is concerned with a wide variety of contexts and situations at the human-environment interface. Because land use is at the root of many of the problems of environmental degradation (e.g., habitat destruction, air pollution, water pollution), land use planning is an appropriate focus for consideration of the role of environmental planning in sustainable development. Planning as a profession, with its inherent future orientation and focus on public values, is well situated to deal with the kinds of problems raised in the discourse regarding sustainability. Examination of mainstream land use planning practices, however, reveals a reactive, reformist incrementalism that responds to environmental degradation caused by growth, but that addresses neither its causes nor its dynamics. Mainstream land use planning approaches have attempted to resolve conflicts between development and environment through spatial solutions at various scales. The need to plan for ecological sustainability is difficult to reconcile with the democratic ideal of local self-determination. Many alternative approaches to land use planning for sustainable development focus on design solutions. The requirements of sustainability are not merely technical, however. There are both emancipatory possibilities and their opposite in sustainability. Implementing sustainability offers planners a number of choices. They can act as mediators, demystifyers of technical information, exposers of hidden ideological assumptions, and advocates. They can strengthen existing authority, or work towards an enlightened self-determination at the local level.
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    Underground storage tank disposal : alternatives, economics, and environmental costs
    Robinson, Janet E.; Scott, Denise W.; Knocke, William R.; Conn, W. David (Virginia Water Resources Research Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1988-02)