Multiattribute utility analysis as a framework for public participation siting a hazardous waste facility Page: 1 of 9
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03/06/96 16:25 V415 8'54 6233 A.D.A. INC. E003/010
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Multiattribute Utility Analysis as a Framework for Public Participation
Siting a Hazardous Waste Facility
Miley W. Merkhofer
Applied Decision Analysis, Inc.
2710 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park, California 94025 Q $ T 9
Rarilee Conway
Environmental Restoration
Sandia National Laboratories
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-5800 k
Robert G. Anderson
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545
Abstract
In an attempt to facilitate the resolution of contentious environmental problems, public
agencies are increasingly using collaborative approaches wherein stakeholders participate in
the decision-making process. A dilemma for the design of collaborative approaches is the
technical complexity of many environmental problems. How can members of the public play a
meaningful role in decisions that involve complicated scientific arguments?
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 facility.
Key to success was the ability to separate and address the 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 many complex environmental decision
problems.
KEY WORDS: Multiattribute utility analysis; Public involvement; Collaboration; Dispute resolution;
Environmental management
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Merkhofer, M.W.; Conway, R. & Anderson, R.G. Multiattribute utility analysis as a framework for public participation siting a hazardous waste facility, article, May 1, 1996; Albuquerque, New Mexico. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc673219/m1/1/: accessed May 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.