The Federal Advisory Committee Act and Public Participation in Environmental Policy
DownloadThis paper discusses the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and how it affects public participation in environmental decision-making. Passed in 1972 as one of the "openness in government" laws, FACA governs how the federal government seeks outside advice. It has had a profound influence on who participates in government decision-making, when they participate, how they participate, and what influence participation has on policy.FACA has had a number of notable successes. Primary among these has been its role in limiting the unbalanced influence of special interests, acting through advisory committees, on public policy-making. The advisory committees which the law governs have also achieved a number of the "social goals" of public participation, including: (1) educating the public, (2) bringing public values into government decision-making, (3) improving the substantive quality of decisions, (4) increasing trust in government institutions, and (5) reducing conflict. Often, advisory committees have given government relatively inexpensive access to experts and stakeholders in order to achieve these goals.However, FACA has also created
Authors
Rebecca Long
Thomas Beierle
