Grantee Research Project Results

2005 Progress Report: Volunteering for State Cleanup Programs

EPA Grant Number: R832154
Title: Volunteering for State Cleanup Programs
Investigators: Wernstedt, Kris , Blackman, Allen , Lyon, Thomas
Institution: Resources for the Future
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: November 1, 2004 through October 31, 2006
Project Period Covered by this Report: November 1, 2004 through October 31, 2005
Project Amount: $275,072
RFA: Corporate Environmental Behavior and the Effectiveness of Government Interventions (2004) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Environmental Justice

Objective:

The objective of this research project is to improve understanding in the research and state and local practitioner communities of: (1) the motivations of public and private entities to enter voluntary cleanup programs; (2) features of voluntary cleanup programs that appear most attractive to program participants and most effective to state officials; and (3) the relationship between motivations for participation and characteristics of enrolled properties (land use, market value of property, cleanup costs), community demographics (income, education, political engagement), and participants (property interest in site, public or private entity, organizational size).

Progress Summary:

During Year 1 of the project, we performed a review of existing databases with information on contaminated sites. Not surprisingly, the review has revealed that existing databases are inadequate for purposes of our planned analysis, so we have moved ahead on our planned survey of voluntary program participants. As a first step in the survey design, we have begun development of an analytical model that depicts factors that shape participants’ decisions about enrolling in state-run voluntary cleanup programs. During Year 1 of the project, we also completed interviews for all but a handful of state voluntary cleanup programs and coded results in an Access database. The responses reveal the use of a range of risk assessment methods for determining remediation goals in voluntary programs, as well as strikingly different liability standards in the programs. For example, the character of reopeners—the reconsideration of cleanup decisions—varies widely among the states, suggesting that expectations of program participants about liability protections and their willingness to undertake voluntary cleanups differ markedly among the states.

Future Activities:

The next phase of the research includes case studies of several state voluntary cleanup programs, completion of an analytical model of program participation, and a survey of voluntary program participants about their attitudes toward the voluntary programs and their motivations for enrolling in them. Regression analysis of the responses to the survey will allow us to examine the relationship between motivations and the characteristics of the participants, enrolled sites, and community demographics.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 1 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

contaminated sites, groundwater, land, soil, liability relief, local economic development, regulatory reform, decision making, community revitalization, sustainable development, psychological, regulatory reform, risk-based cleanup,, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Economic, Social, & Behavioral Science Research Program, Economics & Decision Making, decision-making, Social Science, Psychology, advocacy coalition framework, voluntary programs, hazardous waste management, participatory action research, behavior change, coalition formation, environmental decision making, activism, environmental values, collaborative decision making, community participation, environmental attitudes, psychological attitudes, decision making

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

Final