Public Access to Information, Participation, and Justice: Forward and Backward Steps Toward an Informed and Engaged Citizenry

• Author: Carl Bruch, Frances Irwin, and Gary D. Bass
• Pages: 459-478

Chapter 30

Public Access to Information, Participation,

and Justice: Forward and Backward Steps

Toward an Informed and Engaged Citizenry

Carl Bruch, Frances Irwin, and Gary D. Bass

Transparency,participation, and accountability are central to effec-

tive environmental management, as well as to democratic gover-

nance.1Nevertheless, since 2002 the U.S. government has under-

mined the principle that the public has a “right to know” by quietly but

increasingly shifting to policies and practices based on the public’s

“need to know,”a standard that leaves the government in charge of de-

termining who needs to know and what they need to know.

Since 2002, the executive branch in particular has fostered this cul-

ture of government secrecy, with a resulting adverse impact on efforts

to achieve sustainable development. Starting in 2001, the Bush Ad-

ministration began to assert executive privilege to curtail legislative

and regulatory measures that sought to ensure effective environmen-

tal management and government administration through transpar-

ency, participation, and accountability. The terrorist attacks of 9/11

provoked—and provided further justification for—additional restric-

tions on public access.2While the threat of terrorism is real, in nu-

merous documented instances the Administration’s invocation of

concerns regarding terrorism and national security appears to over-

reach. In response to a general movement by the federal govern-

ment to restrict access, states have also had an uneven response re-

garding transparency.

The most dramatic measures to improve public access to informa-

tion and public participation have occurred outside the political arena.

Increased use of cell phones and access to the Internet provide new

tools for informing and mobilizing the public. The ability to obtain,

combine, link, and share data on the environment has been revolution-

ized with tools such as Google Earth, YouTube, and Wikipedia. And

environmental and political activists have used the Internet to inform

and mobilize constituents, as well as to raise funds.

459

Newer environmental challenges—particularly those relating to

climate change, ecosystem services, nanotechnology, and endocrine

disruptors—should further shape the evolution of public access in the

years to come. This chapter briefly examines the importance of access

to sustainable development in the United States, and then analyzes

measures affecting access since 2002. It concludes with recommenda-

tions for strengthening public access, participation, and justice, par-

ticularly at the federal level.

Public Access and Sustainable Development

The transition that the United States must make to achieve

sustainability entails numerous reforms in how people live, work, and

relate to one another. Transparent and participatory processes are es-

sential if we are to engage the public in this reform process, build sup-

port for the reforms, and leverage the necessary resources. The Ameri-

can people need information to fully understand the environmental

challenges the country faces, to motivate the commitment of re-

sources necessary to address those challenges, and to track progress

toward meeting the goals of sustainable development. Similarly,

public participation in decisionmaking provides opportunities to ed-

ucate potentially affected people about the impacts and options they

face (e.g., through an environmental impact assessment or notice-

and-comment rulemaking). It also allows different sectors of the

public to have their voices heard and bring additional information to

the attention of the decisionmakers, and ultimately to improve the

quality of decisions and their implementation. Access to the judicial

system is also key to ensuring that people’s procedural and environ-

mental rights are respected.

As Congress reaffirmed in 2007 when it adopted the OPEN Gov-

ernment Act, broad public access is central to good governance. In-

deed, limiting access reduces opportunities for oversight and account-

ability, providing a context in which unsustainable decisions and ac-

tions are more difficult to detect, prevent, or remedy.

Recent Developments in Public Access

Developments in public access since 2002 have been characterized

by divergent trends. Even as technological developments generated

significant new opportunities for the public to use and share data, the

460 AGENDA FOR A SUSTAINABLE AMERICA