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by T. Randall Curlee (Author), David L. Feldman (Author), David P. Vogt (Author)
This book presents the first comprehensive and unbiased assessment of the social and economic factors that drive decisions about waste-to-energy (WTE) projects in the United States. Information about each WTE project initiated between 1982 to 1990 is combined with detailed socioeconomic data at the county level to identify the social and economic differences between counties that have completed WTE facilities and counties that have abandoned their projects during the planning process. To examine the effects of political objectives, public attitudes, and the decision process itself, the book reports on four in-depth case studies--two directed at communities that have accepted WTE and two that have canceled WTE projects. The book also discusses the potential health and environmental risks posed by WTE and alternative waste practices, legislative initiatives and regulatory uncertainties, and the potential for energy production from burning our municipal waste.
Municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration, commonly called waste-to-energy (WTE), was adopted by many U.S. communities during the 1980s and now is used to manage about 16% of all U.S. MSW. Many experts forecasted that WTE would be used to manage as much as half of all garbage by the turn of the century. Those forecasts and the long-run viability of WTE are now challenged by massive cancellations of WTE projects across the United States. Between 1986 and 1990, 207 WTE projects were abandoned, compared to only 140 operational facilities in 1990. Why have these cancellations occurred, and what do they tell us about the long-run viability of WTE? This book addresses these questions and presents the first comprehensive and unbiased assessment of the social and economic factors that drive decisions about WTE in the United States. The book adopts a three-pronged approach to investigate (1) the relationships between a community's decision about WTE and the social and economic characteristics of that community, (2) the impacts of recent changes in financial markets on the viability of WTE, and (3) the decision-making process by which communities decide about WTE. The first two objectives are met by the collection and analysis of data on all U.S. WTE projects from 1982 to 1990. The latter objective is met by way of four in-depth case studies--two directed at communities that have accepted WTE and two that have canceled WTE projects. The book also discusses the potential health and environmental risks posed by WTE and alternative waste practices, legislative initiatives and regulatory uncertainties, and the potential for energy production from burning our municipal waste.Author Biography
T. RANDALL CURLEE is an economist and Head of the Energy and Global Change Anaysis Section in the Energy Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In addition to Congressional testimony and serving on several national advisory panels on the topic of municipal waste management, Dr. Curlee is widely published in various areas of waste management and resource allocation. He has also contributed several chapters to books on the subject of waste management and is the author of The Economic Feasibility of Recycling: A Case Study of Plastic Waste (Praeger, 1986).
SUSAN M. SCHEXNAYDER, an anthropologist, is a research associate of the University of Tennessee's Energy, Environment, and Resource Center subcontracted to Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Energy Division. Ms. Schexnayder has extensive interviewing and social impact assessment experience. She has examined community preferences at Superfund sites for the U.S. EPA, conducted social and cultural resource impact assessments for environmental impact statements for several federal agencies, and produced socio-demographic portions for U.S. Department of Energy safety analysis reports. DAVID P. VOGT is an economist in the Energy and Economic Analysis Section of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. His research interests are in the development of analysis tools that focus on providing a consistent national and regional perspective of the potential impacts of alternative policy choices. Much of his work has addressed the potential constraints on regional development and/or adverse impacts due to energy shortage or shifts in energy supply patterns. Dr. Vogt has developed several nationally recognized regional modeling systems for the U.S. Department of Energy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S. National Guard. AMY K. WOLFE, an anthropologist in Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Energy Division, specializes in decision making issues relating to technology and the environment as well as social impact assessment. Dr. Wolfe's publications--book chapters, journal articles, and technical reports--center on perceptions of technologies and their risks, risk communication, and methods for social impact assessment. Journals in which she published and served as guest editor or co-editor include The Environmental Professional and Practicing Anthropology. MICHAEL P. KELSAY is currently an Assistant Professor at Indiana-Purdue University at Fort Wayne in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Dr. Kelsay has an extensive background in the areas of municipal waste management and finance. While at the University of Tennessee's Energy, Environmental, and Resources Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, he worked on a variety of solid and hazardous waste projects for the State of Tennessee and U.S. EPA. Prior to going to the University of Tennessee, Dr. Kelsay was President and Chief Executive Officer of Argentine Savings and Loan in Kansas City, Kansas. He is the author of book chapters and other publications on waste management and tax policy, and has made numerous professional presentations on the financial aspects of waste management. DAVID L. FELDMAN is a political scientist and Senior Research Associate at the Energy, Environment, and Resources Center at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He also serves as Senior Editor of Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy. Dr. Feldman has led studies on the implications of SARA Title III for risk communication and public involvement in risk management and is widely published in the fields of waste management in the United States and Europe, global environmental policy, and water resources management. He is the author of Water Resources Management: In Search of an Environmental Ethic (1991).
