ID: 1745
Presenting Author: Robert Paterson
Session: 526 - The Truth Tangle: Untying Misinformation in Impact Assessment
Status: pending
A conceptual framework for Joint Fact Finding and Data Mediation to address problems created by dis(mis)information in EIA practice using wetland impact assessment HGM example to illustrate utility.
The increasing prevalence of dis(mis)information poses a significant challenge to the legitimacy and effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes. This paper explores the integration of joint fact-finding and structured data mediation (JFF/DM) strategies to enhance transparency, foster stakeholder trust, and counteract mis(dis)information in EIA practice. Drawing from applied case studies and federal agency guidance, the paper outlines a JFF-DM framework where stakeholders can participate in the development, validation, and analysis of study area boundaries, scoping, baseline data, alternatives screening, impact modeling, mitigation planning, and project monitoring/adaptation (Susskind 2017). By embedding JFF/MD within each phase of the EIS agencies can create "shared ownership" of both methods and outcomes, reduce opportunities for disinformation to take root, and produce more durable, publicly accepted decisions (EPA 2024). To demonstrate the framework’s practical utility, the paper walks through how it could be applied for a low gradient wetland impact analysis using the ACOE’s HGM method (Wilder et al. 2013). JFF/DM can play an important role in all aspects of HGM, including (1) Purpose and Need & Scoping, (2) Project Boundaries & Spatial Study Area Definitions, (3) Baseline Data Collection & Validation, (4) Alternatives Analysis, (5) Impact Modeling Using HGM, (6) Mitigation Hierarchy Application, (7) Section 404 Regulatory Compliance, and (8) Adaptive Management. JFF/DM has great potential to counter misinformation.
Associate Professor of Community and Regional Planning, The University of Texas at Austin
Coauthor 1: Alfredo David Zarazua Rodriguez