ABSTRACT
Environmental impact assessments are required by the National Environmental Policy Act and state environmental protection laws. This chapter describes the value judgments that typically must be made at each step of the impact assessment process. It highlights the ways in which negotiation and mediation strategies can be used to ensure that these value judgments represent the true concerns of all the stakeholders. The chapter explains some of the ways in which adhoc negotiation and mediation efforts can be linked to formal decision-making. Once the commitments of the participating groups become public, full-fledged negotiations become easier. The intent of the negotiation strategies is to suggest that impact assessment can be converted from a data gathering activity designed to inform officials to a collaborative process in which adhoc agreements reached by all the stakeholders become binding commitments. For once a negotiation process has begun, it gains momentum.
