Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Estimating Errors: The Politics Of Environmental Impact Assessment Along The Savannah River, Ryan Craig Covington

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation research, I investigate three interrelated conflicts which emerged as part of an environmental impact assessment along the Savannah River in the late 1990s: a controversial plan to improve water quality through supplemental oxygen injection; a lengthy struggle over federal funding policies that constrained efforts to address scientific uncertainty; and an entrenched refusal to investigate human health risks from air toxics at the Port of Savannah. In each of these conflicts, I trace the dismantling of controversy, investigating how, and with what effect, the slow and tedious work of building consensus has reshaped the governance of the lower …