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........; .,.. 00t715 their opinions. Pro-development interests, how- ever, also have the advantage of our traditional view, ensconced in law, that the use of private property is largely at the discretion of the owner, provided that requirements to protect the general health, safety, and well-being of society are observed. Thus. a somewhat balanced set of forces exists, with the sway affected by public opinion through its expression in the legislative and ex- ecutive powers of government tempered by tradi- tional and constitutional judiciary considerations. Into this potentially adversary situation, the scientist comes forth with technical information and assessments on the likely impact of various alternative-development plans and mitigating programs. The sensitivity of the situation and the potential for this information to affect the decision- making process makes collection and analysis of the environmental information a potential threat from the viewpoint of the interested parties. The fact often not realized by the contenders is the positive value that information can have for both of them in resolving their conflict. In contrast to Per Hansa and the widow, where the total quan- tity of potatoes and chickens was fixed and they were just bargaining for a mutually advantageous redistribution, the environmental-development conflict commonly has opportunities for resolution that are better for most of the interested parties. Achieving such resolutions requires bargaining and a technical-information base to demonstrate to the interested parties the potential benefita and costa of the alternative actions being considered, Without a technical-information base, the relative benefits and costs of such disparate items as reclaimed land, nutrient concentrations in stream- flow, municipal indebtedness, and environmental damages cannot be displayed. The potential for discovering those compromise solutions, that are viewed by the major interesta as better than what might have been achieved without the information, remains unfulfilled. Methods for making decisions concerning natural-resources development and the environ- mental consequences of such development vary from situation to situation, reflecting the influence of tradition. legal development. and extent of con- troversy over the issues to be determined. The failure of prescri bed decisionmaking processes to reach a compromise acceptable to the major parties of interest may lead to an appeal ofthe decision to a higher administrative, legislative, or judicial authority, which has the effect of mixing the decisionmaking methods in a sequential manner. Another type of mixing occurs in cases where the decisionmaking takes place in many steps at dif- ferent locations. Development of a mine-mouth electric powerplant requires decisionmaking at many political levels as described by Beckner (1976). Although decisionmaking usually cannot be simply described, there are several decisionmaking processes which may approximate particular situa- tions or components of a larger planning process. The information requirements for each of these processes can be more easily and generally de- scribed than for the total decisionmaking process. Many natural-resource decisions that would adversely impact the environment were virtually unopposed before the growth of environmentalism in the late 1960's. Opposition to decisions prior to that time often existed only locally and was not well organized; effective legal and procedural mechanisms were lacking. The public as a whole had more trust in government, more perceived need for economic development, and a feeling of in- evitability of governmental and corporate plans. Because the decision making was centered in the private sector or accomplished in government in a rather rigorously prescribed procedure and en- vironmental effects were of less concern, the needs for technical information in the decision process were rather small. Environmental information (data and modeling) was used after the main deci- sion was made, when ameliorating procedures such as streamflow augmentation for dilution of heat load and residual discharge were being considered. Relatively limited information is also used in making decisions. the outcomes of which are deter- mined by an administrative process. An example is the one-stop regulatory agency. Authority to grant permits, set rules, and establish standards, legislatively delegated to administrative agencies. is a rather commonly used decision making mecha- nism in Federal and State governments. For convenience, for maintenance of a mask of equity, and for minimizing the risks of judicial review, action agencies often favor uniformity in rulemaking and regulatory approach. It requires very little information and engenders less judicial risk to decree a uniform level of residuals modifica- tion, and requires much less information than is re- quired to design a minimum cost regional 11