Cleaning Up the Air: The EPA and Shuttle Diplomacy

Abstract

In practice, building collaborative relationships between environmental groups and industry is not an easy task especially during environmental rulemaking. However, this paper uses original interview data to document a different perspective from stakeholders across two case studies within the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ): the renewable fuels standard and the locomotive and marine engine rule. In these particular cases, this paper argues that OTAQ uses a new approach - shuttle diplomacy - to negotiate stakeholder differences prior to publication of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The findings from this paper help to suggest that the intent of this rule development approach is to provide an atmosphere where stakeholders begin to trust in the process, because they are helping to create it.