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86 Tex. L. Rev. 1493 (2007-2008)
Harnessing the Power of Information through Community Monitoring: Insights from Social Science

handle is hein.journals/tlr86 and id is 1509 raw text is: Harnessing the Power of Information Through Community Monitoring: Insights from Social Science Christine Overdevest* & Brian Mayer I. Introduction Industrial and other polluters in the United States release enough hazardous pollution into the air to place over 92% of the U.S. population at an increased risk of developing respiratory disease, while 17% of the population is at an even higher risk of toxic respiratory exposures.1 Federal monitoring of hazardous or toxic air pollutants occurs under the Clean Air Act (CAA); however, the monitors used to create regional estimates of air quality are limited in number and provide only rough estimates over large areas.2 This level of resolution does not inform communities living near industrial emitters of hazards in their neighborhoods. Lack of site-specific information hampers individuals and nongovern- mental organizations' (NGOs) ability to understand the risks they face from industrial activity. This asymmetry in information between firms and community groups decreases the likelihood of social mobilization and limits communities' ability to motivate stricter enforcement. However, environmental law has paid insufficient attention to the important role of information and the effect that information asymmetry has on citizens' and NGOs' framing of environmental problems, their mobilization of resources, and their capacity to demand accountability from regulators and polluting firms. In this Article, we observe that several local antitoxic organizations have realized the importance of collecting and diffusing site-specific information for influencing the responsiveness and accountability of firms and regulators. By incorporating the production of self-collected monitoring data as part of their tactical repertoire, or store of strategic tactics, these grassroots organizations seek to overcome-and in the process point us toward-the limits of the current federal air-quality regulatory regime. In better understanding this development of civil-society strategies to collect and disseminate these groups' own environmental-monitoring information, * Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Florida. ** Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Florida. 1. EPA, NATIONAL-SCALE AIR TOXiCS ASSESSMENT (1999), http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/nata 1999/natafinalfact.html (last updated Nov. 6, 2007). 2. See Dara O'Rourke & Gregg P. Macey, Community Environmental Policing: Assessing New Strategies of Public Participation in Environmental Regulation, 22 J. POL'Y ANALYSIS & MGMT. 383, 384 (2003) (discussing the limitations of current air-quality-monitoring systems).

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