Risk Informed Decision Making Laws and public policy are implicitly or explicitly a statement of society's values. In an ideal democracy, federal, state, and local government codes reflect the values of the people, and the regulatory agencies enforce consistent adherence to these codes. Even if the codes and regulatory policies accurately represent consensus, individuals or groups of individuals may have different objectives or priorities and may disagree with the majority. Inclusion of all stakeholders in a transparent process builds confidence among the parties involved that a fair decision has been made. One of the most difficult aspects of forming environmental policy is finding a balance between specificity and flexibility.
Specific policies can provide detailed instructions for making remedial action decisions.
For example, groundwater cleanup policies requiring background, non-detection or generic standards, such as drinking water standards, are very specific. In this case, the regulated conducts an investigation to determine the extent of contamination. When a regulator considers the site, the decision is already specified. If the contaminant levels are greater than the values specified in the water quality objectives, then action must be taken to try and meet the objective values. Deciding what action will best meet the water quality objectives is more difficult due to uncertainties in what lies below the ground surface, as well as technical difficulties in achieving some cleanup goals.