Our challenge, beginning with this forum, is to create a partnership in which federal agencies and private technology vendors seek the advice of the affected public, state and Indian regulators, and local government, not just in the application of cleanup technologies, but in choices about development. Outsiders have a role to play in allocating resources and in making sure that technology demonstrations adequately capture the strengths and weaknesses of the new technologies. It is my hope that decision-makers, in both business and government, will respond to our advice, not just because we represent a political force to be reckoned with, but because we have good ideas and knowledge based upon the fact that we are downwind, downstream, or upstairs from the problem. The pay-off from this partnership could be enormous. As the slow development and implementation of innovative technologies attests, there are institutional obstacles to their introduction.
Regulators are reluctant to take risks.
Contractors may make more money using tried and somewhat true methods that take longer and cost more. The public, however, has a clear stake in faster, safer, better, and more cost-effective cleanup. When and where the neighbors and employees of military bases find new approaches acceptable, they often enthusiastically support innovative technologies. Even now, that increases the use of new approaches, but we need to do more. We want to do more than set priorities in technology development.