The Academic Community and its Role in Environmental (Air) Licensing 1

Environmental licensing plays a critical role in protecting human health, the environment, and the earth’s climate. Licensing works best when regulators, the private sector, and academics work together. Working together, however, can be difficult when the levels of trust between the parties are limited. Research engineers and scientists can strengthen trust when they provide unbiased research. The United States (US) Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) licensing process establishes clear roles for the research community and, often, clear requirements, which help build trust in the licensing process. This article will describe key feature of the US regulatory process that strengthen stakeholder trust, and provide anecdotes from recent experiences.