nuclear energy—that lie outside the scope of their 
expertise and jurisdiction. 
Industry also is frustrated, particularly by the 
fact that it is taking longer to obtain permits at a 
time when more permits than ever are required. 
They are angered by the lack of coordination among 
government agencies and by the time and money 
required to license a facility. There is concern that 
new facilities may not be ready when needed. 
Recent Developments 
It is clear to Congress and others that simply 
changing siting procedures will not magically settle 
major political disputes over energy facilities. It also 
is clear that any new siting procedures must operate 
within a political system that emphasizes both fed- 
eralism and a strong role for private companies. 
Given these imperatives, the new siting laws and 
other procedural changes of recent years are seen 
as a better way to discuss and channel disputes, not 
as a panacea for resolving energy debates. These 
changes are still new and vary a great deal, but sev- 
eral basic trends can be seen. In particular, they 
reflect a new willingness to consider alternatives and 
to involve the States and public more in siting mat- 
ters. 
On one level, Government has been trying to re- 
solve the substantive issues which have received at- 
tention from the public. For instance, agencies are 
looking at alternative approaches to locating these 
facilities—such as energy parks, where a number of 
facilities are concentrated to cut down the need for 
multiple sites; remote siting for some dangerous 
kinds of plants, such as liquefied natural gas termi- 
nals; and even offshore sites for some types of facil- 
ities. Larger (“generic”) issues such as which 
facilities are needed, reactor safety, and basic envi- 
ronmental safeguards are being addressed on other 
than a case-by-case basis. 
There are also some major changes in the process 
that addresses such issues and makes the siting deci- 
sions. These changes in process are reflected in such 
new laws as the Deepwater Port Act, the Coastal 
Zone Management Act, and the proposed Outer Con- 
tinental Shelf Lands Act Amendments (of 1978). 
Some key elements of these laws are: 
il Siting Processes (which include both the plan- 
ning and licensing of facilities) are designed so 
that these “larger” issues are addressed before 
regulatory agencies consider specific proposals. 
This is done so these issues need not be brought 
up in each case. “Larger” policy issues can be 
addressed through agency rule-making hear- 
ings, executive task forces, or new legislation. 
2. The siting processes also are designed so that a 
particular proposal is reviewed by the Govern- 
ment before a company invests a great deal of 
time and money on a specific design and site. 
The idea is to discuss possible objections to the 
site as early as possible. One technique is to 
guide the companies before they make their pre- 
liminary decisions; this is done through special 
guidelines (also known as “performance stand- 
ards” or “siting criteria”) which tell companies 
in advance what kinds of facilities will be allowed 
on what kinds of sites. Another approach is to 
require early disclosure of company plans. A 
third, used in Maryland, is for the Government 
itself to select sites in advance. 
3. They often help facilitate public participation in 
government proceedings, sometimes to the ex- 
tent of providing financial assistance to citizen 
groups. 
4. They seek to improve the coordination of permit 
processes and to expedite licensing proceedings. 
This is done by establishing clear-cut agency 
jurisdictions, requiring agencies to establish in- 
teragency coordination procedures, and speci- 
fying deadlines for reaching decisions. 
Examples of these new trends can be seen by look- 
ing at the new or proposed laws for siting specific 
kinds of energy facilities. 
Siting of Particular Kinds of Coastal Energy Facilities 
Oil Tanker Facilities, Including Deepwater Ports 
The siting of tanker terminals, including ofishore 
deepwater port facilities, illustrates the strengths, 
limitations, and administrative costs of the new type 
of siting processes. 
Issues and Processes for Onshore Terminals. 
Tankers play an important role in the transporta- 
tion of this country’s energy supplies. About half of 
the oil this country now consumes is imported, most 
of it by tanker, much of it from the Middle East. In 
_addition, there is considerable shipment of oil in the 
domestic coastal and inland trades, though pipelines 
still play the predominant role in domestic petroleum 
transportation. 
Today, much attention focuses specifically on the 
role of tankers carrying Alaskan oil to the rest of 
the country. The key issue is whether to build new 
tanker terminals on the West Coast, with connecting 
Pipelines to carry the oil to the Midwest, or to carry 
the oil not used by the West Coast to the East via 
tanker and the Panama Canal. Political interest in 
this issue runs high. The discussions come at a time 
of high concern about the safety and environmental 
IV-73 
