2 
information from the public to the decision-making agencies, 
and some procedures open the administrative process to negotia- 
tion when public representatives actually share in decision- 
making authority. 
Informing the Public 
The public notice procedures, using the Federal Register , 
follows from the Administrative Procedures Act (1948) in which 
the rules and standards which form the basis of regulatory ac- 
tion are published in the Register prior to final adoption. 
The Freedom of Information Act (1966) expanded access to infor- 
mation about agency policies by requiring publication in the 
Register of decision-making procedures in general policies as 
well. The assumptions underlying these requirements is that 
in order to become involved the citizen must have access to 
data and reports that reveal the actual process of decision- 
making as well as the information on which agencies' decisions 
are based. Indeed the Federal Register is widely available and 
is scanned by citizen groups for reports that are relevant to 
their interests. However the Register is cumbersome, contain- 
ing more than 60,000 three-columned pages per year. In addition 
the high cost of obtaining information under the Freedom of 
Information Act often discourages citizen groups. Most requests 
come from businesses seeking information about competitors and 
lawyers involved in liability suits. 1 
The National Environmental Protection Act probably pro- 
vided the most significant advance in public access by requir- 
ing Environmental Impact Statements. The document must be writ- 
ten to solicit public opinion; drafts as well as final copies 
must be made available at a cost not exceeding the charge of 
reproducing the materials. More important, agencies are encouraged 
[A-lll] 
