Community Power Structure and Risk Policies. Jy-Pyng Sah, Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3137
This paper examines the relationship between community power structures and risk policies. Because risk policies are often adopted and implemented within the community, it is very important to understand the effect of community power structure on risk policies. The impact of community power structure on risk policies is explored in terms of two distinct risk situations: flooding and flood plain management, and municipal solid waste management. Flooding is a natural hazard regulated under the federal National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP); solid waste is a hazard created by humans that is regulated under the federal Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Both of these regulatory structures place significant demands on the local community. This paper will explore the theoretical implications of the relationship between community power structure and risk policies by comparing the risk policy making process associated with these two significant local risks in terms of their local power structures.