As a policy analyst, the idea of responsibility is vital. It is important as a policy analyst to understand responsibility as a balance between your truth or considered judgment, your ethical values, perspective and professional standards with those of your client. In some or most cases, your client is your boss. Assuming your client or boss represents an issue, a group of constituents or both, then your responsibility is also to who and/or what your client represents. The idea of responsibility and balancing that responsibility is one of the more consistent and important themes implied throughout the case of New Bedford Harbor Superfund Cleanup project carried out by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The EPA initiated superfund cleanup when polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were detected in New Bedford city's water. New Bedford at the time was a 100,000-member community mostly composed of the working class and …show more content…
However, Garman's inability to balance her responsibilities with her own values, those of her client, and to who/what her client represents, delayed the project's completion. In other words, Garman's stiffness to the EPA's goal, possibly caused her to overlook other important responsibilities, like community involvement. Despite some community involvement from a group of 25 members, which later decreased to 10 members, the group did not fully nor equally represent the interests of New Bedford constituents. By neglecting to tune into the interests of New Bedford constituents, the tension between the community including New Bedford City Council and the EPA mounted. This resulted in a whirlwind of lawsuits, and other unavoidable issues. Had the EPA, especially Garman, recognized and maintained responsibility between her client, the issue, and New Bedford constituents, the EPA could have avoided the three to the four-decade-long
The EPA initiated superfund cleanup when polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were detected in New Bedford city's water. New Bedford at the time was a 100,000-member community mostly composed of the working class and …show more content…
However, Garman's inability to balance her responsibilities with her own values, those of her client, and to who/what her client represents, delayed the project's completion. In other words, Garman's stiffness to the EPA's goal, possibly caused her to overlook other important responsibilities, like community involvement. Despite some community involvement from a group of 25 members, which later decreased to 10 members, the group did not fully nor equally represent the interests of New Bedford constituents. By neglecting to tune into the interests of New Bedford constituents, the tension between the community including New Bedford City Council and the EPA mounted. This resulted in a whirlwind of lawsuits, and other unavoidable issues. Had the EPA, especially Garman, recognized and maintained responsibility between her client, the issue, and New Bedford constituents, the EPA could have avoided the three to the four-decade-long