PERCEIVED RISK AND THE SITING OF A CONTROVERSIAL ...

The secondary research method was examining pertinent written materials to the
case study that were available. This included the contract (the Interlocal agreement
between WMARSS and the City of Lorena, city council minutes, correspondence
among, and between, participants, newspaper articles pertaining to the issue, litigation
filings, legal rulings, and all official documents on file with TCEQ, such as the permits,
the Agreed Order, historical City files (both Waco and Lorena), violations and
enforcement actions, the public comments pertaining to the permits, and the SOAH
documents. Electronic correspondence between stakeholders was also examined.
5.2. Role of the Researcher
Residents of the Bull Hide community were invited to a short presentation by
representatives of the R.W. Beck Engineering firm at the local high school on March 20,
2008. To their surprise and dismay, they were informed that a regional wastewater
treatment facility would be constructed in their neighborhood on the popular creek.
Although the project had been planned for over ten years, this was the first time any of
the residents had been contacted. They had not been included in the planning and their
input has not been solicited. They were simply given a brief presentation as to what was
going to transpire. Not surprisingly, they were enraged, offended, alarmed and quickly
mobilized to hold a community meeting the following Tuesday. A friend of mine who
lived close to the plant asked me to attend that meeting.
After that meeting, I decided to research the subject. Within a few days, I began
the process of researching the permit status (the first permit had been filed in 2007 with
a second permit being filed the previous week), reviewing contracts and RFP’s (Request
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