Balancing And Resolving The Conflicts Of Interests In The Location Selection Of NIMBY Facilities

The location conflicts of NIMBY facilities are the product of the economic development and the embodiment of the people’s growing need for a better environment.The construction of these NIMBY facilities is necessary,but it will affect the interests of the residents near the facilities,so the conflicts of the location of NIMBY facilities are basically the conflicts of different interests among the social subjects.It is not only a response to the actual needs,but also a new topic for environmental law scholars currently to balance the interests of different subjects in the national economic development and protect the interests of residents near the facilities to the greatest extent,thus maintaining a good living environment for human beings.In order to solve the conflicts among the subjects in the location selection of NIMBY facilities and protect the interests of the residents in the vicinity of NIMBY facilities,it is necessary to make clear the basic issues involved in the conflicts of interests in the location selection,analyze the conflicts of interests among the subjects from the perspective of maintaining the environmental interests of the residents in the vicinity of NIMBY facilities and balance the factors that trigger the conflicts of interests among these subjects to design the most appropriate legal solutions to resolve the conflicts of interests in the location of NIMBY facilities.In this way,it can not only enrich the theory of related environmental laws,but also broaden the legal research on the phenomenon of NIMBY facilities,thus establishing a rational foundation for solving the problem of location of NIMBY facilities in legislation and judicial practice in China.The first aspect is the analysis of the basic issues in the conflicts of interests in the location of NIMBY facilities."NIMBY" is a phenomenon that some citizen groups protect their rights against the damage of their environmental interests caused by the construction of the facilities with negative externalities.NIMBY facilities refer to those facilities with the benefits as well as risks opposed by nearby residents.On the basis of the research of scholars at home and abroad,the neighborhood facilities built in China’s modernization development can be divided into pollution risk public facilities,pollution risk production facilities,restless and adaptive public facilities and stigmatized public facilities with respective characteristics,resulting in different conflicts of interests.These conflicts of interests are the root cause of the location conflicts of NIMBY facilities with new characteristics of the times due to the demand of human beings for a good environment.Because the construction of NIMBY facilities will infringe on the environmental interests of the residents near the facilities.The analysis of the residents’ environmental interests and rights will be from the perspective of their deserved rights as correct conflicts of interests.These basic issues are the premise of studying the conflicts of interests in the location selection of NIMBY facilities.The second aspect is the types of conflicts of interests in the location of NIMBY facilities.The conflicts of interests among subjects involved in the location of NIMBY facilities is the object of balancing and resolving the conflicts.It can be generally divided into three categories: the conflicts caused by the difference of the number of subjects,the conflicts caused by the difference of the interests between the subjects and the objects and the conflicts caused by the difference of the value orientation.All conflicts of interests are related to the above-mentioned three types.The conflict of interests in the location selection of public facilities with pollution risk comes from the conflict between public welfare and individual interest in a small scope;the conflicts of interests in the location selection of production facilities with pollution risk come from the conflict between public welfare and individual interest in a large scope and the conflict between environmental protection and economic development;the conflict of interests in the location selection of public facilities with uncertainty comes from the conflict between traditional value and modern value;the conflict of interests in the location of stigmatized public facilities comes from the conflict between the value of justice and the value of freedom.The presentations of the four types are different.The conflicts of interests in the location of these different NIMBY facilities are an important topic of this paper.The third aspect is the balance of the conflicts of interests in the location of NIMBY facilities.The conflicts of interests in the location selection of various kinds of NIMBY facilities are those of legitimate interests among the subjects.The relationship of the interests is for mutual benefits and coexistence instead of opposition.The theory of interests balance is a theory that explains the distribution of interests properly for the legitimate interests of all parties.It can provide consideration for the resolution of the conflicts of interests of the main body when it is introduced into the location selection of different NIMBY facilities.When balancing the interests of the subjects in the location selection,it is necessary to apply the due process principle,proportion principle and short interest priority principle in the principle of interest balancing,adopt two methods of balancing "quality" under the comparison of value objectives and "quantity" under the comparison of the number of beneficiaries.On the basis of the characteristics of different types of NIMBY facilities and the division of their conflicts of interests,this paper summarizes the common factors that need to be weighed to trigger the conflicts of interests in the location of various types of NIMBY facilities,and distinguishes the different individual factors among them.It is the basis of the resolution to balance the conflicts of interests in the location of different NIMBY facilities.The fourth aspect is the resolution of the conflicts of interests in the location of NIMBY facilities.In order to resolve the conflicts of interests in the location selection of the NIMBY facilities,we need to take precautions in advance.It is necessary to determine the rights and responsibilities of different subjects to design the corresponding specific solution,which provides theoretical and practical guidance for solving the conflicts of interests.The prevention of the conflicts of interests in the location of the NIMBY facilities in advance requires the reasonable allocation of the rights and responsibilities of the main body based on the division and balance of the conflicts of interests in the location of the different NIMBY facilities.The government should implement effective administrative measures on the premise of the proper exercise of management power and the consistent assumption of environmental responsibilities;residents in the vicinity of NIMBY facilities should realize citizens’ environmental rights to restrict the government and play games with enterprises;the construction enterprises of NIMBY facilities should bear the social environmental responsibility,and other subjects in the society should also be involved for the balance of interests and the protection of the residents’ rights.The specific resolution to the conflicts of interests in the location of NIMBY facilities can be expressed in the way of consultation with the main body involved,the way of authorization of the third party neutral organization by the government,the enterprise and the residents nearby the facilities,the way of compensation by the government and the enterprise and the way of judicial relief of the environmental rights of the residents.These specific resolutions are through the benign interaction between the main body to resolve the conflicts between the location of NIMBY facilities.The ultimate goal of this paper is to resolve the conflicts of interests in the location of different NIMBY facilities.In a word,in order to resolve the conflicts in the location selection of NIMBY facilities,it is necessary to study the causes and forms of its various conflicts of interests in detail,balance the factors that cause conflicts of interests in different location of NIMBY facilities,allocate the rights and responsibilities of related subjects reasonably in law and provide specific and effective legal solutions to balance the interests of the main bodies.