The Role of Deliberative Democracy in Environmental Decision-Making: A Case Study of the Thacker Pass Lithium Mining Project

Abstract

Demand for lithium is growing rapidly as a result of increasing production of electric vehicles and the lithium-ion batteries that power these vehicles. In the interest of securing a domestic supply of lithium the United States Bureau of Land Management approved a proposal to mine lithium at Thacker Pass in Northern Nevada. Since the proposal was approved in January 2021, multiple environmental groups, Native American tribes, and community members have voiced opposition to the mining project, arguing that the mine will degrade habitat, cause irreparable harm to sacred land, and use scarce water resources. Stakeholders including local community members and tribes also assert that they were not adequately consulted prior to approval of the project. At the crux of the conflict at Thacker Pass lie two questions: (1) who is included in the decision-making process? and (2) how should decisions be made when stakeholder values are pluralistic, conflicting, and incommensurable? In this paper I argue that deliberative democracy is the best procedural framework for decision-making at Thacker Pass because it is an inclusive process and is able to take into account plural, conflicting, and incommensurable values.