Comparative Site Evaluations for Locating a High-Energy Physics Lab in Texas

TLDR

The study aimed to identify and compare feasible sites for a very high‑energy physics laboratory in Texas. Six candidate sites were evaluated with Data Envelopment Analysis that integrated project cost, user time delay, and environmental impact, and price weights for time delay and impact were analyzed to delineate an assurance region for preferred sites. South Dallas emerged as the preferred site under a wide range of conditions, whereas North Houston’s ranking was sensitive to environmental impact weighting, and the method is applicable to other siting problems.

Abstract

In 1984, the Texas Legislature funded a four-university, interdisciplinary effort to identify feasible sites for location of a very high-energy physics lab in Texas and to evaluate the comparative advantages of one site versus another. Six feasible sites were identified and a comparative site analysis was made by applying Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), incorporating project cost, user time delay, and environmental impact data. In addition, for the efficient sites, the price weights for user time delay and environmental impact, given normalization on project cost, were analyzed and arguments were developed to bracket these pairs of price weights into an “assurance region” for the preferred site(s). The South Dallas site was found to be preferred for a wide range of conditions, while the North Houston site was sensitive to the method of indexing the impact of the environment. The method appears to be applicable to a wide range of siting problems faced by not only government, but also industry.