Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been developed to include techniques for involving the public in environmental decision making. Although there is evidence from the evaluation of EIA in many countries that these ambitions often fail, little research has been done on EIA from the viewpoint of the public or from a deliberative democracy perspective (a deliberative democracy creates high demands for participation and argumentation for all concerned). This paper discusses public involvement from the perspective of local residents and their possibilities for engaging in deliberative processes in varying arenas. A case study on an airport extension in Sweden is used as an illustrative example of more general questions of public objectives, means, strategies and influence that are raised in relation to public involvement in planning. When local residents find that the EIA process does not provide them with the tools necessary to make an impact, they may find other creative ways of acting, outside as well as within formal arrangements for public involvement. As shown by this case study EIA opens up an arena for deliberation between concerned parties, but which may then be closed by mechanisms that restrict public involvement and impact. However, there are many arenas for deliberation, both within the traditional representative system and through local protests—an important issue to address if we want to understand involvement (or non-involvement) in EIA from the viewpoint of the public as well as from a deliberative democracy perspective.