Discussion Summary: July 11, 2001

Dialogue Day 2 Agenda: Identifying the Interested Public

Today's topic addresses identification of the audience for EPA involvement. Dialogue moderator Bob Carlitz asked participants how EPA can identify the audience to involve and how groups and individuals might inform EPA of their interest. He noted that Environmental Justice in an important concern: how can the Agency enable underserved populations to participate more effectively.

Note: Postings appearing by 8:00 PM Eastern time appear in today's summary.

Participants offered thoughtful and compelling opinions relating to today's topic, Identifying the Interested Public. The diversity of the posts reflected our participants' breadth of knowledge and experience. Many posts focused on issues related to local Superfund sites. Others expressed concerns about citizen involvement and Agency responsiveness. A few questioned whether EPA should integrate public participation into its management systems for the entire policy life cycle.

How EPA should identify interested and potentially affected parties

• Identifying interested stakeholders is the first crucial step in public participation. Suggestions and resources for identifying stakeholders included: newspaper articles and ads, public service announcements and news stories on radio and television, radio ads, talk shows, videos on community access channels, community leaders and residents, open houses and public meetings, churches and libraries, door-to-door neighborhood walks, city and county council meetings, community and neighborhood organizations. Many of these forums generate public discussion and cause people to band together.

• Major stakeholders are those adversely impacted by environmental assaults, and their early notification and involvement with EPA is essential and primary. To this end, informing and identifying the impacted community is the first step to outreach in affected communities. This should start with communities that are located fence-line to the assault and follow all exposure routes that may carry contaminants away from the site (surface waters, channels, creeks, etc.). Fence-line communities get the major hit from air borne pollutants; however, down-wind communities are also impacted.

• One outreach strategy is to intimately involve environmental justice organizations. These organizations address the assault as their primary goal and are more effective than the best EPA outreach in informing and involving the affected community.

• EPA needs to contact abutters, current and potential users of natural resources, regional special interests, as well as community leaders about parties who may be interested.

• Participants considered the different meanings of the concept "public involvement." Levels of the Public Participation Spectrum include to inform, consult, involve, collaborate, and empower. Identifying the appropriate public(s) depends on the level of involvement that EPA is offering.

  It was noted that protest, direct action, and civil disobedience are also effective means to bring about change.

• EPA should encourage direct participation on review teams, which gives members more ability to speak than if they were in the audience.

• Public involvement staff at the federal, state, and local level can identify groups, solicit their interest, and extend invitations to forums.

• EPA should seek individuals who have complained about a situation. These people have already shown an interest and some motivation. Lists of complainants may be found in city hall, state and local environmental agencies, and health departments, etc. EPA needs to ensure that state, local and tribal entities inform the public where to direct complaints and then record the complaints.

• Public involvement throughout the life of a project requires identifying stakeholders early. Keeping these stakeholders informed from the start will result in more valuable input at that critical phase when their comments are needed.

• EPA should form a network throughout the country of local "Outreach" professionals and let these local professionals identify the target audiences using guidelines provided by EPA.

• In identifying concerned tribes, EPA must consider many factors: legal requirements, statutory rights regarding aboriginal lands, historic preservation, grave protection and repatriation, and traditional cultural property, among others.

• Greater efforts need to be made to involve the public in the rulemaking process. The Federal Register does not work well as an effective notification tool for residents of small communities.

• EPA should focus strategically on understanding and addressing community perceptions (right or wrong) to be more effective.

• Outreach must go beyond education. Public Involvement means getting involved, taking action, and making a change. EPA needs to focus on learning what motivates people to action and implement these motivating factors.

How can groups and individuals inform EPA of their interests?

Some participants viewed the goals as laudable, thorough, and broad in scope, while others thought them vague, incomplete, too numerous, and paternalistic. Several key points about the goals are highlighted here.

• Toll free phones advertised on TV and radio allow people to reach EPA.

• Mailings used in conjunction with TV and radio stimulates neighbor support discussion and involvement.

• Mailing lists and sign-in sheets from different government agencies is another source of interested individuals and groups.

• Agencies must deal directly with the public, rather than rely on local or national groups to get the word out to the public. Groups do not have a mission to talk to the public, or if they do, it is to their own constituency flavored by their perspective on the issue.

• In some areas the EPA relies on newspapers and federal newsletters to reach the public. Criticism of this approach centered on whitewashing information and "disinforming" the public about issues.

• The public can contact EPA via letters, email, attending meetings, telephone calls, web-based message services. This needs to be a two-way activity; i.e., EPA needs to seek out interest by continually informing the public in regional newspapers, television, and radio.

• Forums, web sites, and video conferences are a few means of seeking input from groups and individuals.

• Local professionals who work on a project could set up ways for communities to notify them of their interest.

Environmental Justice: how can EPA enable underserved populations to participate more effectively?

• EPA needs to request from community leaders information about potentially interested parties. This needs to be an iterative process. Community resources may include organizations, churches, neighborhoods, interest groups, etc.

• The professional network at the local level could inform EPA of the local issues.

• Those involved in outreach among underserved populations must bear in mind there is significant diversity within any group. Consideration must be given to racial, ethnic, and economic differences; immigration and legal status; cultural and historical differences. While the media is an important component of reaching the underserved, building an effective local and national network is the key.

• EPA needs to enhance its identification efforts when it comes to tribal communities. Develop relationships with all tribal organizations and do not rely on electronic media.

• One long post addressed specially affected populations and how to develop a Participatory Equity Principle.

Each day's summary is intended to capture the essence of the conversation. While this summary contains the highlights of participants' comments relating to today's topics, more comprehensive information may be found in the individual postings. I welcome your comments on the summaries.

Sally Hedman, Reporter