Intro and Comments on Goals

[Marilyn Null <marilyn.null@pentagon.af.mil>]

Hi, folks.  My name is Marilyn Null and I am currently the U.S. Air Force's Deputy for Community-Based Programs.  I develop and oversee Air Force and DOD policies on stakeholder involvement in environmental and military training range management issues.  I came to the Air Force from EPA where I was instrumental in building the Superfund community relations program in EPA Region 8 and nationally.

A couple of observations on the draft document intro and goals:

1.  The term "stakeholder," in my mind, means anyone having an interest in the outcome of an agency's action or decision.  That, then, includes agency, as well as regulated, state, local and tribal, and public entities.

2.  The plan needs a goal of providing opportunities for dialogue in order to increase trust, understanding of diverse viewpoints, and collaborative problem-solving.  The plan's current goals emphasize information availability, which is important.  However, in my experience, simply making information available does not stakeholder involvement make.

3.  As has been mentioned, there is sometimes reluctance on the part of governmental staff and managers to fully engage public stakeholders due to what is percieved as potential time delays for projects.  To accomplish true and effective stakeholder involvement, another goal for EPA's plan should be to ensure stakeholder involvement activities are sufficiently resourced, planned for, and incorporated into project schedules.  This should alleviate the problem of stakeholder involvement slowing down the schedule, since it will be built in.

4.  The third goal should read:  "To ensure that the Agency identifies, builds relationships, and consults with..."  Building and maintaining effective relationships is crucial to successful stakeholder involvement.

A final note:  Someone mentioned that lessons might be gleened from work being done at the Massachusetts Military Reservation on Cape Cod.  I totally agree.  Starting from a grid-locked situation several years ago, the Air Force turned the cleanup program at MMR into a model for community-based decision making through a comprehensive and inclusive process.  One example is the Decision Criteria Matrix (can be found at www.mmr.org) in which Air Force, EPA, State, local government and citizens worked collaboratively to determine the most effective remedies for groundwater plumes coming off the installation, rather than following the regular process of the engineers deciding which three options they liked and asking the public to comment for 30 days.

Look forward to a lively and productive discussion in the next couple of weeks.

Marilyn