Goals of PIP

[Celeste Hoehne <choehne@tnrcc.state.tx.us>]

Hello, I'm Celeste Hoehne and the majority of my experience is on the state and local levels of government.  I currently work for the Small Business and Local Government Assistance (SBLGA) Section of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC), which is the state's environmental regulatory agency.  I also have a background of working with many "grassroots" organizations and have seen ways in which public input has benefitted communities by keeping a common sense approach in local regulations....At the local level, public input is beneficial, relatively easy and effective.

Peter Schlesinger makes a number of valid points in looking at the Public Involvement Policy.  Out here on the southern plains of West Texas, many communities don't even have a full time city administrator, much less computer access. Timeliness of information is a high priority if the public is to perceive the effort as genuine, but electronic documents may not be the saving grace to the situation.

Another point to consider is clear communication.  Because of the "legalese" involved in the rule making process and the variety of agency specific jargons and acronyms, the meanings of the rules can sometimes be interpreted in different manners. This can often lead to confusion and a mistrust by the public that "the government is trying to hide something."  

As far as the completeness of the stated goals, I feel that they show a concerted effort to align all facets of the public involvement processes.  The daunting task for any agency is to find the true stakeholders of each issue and be certain that their interests are expressed.