Effective Outreach--One Example

[Fred Stoss <fstoss@acsu.buffalo.edu>]

Pat Bonner responded to Marty's request for "more innovative ways to identify and reach the people within EPA who can help our communities understand programs, permits, and cleanup activities." Pat asked, "what has your organization done to make it easier to individuals to find the help they need? Who has done what else to help communities?"

I'll give one EPA Region 2 Example:

In the late 1980s EPA issued new guidelines for Small Quantity Generators of hazardous wastes. A major problem for EPA was identifiying the SGQ Community and then getting them aware of and complying with the new SGQ regulations. As the Director of Library and Information Services at the Center for Environmental Information (Rochester, NY) I saw this as an opportunity for CEI to help EPA Region 2 and the Rochester/Monroe County small business community. 

I applied for and received an EPA Region 2 grant to identify in Western New York the SQG Community (used several online business directory databases by SICs for specific EPA categories of busineses of concern) and used the resulting lists as contact resources for education/training workshops.

Summary of results (somewhere there is a written report!):

SQG Community was PETRIFIED by EPA's regulatory clout. Even though there were no penalties, lawsuits, legal actions, etc. associated with the (initial) SQG regulations, the small businesses impacted by them were threatened by such actions and felt that if the EPA didn't know who they were (we told them how EASY it was to find them and the EPA knows how to also) they could "hide in the anonymity.

We told the SQG Community there were easy ways to comply with the new SQG regulations.

The SQG Community was information starved: they had VERY little knowledge about the regulations despite knowing about the serious nature of safe handling and disposal of chemicals in their work place; they had very little knowledge about the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the chemicals they were handling other than they were hazardous, flamable, toxic, or "bad."

Solution: several regional 1/2 day workshops (so persons did not have to spend an entire day away from their shops and places of business) sponsored by a NEUTRAL ORGANIZATION (CEI). Speakers: EPA Region 2 SQG managers, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation hazardous waste managers, an environmental lawyer, a hazardous waste manager from a local LARGE generator of hazardous wastes (Eastman Kodak). Topics: whys and hows of chemical waste management in simple understandable terms, an explanation of the SQG rules in non-legal terms, and THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THE ENTIRE PROJECT: A STEP-BY-STEP WALK THROUGH ON HOW TO FILL OUT THE REQUIRED SQG FORMS. A guidebook was prepared for those not able to attend the workshops. EPA booklets and flyers for SQG program were provided from CEI's library (the booklets, were obtained from one of the information dockets of the EPA Library Network and for about 6 months I had better access to the EPA's SQG information documentation than did my EPA Project Officer! I eventually, told him how to get them from the same information docket... HINT: DO NOT OVERLOOK THE HELP FROM THE EPA LIBRARY NETWORK).

At the EPA Region 2's request we expanded the program and received additional funding. I THINK the total cost for two years of the grant was $50K.

Fred Stoss