Outreach to Stakeholders

[Sheril SMith <sasmith@mail.utexas.edu>]

I have been actively involved in Texas in various environmental and social issues over the years, primarily as a volunteer. (I'm Water Resources Chair for Lone Star Chapter of Sierra Club.) My concern is that the term stakeholder needs to be clearly defined.  As an agent of the government, EPA answers directly to the public, and the general public should be the primary stakeholder considered when taking comment.  Of course, all comments from all interested parties should be listened to and considered, but general public comment should be given some sort of weighted priority over business, corporations, etc. 

I live in a rural area, and the locals tend to be led by local elites, such as the banks, large land owners and developers, and whatever large industry that may be present.  What is best for these entities is not always what is best for a community.   Though the phrase, "local control" is often touted in Texas, in reality, it often means the elites "controlling the locals".

It is a challenge to get the general public involved, unless they can perceive a vested interested in what is at stake.  If they don't perceive any potential loss to themselves, they don't get involved.  What's missing is the knowledge and information to understand that they may have a vested interest in an issue or project. If we can do a better job of getting the info down to the grassroots, we might get a higher level of involvement from rural folks, minorities,and low-income urbanites.  

So how do we reach the rural folks, the minorities and the urban poor?  Educational outreach needs to be done where these folks live.  Rural populations could be reached through local county extension agent educational programs.  Minorities could be educated through their advocacy groups.  Urban poor could be reached through educational programs presented through HUD.  The key is to get people to participate in these educational outreach programs.  How do we get their interest?  We need leadership from each of these groups to motivate their constituents.  I believe leadership will come forward, if the people truly believe that their actions and participation will make a difference, will have weight in the decision-making process.  Currently, too many people feel disenfranchised from the decision-process in our country.  Why participate if your participation is merely a token, and only big money players really make the decisions?

I live in Bastrop County, Texas, where the majority of the community opposes a proposed lignite strip mine in our area.  But ultimate authority for permitting the strip mine lies with the Texas Railroad Commission, which is very friendly to oil/gas/mining industries.  If the TRRC prioritized what the stakeholders in the community desire, the strip mine would never happen.   But Alcoa Corporation, the industry that is seeking a mining permit, carries considerable political clout locally, statewide and nationally.  Most locals don't feel they have a chance against Alcoa.  This is an example of the locals feeling they are not empowered to control the destiny of their communities, that needs to be overcome.