Capactiy building

[Glenn Landers <glenn.landers@sierraclub.org>]

I have a real preference for capacity building collaborative projects that educate citizens about environmental problems, EPA programs to deal with those problems, and the opportunities for citizens to be involved in and influence those programs.  Within that category of projects, my preference is for capacity building around issues where the Agency has enforcement authority, rather than voluntary programs.

An example of the thing I'm talking about would be the Title V air pollution permitting workshops that EPA has provided in communities around the country. These workshops provide citizens with a fairly detailed look at the Title V permitting, which allows them to later participate in a more substantive way Title V permit comment periods in their area. 

My experience is that community activists are thirsting for knowledge that will increase the effectiveness of the work they are doing. Getting advance information about decision-making processes before specific questions arise (for instance, the permit for a specific facility or a non-point source water pollution planning process) will increase the chance of a citizen participating in a process, as well as increase their effectiveness.   

I would recommend more workshops that prepare communities for public participation opportunities that affect them.