Involving the Public - In Spite of Local Government and Elected Officials

[Charlie Atherton <charlie@structurex.net>]

I know that "Politics" is a four letter word, but in Louisiana it is a fact of life.  In Louisiana EPA has to involve the public in spite of local and state politics.  I suspect that this happens in more states than Louisiana, but no one seems to want to discuss "Politics" in this dialog and how "Politics" limits EPA's ability to work with citizens.

I suspect that no matter where EPA is there is some degree of "Politics" hampering EPA... EPA just might not realize it or want to admit it.  If no where else.. in congress.. like the riders on superfund funding.. such as contaminated sediment riders.

When EPA is limited by politics, EPA must identify credible, knowledgable, real residents living in the affected area and encourage, help, and support these people to form a citizen commitee.  These residents can guide EPA through the local government issue and give EPA the history and background of the local environmental issue and the local politics.

It is critical that EPA identify and provide free of charge(TAG?) a competent, credible, person that the residents trust, that can provide technical assistance and avvise to the group.  This technical assistance is the cornerstone of the committee.  This person may not even be a local person.

EPA should stay away from national or international groups claiming to represent the "impacted" residents.  EPA should only make decisions based on REAL residents input.  

Remember if EPA does it's job correctly and properly, then these national or international groups don't have a job.

This EPA action with real residents may have to be done quietly without elected officials (and sometimes the state) knowing about it.  Obviously EPA presence will be known to elected officials, but not that EPA is working with one to three key local residents to help residents to address the local environmental issue.  

Let the residents form the committee and decide who the committee members are.  With proper EPA encouragement, residents will identify "problem" stakeholder and elected officials as members that they can work with.  EPA should be resource members, not consensus members, and encourage the state (sometime hostile) to also participaate.  

Committee meetings should be open public meetings run by a local credible resident facilitator that has the integrity and respect to run the meeting.  This facilitator's station in life may be a school janitor, sanitation worker, lawyer, doctor, white collar, blue collar, or have no collar... just have community respect to be fair and honest to provide a level playing field for the meeting.

EPA Region top decision makers should attend these meetings and provide to residents a timely communications mechanism to and from the residents.

EPA will have to stay in constant contact with real residents and fully support the committee meetings by providing residents with free technical assistance, free information, free education, toll free phones to the agencies, and agree to meet with the residents alone to discuss issues (even teleconference), when residents feel it is necessary.

Meetings should provide an agenda agreed to by real residents, and for an open public microphone after each agenda item (before the committee itself actually takes action on the agenda item) for the public to make comments, ask questions and get answers.  This is very important as each person who attends the meeting came there to participate in some fashion.

At the end of the meeting there should again be an open public microphone for residents to make comments, ask any questions, and get answers about any issue they want to talk about that was not on the original agenda.

To some this suggestion may be useless, but personally I can say "been there, done that".  It is similar to the U.S.A. form of government, in that it is full of faults, problems and warts... but it is still the best system in the world.  

I can't believe you actually read all of this.  You must be as desperate as we are.  

Charlie Atherton