RE: Ways EPA can partner with local government?

[Betty Winter <winter.betty@epa.gov>]

Mike's comments on whether local and state officials actually represent the community stakeholders is one I have run into periodically also.  Sometimes this may be a perception problem or the actual case --  either way this makes EPA's job more difficult.  I do believe that partnering with state or local government/agency is important, and I have always tried to do this.  If a local agency chose not to partner, I still called on the local government each time I visited the area and always let them know what EPA was doing there.  I do think citizens will call the local government to learn what is going on, and no one wants to be blind sided.  But I have learned that EPA cannot depend exclusively on local government for our public involvement efforts -- we must do our own community interviews to disseminate information and to locate interested stakeholders who want to be involved.  I've had local officials and agencies tell me they have no interested citizens or no prior complaints only to find VERY interested and active individuals or groups who definitely want to be involved.  Just as EPA cannot identify every stakeholder, local governments aren't always able to do this either -- that's why when possible, a partnership is definitely the best way.  One thing EPA needs to learn as others have said earlier is who the community leaders are (whether local officials or other people) and who the affected community trusts. And in addition to local officials, we need to partner with those people as well.