RE: States' best practices: challenges

[Verena Owen <Baumling@aol.com>]

With the onset of deregulation in Illinois 2 years ago, the utilities section of the air permitting branch found itsself suddenly much more scrutinized by the public then ever before. Due to the controversial nature of all those power plant developments popping up all over Illinois, the IEPA now holds hearings on all permits, minor or major, for them.

This has been a real learning curve, both for the public  and the IEPA. I will contact the Community Realations person and see if he wants to participate in this discussion today to give his view.

In the mean time, I will quote a bit from a responsiveness summary I received today.

Q: The public should be able to address all issues at the IEPA hearings because this is the only time in the process of one of these sources being built that local residents have a chance to address a government body.
A: (in exerts) "The IEPA routinely allows questions to be asked that would not impact the IEPA's decision on the permit in an effort to make the hearings as informative to the public as possible.later modified to: IEPA reserves the right...to limit questions that do not bear directly on the permit decision."

This answer reflects the dilemma, although aware of the problem and willing, IEPA has not come up with a workable solution but neither has the public. Also, this answer would not have been true a year ago when a hearing was viewed to be more of a legal procedure, (let's keep the record clean), then a "public" event. this has been a learning experience.

Q: "Is there a reqirement that local governmnet participate in State permitting process?"
A: "No. The IEPA solicits input from public officials as well as from private individuals. However they are not required to participate in the IEPA permitting process."

How could this solicitaion be done better?

As part of the learning curve, I would like to point out that IEPA now posts all transcripts of hearings on the permit database website before public comment closes.A very useful tool to the public to re-read comments they made and clarify questions in the writing during the comment period which ususally closes 30 days after the hearing.

Electronic notification of orders, notices of final permits issued, availability of Responsiveness summaries etc, have vastly improved. I also believe that all this has put a money and time strain on the agency. They permit engineers not also have to do their permitting work but also serve as technical advisors to the public (and local officials?). 

It will be worth watching to see what lessons can be learned.
There is still ample room for improvement.