RE: How can EPA provide feedback?

[Larry Teller <teller.lawrence@epa.gov>]

I agree with Peter, and certainly with Betty, about the importance of (1) letting all concerned know what everyone else has said and (2) how, if at all, each comment may have affected a decision. In practice, since there is much repetition among comments, this is less burdensome than coming up with an EPA response tailored to each public comment. EPA has to have the courage and decency to do this in all cases, even though we understand that many people will never come to believe that a decision is correct, fair, enlightened, science-based, whatever.

As with many other things that EPA should do, seeking, using and valueing public involvement happens more consistently when EPA's middle and senior managers make it a priority. I hope that whatever splash the new PIP creates--when it's introduced next year--will make a lasting impression on EPA's management team. A number of tools to help implement the reborn PIP are being created in anticipation of the policy's roll out. The timing seems right to me (a 29-year EPA optimist), what with a well-conceived new policy, upcoming implementation tools, this fascinating 10-day dialogue, and the apparent good intentions of several new EPA heavyweights. Please stop by Philadelphia in a year or so, and let's talk about what EPA makes of this opportunity.