Introduction

[Carol Northrup <cnorthrup@dtsc.ca.gov>]

Hello to all!  I'm Carol Northrup with the External Affairs arm of the California Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Toxic Substances Control.  My interests in participating in this forum are two (at least, so far):

First, I hope to learn of, and from, government-community partnerships that have succeeded in making environmental information available. From reading the notes posted just today, just defining those terms - environmental information, available and success - is quite a challenge and a good starting place.

Second, California's Toxics Department Public Participation Program works constantly with local libraries to establish and maintain information repositories. At times, the sheer volume of our records overwhelms their capacity. Clearly, using the internet effectively would help. I'm interested in learning from others in this area, as well.

Carol Northrup
No. Calif. Regional Coordinator
Department of Toxic Substances Control