A national environmental action plan sounds like a great idea. However, having worked at EPA for over 23 years and now with my 8-10 years of local government experience, I really think that a Regional Environmental Action Plan would get more results. A national environmental action plan would only be able to set the stage and be very general in nature. And, maybe that is what is needed at the national level. It could weave all of the environmental programs that are in the multiple federal agencies .. EPA, DOE, DOI, USCOE, DOA, etc.. with all of the various pieces of legislation. But, to get down to action, a Regional action plan would be helpful to integrate the various governmental agencies and their activities together. In the San Francisco Bay Area, there are a multitude of governmental agencies .. many of which do not coordinate and/or communicate to one another. We need to look outside of the box and where their are multiple agencies regulating something .. we need to do MORE joint hearings, joint actions .. to facilitate the regulatory process while still achieving the environmental results that we are all working towards. I could provide examples of where it has happened and A LOT more examples of where it is NOT happening. But, of course, any plan is only good if there is going to be implementation. That is why the local governments need to be brought into the discussion. just a thought..
Date
|