What More Can You Do The Environments Regulatory Context

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What More Can You Do? The Environments
Regulatory Context

• Diane Adams, Principal
• EnviroIssues
• November 2, 2005

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15 Years of Experience

• Facilitation, public involvement, strategic
  project integration, community outreach
• Transportation, land use, facility siting, site
  cleanup, wastewater
• More than 50 projects currently underway in the
  Pacific Northwest

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My Background

• B.S. in Political Science and M.S. in Land Use
  Management
• 14 years of environmental consulting experience
• Facilitation, environmental policy analysis, and
  community outreach
• Base closure, energy, site cleanup and
  redevelopment, transportation planning

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What Are the Goals for Public Involvement?

• Fulfill regulatory requirements for public
  involvement
• Identify and resolve public issues that may be
  barriers to a project
• Build acceptance and/or support for a decision or
  project
• Get better results by incorporating a broad set
  of ideas
• Legitimize decisions and safeguard against
  backlash or dismissal

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So, What Do You Have To Do?

• NEPA, SEPA, CERCLA, MTCA first decode the
  acronyms
• Public Comment periods try to figure out for
  what and then how long
• Apply the correct format and advance notice
  (e.g., public hearing)
• Respond to the public!!! dont forget your
  follow-through

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Now, What CAN You Do?

• Figure out the decision process and how it can be
  affected by stakeholder input
• Reach out to ALL the people and groups with a
  stake in the outcome
• Ensure the public understands the issue, key
  decision points, costs and benefits, and process
  BEFORE you get to the formal comment period
• Get CREATIVE in some cases, just complying with
  the requirements isnt enough

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What Does This Get You?

• A legitimate public process and outcome people
  expect more than compliance
• Potential cost savings if youre able to avoid
  project delays or a lawsuit
• Public understanding, if not support for a
  project
• A project that can be implemented!

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A Case in Point Skykomish

• Major environmental cleanup by BNSF and regulated
  by the Department of Ecology
• 50 years of contamination You think the town
  is tired of dealing with this issue?
• How do we get to a final cleanup that the
  community will support?

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Skykomish, contd

• Meet the regulatory requirements under MTCA, but
  what else?
• Informal working group meetings
• Pay attention to the old timers
• Spend time in town and build relationships
• Clearly and frequently share what you know

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Another Difficult Case BPA in the Cedar River
Watershed

• Bonneville Power Administrations plans for
  another transmission line through the Cedar River
  Valley
• The first EIS got a little dusty, so they added
  some new alternatives
• 10 public hearings over one year as a recovery
  strategy
• In the end, everything turned out okay

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One More Example Called EJ

• WSDOT and other agencies are paying much closer
  attention to environmental justice
• There is guidance, but no specific regulatory
  requirement on how to ensure EJ
• Are minority and low income populations
  disproportionately affected by the project?

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WSDOTs EJ Effort

• HOT Lanes project along SR 167
• How will low-income drivers be affected by a
  toll-lane along SR 167?
• Opportunity to resolve issues ahead of time,
  build support for the project, and legitimize the
  process
• Focus groups

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So, What Am I Trying to Say?

• Of course, complying with requirements is
  important, but theres often much more you can
  do
• Be strategic, be human
• No surprises involve the public BEFORE you get
  to a critical decision point
• Listen and get to know your public
• Follow-up