# Presentation: 621642

## Module 7:Community Involvement

## Module Overview

- Module Objective:  Review and discuss the mission of EPA’s Superfund community involvement program during removal and remedial actions
- Topics:
- Role of community involvement in Superfund
- Planning early for meaningful community involvement
- Implementing community involvement in removal actions
- Implementing community involvement in remedial actions
- Providing communities with technical assistance

## Trends in Superfund Public Participation

## Role of Community Involvement in Superfund

- How EPA defines and applies community involvement
- Letter of the law versus the intent of the law

## A Real-Life Moment

*“**You will be most successful when you regularly interact with the community and proactively share information in an understandable way.”*
*	**	**	**	**	**	**      *
*	**	**	**	**	**	****Paul Groulx***
***	******	******	******       ******Retired OSC, EPA Region 1***

## Role of Community Involvement in Superfund

- Forming a site team
- Objectives of community involvement

## Core Values for Public Participation

- People should have a say in decisions about actions that affect their lives
- Public participation includes the promise that the public’s contribution will be considered in the decision
- The public participation process communicates the interests and meets the needs of all participants
- The public participation process seeks out and facilitates the involvement of those who are potentially affected

- (continued)

## Core Values for Public Participation

- The public participation process involves citizens in defining how they participate
- The public participation process communicates to participants how their input was or was not used
- The public participation process provides participants with the information they need to participate in a meaningful way

## Planning Early for Meaningful Community Involvement

- When to start
- Site inspection

## Risk Communication

- Goals
- Increases knowledge and understanding
- Enhances trust and credibility
- Enhances dialogue to resolve disagreements
- Strategies
- Identify stakeholders and concerns
- Prepare overarching message map
- Prepare outline of major questions

## Implementing Community Involvement in Removal Actions

- Community involvement activities will vary depending on the type of removal action
- Emergency responses
- Time-critical responses that last less than 120 days
- Time-critical responses that last more than 120 days
- Non-time-critical responses

## Implementing Community Involvement in Remedial Actions

- Each phase of a remedial action has its own set of community involvement activities
- PA/SI
- Listing on the NPL
- RI/FS
- Selection of remedy

## Community Involvement Plans

- Specifies outreach activities
- Explains how the Superfund Site Team will involve community
- Role of the CIC

## Other Community Activities

- Federal facilities
- Residential relocation
- Dealing with the media

## Technical Assistance for Communities

- Programs are available to help communities understand technical aspects of the Superfund process
- TAG
- TOSC
- TAPP
- CAG
- Super JTI

## In Review

- Community involvement plays a significant role in Superfund
- An important part of meaningful community involvement is early planning
- There are several required community involvement procedures in both removal actions and remedial actions
- Technical assistance is available for communities