Document ID: EPA-HQ-OA-2003-0005-0006
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2003-06-05T04:00Z

United
States
Office
of
Policy,
Economics
EPA
233­
F­
03­
001
Environmental
and
Innovation
May
2003
Protection
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
publicinvolve
Agency
ment/
framework.
pdf
Framework
for
Implementing
EPA's
Public
Involvement
Policy
May
2003
i
Framework
for
Implementing
EPA's
Public
Involvement
Policy
Contents
1.
Introduction
and
Purpose
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1
2.
Background
and
Summary
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3.
Implementation
Framework
a.
Training.
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b.
Information
Sharing
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6
c.
Evaluation
and
Accountability.
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Appendix
 
History
of
the
Implementation
of
EPA's
Public
Involvement
Policies.
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A­
1
i
1
This
Framework
for
Implementing
EPA's
Public
Involvement
Policy
is
internal
EPA
guidance;
it
is
does
not
describe
mandatory
activities.

1
1.
Introduction
and
Purpose
The
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(
EPA)
published
its
Public
Involvement
Policy
in
the
Federal
Register
and
released
this
Framework
for
implementation
in
June
2003.
Staff
and
managers
across
the
Agency
will
implement
the
Policy
which
provides
guidance
on
how
they
can
better
involve
the
public
in
the
Agency's
decisions.
The
Policy's
core
element
is
a
list
of
seven
basic
steps
for
conducting
effective
public
involvement:

1.
Plan
and
budget
for
public
involvement
activities
2.
Identify
the
interested
and
affected
public
3.
Consider
providing
technical
or
financial
assistance
to
the
public
to
facilitate
involvement
4.
Provide
information
and
outreach
to
the
public
5.
Conduct
public
consultation
and
involvement
activities
6.
Review
and
use
input,
and
provide
feedback
to
the
public
7.
Evaluate
public
involvement
activities
The
purpose
of
this
Framework
document
and
its
proposed
activities
­­
information
sharing,
training,
and
evaluation
­­
is
to
support
implementation
of
the
Policy
by
sharing
the
best
practices
used
across
EPA,
promoting
the
routine
use
of
these
practices,
and
developing
ways
to
measure
the
results.
1
The
combined
goal
of
the
Policy
and
this
Framework
is
to
have
excellent
public
involvement
become
an
integral
part
of
EPA's
culture,
thus
improving
all
of
the
Agency's
decision
making.
This
document
will
be
dynamic,
changing
as
the
Agency
implements
the
Policy
and
as
training,
information
sharing
and
evaluation
tools
are
developed,
disseminated
and
used.
3
2.
Background
and
Summary
Many
of
the
regulations
and
laws
that
govern
EPA's
actions
suggest
or
require
that
the
Agency
provide
certain
public
involvement
opportunities,
such
as
public
notification,
public
comment
periods,
public
meetings,
public
access
to
information,
and/
or
other
opportunities
for
the
public
to
participate
in
the
specified
decision­
making
process.

Numerous
EPA
program
offices
and
regions
typically
provide
additional
opportunities
for
public
involvement
beyond
basic
requirements.
They
recognize
that
when
EPA
listens
to
the
American
public
and
understands
their
issues,
the
Agency
can
better
accomplish
its
mission.
Active
public
participation
in
EPA
decision­
making
processes
is
critical
to
ensuring
that
the
Agency
bases
its
decisions
on
all
available
information
and,
while
protecting
public
health
and
the
environment,
seeks
to
create
workable,
long­
term
solutions
for
those
affected.

Commenters
on
the
draft
Public
Involvement
Policy
and
participants
in
an
expansive
online
dialogue
told
EPA
that
while
the
Agency
can
be
very
effective
in
engaging
the
public
sometimes
on
some
decisions,
Agency
practice
varies
widely.
EPA
needs
to
design
effective
public
involvement
opportunities
into
its
decision­
making
processes
at
the
earliest
planning
stages.

Accordingly,
EPA
charged
a
cross­
Agency
workgroup
with
developing
recommendations
to
support
the
implementation
of
the
new
Policy
and
improve
the
overall
quality
of
EPA
public
involvement
activities.
This
workgroup
established
three
subcommittees
 
Task
Groups
­­
to
address
training,
information
sharing
and
evaluation
issues.
The
implementation
activities
listed
in
this
document
are
the
result
of
the
workgroup's
efforts.

In
drafting
this
framework
for
implementation,
the
workgroup
recognized
EPA
staff
and
managers'
critical
need
for
appropriate
training
and
tools
to
successfully
plan,
conduct
and
evaluate
their
public
involvement
activities.
It
is
essential
to
the
success
of
the
Policy
for
EPA
to
encourage
and
support
continuous
learning
about
effective
public
involvement
practices.
While
EPA's
in
place
human
resource
systems
can
fully
support
staff's
striving
for
excellence
in
public
involvement,
successful
implementation
will
depend
upon
the
availability
of
adequate
resources
for
this
purpose.

To
assist
in
this
effort,
the
Office
of
Policy,
Economics
and
Innovation
(
OPEI)
will
support
the
development
of
the
tools
for
training,
information
sharing
and
evaluation
outlined
in
this
Framework.

Section
3
of
this
document
outlines
activities
for
three
critical
internal
functions:
training,
information
sharing
and
evaluation.

Training
activities
include:
disseminating
information
about
available
training
and
support
materials
across
the
Agency,
developing
necessary
new
training
materials,
partnering
with
existing
EPA
training
outlets
and
course
sponsors
to
include
or
update
public
involvement
content,
providing
train­
the­
trainers
courses,
and
continuing
to
support
trainers
and
trainees
with
necessary
materials.
4
Information
sharing
activities
include:
creating
and
managing
a
communication
network
for
EPA
staff;
and
developing
an
electronic
database
and
toolkit
to
improve
dissemination
of
helpful
resource
materials
and
manuals,
including
public
involvement
best
practices,
case
studies
and
available
training
materials
and
opportunities.
EPA's
Office
of
Policy,
Economics
and
Innovation
will
update
the
database
and
manage
the
communication
network.

Evaluation
activities
include:
adoption
of
a
five­
year
framework
that
called
for
conducting
an
Agency­
wide
survey
of
public
involvement
practices
in
2002;
developing
measures,
survey
tools
and
related
training
that
EPA
offices
can
use
to
evaluate
their
public
involvement
activities;
conducting
evaluations
across
the
Agency
and
sharing
the
results
of
those
evaluations
and
conducting
a
second
Agency­
wide
evaluation
in
four
to
five
years.

Although
the
tasks
and
activities
discussed
in
this
document
are
initially
focused
within
EPA,
the
Agency
plans
to
make
the
database
and
electronic
toolkit,
training
opportunities,
and
evaluation
tools
available
to
EPA's
regulatory
partners
and
the
public
at
some
point
in
the
future.
Similarly,
EPA
plans
to
open
its
communications
network
to
include
practitioners
outside
the
Agency
who
conduct
public
involvement
activities.

Through
the
Public
Involvement
Policy
and
Implementation
Framework
activities,
the
Agency
intends
to
achieve
and
measure:

°
Enhancement
of
EPA's
public
involvement
activities
°
Greater
consistency
in
the
ways
EPA
conducts
its
public
involvement
efforts
°
Stakeholder
recognition
of
improvement
in
the
quality
of
opportunities
to
work
with
EPA
°
Increased
public
trust
°
Improved
quality
of
the
Agency's
decisions
°
Better
public
understanding
of
EPA's
mission,
processes
and
the
appropriate
roles
of
partners,
stakeholders
and
the
public
5
3.
Implementation
Framework
3.
a.
Training
Purpose
The
planned
training
activities
outlined
below
will
enable
EPA
staff
and
managers
to
understand
why
public
involvement
is
an
integral
part
of
the
Agency's
business
and
help
them
to
obtain
or
enhance
the
knowledge,
skills,
abilities
and
tools
to
design
and
conduct
appropriate
public
involvement
processes.

The
Public
Involvement
Policy
calls
upon
Assistant
and
Associate
Administrators
to
provide
leadership
and
direction
for
their
managers
and
staff
by:

°
Ensuring
that
effective
public
involvement
is
a
cornerstone
of
all
decisions,
activities,
plans
and
pilots,
and
fully
complies
with
all
applicable
legal
requirements
°
Encouraging
effective
public
involvement
by
providing
their
staff
and
managers
guidance,
technical
assistance,
resources,
training
and
incentives,
as
appropriate
°
Encouraging
broad­
based
stakeholder
participation,
including
drawing
on
the
expertise
and
networks
available
in
the
Office
of
Congressional
and
Intergovernmental
Relations,
Office
of
Public
Affairs,
American
Indian
Environmental
Office
and
the
Office
of
Policy,
Economics
and
Innovation
°
Providing
guidance,
assistance
and
resources
to
regional
offices
to
conduct
public
involvement,
and
to
the
affected
public
to
ensure
its
input
°
Evaluating
the
effectiveness
of
public
involvement
processes
and
taking
action
to
improve
these
processes
Regional
Administrators
are
charged
with:
"
Encouraging
effective
public
involvement
by
providing
staff
guidance,
technical
assistance,
resources,
training
and
incentives,
as
appropriate."

Headquarters
and
regional
offices
are
both
responsible
to:

C
Develop
guidance
and
training
to
ensure
that
program
office
and
regional
staff
and
managers
can
perform
public
involvement
activities
effectively
C
Provide
incentives
to
Agency
staff
to
ensure
commitment
to/
competence
in
implementing
public
involvement
To
fulfill
their
responsibilities,
the
Agency's
leadership
should
understand
the
need
for
and
benefits
of
public
involvement,
and
staff
should
know
how
to
choose
the
appropriate
forms
of
public
involvement,
conduct
these
processes
and
competently
perform
the
seven
basic
steps
for
conducting
effective
public
involvement
that
are
outlined
in
the
Policy
(
listed
above
in
Section
1).

The
Superfund
program
sponsors
in­
depth
training
in
public
participation
for
its
community
involvement
coordinators
and
public
involvement
is
addressed
in
a
module
of
the
optional
Agency
training
provided
to
rule
writers.
Other
programs
approach
training
on
an
ad­
hoc
basis
or
rely
on
training
specific
individuals.
EPA
has
not
encouraged
a
sustained
Agency­
wide
effort
to
train
management
and
staff
in
the
elements
and
skills
of
6
public
involvement.

Progress
To
help
guide
the
Agency's
efforts,
the
Training
Task
Group:

C
Developed
lists
of
public
involvement
training
needs
for
general
staff,
managers
and
for
staff
specifically
assigned
to
full­
time
public
involvement
work
C
Collected
a
library
of
public
involvement
training
materials,
agendas
and
outlines
from
within
and
outside
the
federal
government
C
Compiled
an
annotated
bibliography
of
the
most
helpful
of
those
C
Began
identifying
existing
training
courses,
materials
or
sources
for
each
of
the
identified
training
needs
for
various
EPA
staff
and
managers
Planned
Activities
EPA
intends
to
implement
the
following
actions:

1.
Develop
the
list
of
available
training
courses
(
internal
EPA
and
external
courses),
matched
with
the
identified
training
needs,
and
distribute
it
in
hard
copy
and
over
the
Intranet
to
management
and
staff
for
use
in
development
of
Individual
Development
Plans
2.
Identify
existing
training
courses
and
materials
that
need
to
be
revised
to
better
reflect
the
Policy,
and
develop
or
sponsor
development
of
training
materials
or
courses,
including
on­
line
courses,
as
appropriate
3.
Identify
topics
and
skills
in
the
training
list
for
which
adequate
training
courses
or
materials
are
available
and
provide
this
information
to
program
office
management,
EPA
Institute,
EPA's
Intranet
site
and
other
sources
of
training
information
for
EPA
staff
and
management
4.
Distribute
the
training
list
to
states,
tribes,
local
governments
and
their
organizations,
encourage
partnerships
with
appropriate
EPA
offices
to
conduct
joint
training,
and
post
the
information
on
EPA's
web
site
5.
Identify
the
training,
resource
materials,
handbooks,
fact
sheets,
bibliographies
etc.
that
could
be
provided
to
outside
parties
such
as
environmental
groups,
citizens
groups,
environmental
justice
groups,
small
businesses,
states,
tribes,
local
governments
and
industry
so
that
they
are
better
able
to
participate
effectively
in
public
involvement
activities
6.
Identify
potential
EPA
trainers
and
conduct
training
across
EPA
The
training
list
and
other
training
resource
materials
will
be
part
of
the
database
of
information
described
in
section
3b
of
this
document
(
below).
7
3b.
Information
Sharing
Purpose
The
planned
information
sharing
activities
will
help
EPA
staff
and
managers
become
more
knowledgeable
about
effective
techniques
and
tools
and
share
creative
ideas
for
involving
the
public
in
EPA's
decisions.
The
activities
will
provide
ways
for
EPA
programs
and
regions
that
routinely
conduct
public
involvement
activities
to
share
their
successes
and
"
lessons
learned,"
and
learn
from
the
good
work
and
the
problems
of
others.

EPA
staff
members
need
easy
access
to
references
and
descriptions
of
useful
public
involvement
materials,
case
studies
and
resources.
Individual
EPA
offices
and
programs,
and
other
agencies
and
organizations,
often
create
such
materials,
but
staff
across
EPA
may
not
be
aware
of
or
have
access
to
them.
A
compilation,
constructed
in
a
format
that
makes
it
easy
to
search
for
and
find
useful
information,
will
assist
EPA
staff
who
are
looking
for
ideas
on
how
to
involve
the
public.

Progress
The
Information
Sharing
Task
Group:

°
Conducted
an
in­
house
survey
to
determine
the
value
of
creating
a
communications
network.
Approximately
200
EPA
staff
responded
to
the
survey.
Survey
results
show
that
68
percent
of
the
respondents
think
that
a
network
is
valuable,
and
up
to
84
percent
might
join
the
network.
The
results
also
indicated
the
preferred
discussion
topics
for
the
network,
as
well
as
preferred
mechanisms
for
communication.
°
Gathered
materials
and
resources
on
public
involvement
practices,
began
compiling
summaries
of
this
information,
and
developed
a
prototype
for
a
database
that
could
house
this
information
in
a
format
that
is
accessible
and
useful
to
EPA
staff
Planned
Activities
EPA
intends
to
implement
the
following
actions:

1.
Create
a
communications
network
for
EPA
staff
who
interact
with
and
involve
the
public
This
network
will
help
EPA
staff
communicate
with
each
other
to:
share
recommended
practices;
identify
the
constituencies
and
circumstances
where
each
may
be
more
or
less
effective;
provide
information
on
training
and
job
opportunities;
and
seek
and
provide
advice
about
addressing
specific
public
involvement
issues.
Once
successfully
operating
for
at
least
a
year
within
EPA,
the
Agency
will
consider
extending
the
network
to
allow
others
involved
in
public
participation
activities
(
EPA's
regulatory
partners
in
states,
tribes
and
local
governments,
other
federal
agencies,
and
others
involved
in
public
participation
8
activities)
to
join
the
network.

2.
Create
a
searchable
descriptive
compilation
of
resource
materials,
case
studies,
training
opportunities
and
"
lessons
learned,"
and
periodically
update
it
The
compilation
will
serve
as
an
electronic
tool
kit,
be
organized
by
specific
category,
and
provide
as
much
additional
information
as
possible
with
underlying
links
to
descriptions,
other
web
sites
and
contact
information.
It
will
include
material
created
by
EPA,
as
well
as
other
federal
agencies,
state,
tribal
and
local
governments,
public
involvement
practitioners
and
other
sources.

The
compilation
will
also
include
materials
that
showcase
public
involvement
practices
used
for
development
of
rules,
permits,
and
policies,
as
well
as
for
meeting
administrative
requirements
for
consultation
with
tribal
governments,
environmental
justice
communities,
small
businesses,
etc.
This
compilation
at
first
will
be
available
only
to
EPA
employees
through
the
Intranet,
but
eventually
will
be
made
available
to
all
others
through
the
Internet.

3c.
Evaluation
and
Accountability
Purpose
The
planned
evaluation
and
accountability
activities
will
help
EPA
staff
and
managers
more
easily
determine
success
in
implementing
the
Public
Involvement
Policy,
by
tracking
and
measuring
progress
and
evaluating
the
effectiveness
of
public
involvement
activities.
The
Policy
states
that
the
Administrator
"
Provides
leadership
and
direction
to
EPA
headquarters
and
regions
for
all
EPA
public
involvement
programs."
The
Policy
calls
upon
Assistant,
Associate,
and
Regional
Administrators
to
provide
leadership
and
direction
by:
"
evaluating
the
effectiveness
of
public
involvement
processes
and
taking
action
to
improve
these
processes."
The
Policy
also
calls
on
EPA
headquarters
and
regional
offices
to
"
evaluate
the
effectiveness
and
appropriateness
of
public
involvement
expenditures."

To
fulfill
their
responsibilities,
the
Agency's
leadership
and
staff
need
a
framework
and
tools
to
evaluate
and
measure
how
well
EPA
is
implementing
the
Policy's
seven
basic
steps
for
conducting
effective
public
involvement
in
both
regulatory
and
nonregulatory
processes.
Although
individual
programs
and
projects
currently
conduct
evaluations
of
their
public
involvement
activities,
EPA
has
not
encouraged
a
sustained
Agency­
wide
effort
to
determine
the
extent
and
quality
of
such
activities
and
to
improve
their
effectiveness
for
both
participants
and
EPA.

Progress
To
help
guide
the
Agency's
efforts,
the
Evaluation
and
Accountability
Task
Group:

°
Developed
a
five­
year
framework
for
evaluation
°
Researched
current
measures
of
public
involvement
9
°
Developed
and
internally
distributed
a
survey
to
assist
in
outlining
the
types
of
evaluations
that
would
assist
Agency
practitioners
to
improve
their
activities
°
Initiated
a
baseline
survey
to
evaluate
how
the
Agency
is
currently
implementing
its
Policy
This
baseline
survey
should
provide
insights
about:

°
Barriers
to
using
the
seven
basic
steps
for
conducting
effective
public
involvement
°
The
implementers'
perceptions
about
the
quality
and
value
of
the
involvement
efforts
°
The
impact
of
the
involvement
efforts
on
the
quality
of
the
Agency
decision
or
effort
°
How,
if
at
all,
Agency
programs
are
documenting
and
assessing
their
public
involvement
efforts
The
findings
should
also
provide
Agency
managers
with
helpful
feedback
on
which
aspects
of
public
involvement
work
effectively
and
which
ones
do
not,
which
may
need
more
attention,
and
where
additional
public
involvement
resources
may
need
to
be
allocated.

Planned
Activities
By
issuing
this
document,
EPA
adopted
a
five­
year
framework
for
evaluation
to:

1.
Establish
minimum
expectations
regarding
public
involvement
activities
and
staff
and
manager
performance
by:
°
Collecting
and
sharing
information
about
measuring
public
involvement
activities
°
Outlining
minimum
expectations
for
public
involvement
practices
and
the
measures
for
tracking
progress
(
quality,
consistency,
impact,
etc.)
°
Developing
criteria
for
employee
position
descriptions
and
performance
standards
for
managers
and
staff
involved
in
public
involvement
activities
when
developing
performance
agreements
2.
Develop
and
use
a
broad­
based
Agency­
wide
internal
survey
to
evaluate
how
well
the
Agency
performs
its
public
involvement
activities,
and
to
determine
if
EPA
is
using
the
Public
Involvement
Policy
to
improve
related
activities
by:
°
Establishing
an
internal
baseline
for
measuring
future
progress
in
implementing
the
Public
Involvement
Policy.
A
survey
instrument
will
help
EPA
determine
how
effectively
programs
and
regions
are
carrying
out
public
involvement
°
Using
the
evaluation
framework
and
tools
to
measure,
track,
evaluate
and
continually
improve
EPA
public
involvement
practices
°
Critiquing
the
evaluation
tools
on
an
ongoing
basis
to
ensure
they
remain
relevant
to
programs,
regions
and
those
who
participate
in
involvement
activities,
and
revise
them
as
necessary
°
Repeating
the
"
baseline"
internal
survey
every
four
to
five
years
to
learn
the
effects
that
implementing
the
Policy
are
having
on
the
quality
of
EPA's
10
public
involvement
practices
°
In
five
years,
providing
a
comprehensive
report
to
the
Administrator
on
EPA's
public
involvement
practices
with
recommendations
for
further
improvements
3.
Develop
a
suite
of
tools
that
staff
(
and
other
partners)
can
use
to
evaluate
and
measure
public
involvement
activities
on
a
consistent
basis
by:
C
Proposing
measures
to
help
staff
and
managers
better
identify
whether
public
involvement
practices/
activities
are
performed
and
tools
used
appropriately,
and
whether
they
achieve
the
intended
effects.
°
Establishing
a
series
of
survey/
feedback
templates
that
EPA
staff
can
use
to
obtain
input
from
the
participating
public
for
evaluating
processes,
activities
and
events
°
Developing
an
OMB­
approved
Information
Collection
Request
(
ICR)
to
support
gathering
public
involvement
feedback
°
Developing,
promoting
and
providing
training
in
the
use
of
the
tools,
measures
and
techniques
°
For
internal
use,
establishing
a
central
collection
of
evaluation
instruments
that
EPA
programs
and
regions
have
used
to
review
their
public
involvement
efforts
6.
Establish
specific
centralized
staff,
budget
and
responsibility
to
support
evaluation
activities
in
programs
and
regions.

EPA
proposes
to
share
the
tools,
experience
and
knowledge
developed
as
the
Agency
carries
out
the
evaluation
framework.
The
Agency
hopes
that
state,
tribal
and
local
governments,
as
well
as
other
organizations,
will
find
this
work
useful
and
will
contribute
their
own
tools,
experience
and
knowledge
through
the
information
sharing
mechanisms
described
in
Section
3b
of
this
document.
A­
1
Appendix:
History
and
Implementation
of
EPA's
Public
Involvement
Policies
In
February
1979,
EPA
promulgated
regulations
at
40
CFR
Part
25
governing
public
participation
in
the
Clean
Water
Act,
Safe
Drinking
Water
Act
and
Resource
Conservation
and
Recovery
Act.
In
the
same
year,
EPA
began
developing
the
Agency's
first
Public
Participation
Policy.
A
draft
of
the
Policy
was
published
for
comment
in
the
Federal
Register
in
April
1980.

EPA
actively
sought
public
input
on
the
draft
Public
Participation
Policy,
and
Agency
regional
offices
held
ten
public
meetings.
On
January
19,
1981,
the
Agency
issued
the
final
Public
Participation
Policy.
However,
plans
to
publicize
and
implement
it,
including
training
staff
of
EPA
and
regulatory
partners,
were
not
carried
out.
During
the
subsequent
years,
knowledge
of
the
1981
Policy
diminished
externally
and
within
the
Agency.

In
July
1999,
the
EPA
Innovations
Task
Force
issued
"
Aiming
for
Excellence:
Actions
to
Encourage
Stewardship
and
Accelerate
Environmental
Progress"
(
EPA
100­
R­
99­
006).
In
the
report,
EPA
pledged
to
evaluate
its
public
participation
policies
and
regulations
in
light
of
current
practices,
relevant
statutes,
regulations
and
Executive
Orders.
In
October
of
that
year,
the
Agency
convened
a
cross­
agency
workgroup
to
evaluate
existing
public
participation
requirements
and
practices,
and
to
provide
recommendations
to
the
Administrator.

On
November
30,
1999,
EPA
republished
the
1981
Policy
in
the
Federal
Register
and
asked
for
suggestions
on
changes
to
the
Policy,
on
the
processes
that
worked
well
or
needed
improvement,
and
on
how
the
Agency
should
involve
the
public
in
revising
the
Policy.
Based
on
public
comments
and
internal
review,
in
its
report
to
the
Administrator,
"
Engaging
the
American
People"
(
EPA
240­
R­
00­
005),
the
workgroup
recommended:

1.
Revising
the
1981
Policy
to
accommodate:
°
New
statutes
and
regulations
°
An
increased
awareness
and
understanding
of
the
processes
associated
with
engaging
the
public
°
Changed
relationships
with
state,
local
and
tribal
governments
2.
Implementing
the
new
Policy
across
the
Agency,
focusing
on
the
areas
of:
°
Public
involvement
training
for
EPA
staff
and
delegated
program
partners
°
Sharing
public
involvement
information
among
EPA
staff
°
Creating
ways
to
track,
measure
and
evaluate
the
effectiveness
of
EPA's
public
involvement
efforts
In
the
year
2000,
members
of
the
workgroup
drafted
a
revised
Public
Participation
Policy,
now
called
the
Public
Involvement
Policy.
On
December
28,
2000,
the
Associate
Administrator
for
Policy,
Economics
and
Innovation
released
the
draft
Policy
and
invited
the
public
to
submit
comments
through
July
2001.
The
central
feature
of
the
draft
Policy
was
a
description
of
the
basic
steps
for
conducting
effective
public
involvement
(
revised
in
the
Final
Policy
to
include
a
seventh
step):
1.
Plan
and
budget
for
public
involvement
activities
2.
Identify
the
interested
and
affected
public
A­
2
3.
Consider
providing
technical
or
financial
assistance
to
the
public
to
facilitate
involvement
4.
Provide
information
and
outreach
to
the
public
5.
Conduct
public
consultation
and
involvement
activities
6.
Review
and
use
input,
provide
feedback
to
the
public
7.
Evaluate
public
involvement
activities
Coinciding
with
the
release
of
the
draft
Policy,
EPA
charged
the
cross­
Agency
workgroup
with
developing
recommendations
to
support
implementing
the
new
Policy
and
improving
the
overall
quality
of
EPA
public
involvement
activities
for
release
with
the
new
Policy.
The
implementation
workgroup
divided
into
four
task
groups;
three
focused
on
the
implementation
areas
that
the
1999
Policy
review
workgroup
recommended,
and
the
fourth
on
developing
revisions
to
the
draft
2000
Policy.

EPA
received
202
public
comments
on
the
draft
Public
Involvement
Policy.
Sources
included
26
state
agencies,
12
local
governments,
17
environmental
organizations,
82
citizens,
five
industrial
interests
and
five
agricultural
interests.
Many
of
the
comments
raised
implementation
concerns
and
recommended
improvements
in
how
EPA
plans
and
conducts
public
meetings,
holds
staff
and
managers
accountable
for
public
involvement,
ensures
that
public
input
influences
EPA's
decisions,
uses
electronic
communication
methods,
and
provides
feedback
to
participants
or
commenters.
EPA
analyzed
the
public
comments
and
wrote
a
Response
to
Comments
document
(
see
www.
epa.
gov/
publicinvolvement)
that
was
released
with
the
final
Public
Involvement
Policy
and
this
Framework
in
June
2003.

In
July,
2001,
EPA
hosted
an
online
dialogue,
entitled
"
Dialogue
on
Public
Involvement
in
EPA's
Decisions,"
to
obtain
additional,
practical
suggestions
on
implementing
the
Policy.
During
the
ten­
day
event,
1,166
people
participated,
providing
considerable
input
on
what
EPA
should
and
should
not
do
to
achieve
effective
public
involvement.
(
See
www.
network­
democracy.
org/
epa­
pip).
Dialogue
participants
suggested
ways
EPA
could
improve
its
efforts
to:
°
Identify
members
of
the
public
who
should
be
invited
to
participate
°
Provide
technical
and
financial
assistance
to
assist
the
public's
participation
°
Use
collaborative
processes
or
other
participatory
practices
°
Evaluate
EPA's
public
involvement
activities
and
making
EPA
accountable
°
Conduct
effective
public
involvement
for
site­
specific
decisions
°
Provide
outreach
to
the
public
in
ways
that
better
consider
their
needs
°
Make
information
and
documents
more
easily
available
to
the
public
°
Improve
public
involvement
in
permitting
and
rulemaking
°
Work
with
states,
tribes
and
local
governments
The
implementation
activities
recommended
in
this
document
reflect
many
of
the
ideas
EPA
received
in
public
comments
on
the
draft
Policy
and
from
the
online
dialogue.
EPA
accepted
public
comments
on
the
draft
version
of
this
document
("
Recommendations
for
Implementing
EPA's
Public
Involvement
Policy")
for
60
days
following
publication
on
EPA's
web
page
and
notice
in
the
Federal
Register
on
January
17,
2002.
EPA
incorporated
many
of
the
public
comments
into
this
Framework.
This
document
will
be
dynamic,
changing
as
the
Agency
implements
the
Policy
and
as
training,
information
sharing
and
evaluation
tools
are
developed,
disseminated
and
used.
The
Agency
will
post
updates
to
this
Framework
at
A­
2
www.
epa.
gov/
publicinvolvement/
framework.
pdf.