Council members are urged to begin developing input for the next quarterly summary, which will be published in early April 1999. The Chair led a discussion about strategies for sharing information regarding the Y2K computer problem with the public. He advised the Council members to bring public concerns to the Council's attention. The Chair emphasized that contingency planning will be conducted in close collaboration with private industry and state and local government, and the public will be kept aware of all efforts. Council members were encouraged to call the toll-free information line, ask questions, and evaluate the responses.
Customer satisfaction is important.
The information line must be a friendly and accurate source of information. The policy states that EPA will waive 100 percent of the civil penalties that might otherwise apply, and recommend against criminal prosecution, for environmental violations caused during specific tests to identify and eliminate Y2K-related malfunctions. The Chair noted the importance of streamlining the Federal Government's process for requesting information from the states about their Y2K readiness. As much as possible, Federal agencies are asked to use the DOL requirements so that the states will have uniform requirements. Ed Hugler, DOL, provided an overview of the DOL requirements, copies of which will be provided to the Council.