As a result, the Department must reach out to broaden public participation to understand what the public thinks, to better inform the Department, and to ensure that the public understands what the Department is doing and why it is doing it. All regulations and technical guidance documents should be developed with effective involvement from the public. This term includes but is not limited to citizens, interest groups, local governments and business and industry associations. Public involvement in the process must occur early and often. Public participation takes more time and effort up front, but will result in a better decision which is less controversial and requires less outreach, education and defense.
Public trust is earned through openness, outreach, consistency and results.
Public involvement is integral to sound decision-making. Public participation allows the Department to tap a much broader range of expertise than it has available in-house. Public dialog will increase understanding among all interests affected by environmental decisions. Public dialog can aid both the regulated community and the public in understanding their individual expectations, resulting in more workable and widely-acceptable solutions. Public input should be solicited from all sectors of society.