[CPEO-BIF] Isn't it time ... ?

[lsiegel@cpeo.org]

Yesterday I posted the link http://www.epa.gov/katrina/activities.html
to EPA's daily report on its response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The agency is doing a great deal: sampling water, testing air,
distributing brochures about mold, etc. But something is missing from
the reports, and since I haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere, I fear
that it isn't happening.

The environmental response appears to have no community involvement component.

I could understand such an oversight (meaning shortcoming, in this case)
in the first few days or weeks after Katrina made landfall, but isn't it
about time to hold community meetings, set up advisory boards, and
organize electronic bulletin boards to inform the affected public and
invite comment?

The people who live or lived in these communities deserve to understand
what is going on. They need to understand the numbers that suggest that
their homes, workplaces, or neighborhoods are hazardous or safe. They
may have knowledge about the local environment that experts from across
the country could use. And they probably have valuable perspectives
about priorities, cleanup strategies, and plans for what should be
rebuilt, and where.

This is the role that members of affected communities play, everywhere
government agencies take the time to give them a "seat at the table" at
Brownfields, Superfund sites, or federal facilities. 

To be sure, many Gulf Coast residents are doing their best just to
survive. But many others appear to be in a holding pattern -
figuratively treading water until they can return to their homes or
jobs. I suspect that plenty of people are willing and able to
participate in the environmental recovery of their communities.

With vast numbers of people still far from home, it may take more than
posting signs on telephone poles and store windows or placing ads in
local newspapers. Officials may need to take the show on the road to
centers where evacuees are still concentrated. 

For many years, the Gulf Coast has had a vibrant environmental justice
community. Those people are around, trying to be heard, if only
officials would take time to listen.

There is ample evidence that EPA and state regulatory agencies do their
jobs best when the public is involved, early and often, and along the
Gulf Coast momentous environmental decisions are being made now. Isn't
it time to open up the process?

Lenny Siegel
-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
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