RCRA PUBLIC
INVOLVEMENT MANUAL
September 1993
Office of Solid Waste
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^Preface
This guidance document was developed by the Permits Branch, Permits
and State Program Division of the Office of Solid Waste with support
from ICF Incorporated. It is intended to assist the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) regional offices and RCRA-authorized state
regulatory agencies in conducting effective public involvement in
RCRA permitting and corrective action programs.
\STATE
Preface
Page!
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Note
The RCRA Public Involvement Manual was developed with the
invaluable assistance of Regional staff who have experience with
RCRA public involvement activities, and reflects many of their
firsthand experiences. Drafting the manual has been an ongoing effort
for the last two years, and this manual is intended to supersede the
1986 Guidance on Public Involvement in the RCRA Program (Directive
Number 9500.00-1A). The manual is primarily designed for use by
Agency permit writers and public involvement staff, and the authors
hope it will be an extremely useful reference document on the subject.
Public participation is one of Administrator Carol Browner's top
priorities for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This
manual is one step in assisting the Region/States with suggestions on
how to implement a successful public involvement program under
RCRA EPA is committed to providing effective public participation
during the Agency's decision-making process, and soliciting input from
those who will be affected by these decisions.
Preface Page ii
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ADDENDUM
As this manual was being finalized, EPA Administrator Carol Browner
released, on May 18, 1993, a Draft Hazardous Waste Minimization
and Combustion Strategy. The Draft Strategy encourages expanded
public participation opportunities during the permitting of incinerators
and boilers and industrial furnaces (BIFs), particularly at the trial burn
plan and risk assessment stages. Future guidance and regulations will
be forthcoming to implement the Draft Strategy, with the emphasis on
earlier public involvement in the RCRA permitting process. We hope
to amend this manual in the future to incorporate the guidance that
will be developed for public participation at combustion facilities. The
Draft Strategy and Administrator Browner's press release are contained
in Appendix 5.
Preface
Page iii
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RCRA Public Involvement Manual
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction 1-1
Manual Overview 1-1
The Big Picture 1-2
Overview of RCRA and its 1984 Amendments 1-2
Facility Permitting 1-3
The RCRA Corrective Action Program 1-3
Public Involvement in RCRA Activities 1-4
At Press Time 1-4
Chapter 2: Basics of Public Involvement 2-1
What is Public Involvement? 2-1
What Makes a Good Public Involvement Program? 2-2
Why Bother With Public Involvement? 2-2
Building a Useful Program 2-2
Promoting Environmental Equity Through Public Involvement 2-3
Making Public Involvement Beneficial for the Public and Easy to Deliver 2-4
Step One: How to Assess RCRA Facilities for Public Involvement Purposes 2-5
Step Two: How to Plan a Public Involvement Program 2-8
Step Three: How to Implement a Public Involvement Program 2-13
Chapter Summary 2-16
Chapter 3: Public Involvement During the RCRA Permitting Process 3-1
Introduction 3-1
Public Involvement During the Permit Decision Process 3-2
Step One: Submission and Review of Permit Application 3-2
Step Two: Preparation of Draft Permit or Decision to
Deny and Public Comment Period 3-5
Step Three: Final Permit Decision 3-6
Public Involvement When Permits Are Modified 3-7
When the Facility Owner or Operator Initiates a Modification 3-8
Class 1 Modifications 3-10
Class 2 Modifications 3-10
Class 3 Modifications 3-12
Public Involvement in Closure/Post-Closure 3-14
Closure and Post-Closure at Permitted Facilities 3-14
Example: The Blank Community 3-16
Chapter Summary 3-23
Chapter 4: Public Involvement for RCRA Corrective Action
Under Permits and §3008(h) Orders 4-1
Introduction 4-1
Public Involvement During Corrective Action in Permitting 4-2
Step One: RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI) 4-3
Step Two: Corrective Measures Study (CMS) 4-9
Step Three: Proposed Remedy Selection 4-10
Step Four: Final Selection of Remedy 4-11
Step Five: Corrective Measures Implementation 4-12
Table of Contents Page iv
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^
of Contents (cont'd)
Step Six: Completion of Remedy 4-13
Step Seven: Interim Measures 4-13
Public Involvement Activities Under §3008(h) Orders 4-14
Chapter Summary 4-19
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities: How to Do Them 5-1
Introduction 5-1
Community Interviews 5-3
Public Involvement Plan 5-8
Revision of Public Involvement Plan 5-11
Mailing Lists 5-14
Public Notice 5-18
Fact Sheets/Statements of Basis 5-24
Public Comment Period 5-31
Public Hearings 5-34
Notice of Decision 5-41
Response to Comments 5-43
Introductory Notice 5-46
Information Repository 5-49
Exhibits 5-53
News Releases 5-56
Translations 5-60
Using Existing Groups/Publications 5-63
Contact Person 5-66
Telephone Contacts 5-69
Door-to-Door Canvassing 5-72
News Conferences 5-76
Facility Tours 5-79
Telephone Hotline 5-82
Observation Deck 5-85
On-Scene Information Office 5-88
Informal Meetings 5-91
Availability Sessions/Open Houses 5-96
Workshops 5-99
Briefings 5-104
Presentations 5-107
Exhibit 5-1: Summary of Public Involvement Techniques 5-110
Appendix 1: When the Facility Has a Role in the Public Involvement Program
Appendix 2: Case Histories
Appendix 3: Public Involvement Resources
Appendix 4: Modifying RCRA Permits
Appendix 5: Draft Strategy for the Combustion of Hazardous Wastes
Table of Contents Page v
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^Chapter 1
Introduction
Overview of this
Manual
This manual provides instruction on how to plan and carry out
successful public involvement in RCRA permitting and corrective
action programs, which may be implemented through either permits or
enforcement orders. It is intended for use by RCRA technical staff in
EPA and RCRA-authorized state programs. It may also be useful to
staff of RCRA-regulated facilities to which some public involvement
activities are delegated. For simplicity, the term "regulatory agency"
refers to either EPA or a state agency running an EPA-authorized
RCRA program and "you" refers to staff from those programs.
This manual provides suggestions on how to implement public involve-
ment activities, not just for the limited regulatory requirements, but
efforts beyond these requirements. These additional suggested tech-
niques represent EPA policy only. If the reader is a staff member of a
state permitting agency or a facility, his or her responsibilities will vary
according to what EPA has delegated, and the reader may be subject to
additional policies developed by his or her regulatory agency or facility.
Following this introductory chapter, the manual is organized as follows:
Chapter 2 gives the reader a broad overview of the public
involvement process;
Chapter 3 explains how to coordinate public involvement activities
with RCRA permitting;
Chapter 4 discusses public involvement for corrective action under
permits and enforcement orders;
Chapter 5 provides step-by-step instructions for conducting all
public involvement activities identified in Chapters 2, 3, and 4;
Appendix 1 discusses when and how to delegate public
involvement tasks to facilities;
Appendix 2 presents case studies of RCRA public involvement
efforts;
Appendix 3 lists the materials available for use in RCRA public
involvement; and
Appendix 4 consists of an EPA fact sheet entitled "Modifying
RCRA Permits."
Chapter 1: Introduction
Page 1-1
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The Big Picture
Overview of RCRA
and its 1984
Amendments
RCRA GOALS
To protect human health
and the environment
To reduce waste and
conserve energy and
natural resources
To reduce or eliminate the
generation of hazardous
waste as expeditiousty as
possible
The RCRA program touches, and thus involves, a myriad of people and
organizations. However, the roles of those involved vary greatly.
Congress writes or amends the Act which, when signed by the
President, becomes law. After the Office of Solid Waste and Emer-
gency Response (OSWER) at EPA develops the regulations that more
specifically define and explain how the law will be implemented, the
RCRA program is implemented by both EPA headquarters (OSWER)
and regional EPA staff. The states may, in turn, apply to EPA for the
authority to run all or part of the RCRA program. In doing so, a state
may adopt the federal program outright or develop its own program, as
long as it is at least as stringent and as broad in scope as the federal
program. The regulated community is involved with the RCRA
program because it must comply with the law and its regulations.
Finally, the general public participates by providing input and
comments at almost every stage of the program's development and
implementation.
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, an amendment to the
Solid Waste Disposal Act, was enacted in 1976 to address a problem of
enormous magnitude - how to safely manage and dispose of the huge
volumes of municipal and industrial solid waste generated nationwide.
The goals set by RCRA were:
To protect human health and the environment;
To reduce waste and conserve energy and natural resources; and
To reduce or eliminate the generation of hazardous waste as
expeditiously as possible.
The Act continues to evolve as Congress amends it to reflect changing
needs. It has been amended several times since 1976, most significantly
on November 8, 1984. The 1984 amendments, called the Hazardous
and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA), significantly expand the scope
and requirements of RCRA. Certain provisions related to corrective
action at RCRA facilities are described later in this chapter.
The program outlined under Subtitle C of the Act, and codified under
40 CFR Parts 261-266 and Parts 268-270, is the one most people think
about when RCRA is mentioned. Subtitle C establishes a program to
manage hazardous wastes from cradle to grave. The objective of the
Subtitle C program is to assure that hazardous waste is handled in a
manner that protects human health and the environment. To this end,
there are Subtitle C regulations regarding the generation;
transportation; and treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste.
The Subtitle C program has resulted in perhaps the most
comprehensive regulatory program EPA has ever developed. The
Chapter 1: Introduction
Page 1-2
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Facility Permitting
The RCRA
Corrective Action
Program
Subtitle C regulations first identity those solid wastes that are
"hazardous" and then establish various administrative requirements for
the three categories of hazardous waste handlers: (1) generators; (2)
transporters; and (3) owners or operators of treatment, storage, and
disposal (TSD) facilities. This manual only applies to these TSD
facilities. The term "facilities" in this manual refers to TSD facilities
only. In addition, the Subtitle C regulations set technical standards for
the design and safe operation of hazardous waste facilities. These
standards are designed to minimize the release of hazardous waste into
the environment. Furthermore, the regulations for RCRA facilities
serve as the basis for developing and issuing the permits to each facility.
Issuing permits is essential to making the Subtitle C regulatory program
work, because it is through the permitting process that the regulatory
agency actually applies the technical standards to facilities.
Owners or operators of facilities regulated under Subtitle C are
required to submit a comprehensive permit application covering all
aspects of the design, operation, maintenance, and closure of the
facility. Facilities in existence on November 19, 1980, operate under
interim status until a final permit decision is made. New facilities are
ineligible for interim status and must receive a RCRA permit before
construction can commence.
The permit application is divided into two parts: A and B. Part A is a
short, standard form that collects general information about a facility.
Part B is much more detailed and requires the owner or operator to
supply detailed and highly technical information concerning facility
operations. Because there is no standard form for Part B, the owner or
operator must rely on the regulations (40 CFR Parts 264 and 270) to
determine what to include in this part of the application. Existing
facilities that received hazardous waste on or after November 19, 1980,
submitted their Part As when applying for interim status. Their Part Bs
can either be voluntarily submitted or called in by the regulatory
agency. New facilities mus.t submit Parts A and B simultaneously at
least 180 days prior to the date on which physical construction is
expected to begin. Permit applications are processed according to the
procedures found in 40 CFR Part 124.
RCRA requires owners and operators of RCRA facilities to implement
corrective actions to clean up contamination resulting from present and
past practices, including those practices of previous owners of the
facility. HSWA added three provisions for corrective action, thus
substantially expanding EPA's authority to initiate corrective action at
both permitted RCRA facilities and facilities operating under interim
status. Section 3004(u) of HSWA requires that any permit issued to a
facility after November 8, 1984, under §3005(c) of RCRA address
corrective action for releases of hazardous wastes or hazardous
Chapter 1: Introduction
Page 1-3
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Public Involvement
in RCRA Activities
At Press Time
constituents from any solid waste management unit (SWMU) at the
facility. If all corrective action activities cannot be completed prior to
permit issuance, the permit must include a schedule of compliance
establishing deadlines as well as assurances of financial responsibility for
completing the required corrective actions. Section 3004(v) authorizes
EPA to require corrective action beyond the facility boundary, if
necessary. Finally, §3008(h) authorizes EPA to issue administrative
(i.e., enforcement) orders or bring court action to require corrective
action or other measures, as appropriate, when there is or has been a
release of hazardous waste or hazardous constituents from a RCRA
facility operating under interim status.
Corrective action is carried out by the facility owner or operator under
the specific requirements or conditions stated in the RCRA permit or
administrative order. In some cases, the owner or operator is required
to begin corrective action prior to permit issuance through an order. If
the regulatory agency issues a permit to the facility prior to completion
of all activities specified in the order, the regulatory agency may require
the owner or operator to continue all or some of the activities under
the order, or may incorporate the requirements of the order into the
RCRA permit schedule of compliance.
EPA requires public involvement in RCRA, just as it does for other
environmental programs. The goal of public involvement in the RCRA
program is to give interested citizens and affected parties the
opportunity to participate in EPA's decision-making process with
respect to hazardous waste management activities. Review of permit
applications, issuance of permits and administrative orders, permit
modifications, implementation of corrective action programs, and
approval of closure plans are all activities that require public
involvement under the Act. Part of your responsibility in
implementing any of these activities is to allow those who are inter-
ested in or affected by a decision to have the opportunity to
participate in the decision-making process.
As this manual was being finalized, EPA Administrator Carol Browner
released, on May 18, 1993, a Draft Hazardous Waste Minimization
and Combustion Strategy. The Draft Strategy encourages expanded
public participation opportunities during the permitting of incinerators
and boilers and industrial furnaces (BIFs), particularly at the trial burn
plan and risk assessment stages. Future guidance and regulations will
be forthcoming to implement the Draft Strategy, with the emphasis on
earlier public involvement in the RCRA permitting process. We hope
to amend this manual in the future to incorporate the guidance that
will be developed for public participation at combustion facilities. The
Draft Strategy and Administrator Browner's press release are contained
in Appendix 5.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Page 1-4
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Basics of Public Involvement
What is Public
Involvement?
TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION
For any public participation effort being designed for a facility, an
important touchstone is to involve the public earlier in the process and
receive feedback from the public before initial decisions are or appear
to have been made up front. EPA encourages public involvement
activities beyond the formal requirements found in the regulations,
especially when it fosters an early open dialogue with potentially
affected parties. Efforts should be taken to inform interested parties of
activities throughout the RCRA permitting process, instead of only at
junctures specified in our regulations.
Public involvement allows community members who are affected by or
interested in a facility or its specific operations to have a meaningful
dialogue with the regulatory agency considering the RCRA action
and/or the facility owner or operator. Public involvement assures that
there is two-way communication between the public and the regulatory
agency and that public concerns are taken into account when decisions
are made on the final permit or order.
Public involvement is a two-way process. If the regulatory agency sends
out a fact sheet about an upcoming permit action, that fact sheet does
not constitute public involvement in and of itself. What is missing is
the "feedback" loop a way for the regulatory agency to hear from
those who read the fact sheet and address their concerns. To provide
for feedback, the regulatory agency might name a contact person in the
fact sheet and encourage telephone or written comments, or visit a
neighborhood group, or hold a meeting or workshop to discuss material
in the fact sheet. At the minimum, 40 CFR 124.8(7) requires that you
supply the name and telephone number of a person who may be
contacted for additional information. A feedback loop enables the
regulatory agency to monitor public interest and concern, adjust public
involvement activities, and respond quickly and effectively to changing
needs.
Even if a feedback loop operates successfully, public involvement
cannot be successful if the regulatory agency is reluctant or unable to
consider changes to a proposed activity or permit action based on
public comment. While the regulatory agency need not incorporate
every change recommended by the public, it must show that it has
considered public comment in its decision-making process. Where
Chapter 2: Basics
Page 2-1
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What Makes a Good
Public Involvement
Program?
Why Bother With
Public Involvement?
Building a Useful
Program
changes are made, the public should be informed of that fact. Where
the regulatory agency does not make suggested changes, it must explain
the technical, legal, or policy basis for not acceding to community
concerns.
The goal of a public involvement program is to allow members of the
community to have an active voice in the RCRA decision-making
process. Members of the community and the regulatory agency should
be able to talk with one another openly and frankly about RCRA-
related issues, and to search for mutually agreeable solutions to
differences.
A good program anticipates the needs of community members to avoid
misunderstandings. It should create a situation in which the regulatory
agency is not always scrambling to fix problems, but is addressing issues
before they become problems. An effective program is composed of
activities and informational materials that meet the needs of and
communicate clearly to specific community members and subgroups.
Discovering those needs and designing an effective program takes
planning. A good program is based on a solid planning effort and
faithful follow through on information gained in the planning effort.
There are at least three reasons to do RCRA public involvement: it is
required by the Act and regulations; it works; and, if it is not done, the
project may falter. Experience has shown that RCRA actions and
decisions often benefit from public involvement. The decisions may
gain breadth not provided by technical staff alone.
RCRA actions are more likely to be accepted and supported by
community members who can see that they have had an active role in
shaping the decision. Acknowledging community members' right to be
heard is the first step in community participation. Showing community
members that the regulatory agency is willing to address their concerns
will establish the foundation for improved understanding and
community involvement in the process, even if members of the public
do not always agree with the outcome of that process. Conversely, a
good technical decision that has not involved community members in
the process may be rejected by public opinion and appealed in court.
Using public involvement resources effectively must involve focusing
resources to give the highest degree of satisfaction possible to members
of the community. Remember, by planning early in the RCRA process
and ensuring that the public involvement activities undertaken at a
facility meet the public's needs, the regulatory agency can save time and
money and avoid public frustration.
Chapter 2: Basics
Page 2-2
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Promoting
Environmental
Equity Through
Public Involvement
How do you build a useful public involvement program? How do you
know what will work at a particular facility? This chapter looks at the
components of a successful program and outlines how to use limited
time and resources to the greatest advantage. The chapters that follow
will explain in detail where public involvement activities fit into the
permitting process in general, as well as a permit's or administrative
order's schedule for corrective action.
What is Environmental
Equity?
Addressing
Environmental Equity
in Your Public
Involvement Program
Environmental equity refers to the equal distribution of environmental
risks across socioeconomic and racial groups. There is increasing
concern, both inside and outside of EPA, that low-income and racial
minority communities may be subject to a disproportionately high level
of environmental risk. Those hazardous waste facilities that may be
located near low-income and racial minority communities may burden
these communities with an additional level of environmental risk from
multiple sources. Certain sociological factors, such as poor nutrition
and limited access to health care may make residents of these
communities even more susceptible to the health effects of
environmental hazards.
Ensuring environmental equity for all U.S. residents is a major priority
for EPA. In March 1990, EPA formed an environmental equity
workgroup to assess claims concerning discriminatory hazardous waste
facility siting practices and to ensure that "no segment of the
population bears a disproportionate risk burden" from a permitted
facility.
When conducting public involvement in low-income or racial minority
communities, be sensitive to issues of environmental equity. There are
a few basic public involvement activities that can help ensure that the
community's equity concerns are met.
Provide interpreters, if needed, for public meetings.
Communicating with the community in its language is essential for
the two-way information flow required to ensure the public an
equitable voice in RCRA public involvement activities.
Provide multilingual fact sheets and other information. Be sure
that the materials presented to the public are written clearly in
the community's primary language.
Chapter 2: Basics
Page 2-3
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Making Public
Involvement
Beneficial for the
Public and Easy to
Deliver
Tailor your public involvement program to the specific needs of
the community. Developing a program that specifically addresses
the community's needs will demonstrate to community members
EPA's interest in achieving environmental equity and foster a
sense of cooperation.
Identify internal channels of communication that the community
relies upon for its information, especially those reaching the
community in its own language. Examples of these "channels"
are a particular radio show or station, local television station,
foreign language newspaper, or even influential religious leaders.
By identifying and making use of these valuable information
sources, you can be sure that the information that you want to
publicize reaches its target audience.
Encourage the formation of a community advisory panel to serve
as the voice of the community. Such panels can provide an
effective way to engender the affected community with a sense of
meaningful participation and empowerment.
(Additional techniques are given later in this chapter under Steps One,
Two, and Three and in Chapters 3 and 4 under the Additional Activities
sections for various permit situations).
Careful planning for public involvement will yield the same result as
careful planning for technical activities an effective, efficient
program. Do not wait until there is a pressing need for public
interaction before starting to plan and conduct a program. If a
program starts from a solid, well-planned foundation, valuable time and
tax dollars are saved in the long run.
Start early. The time spent setting up a public involvement program is
the most important time that can be spent. External pressure to start
public involvement work may not be present at the outset of a project,
because members of the public may be unaware of the facility and its
operations and the regulatory agency's activities. This is the perfect
time to begin public involvement planning and, if possible, early
implementation of your program. Putting in some hours at the
beginning of a RCRA project (whether it is a permit or an
administrative order), can save a tremendous amount of time and
anxiety later on. There are three basic steps for developing a public
involvement program for RCRA facilities:
Step One: Coordinate with management to assess different
RCRA facilities and allocate public involvement program
resources where they are needed most.
Chapter 2: Basics
Page 2-4
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Step One: How to
Assess RCRA
Facilities for Public
Involvement
Purposes
Step Two: Plan program activities carefully to meet the specific
needs of members of particular communities and subgroups
around each facility.
Step Three: Implement the public involvement program and
adjust it as necessary during the RCRA process.
Not all RCRA facilities will require the same degree of public
involvement attention. Some RCRA actions may not generate much
interest or concern among community members. This does not mean
that public involvement is not necessary for these facilities. At a
minimum, activities required by regulation should be carried out to
address the community members' needs. Other RCRA activities may
evoke strong community interest and will require a much greater public
involvement effort.
There are several criteria to judge the current and potential levels of
community interest in a facility, and hence the amount of attention to
devote to public involvement:
The type of RCRA action and its implications for public health
and welfare;
Current relationships among members of the community, the
facility, and the regulatory agency or agencies involved; and
The larger context in which the RCRA action is taking place,
including the political situation, economics, and important
community issues.
There are no hard and fast rules that make a facility a low- or high-
profile facility. Each community's characteristics must be taken into
account when deciding the level of attention to give the facility. Keep
in mind, though, that the level of interest regarding the facility may
change over time. A facility in which interest is low can become a
high-profile facility overnight if the situation at the facility changes
(e.g., there is an accident), or members of the community become
frustrated because their need for information and consultation is not
being met.
This chapter will guide you through collecting the information needed
to assess the current situation at a RCRA facility and the potential for
change in that situation. Use Exhibit 2-1 as a guide to determining
whether a facility is likely to be of low, moderate, or high interest to
the community. The table examines the type of RCRA action to take
place, the community member relationships with the facility and
regulatory agency, and the larger socioeconomic and political context in
the community.
Chapter 2: Basics
Page 2-5
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Chapter 2: Basics
Page 2-6
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Gathering Data for
Your Assessment
At the outset of the project, some time must be spent gathering
background information about the community. Step-by-step
instructions for information'-gathering activities can be found in
Chapter 5 of this manual.
You can gather information using a combination of methods:
Reviewing regulatory agency files on the facility, including news
clippings;
Talking to colleagues who have had experience working with
members of the community; and
Conducting community interviews (by telephone or in person)
with a broad range of community members such as special interest
groups, people who live nearest the facility, and anyone else who
may be affected by or has expressed some interest in the facility.
At a minimum, you should review your regulatory agency's files to get
an initial impression of community interests and concerns, and then
confirm that impression by talking with colleagues who have worked
with members of this community (on this or other projects). You may
also want to contact community leaders to talk about the facility and
the planned RCRA action. File reports can never be as accurate as
conversations with community members themselves. Because of their
short length, newspaper clippings can give you part of the story, but
probably will not give you both sides of the story. Note, however, that
you should use discretion in contacting community leaders, and you
may want to check with your supervisor first. (A detailed discussion of
how to conduct community interviews is provided in Chapter 5.) At
this point, you may have a good idea of the level of attention the
facility requires. If you decide that there is a low level of interest in
the facility, and things are not likely to change, you can begin to plan
your required public involvement activities.
If, however, you believe that the facility shows indications of being a
moderate to high interest level facility, you will need to do a more
detailed analysis of the community. You should begin by conducting
interviews with at least one representative of each of your major
community groups (e.g., facility neighbors and elected officials). If
there are indications of likely high interest from the outset (e.g., you
are permitting a new incinerator in a densely populated area), you
should conduct a full set of community interviews with as many
individuals as possible, including all of the facility's immediate neigh-
bors, representatives from other agencies that will deal with the RCRA
action, environmental organizations, and any individuals who have
expressed interest in the facility.
Chapter 2: Basics
Page 2-7
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Step Two: How to
Plan a Public
Involvement
Program
Identify Activities to
Use in Your Program
Identify Your Public
Involvement
Responsibilities and
Resources and Plan
Accordingly
After you have collected the necessary information, write a brief
summary of major community concerns and issues (no more than five
pages). The summary can be integrated into your public involvement
plan document. (See Chapter 5 for additional information on these
activities and summary.)
Exhibit 2-2 on the following page summarizes the steps to take in
ranking facilities and gathering background information.
Rely on the background information gathered in community assessment
interviews and documented in the summary of major community
issues and concerns to form the basis for a public involvement
program.
The goal of your public participation activities is to meet the specific
needs of members of the community by creating a structure for
information flow both to and from the public.
To identify activities for your program, go through the following steps:
List the major community issues and concerns individually;
List the characteristics of the community that will have a bearing
on how you address these issues; and
List activities that you will plan and implement to address
community concerns.
Once you have outlined your public involvement activities for the
facility, put together a strategy for how they will be implemented. You
need to be aware of the personnel and informational resources
available to you and know how to use them. Expanded public
involvement programs will demand greater resources and require more
creativity in using limited resources. Exhibit 2-3 identifies people who
can help you with your program.
In general, these are the areas of responsibility for public involvement
you need to consider:
Interacting with the media, especially on high-profile facilities.
If there is a high degree of interest in your RCRA facility, it will
be important to have a media contact person who can get
information out quickly, accurately, and consistently. Coordinate
with the public affairs office to take on media contact responsi-
bilities. Their assistance is often required.
Chapter 2: Basics
Page 2-8
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Exhibit 2-2
Steps in Evaluating Facilities and Gathering Information
Checklist
Step 1: Review the RCRA Action
Is it:
D Likely to be a controversial action (e.g., permitting an incinerator)
D Unlikely to be a controversial action
Step 2: Talk to colleagues who have worked in this community about their
interactions with members of the public
Has there been a large degree of public interest or concern about other projects?
Have members of the public shown confidence in the regulatory agency?
Step 3: Review regulatory agency flies on the facility
Are there:
D A lot of inquiries from members of the public
Major concern(s)
Any organized groups?
D Few inquiries from members of the public
D Clippings from newspapers or other media coverage
Step 4: Formulate your preliminary impression of the community based on the above information
Step 5: Talk with several key community leaders to confirm your impression
People to interview:
1.
2.
3.
Step 6: Determine the anticipated level of community interest based on the above information
D Low (go to Step 7)
D Moderate (next step: conduct additional community interviews with one member of each
community subgroup)
D High (next step: conduct a full set of community assessment interviews)
Step 7: Write a brief summary of any major community concerns/issues
Chapter 2: Basics Page 2-9
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Exhibit 2-3
Identifying Resources
Developing an effective public involvement program involves assessing who within the regulatory agency or elsewhere
could provide support on public involvement activities and where to obtain information. Most Regions have one person
assigned as the public involvement coordinator (PIC). The PIC serves as a liaison between community members and permit
writers, enforcement personnel (both EPA and state), facility owners and operators, and other appropriate individuals or
groups in implementing public involvement activities. The PIC oversees the implementation of an overall public involvement
program. He or she may handle logistics for public meetings, develop and maintain mailing lists, and review and/or help
prepare news releases, fact sheets, and informational materials.
Other individuals who may be able to assist with public involvement activities include:
Other EPA Staff - Other members of the EPA Regional technical, legal, public affairs, project officer, or permit writer
staffs are also valuable resources. It is essential that these staff coordinate their efforts. They can provide technical assess-
ments of the facility for release to the public or provide information relative to permitting issues and aspects of enforcement,
compliance, and corrective action activities developed for the facility. Graphic designers, typesetters, and other support staff
can help you with your program. In addition, community relations coordinators who work on CERCLA in your office and
have sites in the same community could take care of some of your activities, or at least provide you with valuable advice.
State Personnel - For the states that are authorized to implement RCRA regulations, most of the public involvement
responsibilities listed for EPA staff will be assumed by state personnel. Regardless of their authorization status though, states
are expected to play an active role in the development and implementation of public involvement programs. For example,
state regulatory agencies can serve a supportive role by providing EPA with information such as names for inclusion on a
mailing list, background information on a facility's history, and community attitudes toward the facility.
The Facility - Even though it is essential to clarify that oversight of the permitting and enforcement processes is the
sole responsibility of the regulatory agency, facility owners or operators also may be a resource in conducting public
involvement activities. Public education activities may be initiated by the facility and should actually be encouraged,
particularly when resources are limited. See Appendix 1 for more information about the role facilities can play in public
involvement programs.
Contractors - Public involvement contractors who work for your regulatory agency can provide support by conducting
some of the more time-consuming activities, such as community interviews or logistics for public meetings.
If There's No One Who Can Help - You may be the only person available to conduct public involvement activities, in
which case you need to estimate your level of effort carefully so that you can choose the activities that will give you and
members of the public the most benefit. You need to consider your schedule as well, and plan activities so that they
complement your technical schedule and leave you time to conduct appropriate public involvement.
Additional Sources of Assistance
Information Resources Each EPA Regional office should have informational materials available to help plan public
involvement strategies and assist in assessing a community's needs and in implementing responsive activities. PICs should be
able to guide you to specific manuals, guidance documents, and memoranda that elaborate on regulations and principles of
public involvement and give helpful tips on implementing successful programs. For example, the three-volume RCRA Public
Involvement Reference Catalog (September 1990) is a repository of materials from which readers can gather ideas and
information concerning the RCRA program and RCRA public involvement. You may also want to research public
involvement materials for other EPA programs, such as Superfund, to gather ideas that may be useful in dealing with your
unique community situation at a RCRA facility.
Training - Training is generally available for staff in a variety of areas, including public involvement, community
relations, risk communication, and community outreach. If training specific to the RCRA program is not available, you can
easily adapt community outreach activities used in other programs to your RCRA situation. The techniques and methods
used for RCRA public involvement programs - such as public meetings, fact sheets, and information repositories - are also
used in other programs.
There also are ready-made resources available for you to use in your public involvement program. EPA has developed
fact sheet templates for RCRA actions, standardized posterboards, and other information materials to save you time in
developing public involvement information. A full list of available materials is provided in Appendix 3.
Chapter!: Basics Page 2-10
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Interacting with elected officials. On facilities with a moderate to
high level of interest, it is also important to work with elected
officials to provide them with information they need to answer
their constituents' questions and prevent the facility from
becoming a political issue unnecessarily. Put together a team of
people who can fill the information needs of public officials,
including yourself and a senior-level manager who can answer
policy questions when necessary.
Interacting with the general public by answering telephone and
written inquiries. It is important to follow up on all requests for
information that you receive from members of the public.
Designate one person to be responsible for putting together the
answers to questions in a form that is understandable to the
public. This "contact person" should be named in all fact sheets
and public notices.
Coordinating public involvement with regulatory agency staff,
both within your regulatory agency and among agencies. It is
crucial that all the people who are working on public involvement
be aware of what activities are being planned for the facility and
any other facilities in the area, so that activities do not conflict
with each other.
Maintaining the mailing list and information repositories. A
mailing list is required under RCRA and should be updated to
include new people or organizations who have expressed an
interest in the facility. If public information repositories are
established for the facility, they should be updated at least
quarterly.
Handling logistics for public meetings. Meeting set-up and
coordination is critical to the success of your public meetings.
Support staff can help with meeting planning, but the PIC needs
to supervise the arrangements.
Handling production/distribution/placement of information,
including fact sheets, public notices, news releases, meeting
handouts and overheads, etc. The majority of your public
involvement time will be spent developing and producing
information for members of the public. There are resources listed
in Appendix 3 that can make fact sheet and information
production much easier for you.
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Set a Schedule that
Corresponds to
Community Needs and
Your Technical
Schedule
Put Together a Written
Plan for the Public
Involvement Program
That Describes the
Activities You Will
Implement
In general, the timing of public participation activities should
correspond to the completion of major steps in the technical process
(e.g., holding a public meeting at the application stage or after you
have issued a draft permit, or issuing a fact sheet about results of a
corrective action RCRA Facility Investigation). These are the times
when members of the public may have new questions or concerns about
the proposed action or the facility in light of new information that has
been released, especially during corrective action. A step-by-step
discussion of how to time public involvement activities during
permitting and corrective action is provided in Chapter 4.
Having a plan down on paper can help you organize and assign public
involvement tasks and legitimize the time you spend on the public
involvement process with your managers. One reason for putting
together a written plan is to make sure that you provide for all the
required RCRA public involvement activities. In addition, you can
outline other activities if more than the minimum is necessary at a
particular facility. At a minimum, a plan should include a list of the
specific public involvement activities for the facility and a schedule for
when they will be conducted.
A written plan can vary from an internal document of a few pages in
length to a formal public involvement plan that is available to members
of the community. Once again, the level of detail will depend on the
nature of your facility. For any facilities that are high-profile or have
the potential to become high-profile facilities, you should prepare a full
public involvement plan. For other facilities, a less detailed plan may
be adequate.
The plan should provide all the specific information necessary to carry
out the public involvement program. It can be distributed outside the
regulatory agency to members of the public (e.g., by placing a copy in
the public library), so that community members can see how the public
participation process has been formalized. You also can use the plan
to familiarize new project members with the community.
Your public involvement plan document should include the following
sections.
Executive Summary
Introduction/Overview
Facility History
The RCRA Action
Results of Community Interviews
Public Involvement Program Activities and Schedule
Chapter 2: Basics
Page 2-12
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Step Three: How to
Implement a Public
Involvement
Program
Establish an Open
Relationship With
Members of the
Community
The following appendices should also be included in your public
involvement plan document:
List of Key Contacts
Information on Meeting Locations and Possible Information
Repository Locations
Chapter 5 discusses in detail how to put together a public involvement
plan.
The discussion below provides some general tips for creating a
successful public involvement program.
Establishing an open relationship with community members begins with
acknowledging that the community plays an important role in the
RCRA process. Community members around a RCRA facility have a
vested interest in what happens at the facility. That facility has the
potential to affect, directly or indirectly, their health, their jobs, and
their homes. By working with community members, you can make
improvements to the RCRA action that will make the facility more
acceptable to the public.
Open relationships also require that you respect a community member's
concerns. Remember that you are a RCRA expert, but most of the
community will be unfamiliar with the regulatory and technical pro-
cesses and the jargon that regulatory agencies and facilities use.
Talking in plain terms, even if it takes a little more time to explain,
helps. Do not assume that a community member understands you -
make sure to check with the person by asking.
Some of the community's concerns may be based on a misinterpretation
of facts; it is your job to find the root of the concern and provide com-
munity members with the information that is relevant for them. If a
community member disagrees with the regulatory agency's actions, try
to see the situation from his or her point of view. Remember that a
community member's anger is not directed at you personally, and taking
concerns personally can lead to an adversarial relationship with the
community rather than an open one. Community members may
interpret an adversarial attitude as a sign that you are not being honest
with them or are not telling them everything, which can cause
communications to break down completely. This does not mean that
you should tell community members only what you think they want to
hear. Even if your information is not "good news" for the community,
they will appreciate your honest answers to their questions and will
come to trust your information.
Chapter 2: Basics
Page 2-13
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Begin Implementation
Early
Re-evaluate and Adjust
Your Program
Making yourself available is also important. Try to establish regular
contacts with key community leaders, such as the mayor or city council
members, the heads of civic organizations or community groups, or
someone else whose opinion is respected by the rest of the community
or who has a particular interest in the facility. In addition, you can give
community members your address and telephone number so they can
contact you if they have questions. Include this information on the fact
sheets or other mailings you send out to the community.
The advantages of starting your public involvement work early cannot
be overstated. The earlier the public hears from you about the RCRA
activity, the less likelihood there is for misinformation or mistrust to
develop.
As RCRA activity increases at a facility and becomes more visible,
public interest in a site can increase exponentially. It is important to
anticipate and plan for sudden changes in the level of interest in a
facility. Periodic communication with key contacts can help you
anticipate change in the community's attitudes or interest. Make sure
to keep key contacts informed of planned activities at the facility that
could be visible to members of the community, such as construction
work or excavation.
In addition, you may want to conduct follow-up community interviews
at a key point in the decision-making process, to help you predict any
major shift in public interest or concern.
Evaluate your effectiveness as you go along and pinpoint things that
need changing in your public involvement program. The public
involvement process is complex, and how you measure success may not
be entirely clear to you. Does a successful program mean that all
members of the public agree with your position? That you are not
receiving any complaints about the RCRA action?
Some indicators that your public involvement program is working
include:
You are not receiving the same questions over and over again
from the public;
Inquiries are being handled by the appropriate person (or people)
in a timely manner;
You are not spending most of your public involvement time trying
to correct problems between members of the community and the
regulatory agency or facility;
« The channels of communication are well-defined and open;
Chapter 2: Basics
Page 2-14
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Members of the public are providing informed comments on the
project to the regulatory agency that are based on technical merit
and not emotional appeals or sensationalism; and
Members of the public are bringing concerns to you first, rather
than taking them directly to the press or elected officials.
If the above descriptions do not fit your program, you need to assess
the techniques you have used to involve members of the public and
determine what needs to be added to, changed, or subtracted from your
program. If members of the community are dissatisfied, your activities
may not be reaching the right target audiences or your information may
not be written at a level that community members can understand.
You may also need to provide more detailed information. The best
way to find out what needs to be changed is to talk to community
representatives and ask them what is working and what they think
could be improved. Modify your activities based on their suggestions
and your own time limitations.
Chapter 2: Basics Page 2-15
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Chapter Summary
The goal of a RCRA public involvement program is to establish two-way communication with
the public.
A good public involvement program will help, not hinder, your project's progress.
A good public involvement program is based on solid planning.
The three steps in RCRA public involvement work are:
1. Assessing facilities to give the most time where needed
2. Planning the public involvement program
3. Implementing and re-adjusting program activities
You can assess your facilities by:
1. The type of RCRA action
2. Community members' relationships with the facility and the regulatory agency
3. The larger socioeconomic and political context in the community
You can gather background information for the assessment by combining these methods:
1. Reviewing regulatory agency files
2. Talking with colleagues who have experience with specific community members
3. Interviewing several key community leaders
4. Conducting community assessment interviews with a wider cross-section of community
members
You can plan your public involvement program by:
1. Identifying appropriate activities to meet community needs
2. Identifying public involvement responsibilities and assigning them to specific people
3. Setting a public involvement schedule that will correspond to community needs and
technical milestones
4. Putting together a written public involvement plan
You can implement your program activities successfully by:
1. Establishing an open relationship with members of the community
2. Beginning implementation early
3. Re-evaluating and adjusting the program as you go along
Chapter 2: Basics Page 2-16
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Chapter 3
Public Involvement During the
RCRA Permitting Process
Introduction
The Classifieds
Public Notlc*: TheQ&Afoctttyis
seeking a permit to stcxe hazardous
waste at the focBty far up to one
year under the authority of the
Federal Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA). The
draft permit Is available for review
at the public library between 10am
and 4pm, M-F. Your comments wi
be accepted from December 1.
1992 to February 14.1993. and may
be sent to Don Daniels. U.S. EPA
Region 4.345 Courttond Street. N.E.
Atlanta. GA 30365
The previous chapter examined the importance of public involvement
and the critical components of building a successful public involvement
program. This chapter describes required and recommended public
involvement activities during each phase of the RCRA permitting
process, beginning with the review of the RCRA Part B permit
application and continuing through the preparation of draft and final
permit decisions. The chapter also addresses codified and optional
public involvement activities associated with permit modifications
initiated after permit issuance.
Section 7004(b)(l) of RCRA and EPA regulations on procedures for
decision-making, which are detailed in 40 CFR Part 124 and 40 CFR
270.42, form the foundation for mandatory public involvement activities
during the permitting process for both operating and post-closure
permits. Even operating permits, however, address closure and often
post-closure care. In fact, Subpart G of 40 CFR Part 264 explicitly
requires that closure and post-closure plans be submitted with the
permit application in accordance with 40 CFR 270.14(b)(13) and
approved by the regulatory agency as part of the permit issuance
procedures under 40 CFR Part 124. In addition, both operating and
post-closure permits may include schedules of compliance for corrective
action, where such action can not be completed prior to permit
issuance. As described in Chapter 1, such corrective action may have
been initiated under a §3008(h) administrative order or other
enforcement order.
There will often be situations where the regulatory agency needs to go
beyond the required activities detailed in 40 CFR Parts 124 and 270.
You should discover early in the permitting process the makeup of the
community, the issues that concern it most, and the most appropriate
means of communicating with a broad cross-section of the community.
If there is active community interest and sufficient resources are
available, you may want to consider using the additional public
involvement activities described here. You may also want to ask the
facility to conduct some of the expanded public involvement activities.
Using this approach, which is discussed in Appendix 1, the facility may
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting
Page 3-1
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Public Involvement
During the Permit
Decision Process
Step One: Submission
and Review of Permit
Application
foster trust in the community, the public's concerns may be more
effectively addressed, and the permitting process may go more
smoothly.
Operating conditions, closure, post-closure care, and corrective action
are all potential issues of concern to the public during the permitting
process. Public involvement activities associated with operating
facilities, closure, and post-closure decision-making, including closure at
interim status facilities that have not received their permits, are
highlighted in this chapter. Given recently proposed changes to the
regulatory framework for implementing corrective action and the
likelihood of public interest in corrective action activities, this guidance
dedicates Chapter 4 to addressing public involvement during the RCRA
corrective action process.
The remainder of this chapter presents a detailed discussion of public
involvement activities that are required during the permitting process.
It also identifies optional activities to enhance the public involvement
program. The optional activities described here are not meant to
comprise an exhaustive list, nor are the activities necessarily
appropriate only in the phases of the process where they are described.
Using this chapter as a guide, you can be creative in your planning by
matching the phase of the process and the level of community concern
with the most suitable and productive activities. Please refer to
Chapter 5 for detailed descriptions and instructions on how to conduct
each type of public involvement activity that is mentioned in this
chapter.
The permit decision process can be divided into three key steps:
Step One: Receipt and Review of Permit Application
Step Two: Preparation of Draft Permit or Decision to Deny and
Public Comment Period
Step Three: Final Permit Decision
We examine these steps individually and discuss the required and
recommended activities for each one. Refer to Chapter 5 for specific
details about the activities listed here. Exhibit 3-1 provides a flow chart
that illustrates the relationship between the permitting process and
public involvement activities.
Required Activities
Owners or operators of facilities subject to RCRA permitting
requirements must submit a comprehensive permit application covering
all aspects of the design, operation, maintenance, and closure of their
facility.
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting
Page 3-2
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.1
II
o
a
I
3
3
Q.
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting
Page 3-3
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At the time the facility owner or operator submits the permit
application, the regulatory agency must assemble a mailing list. The
list serves as an important communication tool to allow the regulatory
agency to reach interested members of the public with announcements
of meetings, hearings, events, and available reports and documents.
Consult with local community organizations, neighborhood associations,
local and state agencies, the facility, and other sources in the
community to compile the mailing list.
Additional Activities
The level of public involvement activities should correspond to the
potential level of community interest in the permitting process. To
determine the need for additional activities, you should consider
conducting a community assessment. If the level of interest is high,
you will want to do a more thorough needs assessment and prepare a
formal public involvement plan. You will need to plan for public
involvement, even if you simply lay out a rudimentary schedule for
required activities. Chapter 2 provides guidance on conducting these
assessments.
Other activities that may be warranted at this stage include releasing an
introductory notice to alert the community that a RCRA action is
being considered, establishing an information repository, and
distributing a fact sheet through the mailing list. All of these activities
provide the community with information on the facility and the RCRA
process early in the game, which can lead to greater cooperation and
understanding later.
Remember that the permit review process is often lengthy. It may take
anywhere from one to five years to issue a permit, depending on the
facility type and level of facility owner or operator cooperation. If the
community appears to need interaction with the regulatory agency and
the facility throughout this process, and you have available resources,
you should plan activities during that time to keep citizens informed
about the status of the process. Holding workshops and conducting
informal meetings about the facility and the RCRA permit process can
educate the community and keep it involved in the process. Be sure to
identify a contact person to accept comments and answer questions
from the community during the long submission and review process.
This shows the regulatory agency's availability and willingness to talk
with the community about its concerns and questions. You can
advertise the contact person's name and phone number through the
mailing list.
Getting as much input from the community as possible during these
initial phases of the RCRA permitting process and before a draft
permit is issued will be very useful when writing the draft permit. The
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting Page 3-4
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draft permit will be more responsive to the needs and concerns of the
community, and the community will be more likely to accept the permit
conditions if it sees that its concerns have been heard.
Step Two: Preparation
of Draft Permit or
Decision to Deny and
Public Comment
Period
Required Activities
After receiving and reviewing the complete permit application, the
regulatory agency decides either to deny the permit application or
prepare a draft permit for the facility, which includes technical
requirements, possible corrective action schedules of compliance, and
other conditions relevant to the operation of the facility. As discussed
earlier in this section, you should consider the community input you get
in the initial stages of the permitting process when preparing the draft
permit decision so that it responds to the community's needs and
concerns. If a draft permit is prepared for a facility, you must release it
to the public for review and give formal public notice that it is
available for the public's review and comment. You must also notify
the public if the regulatory agency plans to deny a permit application.
Notice in both cases must be published in a major local newspaper and
broadcast over local radio stations. Notice must also be sent to all
persons on the mailing list.
In addition, you must prepare a fact sheet or statement of basis to
accompany the draft permit or the notice of intent to deny the permit.
A fact sheet should summarize the significant factual and legal bases
for the draft permit decision. The regulatory requirements for a
statement of basis are fairly similar to those for a fact sheet, although
the statement of basis typically does not contain a comparable level of
detail. A statement of basis is often used to explain the reasons for
denying the permit, but a fact sheet also can be used for this purpose.
A 45-day public comment period on the draft permit or notice of
intent to deny the permit follows publication of the public notice. The
Prior to issuing a draft permit decision, the regulatory agency typically conducts a RCRA Facility Assessment (RFA) to
identify all solid waste management units (SWMUs) and the potential for release of hazardous waste or hazardous
constituents at a RCRA facility. The RFA represents the first stage of the corrective action process and provides initial
information on whether corrective action will be a significant issue for the facility. If the RFA indicates a release of
hazardous waste or hazardous constituents has occurred, is likely to have occurred, or, based on site-specific circumstances,
is likely to occur, from a SWMU, the regulatory agency may require in the permit schedule of compliance (or through an
order) that the facility investigate and characterize the SWMU and its releases in a subsequent RCRA Facility Investigation
(RFT). The proposed Subpart S corrective action rule (55 FR 30798, July 27, 1990) outlines public involvement activities
that may be required, following promulgation, during the RFI and subsequent phases of the corrective action process.
Chapter 4 discusses specific public involvement activities recommended for these post-RFA corrective action activities.
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting
Page 3-5
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Step Three: Final
Permit Decision
comment period provides the public with an opportunity to comment,
in writing, on conditions contained in the draft permit or in the notice
of intent to deny the permit. If information submitted during the initial
comment period appears to raise substantial new questions concerning
the draft permit decision, the regulatory agency should re-open or
extend the comment period.
Finally, the commenters have the opportunity to request a public
hearing on the draft permit decision. If requested, you must hold a
public hearing and provide 30-day advance notice to the community
concerning the time and place of the hearing. In addition, you can
schedule a public meeting or hearing even if the community does not
request one. (Note that a hearing is a formal event requiring a hearing
officer, court reporter, and written transcript, while a meeting is less
formal with more opportunity for two-way communication.) If you feel
that it is essential that you personally talk with the community to clarify
issues involving the permit, you should initiate a meeting. In many
circumstances, scheduling a public meeting or hearing before the public
requests one saves valuable time in the permitting process and shows
your willingness to meet with the community and hear its questions and
concerns. To streamline your efforts, you can give public notice of the
draft permit, the public comment period, and the public meeting or
hearing at the same time.
Additional Activities
In situations where a community wants more information about
potential operations at a facility and the health and environmental risks
of those operations, you may want to work with the facility to provide
facility tours and observation decks during the public comment period
so that the community has a first-hand look at a facility and the
operations and activities happening on-site. (Note that safety and
liability issues need to be considered before a decision is made to
include these activities.) You may want to consider these activities for
a new facility or when a facility proposes a new or different technology.
You may also want to think about doing these activities earlier in the
permitting process, such as when the draft permit is being written, so
that you can gather as much feedback from the community as possible
before going public with a draft permit. Other activities might include
conducting a news conference and holding informal meetings and
workshops.
Required Activities
After the public comment period closes, the regulatory agency reviews
and evaluates all written and oral comments and issues a final permit
decision. You must send a notice of decision to the facility owner or
operator and any persons who submitted public comments or requested
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting
Page 3-6
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Public Involvement
When Permits Are
Modified
notice of the final permit decision. You must also prepare a written
response to comments that includes a summary of all significant
comments received during the public comment period and an
explanation of how they were addressed in the final permit decision or
why they were rejected. This summary shows the community that you
have considered its concerns when making your decision about the
permit. Your response to comments must be made available through
the Administrative Record and the information repository, if one was
established, and must be sent to the facility and all persons who
submitted comments or requested a copy of your response.
Additional Activities
If there was high interest during the comment period you may want to
issue a news release and fact sheet when the decision is finalized to
inform a wide audience. Coordinate with the public affairs office to
take on media contact responsibilities.
Over time, a permitted facility may need to modify its permit. Just as
public involvement is a component of the initial permit process, it is
also a part of the permit modification process. This section discusses
different kinds of permit modifications and their corresponding public
involvement requirements. It is important to note that public
involvement responsibilities and activities vary depending on who
initiated the modification (e.g., the regulatory agency or the facility
owner or operator) and the degree to which the modification would
change substantive provisions of the permit. No matter who initiates
the modification, when a modification is proposed, only those permit
conditions subject to modification are reopened for public comment.
Appendix 4 consists of an EPA fact sheet entitled "Modifying RCRA
Permits," which provides more detail on permit modifications and
associated public involvement activities.
There are many reasons to modify a permit. In some cases, the
regulatory agency may initiate a permit modification under 40 CFR
270.41. This section identifies three causes for which the regulatory
agency may require a permit modification: (1) alterations or additions
to the permitted facility or activity; (2) new information received by the
regulatory agency; or (3) new standards, regulations, or judicial
decisions affecting the human health or environmental basis of a facility
permit. In addition, the regulatory agency may modify a compliance
40 CFR 124.5(a) allows any interested person to request in writing that the regulatory agency modify, revoke and reissue, or
terminate a permit for reasons specified in 40 CFR 270.41 and 270.43. If the regulatory agency decides that the request is
justified, the regulatory agency will initiate the action. If the regulatory agency decides the request is unjustified, the
regulatory agency need only send the requestor a brief written response giving a reason for the decision. Denials of such
requests for modification are not subject to public notice, comment, or hearings.
Chapter3: RCRA Permitting
Page 3-7
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When the Facility
Owner or Operator
Initiates a Modification
schedule in the permit. Modifications initiated by the regulatory
agency are subject to the full 40 CFR Part 124 permitting
requirements, as described earlier in this chapter. Specifically, the
regulatory agency must
Issue public notice of the draft modification;
Prepare a fact sheet or statement of basis;
Announce a 45-day public comment period;
Hold a public hearing, if reque ed, with 30-day advance notice;
Issue notice of the final modification decision; and
Consider and respond to all significant comments.
More often, however, the facility owner or operator requests a permit
modification to improve or make changes in operations in response to
new standards. Facility-initiated modifications are categorized under 40
CFR 270.42 as Class 1, 2, or 3 according to how substantively they
change the original permit. Class 1 modifications require the least
public involvement; Class 3, the most (see Exhibit 3-2). Like regulatory
agency-initiated modifications, a decision to grant or deny a Class 3
permit modification request is subject to the permit issuance
procedures of 40 CFR Part 124.
Since facility owners or operators initiate modifications more often than
the regulatory agency, the remainder of this chapter lays out the
requirements for facility-initiated modifications. The regulatory agency
is also encouraged to use these public involvement activities, even if
not required under a regulatory agency-initiated modification.
When a facility owner or operator wants to change a RCRA permit, he
or she informs the regulatory agency and interested members of the
public, either before making the change if it is substantive (Class 2
or 3), or soon after (with a few exceptions), if the change is minor
(Class 1). In any case, this is relatively early notification for the public,
who often perceive that RCRA actions are "done deals" by the time
public comment is solicited.
The facility owner or operator is responsible for conducting most of the
public involvement for modifications he or she initiates, saving the
regulatory agency time and money. In addition, the facility, rather than
the regulatory agency, bears the burden of explaining and defending its
actions to the public. To ensure that the facility's public involvement
efforts are successful, you should find out whether the facility owner or
operator knows how to conduct the required activities, and provide
guidance and assistance if needed. This guidance manual could help
serve that purpose. In addition, Appendix 1 discusses how facilities can
assist in conducting public involvement activities.
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting
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Exhibit 3-2
Public Involvement Requirements for Class 1, 2, and 3 Permit Modifications
Class 1
Type of Changes
Routine and administrative changes
Required Activities
Within 90 days of implementing a change, facility must notify all parties on mailing list.
Class 2
Type of Changes
Improvements in technology and management techniques
Required Activities
Day 1: Regulatory agency receives modification request.
Day 7: Facility publishes newspaper notice, notifies mailing list, and places copy of permit modification request and
supporting documents in accessible location.
Days 15-45: Facility holds public meeting.
Day 60: Written public comments due to regulatory agency.
Day 90: Regulatory agency response to modification request due, including response to written comments. Deadline
may be extended 30 days.
Day 120: If regulatory agency has not responded, requested activity may begin for 180 days under an automatic
authorization.
Day 250: If regulatory agency still has not responded, facility notifies public that authorization will become permanent
unless regulatory agency responds within 50 days.
Day 300: If regulatory agency has not responded, activity is permanently authorized.
Regulatory agency must notify mailing list within 10 days of any decision to grant or deny modification request, or after
an automatic authorization goes into effect.
Class 3
Type of Changes
Major changes to a facility and its operations
Required Activities
Day 1: Regulatory agency receives modification request.
Day 7: Facility publishes newspaper notice, notifies mailing list, and places copy of the permit modification request and
supporting documents in an accessible location.
Days 15-45: Facility holds public meeting.
Day 60: Written public comments due to regulatory agency.
After the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the regulatory agency must grant or deny the permit modification
request according to the permit modification procedures of 40 CFR Part 124. These include:
Issuing public notice of the draft permit modification or intent to deny the modification;
Preparing a fact sheet or statement of basis;
Announcing a 45-day public comment period;
Holding a public hearing, if requested, with a 30-day advance notice;
Considering and responding to all significant written and oral comments received during the 45-day comment period;
and
Issuing notice of the final permit modification.
In addition, the regulatory agency must consider and respond to all significant written comments received during the
60-day comment period.
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Class 1 Modifications
Class 2 Modifications
Class 1 modifications address routine and administrative changes,
including updating, replacing, or relocating emergency equipment;
updating certain types of schedules identified in the permit; improving
monitoring, inspection, recordkeeping, or reporting procedures; and
updating sampling and analytical methods to conform with revised
regulatory agency guidance or regulations. They do not substantively
alter the conditions in the permit or reduce the facility's ability to
protect human health and the environment. With a few exceptions,
most Class 1 modifications do not require approval from the regulatory
agency before they are implemented. (The exceptions are listed in
Appendix I to 40 CFR 270.42.)
The only public involvement requirement for Class 1 modifications is
that within 90 days of implementing a change, a facility must notify
the public by sending a notice to all parties on the mailing list
compiled by the regulatory agency. The facility is responsible for
obtaining from the regulatory agency a complete facility mailing list.
(For more information on mailing lists see Chapter 5.) Any member of
the public may ask the regulatory agency to review a Class 1
modification.
Class 2 modifications include those changes that are necessary to
enable a facility to respond to changes in the types and quantities of
wastes that it manages, technological advances, and new regulatory
requirements, where such changes can be implemented without
substantively altering the facility's design or the management practices
prescribed by the permit. Class 2 modifications do not reduce, and, in
most cases should enhance, the facility's ability to protect human health
and the environment.
Class 2 modifications require the facility to submit a modification
request and supporting documentation to the regulatory agency. In
addition, the facility must notify the people on its mailing list about
the modification request and publish this notice in a major local
newspaper of general circulation. The notice must be published and
the letter mailed within seven days before or after the facility submits
the request to the regulatory agency. The newspaper notice marks the
beginning of a 60-day public comment period and announces the time
and place of a public meeting. In addition, the notice must identify a
contact person for both the facility and the regulatory agency and must
contain the statement, "The permittee's compliance history during the
life of the permit being modified is available from the regulatory agency
contact person."
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The public comment period provides an opportunity for the public to
review the modification request at the same time as the regulatory
agency. The facility must place the request for modification and
supporting documentation in a location accessible to the public in the
vicinity of the facility. The facility must conduct the public meeting
no earlier than 15 days after the start of the 60-day comment period
and 15 days before it ends. The meeting, which tends to be less formal
than a public hearing held by the regulatory agency in the draft permit
stage, provides for an exchange of views between the public and the
owner or operator and a chance for them to resolve conflicts
concerning the permit modification. The meeting must be held, to the
extent practicable, in the vicinity of the permitted facility.
The regulatory agency is not required to attend the meeting or respond
to comments made at the meeting, and an official transcript of the
meeting is not required. We recommend, however, that the regulatory
agency attend the meeting to find out whether the public has any
concerns about the changes and, if so, how the owner or operator plans
to address them. In addition, the regulatory agency is required to
consider all written comments submitted during the public comment
period and must respond in writing to all significant comments in its
decision. It is expected that the meeting will lead to more informed
written comments submitted to the regulatory agency, and it may also
result in voluntary revisions in the facility's modification request.
The procedures for Class 2 modifications include a default provision to
ensure that the regulatory agency responds promptly to the facility's
request. The regulatory agency must respond to Class 2 modification
requests within 90 days or, if the regulatory agency notifies the facility
of an extension, 120 days. At any time during this 120-day period, the
regulatory agency can: (1) approve the request, with or without
changes, and modify the permit accordingly; (2) approve the request,
with or without changes, as a temporary authorization having a term of
up to 180 days; or (3) deny the request. If the regulatory agency does
not reach a final decision on the request within this period, the facility
is granted an automatic authorization that permits it to conduct the
requested activities for 180 days. Activities performed under this
authorization must comply with all applicable federal and state
hazardous waste management regulations. If the regulatory agency still
has not acted within 250 days of the receipt of the modification
request, the facility must notify persons on the facility mailing list
within seven days, and make a reasonable effort to notify other
persons who submitted written comments, that the automatic
authorization will become permanent unless the regulatory agency
approves or denies the request by day 300. The public must always
have a 50-day notice before an automatic authorization becomes
permanent. The regulatory agency must notify persons on the facility
mailing list within 10 days of any decision to grant or deny a Class 2
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting Page 3-11
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Class 3 Modifications
modification request. The regulatory agency must also notify persons
on the facility mailing list within 10 days after an automatic
authorization for a Class 2 modification goes into effect.
At any time during the Class 2 procedures the regulatory agency may
also reclassify the request as a Class 3 modification if there is significant
public concern about the proposed modification or if the regulatory
agency determines that the facility's proposal is too complex for the
Class 2 procedures. This reclassification would remove the possibility
of a default decision.
As previously indicated, the regulatory agency may approve a
temporary authorization under 40 CFR 270.42(b) for 180 days for a
Class 2 modification. In addition, the regulatory agency may grant a
facility temporary authorization under 40 CFR 270.42(e), which would
allow the facility, without prior public notice and comment, to conduct
certain activities necessary to respond promptly to changing conditions.
However, the facility must notify all persons on the facility mailing
list about the temporary authorization request within seven days of
the request Temporary authorizations are useful for allowing a facility
owner or operator to perform a one-time or short-term activity for
which the full permit modification process is inappropriate, or for
allowing a facility owner or operator to initiate a necessary activity
while his or her permit modification is undergoing the Class 2 review
process. A temporary authorization is valid for up to 180 days, and the
regulatory agency may extend the authorization for an additional 180
days if the facility initiates the appropriate Class 2 modification process
for the covered activity. In addition, any extension of the activity
approved in the temporary authorization must take place under Class 2
procedures.
Class 3 modifications address changes that substantially alter a facility
or its operations. For example, a request to manage new wastes that
require different management practices is a Class 3 modification. As
with Class 2 modifications, Class 3 modifications require the facility to
submit a modification request and supporting documentation to the
regulatory agency, and notify persons on the facility mailing list about
the modification request and publish notice in a major local
newspaper of general circulation. The notice must be published and
the letter mailed within seven days before or after the facility submits
the request to the regulatory agency. The notice must contain the
same information as the Class 2 notification, including an
announcement of a public meeting to be held at least 15 days after the
notice and at least 15 days before the end of the comment period. The
newspaper notice marks the beginning of a 60-day public comment
period.
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After the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the regulatory
agency must either grant or deny the Class 3 permit modification
request according to the permit modification procedures of 40 CFR
Part 124. Class 3 modifications are subject to the same review and
public participation procedures as permit applications, as specified in
40 CFR 270.42(c). The following public involvement activities are
required:
Preparation of draft permit modification conditions or notice of
intent to deny the modification;
Publication of a notice of the regulatory agency's draft permit
decision, which establishes a 45-day public comment period on
the draft permit modification;
Development of a fact sheet or statement of basis;
Holding a public hearing, if requested, with 30-day advance
notice;
Issuance of the notice of decision to grant or deny the permit
modification;
Consideration and response to all significant written and oral
comments received during the 45-day public comment period;
and
Consideration and response to all significant written comments
received during the 60-day public comment period.
With Class 3 permit modifications, the public has 60 days to comment
on the facility's requested modification and another 45 days to
comment on the regulatory agency's draft permit modification or
proposed notice of intent to deny the modification. And, in addition to
the public meeting held by the facility owner or operator, the public
may also request a public hearing with the regulatory agency. The
public may welcome this opportunity for extensive involvement, for the
public is likely to be more concerned about Class 3 modifications than
any other. When concern is high, you will want to be absolutely certain
the facility knows how to conduct the required public involvement
activities and provide guidance and assistance if needed. You may also
encourage the facility to go beyond the requirements and hold
workshops and publish fact sheets to explain the change. It is also
more important that you attend the facility's public meeting to gauge
the public's concern about the proposed change and prepare
appropriately for your public hearing, if one is requested. By attending
the public meeting, you may learn whether you will need to conduct
additional public involvement (e.g., hold a workshop or small group
meeting) after preparing the draft permit.
As with Class 2 modifications, the regulatory agency must notify
persons on the facility mailing list within 10 days of any decision to
grant or deny a Class 3 modification request In addition, as with Class
2 modifications, the regulatory agency may grant a facility a temporary
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting Page 3-13
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Public Involvement
in Closure/Post-
Closure
Closure and Post-
Closure at Permitted
Facilities
authorization to perform certain activities requested in the Class 3
modification for up to 180 days without prior public notice and
comment. For example, temporary authorizations may be granted to
ensure that corrective action and closure activities can be undertaken
quickly and that sudden changes in operations not covered under a
facility's permit can be addressed promptly. Activities performed under
a temporary authorization must comply with all applicable federal and
state hazardous waste management regulations. The facility must issue
a public notice to all persons on the facility mailing list within seven
days of submitting the temporary authorization request. The
regulatory agency may grant a temporary authorization without
notifying the public. The regulatory agency may reissue a temporary
authorization for an additional 180 days provided that the facility has
initiated the appropriate Class 3 modification process for the activity
covered in the temporary authorization and the regulatory agency
determines that the extension is warranted to allow the facility to
continue the activity while Class 3 procedures are completed. See
Appendix 4 for an Agency fact sheet on modifying RCRA permits.
Facilities may discontinue operations at one or more units for a number
of reasons. For example, units may have reached capacity, the facility
owner or operator may no longer wish to accept wastes, or the facility
may have lost interim status and be required to close by the regulatory
agency. During closure, facility owners or operators complete
treatment, storage, and disposal operations; apply final covers to or cap
landfills; and dispose of or decontaminate equipment, structures, and
soil. Post-closure, which applies only to land disposal facilities that do
not "clean close" (i.e., remove all contaminants from the unit), is
normally a 30-year period after closure during which owners or
operators of disposal facilities conduct monitoring and maintenance
activities to preserve the integrity of the disposal system.
40 CFR 264.112 and 264.118 require facilities seeking operating
permits to submit closure and post-closure plans (if appropriate) with
their Part B applications in accordance with 40 CFR 270.14(b)(13).
Furthermore, land disposal facilities that leave wastes in place when
they close must obtain a post-closure permit, specifying the
requirements for proper post-closure care. Consequently, the public
has the opportunity to comment on a facility's closure and post-
closure plans and any amendments made to the plans as part of the
permitting process and permit modification procedures, as described
earlier in this chapter.
You should be aware of any issues relating to the closure of the facility
that concern the public and plan public involvement activities
accordingly. For example, if the public has reservations about how
"clean" the facility will actually be after the facility closes, you may want
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting
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Closure and Post-
Closure at Interim
Status Facilities
to consider releasing a fact sheet or conducting educational workshops
and informational meetings about the closure plan and the conditions
at the facility. If the facility owner or operator is leaving a facility, and
possibly even the community, the public may be very concerned about
whether the facility owner or operator will really be vigilant in
monitoring the post-closure operations at the facility or will have
enough financial resources to do so. Moreover, almost all post-closure
permits will contain schedules of compliance for corrective action if a
facility closes before all necessary corrective action activities are
completed. As a result, you should integrate additional activities into
your public involvement program for post-closure permitting that
address community concerns about corrective action. (See Chapter 4
for additional information on such activities.) Note, however, that
unless corrective action is required in the post-closure permit, public
interest in closure plans is usually limited.
Facilities may also close under interim status, often under enforcement
orders. For example, a large number of land disposal facilities lost
interim status in 1985 if they did not certify that they were in
compliance with all applicable ground-water monitoring and financial
responsibility requirements by the statutory deadline established by
HSWA. 40 CFR 265.112 and 265.118 require facilities seeking or
required to close under interim status to submit closure and post-
closure plans (if appropriate). 40 CFR 265.112(d)(l) specifies the
schedule for a facility to submit its closure plan to the regulatory
agency prior to the date on which it expects to begin partial or final
closure. Similarly, 40 CFR 265.118(e) specifies the schedule for the
facility owner or operator to submit the post-closure plan to the
regulatory agency prior to the date on which the facility expects to
begin partial or final closure of the first hazardous waste disposal unit.
Public involvement activities for interim status facilities during the
closure and post-closure processes are specified in 40 CFR
265.112(d)(4) and 265.118(f), which require that the regulatory agency
provide the public and the facility, through a newspaper notice, with
the opportunity to provide written comments on the closure and post-
closure plans and request modifications to the plans no later than 30
days from the date of the notice. In response to a request or at its
own discretion, the regulatory agency may hold a public hearing on the
plan(s), if such a hearing might clarify one or more of the issues
concerning the plan(s). Public notice of the hearing must be provided
by the regulatory agency at least 30 days before it occurs. The
regulatory agency will approve, modify, or disapprove the plan(s) within
90 days of their receipt.
Under 40 CFR 265.118(g)(l), the public may also petition the
regulatory agency to extend or reduce the post-closure care period
applicable to an interim status facility or land disposal unit. Whenever
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting
Page 3-15
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Example: The
Blank Community
Background
the regulatory agency is considering a petition on a post-closure plan, it
will provide the public and the facility, through a newspaper notice,
with the opportunity to provide written comments within 30 days of
the date of the notice. In response to a request or at its own
discretion, the regulatory agency may hold a public hearing on the
post-closure plan, if such a hearing might clarify one or more of the
issues concerning the plan. The regulatory agency must provide public
notice of the hearing at least 30 days before it occurs. If the regulatory
agency tentatively decides to modify the post-closure plan, 40 CFR
265.118(g)(2) requires that the regulatory agency provide the public
and the facility, through a newspaper notice, with the opportunity to
provide written comments within 30 days of the date of the notice, as
well as the opportunity for a public hearing. After considering the
comments, the regulatory agency will issue a final decision.
An interim status facility may amend its closure plan at any time prior
to the notification of partial or final closure, and its post-closure plan
any time during the active life of the facility or during the post-closure
care period. An owner or operator with an approved closure or post-
closure plan must submit a written request to the regulatory agency to
authorize a change. In addition, the regulatory agency may request
modifications to the closure and post-closure plans. If the amendment
to the closure plan is a Class 2 or Class 3 modification, according to
the criteria specified in 40 CFR 270.42, the modification to the plan
will be approved according to the procedures in 40 CFR 265.112(d) (4)
detailed above. Similarly, if the amendment to the post-closure plan is
a Class 2 or Class 3 modification, according to the criteria specified
in 40 CFR 270.42, the modification will be approved according to the
procedures in 40 CFR 265.118(f), also described above.
Now that we have gone through the basics of public involvement in
RCRA permitting, let's look at an example of how the public
involvement process might work for a high-level interest facility.
Facility A is located in the community of Blank, with a population of
100,000 residents. The facility is applying for a RCRA permit to treat
and store wastes, including tetrachloroethylene, using a commercial
incinerator that is currently operating under interim status. The facility
is located near a residential area. It employs 300 people. The facility
has established relatively good relations with members of the
community by contributing to charitable efforts and keeping in close
contact with officials about facility operations. You would characterize
the level of public interest in this facility (and therefore the need for
public involvement) as high based on the types of wastes, the waste
management practice (incineration), and the facility's proximity to a
residential area.
Chapter3: RCRA Permitting
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Communitv Concerns During your community interviews and file search, you discovered that
there are three main concerns that the community has expressed with
regard to the facility, as well as another issue that you think may be
important.
(1) The residents near the facility are concerned that the incineration
of wastes could endanger their health. They are worried that the
incinerator could release harmful amounts of hazardous substances if
something should go wrong and the incinerator were operating at less
than adequate temperatures, or if there were an accident. They
noted that several people in the community have developed
pulminary-related illnesses since the incinerator has been operating.
(They need to be informed about the possible health effects of the
incinerator, and satisfied that the incinerator is operating correctly.)
(2) The community as a whole (especially fire and police department
representatives) is concerned about the transportation of wastes
through the city streets, and the possibility of harmful exposures
in the event of an accident. In addition, members of the
community are concerned that the ash that will be taken from the
facility could harm residents if there were an accident.
(Even though RCRA permits do not cover transportation
requirements once hazardous materials have left a facility, the
permit application requires a description of traffic patterns,
estimated volume and control. In addition, State and local
governments may regulate truck traffic and the movement of
hazardous cargo. The public needs to be informed of how
accidents will be avoided and what emergency procedures will be
in place to deal with any accidents. You might note that the
Department of Transportation records approximately 200
reported incidents involving hazardous waste (ranging from
leaky drums to accidents) each year.1 Given the large universe
of facilities, the probability of a transportation accident at any
given site is low.)
(3) Community members interviewed expressed a general mistrust of
the regulatory agency's ability to monitor the facility adequately.
(They need to be informed about what regulations the facility
must comply with in order to operate the incinerator, and what
review process the regulatory agency has for monitoring the
facility. They need to know that they have access to all the
documents concerning the incinerator. They need to be
reassured that the regulatory agency will carefully monitor the
facility and enforce regulatory requirements.)
Source: United States Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration, Hazardous Materials
Information System.
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting Page 3-17
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Community
Characteristics
Activities
(4) Several community members mentioned that they were concerned
about their groundwater, although you know that there has been
no indication of any potential contamination problems at this
facility. Your file search revealed that there is another RCRA
facility nearby that has been undergoing a corrective action that
involves groundwater contamination with volatile organic com-
pounds. This facility is farther out of town, but there are drinking
water wells nearby that are threatened by the groundwater
problems. This indicates to you that there may be some confusion
in the community between the actions at the two different
facilities.
(They need to have their misunderstanding cleared up before
they become unnecessarily concerned, and the distinction
between the two activities at the two facilities should be
explained more clearly.)
During community interviews, you gathered the following information
about the community that will be useful in developing public
involvement activities:
(1) The neighborhood nearest the facility is largely middle class,
where most people own their homes and have children of school
age. They have a high-school/college level education. All of them
speak English.
(2) Most community members prefer to have information mailed to
them, rather than attending meetings, because of time constraints.
(3) Most of the information people now receive about the facility
conies from the facility's newsletter, which is distributed to the
facility's employees and the facility's neighbors. Coverage has
been minimal in the media.
(4) There are no organized environmental groups in the area.
However, many people do belong to some civic organization.
With the information you have gathered, you can choose which public
involvement activities will best fit the needs of the Blank community.
A comprehensive list of required and expanded public involvement
activities is provided in Chapter 5 of this manual. Each description
includes a list of what types of situations for which the activity could be
useful. There are any number of combinations of activities that may be
suitable for a given situation. Part of your choice will be made as a
result of which activities you feel comfortable doing and how much
time and money you have.
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting
Page 3-18
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Required Activities
There are several public involvement activities that you are required to
perform as part of a RCRA permit effort. Note that in certain
instances, the facility and/or regulatory agency may take the lead in
these required activities.
At the time the permit application is submitted, you must establish
a mailing list that includes facility neighbors, elected officials,
regulatory agency representatives, environmental organizations,
and anyone else who has expressed an interest in the facility or
who may be affected by it.
After developing a draft permit (or notice of intent to deny a
permit), you must:
Provide public notice (in a major newspaper and broadcast
over local radio stations) that the draft permit or notice of
intent to deny the permit is available for public review;
Produce a fact sheet or statement of basis that explains the
factual and legal bases for preparing the permit or issuing
the administrative order (Note that generally fact sheets are
used for permit issuances while Statements of Basis are used
for permit denials); and
Hold a 45-day public comment period on the draft permit
decision.
If there is a written request made during the public comment
period, you must hold a public hearing for which 30-day advance
notice is provided to members of the public.
When a final decision is reached on whether to issue or deny a
permit, you must send a notice of decision, including a response
to comments, to the facility owner or operator and each person
who submitted written comments on the draft decision or who
requested a copy of the notice.
Expanded Activities
From your community interviews, you have discovered that you need to
provide members of the community with certain types of information,
and get the community's feedback before most of your required
activities are implemented.
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting Page 3-19
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What sort of information do you need to convey to the Blank
community?
Environmental risk information:
Information on the potential risks from the facility's
incinerator
Information on the technical and institutional safeguards that
are in place to prevent exposures
The differences between this facility and another nearby
RCRA facility that is undergoing corrective action
A clarification that this facility is not undergoing a corrective
action; therefore, there is no groundwater contamination at
the facility
Transportation information:
A description of the contingency plan that has been
developed or will be developed as part of the RCRA permit
Regulatory/process information:
A description of the regulations with which the facility must
comply
A description of the methods used by the regulatory agency
to verify and document compliance
A description of how community members can ensure that
the regulatory agency is enforcing compliance
How can you get the information out?
(1) Community members have stated a preference for receiving
information through the mail rather than attending meetings, so
the logical first step is to produce a fact sheet for distribution to
your mailing list that covers the four topics mentioned as
important during your interviews (health, transportation,
regulatory compliance, groundwater). Remember to keep
explanations simple but complete, and to use graphics when
possible to help explain difficult concepts. You should include the
name, address, and phone number of the designated regulatory
agency contact person (probably you) on the fact sheet. You can
supplement the fact sheet with a news release and informational
press conference for local media so that your information will be
distributed to a wider audience.
If you don't have the time or resources to produce your own fact
sheet, an alternative is to ask the facility to include the
information in its facility newsletter. However, the facility
newsletter will not reach all of the people who are interested in
Chapters: RCRA Permitting Page 3-20
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the project because of its limited distribution. You could ask the
facility to distribute the newsletter to your mailing list, or use the
news release and informational press conference mentioned
above to increase circulation. Furthermore, you should be careful
about using a facility newsletter if the facility has had difficult
relations with the community.
(2) Because health is a major concern of community members nearest
the facility, and because of the complicated nature of the issue, a
fact sheet may not address their concerns adequately. Since
community members have stated a preference not to attend extra
meetings, you may offer brief presentations at regularly
scheduled meetings of other civic organizations, with time for
questions and answers.
You also may use the fact sheet to solicit interest in a workshop
on health issues, just to make sure that community members have
the opportunity to meet if they feel very strongly about the issue.
If 10-20 people express interest, you should plan a workshop to
discuss the issues in more detail and allow time for questions and
answers. You may want to prepare some posters and handouts
that explain the health risks graphically and outline the monitoring
procedures that will ensure the incinerator is operating properly.
Because there are currently some health conditions that
community members perceive may be related to the facility, you
may want to include a health specialist, such as the county and/or
State lexicologist, on your presentation team to answer specific
health questions.
(3) You can establish an information repository at the public library
or other public building so that the community can have access to
all the technical documents concerning the facility. The
information repository should be announced in a public notice in
the newspaper and in the fact sheet.
(4) You need to build the community's trust in the regulatory agency.
One way you can start this process is to keep up regular
telephone or personal contact with key community leaders to
update them on the permit progress and/or the corrective action
order process and to ask for their feedback on how the regulatory
agency can best involve them in the process. You also need to
maintain that trust. Since the RCRA permitting process and
some administrative orders requiring compliance may take a long
time, it is important that you periodically update community
members on the permit or order status, even when there isn't
much going on in the way of permitting milestones. In the
absence of information from the regulatory agency, it is common
for community members to become suspicious that things are
Chapter3: RCRA Permitting Page 3-21
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progressing outside of the normal, public channels. Periodic
contact will help dispel those suspicions.
(5) It is obvious to you that community members are confusing the
two RCRA facilities in the area. The first step you can take is to
send a RCRA §3007 Request for Information to the nearby
facility to gather relevant information and then coordinate your
public involvement efforts with the facility. Make sure that
materials you send out to members of the public are clearly
marked as addressing one site or the other. The fact sheet for
your facility will clearly state that there are no identified areas of
soil or groundwater contamination at your facility, and that your
RCRA action involves a permit, not a corrective action. It is
important to clear up the misunderstanding with all community
members so that you don't have to keep addressing this issue
throughout the RCRA process. If concern seems to be wide-
spread, you may want to publish the number of a RCRA
information hotline that community members can call with
questions. You can also issue a news release summarizing infor-
mation about the facility and distinguishing between the action at
your facility and at the one nearby.
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting Page 3-22
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r
Chapter Summary
The permit decision process and the required public involvement activities can be divided into
three key steps :
1. Submission and Review of Permit Application
- Develop a mailing list
2. Preparation of Draft Permit or Notice of Intent to Deny and Public Comment Period
- Issue public notice
- Prepare fact sheet or statement of basis
- Announce a 45-day public comment period
- Hold a public hearing, if requested, with 30-day advance notice
3. Final Permit Decision
- Respond to all significant comments raised during the public comment period, or during
any hearing
- Issue notice of decision
The regulatory agency can initiate a permit modification under 40 CFR 270.41 following the full
permitting procedures of 40 CFR Part 124. A facility may also initiate a Class 1, 2, or 3 permit
modification under 40 CFR 270.42. For facility-initiated modifications, public involvement
activities are required of both the facility and the regulatory agency, as described below:
1. Class 1
Facility Requirements:
- Notify mailing list within 90 days
2. Class 2
Facility Requirements:
- Notify mailing list and public
newspaper notice
- Announce 60-day public comment
period
- Place modification request and
supporting documentation in an
accessible location in the vicinity of
the facility
- Hold public meeting
- If the regulatory agency does not act
within 250 days of the modification
request, notify mailing list that
automatic authorization will become
permanent in 50 days
Regulatory Agency Requirements:
- Allow 60 days for public comment on the
modification request
- Consider all written comments and respond in
writing to all significant comments
- Issue notice to the mailing list within 10 days of
any decision to grant or deny a modification
request
- Issue notice to the mailing list within 10 days
after an automatic authorization goes into
effect
Chapter3: RCRA Permitting
Page 3-23
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Chapter Summary, continued
Class 3
Facility Requirements:
- Notify mailing list and publish
newspaper notice
- Announce 60-day public comment
period
- Place modification request and
supporting documentation in an
accessible location in the vicinity of
the facility
- Hold public meeting
Regulatory Agency Requirements:
- Allow 60 days for public comment on the
modification request
- Issue public notice
- Prepare a fact sheet or statement of basis
- Announce a 45-day public comment period on
draft permit decision
- Hold a public hearing, if requested, with 30-day
advance notice
- Issue or deny the modification request
- Respond to written and oral comments from
the 45-day comment period
- Consider and respond to all significant written
comments received during the 60-day comment
period
For Class 2 or 3 modifications, the regulatory agency may grant a facility temporary
authorization to perform certain activities for up to 180 days. The facility must notify the
public within seven days of making the request. The regulatory agency may grant a
temporary authorization without prior public notice and comment.
For facilities seeking permits, the public has the opportunity to comment on closure and
post-closure plans and any amendments to the plans as part of the permitting process and
permit modification procedures. The public can also comment and request hearings on
closure and post-closure plans submitted by interim status facilities. The regulatory agency
can initiate, and the facility can request, modifications to interim status plans; these
requests are also subject to public comment.
Post-closure permits and plans often mandate corrective action.
A fictitious case study of the Blank Community illustrates how public involvement planning
and implementation would work at a facility with a high-level of public attention.
1
Chapter 3: RCRA Permitting
Page 3-24
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Chapter 4
Public Involvement for RCRA
Corrective Action Under Permits and
§3008(h) Orders
Introduction
Public involvement is an important part of RCRA corrective action.
RCRA facilities are generally brought into the corrective action process
at the time the regulatory agency is considering a permit application for
the facility (§3004(u)), or when a release justifying action under a
§3008(h) enforcement order is identified. This chapter addresses public
involvement activities for corrective actions under permits and §3008(h)
orders.
As discussed in Chapter 3, the corrective action process begins with a
RCRA Facility Assessment, which is conducted by the regulatory
agency. The RFA includes (1) a file review of available information on
the facility; (2) a visual site inspection to confirm available information
on solid waste management units (SWMUs) at the facility and to note
any visual evidence of releases; and (3) in some cases, a sampling visit
to confirm or disprove suspected releases. If, after completion of the
RFA it appears likely that a release exists, the regulatory agency
typically develops a schedule of compliance, to be included in the
facility's permit, for further studies and actions the facility owner or
operator must undertake to fulfill the responsibilities imposed by
§§3004(u) and (v). Alternatively, the regulatory agency might issue an
order pursuant to §3008(h) to compel corrective action.
As described in Chapter 3, the public can comment on the schedule of
compliance for corrective action during permit issuance and subsequent
permit modification. Current EPA policy also requires a 30 to 45 day
public comment period and a public hearing for remedy selection under
§3008(h) orders.
The proposed Subpart S rule (55 FR 30798, July 27, 1990), which
defines both the procedural and substantive requirements associated
with §§3004(u) and (v), contains public involvement activities for
corrective action in addition to those currently required under 40 CFR
Parts 124 and 270. For example, the rule proposes that facilities, rather
than the regulatory agency, be required to conduct certain public
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008(h) Orders
Page 4-1
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Public Involvement
During Corrective
Action in Permitting
involvement activities such as establishing an information repository.
The rule also proposes the use of specific types of permit modifications
(e.g., Class 2 and 3 modifications) for adding or making changes to
corrective action requirements contained in the facility permit, and
proposes a new permit modification procedure for streamlining changes
to the schedule of compliance initiated by the regulatory agency.
This chapter outlines the public involvement activities associated with
different stages of the corrective action process under both permits and
§3008(h) orders. It describes public involvement activities currently
required under federal regulations and policies, as well as suggested
additional public involvement activities. In addition, this chapter
discusses the public involvement requirements for corrective action
activities contained in the proposed Subpart S rule.
Additional guidance for public involvement in corrective action is
available in OSWER Directives 9901.3, Guidance for Public
Involvement in RCRA Section 3008 (h) Actions (May 5, 1987) and
9902.6, RCRA Corrective Action Decision Documents: The Statement of
Basis and Response to Comments (April 29, 1991).
Community concerns during corrective action may differ from concerns
during either the permitting of a new facility or a permit modification
not related to corrective action. Because a release or potential release
of hazardous waste has been identified, the community is more likely to
take an active interest in the site. Corrective action investigations and
remedial activities may be very visible to the public. Experts visit the
facility to conduct investigations, trucks and equipment travel back and
forth to the facility, and government agencies oversee activities. All of
these activities can heighten the anxiety and concern of the community.
Accordingly, the community may require more information on issues
related to current or potential contamination, including levels of
contamination, the extent of health and environmental risks, and the
potential for future risks.
If the RFA indicates the presence of actual or potential releases of
hazardous waste, a number of additional activities may be taken to
complete the corrective action process. These activities can be divided
into seven key steps:
1) RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI);
2) Corrective Measures Study (CMS);
3) Proposed remedy selection;
4) Final selection of remedy;
5) Corrective measures implementation;
6) Completion of remedy; and
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008 (h) Orders
Page 4-2
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Step One: RCRA
Facility
Investigation (RFI)
Required Activities
7) Interim measures or stabilization, which can take place
anytime in the process.
These steps, and the public involvement activities associated with them,
are discussed below. Exhibit 4-1 provides a flow chart that illustrates
the relationships between the corrective action process and public
involvement activities. Refer to Chapter 3 for additional information
on permitting, including permit modifications, and Chapter 5 for
specific details on public involvement activities described in this
chapter.
Following the RFA, the next step in the corrective action process is the
RCRA Facility Investigation. An RFI is imposed when a potentially
significant release has been identified in the RFA; its purpose is to
characterize the nature and extent of contamination at the facility.
If the RFA indicates that a release poses an immediate exposure risk,
the regulatory agency can require the facility, through the permit, to
undertake interim measures to minimize or stabilize this risk. The
regulatory agency may also choose to institute a phased RFI, gathering
data necessary to make stabilization decisions early in the RFI process.
Similar to interim measures, stabilization activities are designed to
control releases and prevent further spread of contamination during the
first phase of corrective action at a facility.
As discussed in Chapter 3, the public has the opportunity for notice
and comment on the permit schedule of compliance for corrective
action, including its RFI provisions, at the time of permit issuance.
The mailing list developed during the initial stages of the permitting
process should be used and updated throughout the permitting and
corrective action processes in order to keep members of the community
informed. (See Chapters 3 and 5 for more information on facility
mailing lists.)
Sometimes the results of the RFI indicate that the schedule of
compliance for corrective action in the facility permit needs to be
modified to account for new information. Currently, the regulatory
agency can initiate modifications to the corrective action schedule of
compliance under 40 CFR 270.41, following the procedures in 40 CFR
Part 124. In addition, the facility owner or operator can request
modifications under 40 CFR 270.42.
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008 (h) Orders
Page 4-3
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Exhibit 4-1
Public Involvement Activities in the RCRA
Technical
Process
Recommended'
Public
Involvement
Activities
Additional
Public
Involvement
Activities
under
Subpart S
Proposed
flu/e**
Additional
Public
Involvement
Activities
RCRA Facility
Investigation
(RFI)1
Corrective Measures
Study
(CMS)1
FacBty Requests Modficatfon
tDTerrrtnateSch«dute<5f
Cornpftmce :
Regulatory Agency
Modifies Schedule of
Compliance
Facfflty Requests
Modification to Due
Dates in Schedule
i Interim Measures {Canv i ^
*
Mailing List
Modifications initiated under 40 CFR 270.41 and 270.42 require public involvement
(see text)
Regulatory agency may require «
facility to establish
an information repository
Facility gives ,
notification of repository
if established, with
contact person '
Facility mails summary
of RR final report to all
individuals on mailing list;
facility may also be required to write
a fact sheet summarizing the RFI
Facility gives notice to all
potentially affected parties
when a release of hazardous
constituents is discovered to have
migrated off-site in concentration
exceeding risk-based levels
(groundwatar and
air only)
*
Revised public
involvement plan
Facts sheet
Informal meetings or workshops
Class 3 Modification
Facility gives public
notice announcing 60-day
comment period
Facility holds
public meeting
' EPA follows 40 CFR Part
124 procedures for
permit modification
(i.e., public notice,
45-day comment period,
fact sheet or statement of
basis, hearing if requested,
notice of decision,
response to comments
submitted during both the
45-day and 60-day comment
periods)
Proposed
40 CFR 270.34(c)
Regulatory agency gives
notice to facility and
and public
annoucing 20-day
comment period,
with contact person
Notice of final
decision with
responses
to comments
In addition, regulatory
agency could conduct
a public meeting
or extend the
comment period
Class 1 or 2
Modification
Facility obtains
approval from the
regulatory agency
Public notice
of changes of
dates within
90 days (Class I
only)
Class 2
procedures,
with default
provisions, as
appropriate
Workshop
Informal meeting
Contact person
Fact sheet
Hotline
* These activities are strongly encouraged, but not required, for corrective action under §3008(h) orders.
" Activities included in proposed rules under 40 CFR 264 and 270, 55 FR 30873 ff.
1 The public has the opportunity for notice and comment on the permit schedule of compliance for corrective
action, including its RFI and CMS provisions, at the time of permit issuance.
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008(h) Orders
Page 4-4
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Corrective Action Process (During RCRA Permitting)
(CMI)
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Additional Activities
Additional
Requirements and
Recommended
Activities Proposed
Under Subpart S
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Once the RFA and RFI are completed, it is usually appropriate to
reevaluate community concerns and the level of public involvement
based on any new information collected, and to revise the public
involvement plan accordingly. In addition, care should be taken to
integrate public involvement activities for corrective action with other
public involvement activities related to the permit. Such efforts early in
the process, before community concerns and issues become over-
whelming, will be beneficial in the long run.
Developing and distributing fact sheets throughout the RFI process is
an excellent way to keep in touch with the community. It is a good
idea to issue a fact sheet before the RFI begins to explain the
investigation's purpose and scope. Another fact sheet should be issued
after the RFI is completed to report the investigation results. Informal
meetings or workshops also provide valuable forums for discussing
community concerns.
The Subpart S corrective action rule proposes additional requirements
and recommended activities for public involvement after the RFA and
during the RFI. It also proposes a new permit modification process for
certain modifications to the schedule of compliance initiated by the
regulatory agency. The proposed public involvement activities and new
permit modification procedures described below cannot be used until
the Subpart S rule has been promulgated. This information is provided
in the event that this proposed rule is promulgated and because facility
owners/operators may have heard of this proposed rule. You can not
currently require owners/operators to abide by these proposed
activities. However, you may use these guidelines if you and the
owner/operator agree on them.
Proposed RFI Activities Under Subpart S
Under the Subpart S proposed rule, the regulatory agency may require
the facility to establish an information repository in the community
where the facility is located. The repository would serve as a resource
containing all reports, findings, and other information relevant to
ongoing corrective action activities at the facility (e.g., RFI workplans
and reports). Following promulgation of the rule, you can assist your
managers in determining whether an information repository would be
useful by presenting the results of your initial needs assessment. If the
level of community interest is moderate or high, and if there is
moderate or high potential for exposure, an information repository
should be established.
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008(h) Orders
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Subpart S also proposes that the facility inform the public of the
existence of the repository by sending a notification of public
information repository to all individuals on the mailing list. This
notification should identify a contact person to whom comments can be
submitted. Subpart S also proposes to provide regulatory agencies with
the flexibility to require the facility to publish notice of the repository
in a local newspaper and broadcast notices on local radio and
television stations.
Upon completion of the RFI, Subpart S proposes that the facility mail
a summary of the final RFI report to all individuals on the mailing list.
In addition to this formal report summary, some Regions may also
require the facility to write a fact sheet summarizing the RFI report.
These documents should be written in language that can be understood
by the general public and should be translated for non-English speaking
members of the community, as appropriate.
Proposed Notifications for Contamination Under Subpart S
Subpart S proposes two notifications for discoveries of contamination,
such as that which might occur during the RFI. If at anytime the
facility discovers that hazardous constituents in ground water that may
have been released from a SWMU at the facility have migrated beyond
the facility in concentrations exceeding risk-based levels, Subpart S
proposes that the facility must, within 15 days of discovery, provide
written notification to the regulatory agency and to any person who
owns or resides on the land which overlies the contaminated ground
water. In addition, the rule proposes that the facility must provide
written notice and initiate actions to provide notice to individuals who
have or may have been subject to exposure to air releases from
SWMUs at the facility that have or are migrating beyond the facility
boundary in concentrations that exceed risk-based levels.
Proposed Modifications to Corrective Action Schedules of Compliance
Under Subpart S
When initiating modifications to the permit schedule of compliance for
corrective action, the Subpart S rule proposes that the regulatory
agency decide on a case-by-case basis whether to conduct the
modification under 40 CFR 270.41 or under proposed 40 CFR
270.34(c). Proposed 40 CFR 270.34(c) specifies public involvement
requirements for situations where the regulatory agency initiates a
modification to change the schedule of compliance prior to remedy
selection (e.g., to modify due dates for reports or to add or delete some
activities from an approved workplan). Under the proposed
requirements of this section, the regulatory agency must perform the
following public involvement activities:
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008(h) Orders
Page 4-7
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Prepare a public notice that includes a description of the
proposed modification, reasons for the modification, the location
of available supporting information, the end date of the 20-day
modification comment period, and the name of a regulatory
agency contact person to whom comments can be made;
Distribute the notice to the facility, mailing list, and information
repository, if one has been established; and
Publish the notice in a local newspaper.
If no comments are received regarding the proposed modification, it
becomes final five days after the close of the comment period. At that
point, the regulatory agency must notify the facility and all community
members on the mailing list in writing and place a copy of the
modified permit in the information repository.
If written comments on the proposed modification are received, the
regulatory agency must make a final determination within 30 days after
close of the comment period, if practicable. In addition, the regulatory
agency must perform the following public involvement activities:
Prepare a public notice that gives the effective date of the
modification and an explanation of how comments were
considered in developing the final modification;
Provide a copy of the notice and the final modification to the
facility; and
Publish a copy of the notice in a local newspaper and place a copy
of the notice and the final modification in the information
repository, if one has been established.
Since the proposed 40 CFR 270.34(c) procedure is less complex
administratively and should take substantially less time to make
modifications effective, this process, once promulgated, should be used
for modifications that are relatively routine, do not include very large
additions or changes to the requirements already specified in the
schedule, or are time-critical. The regulatory agency could conduct a
public meeting during the comment permit for modifications initiated
under proposed 40 CFR 270.34(c), if it was determined to be
appropriate in addressing the concerns of the facility or the public, or
both. In other cases, the comment period might be extended for some
period to allow for additional review or comment.
On the other hand, some regulatory agency-initiated modifications,
because of the nature, scope, or anticipated resource burden of
complying with the new requirement, may continue to be more
appropriately handled under 40 CFR 270.41. For example, imposing
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008(h) Orders
Page 4-8
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Step Two:
Corrective
Measures Study
(CMS)
Required Activities
requirements that are especially sensitive or controversial from the
community's perspective may be best handled under 40 "CFR 270.41,
which allows maximum public input into the substance of the permit
modification.
In addition, if the facility cannot meet due dates in the schedule of
compliance, proposed 40 CFR 270.34(b) requires that the facility
request a modification of the schedule under 40 CFR 270.42 within 15
days of the determination. Changes in dates during the RFI phase are
typically considered either Class 1 or Class 2 modifications.
Proposed Modification to Terminate the Schedule of Compliance
Under Subpart S
Subpart S proposes the use of Class 3 permit modification procedures
for requests by facility owners or operators to terminate corrective
action schedules of compliance during the corrective action process, if
the facility can demonstrate that there are no releases of hazardous
waste from SWMUs that may pose a threat to human health or the
environment.
If the need for corrective measures is verified during the RFI, the
facility may be required to perform a Corrective Measures Study to
identify and evaluate potential remedial alternatives.
The permit schedule of compliance may already include conditions
that specify when a CMS is warranted; the public can comment on
these draft permit conditions at the time of permit issuance.
However, because the RFI and CMS phases may last from one to three
years, depending on the complexity of the facility, the community may
be frustrated by the length of time involved and the lack of information
on results or findings. While there are no additional required public
involvement activities specific to the CMS beyond those associated with
the initial permitting process or modifications to the corrective action
schedule of compliance, some additional public involvement activities
may be useful during this phase of corrective action.
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008(h) Orders
Page 4-9
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Additional Activities
Step Three:
Proposed Remedy
Selection
Holding workshops and informal meetings about the CMS process, the
remedies being considered, and the activities being conducted at the
facility will keep the community involved and informed. You should
also consider mailing out fact sheets at significant milestones during the
CMS to keep the community abreast of the progress that has been
made.
Providing a contact person at the regulatory agency to accept
comments and answer questions from the community is a good way to
provide information, shows a willingness on the part of the regulatory
agency to talk with the community, and gives the regulatory agency an
opportunity to respond to public concerns. You may even consider
establishing a hotline if a large number of people call with questions.
You can advertise the availability of the hotline through the mailing list
or in local newspapers.
Once the regulatory agency identifies its proposed remedy for a facility,
the facility's permit must be modified to incorporate the proposed
corrective measures.
Required Activities
A permit modification for remedy selection is initiated by the regulatory
agency.1 For such a modification, 40 CFR 270.41 requires the same
level of public involvement as is required for a draft permit. The
permit containing the proposed modification must be released for
public review and comment, and the community must receive public
notice that the proposed modification is available for review. You
must publish this notice in a major local newspaper and it must be
broadcast over local radio stations. Notice must also be sent to all
persons on the mailing list. In addition, you must prepare a fact sheet
or statement of basis to explain the proposed modification and the
significant factual and legal reasons for proposing the remedy.
EPA promulgated final corrective action management unit (CAMU) and temporary unit regulations on February 16, 1993
(58 FR 8658). Under this final rule, CAMUs and temporary units may be designated by the regulatory agency in the
permit prior to or during remedy selection according to the procedures in 40 CFR 270.41; these units may also be
implemented through the use of Section 3008(h) orders or order modifications. Conversely, the facility may request a
permit modification to implement a CAMU following the Class 3 permit modification process defined in 40 CFR 270.42. If
approval of a temporary unit or time extension for a temporary unit is not requested under a Class 3 permit modification or
obtained under a regulator agency-initiated modification, the facility owner or operator may request approval for a
temporary unit according to the procedures for a Class 2 permit modification. Additional guidance on public involvement
and procedures for the designation of CAMUs and temporary units will be forthcoming.
Note that Subpart S also explicitly proposes the use of 40 CFR 270.41 for specifying the remedy. The modifications that
are initiated under 40 CFR Part 270.41 go through the 40 CFR Part 124 permit issuance procedures.
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008(h) Orders
Page 4-10
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Additional Activities
Step Four: Final
Selection of Remedy
Required Activities
The statement of basis describes the proposed remedy, but does not
select the final remedy for a facility. This approach allows for
additional information to be considered during the public comment
period. Following this period, public comment and/or additional data
may result in changes to the remedy or in another choice of remedy.
After the regulatory agency has considered all comments from the
public, the final decision, selecting the remedy, or determining the need
to develop another option, is documented in the response to comments.
For more information on statements of basis, refer to OSWER
Directive 9902.6, RCRA Corrective Action Decision Documents: The
Statement of Basis and Response to Comments (April 29, 1991).
A 45-day public comment period on the draft permit modification
follows publication of the public notice. The comment period provides
the public with an opportunity to comment, in writing, on conditions
contained in the draft permit modification. If information submitted
during the initial comment period appears to raise substantial new
questions concerning the draft permit modification, you must re-open
or extend the comment period.
The affected community may request a public hearing on the draft
permit modification. If a hearing is requested, you must give a 30-day
advance notice to the community that states the time and place of the
hearing. You may schedule a public meeting or hearing even if the
community does not request one. In many cases, scheduling a public
hearing before the public requests one saves valuable time in the
modification process and shows a willingness to meet with the
community to hear its questions and concerns.
Holding workshops on the proposed remedy would be useful in further
explaining the corrective measures to the community.
After the public comment period closes, you must review and evaluate
all written and oral comments and issue a final decision on the permit
modification.
You must also send a notice of decision to the facility owner or
operator and any persons who submitted public comments or requested
notice of the final decision and prepare a written response to
comments. This document must include a summary of all significant
comments received during the public comment period and an
explanation of how they were addressed in the final permit modification
or why they were rejected. The response to comments must be made
available through the Administrative Record and the information
repository, if one was established, and must be sent to the facility and
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008(h) Orders
Page 4-11
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Additional Activities
Step Five:
Corrective
Measures
Implementation
Required Activities
Additional Activities
Additional
Requirements and
Recommended
Activities Proposed
Under Subpart S
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all persons who submitted comments or requested a copy of your
response.
It may be useful to hold a workshop or informal meeting during the
public comment period to inform the public about the proposed
remedy, especially when information about corrective measures in a
draft permit modification is quite technical or the level of community
concern is high.
Once a remedy is selected and a permit modification is approved, the
facility must implement the remedy. The modified permit schedule of
compliance should include conditions that specify how the corrective
measures are to be designed, constructed, operated, maintained, and
monitored.
The public can comment on these draft permit conditions during the
permit modification for the selection of remedy. In addition, any
requested changes to the selected remedy in the modified permit
would be subject to 40 CFR Part 270.41 or 270.42 procedures,
depending on which party initiated the change (e.g., the regulatory
agency or the facility). While there are no additional required public
involvement activities specific to remedy implementation, beyond those
associated with the permit modification, some public involvement
activities may be useful during this phase of corrective action.
As mentioned earlier, the corrective action process often takes years to
complete. You may want to consider including additional public
involvement activities during corrective measures implementation to
inform the community of the progress of the remedial action, especially
if the public shows concern over the pace and scope of the cleanup
operations. In particular, it may be useful to release periodic fact
sheets to the community that report on progress of the cleanup
operations. It may also be helpful to hold an availability session/open
house near or on the site of the facility to demonstrate or explain the
activities involved in the remedy. You may want the facility to
participate in conducting these activities as well.
As part of the public involvement requirements of proposed Subpart S,
the rulemaking proposes that the facility must notify all individuals on
the mailing list that the construction plans and specifications are
available for public inspection. This information should be placed in
the information repository, if one has been established, otherwise the
notice must specify where the plans and specifications are available for
inspection.
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008(h) Orders
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Step Six:
ompletion of
Remedy
Required Activities
Additional
Requirements and
Recommended
Activities Proposed
Under Subpart S
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Step Seven: Interim
Measures
Required Activities
Once a remedy has been completed, the facility owner or operator may
request a permit modification to remove compliance schedules and
other language related to the corrective action from the permit.
Because this is a significant change to the permit, such modification
requests are handled as Class 3 modifications under 40 CFR 270.42.
Accordingly, the facility must issue a public notice and provide a 60-day
comment period and public meeting. After the conclusion of the 60-
day comment period, the regulatory agency then initiates the permit
issuance procedures of 40 CFR Part 124 for the Class 3 modification.
For example, the regulatory agency will prepare a draft permit
modification, publish a notice allowing a 45-day public comment
period on the draft permit modification, hold a public hearing on the
modification of requested, and issue or deny the permit modification.
In addition, the regulatory agency will consider and respond to all
written comments received during the 60-day public comment period as
it conducts the activities required by 40 CFR Part 124.
Subpart S explicitly proposes the use of Class 3 permit modification
procedures for requests by facility owners or operators to terminate
corrective action schedules of compliance following the completion of
remedies. If hazardous wastes or hazardous constituents in SWMUs, or
which have been released from SWMUs, will remain in or on the land
after the term of the permit has expired, Subpart S also proposes that
the regulatory agency may require the facility to record a notation in
the deed to the facility property regarding the types, concentrations,
and locations of such waste or constituents.
The regulatory agency may require an interim measure(s) and/or
stabilization at the facility at any time during the RFI or CMS. Interim
measures may be required in situations where contamination poses an
immediate threat to human health or the environment. They may also
be required to prevent further environmental degradation or
contaminant migration prior to implementing the final remedy.
Specific interim measures and/or stabilization measures may be
identified in the permit. Conversely, the permit may include general
conditions that govern when interim measures might be required during
the course of the corrective action. In either case, the public can
comment on the interim measures language in the draft permit as
part of the permit issuance process. There are no additional required
public involvement activities corresponding to interim measures beyond
those associated with the permitting process.
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008(h) Orders
Page 4-13
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Additional Activities
Public Involvement
Activities Under
§3008(h) Orders
It is a good idea to keep the public informed of such activities by
issuing fact sheets or holding informal meetings. Because interim
measures can be conducted at any stage in the corrective action
process, you can incorporate activities related to interim measures into
the rest of your public involvement program.
The first part of this chapter examined public involvement for facilities
undergoing corrective action in permitting as outlined in existing
regulations and proposed Subpart S (50 FR 30798). RCRA §3008(h)
provides similar authority for requiring corrective action at non-
permitted RCRA facilities when there is evidence of a release of a
hazardous waste or constituent to the environment. The facility may be
operating under interim status (prior to receiving a permit), or may be
closed or closing under interim status.
The regulatory agency issues §3008(h) enforcement orders to facilities
either on consent or unilaterally. A consent order is issued when the
facility and the regulatory agency have come to an agreement about the
corrective action, while a unilateral order is issued to a facility when
the regulatory agency and the facility have been unable to agree about
the need for or scope of corrective action.
This section examines how to conduct public involvement for facilities
undergoing corrective action under a §3008(h) enforcement order. The
corrective action activities discussed here for §3008(h) orders are nearly
the same as those discussed earlier for corrective action in permitting.
Rather than repeat the information provided at the beginning of this
chapter about the steps in corrective action, we will focus on the issues
relevant to public involvement that distinguish corrective action under a
§3008(h) order from corrective action in the permitting process. If you
are not familiar with the corrective action process, read the beginning
of this chapter before proceeding.
In some cases, it may be useful to begin public involvement under
§3008(h) orders prior to the issuance of the order by assessing the
community's concerns and identifying the most appropriate means of
addressing those concerns. (Assessing a community's concerns and
planning for public involvement is discussed in greater detail in
Chapter 2.) The public involvement activities selected for corrective
action under a §3008(h) order should meet the needs of the
community. There are three important distinctions, however, between
conducting public involvement in corrective action under a §3008(h)
order and during permitting:
Under a §3008(h) order, there may be limitations on the
regulatory agency's ability to release or discuss certain
information;
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008(h) Orders
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No public involvement activities are required under §3008(h), but
they are strongly encouraged; and
Facilities may agree to conduct public involvement activities under
a consent order, but under a unilateral order public involvement
responsibilities will likely fall to the regulatory agency.
Caution should be exercised prior to notifying the public of the
contents of an order prior to issuance. In some cases, public notice of
draft orders may hamper ongoing negotiations.
Limitations on Releasing Information: When the regulatory agency is
negotiating an order with the facility, confidentiality of certain
information must be maintained. The aim of these negotiations is to
encourage frank discussion of all issues and to try to resolve
differences, thereby allowing the agency to issue an order on consent
rather than unilaterally. Public disclosure of some information could
jeopardize the success of the negotiations. Therefore, public
involvement planning must be coordinated with the appropriate staff
working on the enforcement action.
Not being able to fully disclose information to the public can pose
problems, particularly in a community where interest is high and
citizens are requesting information. If interest in the facility is high,
the project manager, project staff, and the Public Involvement
Coordinator should discuss how to address citizens' concerns without
breaching confidentiality. At the very least, the public deserves to
know why these limitations are necessary and when and if they will be
lifted.
Further constraints may be placed upon public involvement if
discussions with the facility break down, and the case is referred to the
Department of Justice (DOJ) to initiate litigation. In this situation, the
public involvement planning should be coordinated with the lead DOJ
attorney as well.
Strongly Suggested Versus Required Activities: U.S. EPA's Office of
Solid Waste and Emergency Response has issued two directives
addressing public involvement in §3008(h) orders: Directive 9901.3,
Guidance for Public Involvement in RCRA Section 3008(h) Actions
(May 5, 1987) and Directive 9902.6, RCRA Corrective Action Decision
Documents: The Statement of Basis and Response to Comments (April
29, 1991). These directives suggest public involvement activities, even
though there are no statutory requirements for public involvement.
The directives suggest the following activities after a proposed remedy
has been selected:
Writing a statement of basis discussing the proposed remedy;
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008(h) Orders Page 4-15
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Issuance of an Order
Following the RCRA
Facility Assessment
Providing public notice that a proposed remedy has been selected
and the statement of basis is available;
Providing a public comment period (30-45 days) on the proposed
remedy;
Holding a public hearing if requested; and
Writing a final decision and response to comments.
The regulatory agency may consider conducting additional public
involvement activities, particularly activities that involve the public early
in the corrective action process.
Below is a discussion of strongly suggested and other public
involvement activities to consider during corrective action under
§3008(h) orders. Again, please note that the type and timing of public
involvement activities are generally the same as for corrective action in
permitting.
Consent Versus Unilateral Orders: If the regulatory agency is issuing
a consent order, the agency should consider negotiating with the facility
to have it write a public involvement plan (if community interest in the
facility is high), or at least conduct public involvement activities as
terms of the order. If the regulatory agency is issuing a unilateral
order, however, circumstances may be such that it is necessary and/or
appropriate for the regulatory agency to assume all or most public
involvement responsibilities. Care must be used regarding the
disclosure of information prior to the issuance of a unilateral order.
Respondent/Agency relations are often strained in situations where
unilateral orders are issued. Premature disclosure of information
regarding the draft order may place additional strain on such
relationships.
If a RCRA Facility Assessment (RFA) at an interim status facility
indicates a release of hazardous waste or constituents, the regulatory
agency will consider issuing a §3008(h) order requiring the facility to
begin investigating and cleaning up the contamination. It may take
many months of discussions with the facility before the order is issued.
In the meantime, the regulatory agency may assess the community and
develop a mailing list This list should include local officials;
interested, affected, and potentially affected private citizens; residents
close to the facility (e.g., within a one-half mile radius); and media
representatives.
On the day the order is issued, the administrative record, containing all
information considered by the regulatory agency in developing the
order, is made available for inspection by the public. You may also
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008(h) Orders
Page 4-16
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RCRA Facility
Investigation (RFI)
Corrective Measures
Study (CMS) and
Remedy Selection
want to keeping a copy of the administrative record at a local library
close to the facility.
You may also consider writing a fact sheet that gives details of the
order and the corrective action process, or holding an open house or
workshop if there is a high level of interest in the facility.
Following issuance of the order, the facility will conduct an RFI
according to the terms of the order and approved workplan. While
public involvement activities are not required for this phase of the
process, you should consider conducting activities for an RFI under a
§3008(h) order similar to those you would conduct for an RFI in a
permit.
The previous section recommended setting up a mailing list and
information repository at the time the order is issued. Other suggested
activities include the following:
Write two fact sheets: One prepared at the beginning of the RFI,
summarizing the overall remedial process from start to finish,
existing contamination at the facility, possible impacts on the local
community, RFI objectives, any interim measures being taken or
planned at the facility, and upcoming events in the corrective
action process. The second fact sheet should be prepared at the
end of the RFI, and should summarize the final RFI report
findings;
Prepare written notice to potentially affected parties if a release
of hazardous constituents that exceeds action levels (as defined
under proposed 40 CFR 264.521) is discovered; and
Hold workshops, availability sessions, or open houses to educate
and speak with the community about the corrective action
process, as well as how and when community members can
become involved in the process.
If the RFI indicates that remedial action is necessary, the facility will
conduct a CMS to identify possible remedies. Once these are
identified and documented in a Corrective Measures Report, the
regulatory agency reviews the report and proposes a remedy. That is a
good time for the regulatory agency to get public comments on the
proposed remedy. It is current EPA policy to conduct the following
activities:
Write a statement of basis to identify and explain the proposed
remedy;
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008 (h) Orders
Page 4-17
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Remedy
Implementation
Corrective Measures
Implementation and
Completion of Remedy
Provide public notice that a proposed remedy has been identified
and is available for public comment. The notice should be
published in a major newspaper and broadcast over local radio
stations;
Allow a 30-45 day public comment period on the proposed
remedy following the public notice. The comment period provides
the public an opportunity to comment on corrective measure
alternatives contained in the statement of basis;
Hold a public hearing if requested by the public; and
Write a final decision and response to comments, which includes
a summary of substantive comments received during the public
comment period and an explanation of either how they were
incorporated or addressed in the remedy selection. These should
be placed in the Administrative Record for public review.
Based on the results of the Corrective Measures Study and public
comment on the proposed remedy, the regulatory agency will select a
remedy for implementation. If the initial §3008(h) enforcement order
did not include provisions to implement the selected remedy, a second
§3008(h) enforcement order is issued to require the facility to design,
construct, and implement the remedy.
You should consider sending out a summary fact sheet that reviews the
overall progress at the facility during the entire corrective action
process. A summary fact sheet offering the community a synopsis of
accomplishments at the facility may help citizens to understand and
appreciate all aspects of the corrective action process, including the
time necessary to carry out all activities. This information may also
serve to instill a sense of trust within the community in your ability to
complete a remedy, and may help pave the way for good relations in
the future between the community and your agency.
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008(h) Orders
Page 4-18
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Chapter Summary
In addition to the public involvement activities for RCRA permitting and modifications
requirements for public involvement related to corrective action in permitting.
The corrective action process can be divided into seven key steps (with corresponding suggested
public involvement activities that are currently required or suggested):
1. RCRA Facility Investigation
Update mailing list, if necessary
Revise public involvement plan
Develop fact sheets on the investigations
Hold informal meetings or workshops
2. Corrective Measures Study
Hold informal meetings or workshops
Identify a contact person
Develop fact sheets on the study
Establish a hotline
3. Proposed Remedy Selection
Follow 40 CFR 124 procedures for the permit modification
Hold workshop on proposed remedy
4. Final Selection of Remedy
Send out notice of decision
Issue response to comments
Hold informal meetings or workshops
5. Corrective Measures Implementation
Develop fact sheets on remedy implementation
Coordinate availability session/open house
6. Completion of Remedy
Facility may request Class 3 modification to remove schedules of compliance from the
permit
7. Interim Measures (can take place anytime in the process)
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008(h) Orders Page 4-19
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Chapter Summary (cont'd)
The public can also comment on corrective action schedules of compliance in the draft RCRA
permit at the time of permit issuance; there are also public involvement activities associated with
permit modifications.
Corrective actions can also take place under §3008(h) orders.
The type and timing of public involvement activities for §3008(h) orders are generally the same
as those for corrective action in permitting.
There are three important distinctions between conducting public involvement in corrective
action under a §3008(h) order and through permitting:
1. Under a §3008(h) order, there may be limitations on the release or discussion of certain
information;
2. No public involvement activities are required under §3008(h) but they are strongly
encouraged in guidance. In addition, the regulatory agency may require the facility to
conduct additional public involvement activities as a term in the order; and
3. Facilities may agree to conduct public involvement activities under a consent order,
however, under a unilateral order public involvement responsibilities will likely fall to the
regulatory agency.
EPA strongly suggests conducting the following minimum activities:
1. Developing a mailing list
After a proposed remedy has been selected:
2. Writing a statement of basis
3. Providing public notice
4. Allowing a 30-45-day public comment period
5. Holding a public hearing, if requested
6. Making a final decision
7. Responding to comments
Additional public involvement activities during the various stages of corrective action may be
helpful.
Chapter 4: Corrective Action and §3008 (h) Orders Page 4-20
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Chapter 5
Public Involvement Activities:
How to Do Them
TntrnHiirrinn ^s cnaPter presents a "how-to" for a broad range of activities that can
be used to promote and encourage public involvement in RCRA
permitting or corrective action. Public involvement staff in the EPA
Regional Offices or in State agencies are the intended audience for this
chapter. However, RCRA technical staff as well as staff at RCRA
facilities who may be asked to help with or to conduct specific public
involvement activities should also find this chapter helpful.
The chapter provides brief summaries of each activity that describe
what it is, how and when to conduct it, an estimate of how much effort
it requires, and advantages and limitations of using it. Each summary
includes a checklist to help you in conducting the activity. Examples of
public notices and fact sheets are also provided.
The activities are grouped into four categories: planning, required
activities, additional activities, and meetings.
Use this directory to locate specific activities:
Planning Activities
Community Interviews p. 5-3
Public Involvement Plan p. 5-8
Revision of a Public Involvement Plan p. 5-11
Required Activities
Mailing Lists p. 5-14
Public Notice p. 5-18
Fact Sheets/Statement of Basis p. 5-24
Public Comment Period p. 5-31
Public Hearings p. 5-34
Notice of Decision p. 5-41
Response to Comments p. 5-43
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-1
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Additional Activities
Introductory Notice p. 5-46
Information Repository p. 5-49
Exhibits p. 5-53
News Releases p. 5-56
Translations p. 5-60
Use Existing Groups/Publications p. 5-63
Contact Person p. 5-66
Telephone Contacts p. 5-69
Door to Door Canvassing p. 5-72
News Conferences p. 5-76
Facility Tours p. 5-79
Telephone Hotline p. 5-82
Observation Deck p. 5-85
On-Scene Information Office p. 5-88
Meetings
Informal Meetings p. 5-91
Availability Sessions/Open Houses p. 5-96
Workshops p. 5-99
Briefings p. 5-104
Presentations p. 5-107
Summary of Public Involvement Techniques p. 5-110
The planning activities can assist you in determining which public
involvement activities are best for a particular facility. As Chapter 2
describes, these activities can be either a small or a large effort. The
required activities listed above are discussed in Chapters 3 and 4, which
explain where in the permitting and corrective action processes you
would conduct these activities. The additional activities and meetings
provide more options for providing information to the community and
engaging the public in dialogue about activities at the facility. These
are also referred to in chapters 3 and 4. Some of the additional
activities require very little effort or resources to carry out, while others
require substantial effort. Time estimates are given for each activity.
Consider how much calendar time you will need to integrate these
activities into the appropriate permitting schedule. Design a program
to best address the information needs and concerns of the community.
You are encouraged to implement interactive activities as much as
possible.
Chapters: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-2
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Planning Activities
>/ Community Interviews
Community Evaluation &
Needs Assessment
Public Involvement Plan
Schedule:
OCTOBER 1994
Oct. 3 Interview
Oct. 6 Interview
Oct. 7 Fact Sheet
Oct. 8 Public Meeting
Oct. 15 Press Conference
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Community
Interviews
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
Community interviews are informal, face-to-face or telephone
interviews held with local residents, elected officials, community groups,
and other individuals to acquire information on citizen concerns and
attitudes about a facility. Information obtained through these
interviews is typically used to assess the community's concerns and
information needs and to prepare a public involvement plan, which
outlines a community-specific strategy for responding to the concerns
identified in the interview process.
Community interviews are a time-intensive activity because of the large
amount of organization required and time needed for interviews.
While level of effort will vary, schedule approximately four hours per
interview for research and preparation, the interview itself, and follow-
up activities. If time and/or resources are limited, you can conduct
interviews by phone.
To prepare for community interviews:
1. Identify potential people to interview. If you have not compiled a
mailing list, begin by reviewing available files and other documents
(e.g., newspaper articles) to identify local residents, key state and
local officials, and citizen organizations that have been involved
with or expressed concern about the facility. Other agency staff
may also be able to suggest individuals or groups to interview.
Develop a list of individuals and groups that provides the greatest
variety of perspectives. Make sure to include individuals who
tend to be less vocal to balance the views of those who are more
outspoken.
2. Determine how many interviews to conduct. You are encouraged
to conduct as many interviews as possible to obtain a broad range
of perspectives and provide sufficient information to develop an
effective public involvement plan. However, the actual number of
interviews is likely to depend on the time and resources you have
available as well as the community's level of interest and concern
about the facility. It is generally desirable to conduct more
extensive interviews in communities where the level of concern is
high. Alternatively, where the level of interest is low or there has
already been significant interaction with community, fewer
interviews may be appropriate.
3. Prepare for the interviews. Before conducting the interviews,
learn as much as possible about the community and community
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities
Page 5-3
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concerns regarding the facility. Review any available agency files
that contain news clippings, documents, letters, and other sources
of information relevant to the facility. Determine whether the
community has any particular language, geographic, or economic
characteristics that should be addressed. Prepare a list of
questions that can serve as a general guide when speaking with
residents and local officials. Questions should be asked in a way
that stimulates discussion on a variety of topics, including:
General knowledge of the facility. Find out what sort of
information the community has received about the facility.
Specific concerns about the technical and regulatory aspects
of activities at the facility. Determine what the community's
concerns are and what types of information would be most
appropriate to address these concerns.
Recommended methods of communicating with the
community. Determine which communications tools are
likely to be most effective - e.g., mailings, meetings,
broadcast media.
The best public meeting facilities and most relied upon
media outlets.
4. Arrange the interviews. Telephone the people you have selected
to interview and arrange a convenient time and place to meet.
Ideally, the meeting place should promote candid discussions.
While government and media representatives are likely to prefer
meeting in their offices during business hours, local residents and
community groups may be available only in non-business hours.
Meetings at their homes may be most convenient.
During the interviews:
1. Assure interviewees that their specific comments will remain
confidential. At the beginning of each interview, explain the
purpose of the interviews ~ to gather information to assess
community concerns and develop an appropriate public
involvement strategy. Explain that while the public involvement
plan will be part of the administrative record established for the
facility, the plan will not attribute specific statements or
information to any individual. Ask interviewees if they would like
their names, addresses, and phone numbers on the mailing list.
2. Identify other possible contacts. During the discussions, ask for
names and telephone numbers of other persons who are
interested in activities at the facility.
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-4
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3. Gather information on past citizen participation activities.
Determine the interviewee's perceptions of past Agency or facility
public outreach activities.
4. Identify citizens' concerns about the facility. When identifying
concerns, consider the following factors:
Threat to health - Do community residents believe their
health is or has been affected by activities at the facility?
Economic concerns -- How does the facility affect the local
economy and the economic wellbeing of community
residents?
Agency credibility -- Does the public have confidence in the
capabilities of the regulatory agency?
Involvement - What groups or organizations in the
community have shown an interest in the facility? Is there a
leader who has gained substantial local following? How have
interested groups worked with the agency or facility in the
past? Have community concerns been considered in the
past?
Media Have events at the facility received substantial
coverage by local, state, or national media? Do local
residents believe that media coverage accurately reflects the
nature and intensity of their concerns?
Number affected -- How many households or businesses
perceive themselves as affected by the facility (adversely or
positively)?
5. Assess how citizens would like to be involved in the RCRA
permitting or corrective action process. Briefly explain the
RCRA public involvement process and ask the interviewees how
they would like to be involved and informed of progress made and
future developments at the facility. Ask what is the best way to
stay in contact with the interviewee. Ask the interviewee to
recommend convenient locations for setting up the information
repository or holding public meetings. Keep a list of those who
wish to be kept informed.
When to Use Community interviews should be conducted:
Before developing a public involvement plan to gauge firsthand
the community's level of interest and concerns in the facility.
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Accompanying
Activities
Advantages and
Limitations
Before revising a public involvement strategy, because months, or
perhaps years, may have elapsed since the first round of
interviews, and community concerns may have changed.
As the level of community concern increases, so does the need to
conduct more extensive assessments. If there has been a lot of
interaction with the community and interested parties, agency
information on citizen concerns may be current and active. In such
situations, it may be acceptable to conduct only a few informal
discussions in person or by telephone with selected, informed
individuals who clearly represent the community to verify, update, or
round out the information already available.
As stated above, community interviews are conducted to gather
information to develop an appropriate public involvement strategy for
the facility. A mailing list may or may not be in place at the time
interviews are conducted. If there is one, it can be used to identify
individuals to interviews. If one has not yet been established, the
interviews themselves can provide the basis for the list.
Community interviews can be a valuable source of opinions,
expectations, and concerns regarding RCRA facilities and often provide
insights and views that are not presented in the media. In addition,
these interviews may lead to additional information sources. The one-
on-one dialogue that takes place during community interviews provides
the basis for building a good working relationship, based on mutual
trust, between the community and agency staff. Therefore, although its
primary purpose is to gather information, the community interview also
serves as an important public outreach technique.
The major disadvantages of community interviews are that they may be
time consuming and resource intensive for agency staff; they could
cause unnecessary fear of the situation among the public; and, they are
not very useful if you do not talk with the right people -- the people
who have not identified themselves as well as the more vocal ones who
have.
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities
Page 5-6
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Checklist for Community Interviews
Determine number of interviews to be conducted:
Determine dates for interviews:
Identify team to conduct interviews:
Identify individuals to interview
Review facility background files for names of people who have expressed interest
Identify community leaders to contact
Identify city/state/county officials to contact
Prepare interview questions
Review background information available about the facility and community
Set up interviews
Confirm interviews by mail or phone
Conduct interviews
Ask for additional people to contact
Gather information using prepared interview questions
Follow-Up
Follow-up interview with a thank you letter
Notify the interviewee when the public involvement strategy is available in the
repository
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-7
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Public Involvement
Plan
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
A public involvement plan provides a community-specific plan for
interacting with a community regarding the permitting or corrective
action activities taking place at a RCRA facility. The plan assesses the
level of community interest as well as the types of concerns identified
through community interviews and other sources of information and
recommends specific activities for involving the community in the
RCRA process.
A Public Involvement Plan may take several days to two weeks to
complete. The range of effort depends on the priority of the site and
the complexity of the activities performed at that site.
A Public Involvement Plan is based on information collected during
community interviews as well as information obtained from other
sources such as file searches and reviews of past media coverage of the
facility. This information is analyzed and organized into a community-
specific plan. Typical sections of a public involvement plan are
outlined below:
Introduction -- several paragraphs clearly explaining the purpose
of the document.
Facility History - several paragraphs to several pages providing an
overview of the facility, its technical and regulatory history, and a
history of past community concerns and involvement in activities
at the facility.
Community Concerns -- several paragraphs to several pages
summarizing the concerns identified during the community
interviews.
Objectives of the Public Involvement Plan -- several paragraphs to
several pages, depending on the objectives, providing a narrative
of the major objectives of the plan. Objectives typically relate to
the specific concerns outlined in the previous section.
Public Involvement Activities -- several paragraphs to several
pages, depending on the plan, describing the specific activities that
will be conducted to meet the objectives outlined in the previous
section (e.g., meetings, fact sheets, briefings for local officials, etc.)
and a schedule for conducting these activities.
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities
Page 5-8
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When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
Advantages and
Limitations
Appendices Appendices can be included to provide the mailing
list, media contacts, and public meeting and information repository
locations.
The activities in a public involvement plan should be tailored to address
community concerns and needs. The plan should include the kinds of
activities that are discussed in this manual.
The plan should be presented in a public document that serves to
demonstrate to the community that the agency listened to specific
community concerns and developed a specific program around those
concerns.
Public involvement plans may be prepared:
At the beginning of the RCRA process to schedule activities and
assign responsibilities;
After community interviews are completed.
A public involvement plan cannot be developed without conducting at
least some community interviews. The public involvement plan typically
includes the mailing list and provides the locations of the information
repositories and public hearings.
Public involvement plans establish a record of community concerns and
needs and a set of activities to meet those needs. Because the plans
are community-specific, they ensure that the community gets the
information they need in a fashion that is most useful and they assist
the project staff in making the most efficient use of their time when
interacting with the public.
Because the plan represents the Agency's commitment to dedicate
significant resources to the activities specified, Agency staff should
make certain that resources are available to implement all activities
identified in the plan.
Community concerns can change significantly and may require that the
public involvement plan be revised periodically. Community interviews
may need to be conducted for each revision. Therefore, public
involvement plans must be considered to be "evolving" documents.
You should be prepared to revise activities or expand activities as the
project proceeds.
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities
Page S-9
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Checklist for Public Involvement Plan
Review facility background file and other information sources
Review comments gathered during the community interviews
Write draft public involvement plan
Introduction ~ explains the purpose of the document
Project History provides an overview of the project, its technical and regulatory
history, and a history of past community concerns and involvement in the project (if
available)
Community Concerns - summary of the concerns identified during the community
interviews
Objectives of the Public Involvement Plan - explains the major objectives of the plan
relating to specific concerns outlined in the previous section of the document
Public Involvement Activities -- describes the specific activities to be conducted to
meet the objectives of the plan and schedule
Appendices - provide information on key contacts, media, public meeting and
information repository locations.
Coordinate internal review of public involvement plan
Prepare final plan based on comments received during internal review
Distribute plan to information repositories
i
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-10
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Revision of Public
Involvement Plan
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
Advantages and
Limitations
Revisions of all or parts of the public involvement plan for a facility
may be done in order to incorporate new information, reflect changes
in community concern, and adjust public involvement activities to meet
these changes. A revision ensures that the plan remains sensitive to
citizens' concerns through the final phases of a permit determination or
a corrective action. It can also evaluate which public involvement
activities were effective and which were not.
Revision of a public involvement plan could take a few days to a week
to complete. If additional interviews are needed, further time may be
required.
The process for revising a public involvement plan is similar to the
process for writing the plan initially. Review new information obtained
through new developments at the facility, new community interviews, or
other events. Evaluate how this new information changes the
community concerns and recommended public involvement activities
outlined in the original plan. Revise and update the plan accordingly.
Refer to the previous section for further information on the contents
of public involvement plans.
Public involvement plans should be revised:
When a significant change in community concerns or activities at
the facility occurs (e.g., after a remedy is selected); and
At least every two years for longer-term projects.
The response to comments document, which is prepared for major
Agency decisions, is likely to provide some information for assessing
changes in citizen concerns as a result of Agency actions. You should
also conduct additional community interviews if you believe that
significant changes in concerns and attitudes have taken place from the
time the initial plan was written.
Revising the plan will help to ensure that the agency continues to
respond to citizens' concerns during long-term projects. Minor changes
also can help a public involvement planner; for example, the contacts
list can incorporate changes in addresses, new telephone numbers, and
the names of new officials.
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities
Page 5-11
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As with the original plan. Agency staff should make certain that there
are resources available to implement all activities identified in the
revised plan. Again, attention must be paid to changes in community
issues, and activities should be revised accordingly.
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-12
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Checklist for Revision of Public Involvement Plan
Determine need for revision of public involvement plan
Review facility background file
Determine the number of interviews to conduct and with whom
Conduct the interviews
Draft revisions to the public involvement plan
Introduction -- explains the purpose of the document
Project History ~ reviews activities that have taken place since the initial plan was
prepared
Community Concerns -- reviews concerns outlined in the original plan and describes
changes that have taken place since the time the initial plan was written. This
discussion is based on information obtained during community interviews and through
public comments.
Objectives of the Public Involvement Plan - explains the major objectives of the plan
relating to specific concerns outlined in the previous section of the document
Public Involvement Activities -- describes the specific activities to be conducted to
meet the objectives of the plan
Appendices - updates information on key contacts, media, public meeting and
information repository locations.
Coordinate internal review of public involvement plan
Prepare final plan based on comments received during internal review
Distribute plan to information repositories
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-13
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Required Activities
>/ Mailing & Distribution Lists
Public Notice
Fact Sheets/Statements of Basis
Public Comment Period
>/ Public Hearings
>/ Notice of Decision
Response to Comments
PERMIT 207
HEARING
-------
Mailing Lists
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
Mailing lists are both important databases and essential communication
tools. Mailing lists ensure that concerned community members receive
relevant information. They allow an agency to reach broad or targeted
audiences with its messages. The better the mailing list, the better the
public outreach and delivery of information. Mailing lists typically
include concerned residents, elected officials, appropriate federal, state,
and local government contacts, local media, organized environmental
groups, facility employees, and local businesses.
It is recommended that you develop an internal distribution list at the
same time you prepare your external mailing list. The distribution list
should include all technical project staff, public involvement staff, legal
staff, and staff from other affected programs (Air, Water, etc.), as
appropriate. This list will help ensure that all relevant project staff
receive the same information about all phases of the project.
A mailing list can be developed in conjunction with other public
involvement activities. Depending on the size of the list, inputting
information into a computer can take several days. Updating will
require approximately half a day per quarter.
To develop and update a mailing list, consider the following:
1. Solicit names, addresses, and phone numbers of individuals to
be included on the list. Telephone numbers are useful to have so
that you can contact these individuals for community interviews
and to aid you when you update your list.
Individuals to include in your mailing list:
The people interviewed during the community interviews, as
well as other names these people recommend;
All nearby residents and owners of land adjacent to the
facility;
Representatives of organizations with a potential interest in
an agency program or action (e.g., outdoor recreation
organizations, commerce and business groups, environmental
organizations, health organizations, state organizations,
universities);
Any individual who attends a public meeting, workshop, or
informal meeting related to the facility, or who contacts the
agency regarding the facility;
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities
Page 5-14
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When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
Media representatives;
City and county officials;
State and Federal agencies with jurisdiction over wildlife
resources;
Key agency officials; and
The facility owner/operator.
2. Review agency background files to ensure all interested
individuals are included on the mailing list.
3. Input information into a computer system so that it can be
categorized and sorted and printed on mailing labels.
4. Send a letter or fact sheet to the preliminary mailing list
developed using 1) and 2) above. Inform key Federal, State, and
local officials, citizens, and other potentially interested parties of
your activities and the status of upcoming permit applications or
corrective actions. Ask whether they wish to receive information
about this facility. Ask them for accurate addresses and phone
numbers of other people who might be interested in the project.
5. Update your mailing list at least annually to ensure its
correctness. Mailing lists can be updated by telephoning each
individual on the list, and by using local telephone and city
directories as references.
A mailing list is a required public involvement activity for permitting
and is included in the proposed Subpart S corrective action rule.
Develop a mailing list as soon as possible during the permit
application phase, or as soon as the need for a RCRA Facility
Investigation is identified.
Update the mailing list regularly.
Develop a distribution at the same time you develop a mailing list.
Advantages and
imitations
Mailing lists are useful in identifying individuals to contact for
community interviews. They are also needed to distribute fact sheets
and other materials on the facility.
Mailing lists allow RCRA officials to maintain a listing of individuals
and groups interested in activities at RCRA facilities. However, they
can be expensive and time consuming to develop, and they require
constant maintenance.
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities
Page 5-15
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Checklist for Mailing Lists
Mailing List Development:
Verify Agency format (i.e., name, title, company, address, phone number)
Identify people to be included on the list:
City elected officials (mayor and council)
City staff and appointees (city manager, planning director, committees)
County elected officials (supervisors)
County staff and appointees (administrator, planning director, health director,
committees)
State elected officials (senators, representatives, governor)
State officials (health and environment officials)
Federal elected officials (U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives)
Federal agency officials (EPA)
Residents living adjacent to facility
Other interested residents
Media
Business groups of associations
Businesses possibly affected by the facility (i.e., located down-wind of facility)
The facility owner/operator
Consultants working on the project or related projects
Local environmental groups
Other civic groups (i.e., League of Women Voters, government associations, churches,
homeowner's associations)
State and Federal Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-16
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Checklist for Mailing Lists (continued)
Have list typed
Prepare mailing list
Store on computer data base
Mailing List Updates:
Verify names/addresses by searching telephone directory
Verify names/addresses by searching city directory
Verify names/addresses by calling each individual
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-17
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Public Notice
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
Public notices provide an official announcement of proposed Agency
decisions and provide the public with the opportunity to comment on
the proposed decision. EPA decisionmaking regulations require the
regulatory agency to give public notice for the following activities:
draft notice of intent to deny a permit application; preparation of a
draft permit. Owner/operators requesting permit modifications are
responsible for issuing public notices for these modifications. Public
notice requirements vary depending on whether the modification is a
Class 1, 2, or 3 modification (see 40 CFR 270.42).
Separate public notices can be issued to announce public hearings, or
these notices can be issued as part of the public notice for the agency
decision. RCRA public notices must be published in a daily or weekly
major local newspaper, broadcast over local radio stations, and sent to
all persons on the mailing list.
Preparing a public notice and arranging for its publication takes a day
or two, depending on the need for review.
To prepare a public notice:
1. Identify the major media contacts. While there may be many
newspapers serving a particular area, use only one or two for the
public notice. In general, use the newspaper with the widest
circulation and greatest visibility in order to reach the most people
and elicit the greatest response. Similarly, select radio stations
with large audiences.
2. Take into account publication schedules. Many local or
community newspapers are published on a weekly or bi-weekly
basis. This may make it difficult to coordinate the publication of
the notice with the event. In such a case, consider using a
city-wide newspaper that is published more frequently.
3. Include the following information in the public notice:
Name and address of the facility owner/operator;
A brief description of the business conducted at the facility
and the activity that is the subject of the Agency's decision;
Name, address and telephone number of an individual who
can be contacted for further information on the action;
A brief description of the comment procedures and the date,
time, and place of any hearing;
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities
Page 5-18
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When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
Advantages and
Limitations
If the permit is issued by EPA, the location of the
administrative record and the times when it is,open for
public inspection; and
Any additional information considered appropriate.
4. Announce dates, times, and locations clearly in the public notice.
When announcing an event such as a hearing, make sure that the
date and time do not conflict with other public meetings or
various religious and non-religious holidays.
5. Provide ample notice. For RCRA permits, the public notice must
allow at least 45 days for public comment. Public notice of a
public hearing must be given at least 30 days prior to the hearing.
Be sure to state the opening and closing dates for the comment
period.
6. If possible, review a typeset version of the notice before it is
published to ensure accuracy.
7. Arrange with the newspaper to provide you with at least one
"tear sheet", or proof of publication, for your files.
As stated above, official public notices are required when the Agency
prepares a draft RCRA permit, proposes to deny a permit, or modifies
the permit. In addition, the Agency can use informal public notices to
announce other major milestones or events in the permit review or
corrective action process.
Public notices are used to announce public comment periods and public
hearings. They can also be used to announce other meetings and
milestones as well as the availability of fact sheets.
Public notices are an efficient, simple means of alerting the public to
important events. However, public notices should never substitute for
other activities that involve direct communication with the public.
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities
Page 5-19
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Checklist for Public Notice
Compile information to be included in the public notice: fl
Name of Agency overseeing the permit or corrective action
Name, address, and phone number of contact from whom interested parties may
obtain additional information
Facility owner/operator and description of facility activities
Purpose of public notice
If applicable, date, time, and location of public hearing (or meeting)
Description of the procedures governing the public's participation in the process
Draft public notice and public service announcement (for radio announcements)
Coordinate review of draft public notice
Prepare final public notice
Receive final approval of public notice
Coordinate placement of the public notice in the local newspaper(s), coordinate
distribution of the public notice to the facility mailing list, and coordinate submission to
radio stations
For publication in local newspaper(s):
Name of Newspaper Publication Days Advertising Deadline
Prepare procurement request or advertising voucher for public notice publication
Obtain price quotes (i.e., cost per column inch)
Determine size of public notice
Determine deadlines for publication of the public notice
Submit for publication
Request proof of publication; file proof in facility file
For distribution to the mailing list:
Verify that facility mailing list is up-to-date
ChapterS: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-20
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Checklist for Public Notice (continued)
Produce mailing labels
Distribute to the mailing list
For broadcast on local radio stations:
Verity media list
Prepare procurement request or advertising voucher for public notice spots
Obtain price quotes
Distribute to radio stations
Request proof of airing and file in facility file
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-21
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SAMPLE
PUBLIC NOTICE
REGARDING
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
ABANDONED INDIAN CREEK OUTFALL,
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking
public comment on the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA) Facility Investigation, Corrective Measures Study, and
Statement of Basis for initiating contaminated soil and ground
water corrective measures at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Abandoned Indian Creek Outfall subsite in Kansas City, Missouri.
The outfall is just south of the main DOE plant between 95th
Street and Bannister Road.
Field and test work conducted in 1987 and 1989 at the
outfall have demonstrated excessive levels of polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs), surpassing public health and environmental
standard criteria. The goal of the corrective-action proposal is
to remove the threat to the public around the outfall area by
reducing the concentration of PCBs.
The EPA and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources
concur with DOE's proposed methods of remediation:
- Excavation and removal of PCB-contaminated soil.
- The disposal of all non-liquid PCB-contaminated soils by
placement in an EPA permitted chemical waste landfill.
These methods of remediation are detailed in the "RCRA
Facility Investigation/Corrective Measures Study For the
Abandoned Indian Creek Outfall" report and were selected based on
the Alternative Rating System. The Alternative Rating System is
based on technical, human health, environmental and cost-
effectiveness criteria.
Citizens will have the opportunity to comment on the pro-
posal at a public hearing at 7;30 p.m. September 20. 1990. in the
Galleon Room of the Ramada Inn Southeast. 6101 East 87th Street.
Kansas Citv. MO.
The RCRA law emphasizes the importance of public input of
EPA actions at RCRA sites. A final decision on this remedy will
not be made until all interested members of the community have
had an opportunity to review and comment on the RCRA Facility
Investigation, Corrective Measures Study, and Statement of Basis.
A 45-day public comment period is open from August 22. 1990 to
October s. 1990. Written comments should be submitted to:
Kenneth S. Ritchey
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
RCRA Branch
726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City, Kansas 66101
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-22
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The administrative record file is available for public
review at the following locations:
Red Bridge Branch of the Mid-Continent Library
11140 Locust
(Red Bridge Road and Locust in the Red Bridge Shopping Center)
Kansas City, Missouri
Hours: Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., Friday 9 a.m.-
6 p.a., Saturday 9 a.a. - 5 p.m.
Phone: 816 942-1780
and
U.S. EPA Region VIZ Library
726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City, Kansas
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Phone: 913 551-7241
An official determination will be made regarding the preferred
remediation method after reviewing comments made by the public.
If you have any questions, you may contact Mr. Ritchey at
(913) 551-7641.
Chapters: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-23
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Fact Sheets/
Statements of Basis
Description of Activity
Fact sheets and statements of basis summarize the current status of a
permit application or corrective action. They present technical and/or
procedural information in a format that uses clear and understandable
language. They can vary in length and complexity from simple two-
page documents to 12-page documents complete with graphic
illustrations and glossaries.
Fact sheets are useful for informing all interested parties about the
basis for the Agency's decision regarding a facility permit or proposed
corrective action activities. They ensure that information is distributed
in a consistent fashion and that citizens understand the issues
associated with RCRA programs.
Statements of basis are generally shorter than fact sheets and
summarize the basis for the Agency's decision. The statement of basis
summarizes the information contained in the RFI/CMS reports and the
administrative record, and is designed to facilitate public participation
in the remedy selection process by:
Identifying the proposed remedy for a corrective action at a
facility and explaining the reasons for the proposal.
Describing other remedies that were considered in detail in the
RFI and CMS reports.
Soliciting public review and comment on all possible remedies
considered in the RFI and CMS reports, and on any other
plausible remedies.
Providing information on how the public can be involved in the
remedy selection process.
In emphasizing that the proposed remedy is only an initial
recommendation, the statement of basis should clearly state that
changes to the proposed remedy, or a change from the proposed
remedy to another alternative, may be made if public comments or
additional data indicate that such a change would result in a more
appropriate solution. The final decision regarding the selected
remedy(ies) should be documented in the final permit modification (if
applicable) with the accompanying response to comments after the
regulatory agency has taken into consideration all comments from the
public. An important function of the statement of basis is to solicit
public comment on all possible alternatives (alternatives not evalu
in the CMS may be proposed by the public at this time).
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities
Page 5-2'
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Level of Effort
Fact sheets and statements of basis may take from two days to two
weeks to write, depending on their length and complexity. Allow time
for several rounds of revisions. Allow three days for printing. Short
Cut: Use already developed RCRA templates with graphics that are
on file at EPA
How to Conduct the
Activity
The first step in preparing a fact sheet is to determine the information
to be presented. EPA decisionmaking regulations require that RCRA
permit fact sheets contain the following types of information:
A brief description of the type of facility or activity which is the
subject of the draft permit;
The type and quantity of wastes covered by the permit;
A brief summary of the basis for the draft permit conditions and
the reasons why any variances or alternatives to the proposed
standards do or do not appear justified;
A description of the procedures for reaching a final decision,
including the beginning and ending dates of the public comment
period and the address where comments can be sent, and
procedures for requesting a public hearing; and
Name and telephone number of a person to contact for additional
information.
A statement of basis is prepared the same way as a fact sheet. The
statement of basis summarizes essential information from the RFI and
CMS reports. The RFI and CMS reports should be referenced in the
statement of basis. The statement of basis should:
Briefly summarize the environmental conditions at the facility as
determined during the RFI.
Identify the proposed remedy.
Describe the remedial alternatives evaluated in sufficient detail to
provide a reasonable explanation of each remedy.
Provide a brief analysis that supports the proposed remedy,
discussed in terms of the evaluation criteria.
Select a simple format for presenting the information. Avoid using
bureaucratic jargon, acronyms, or technical language in the text, and be
concise.
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities
Page 5-25
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When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
Use formatting techniques to make the fact sheet or statement of basis
more interesting and easy-to-read. People are less likely to read a fact
sheet or statement of basis consisting of a solid sheet of typed text t
a fact sheet or statement of basis that has been typeset with clear,
informative illustrations. Moreover, a well-designed document sugge!
that the Agency takes its public involvement program seriously.
iai*L
1
:es!!
Coordinate the production of these documents with technical project
staff. Technical staff should review them to ensure that the
information conveyed is accurate and complete. Public involvement
staff should review them to ensure that the communication goals are
being met.
Arrange for printing.
Distribute copies of the fact sheet or statements of basis to the mailing
list, place extra copies at the information repository, and distribute
additional copies at public meetings and hearings.
While fact sheets are required for draft permits, they can also be
helpful at other times in the permitting and corrective action processes
During technical review of the permit application;
At the beginning of a RCRA facility investigation;
When findings of the RCRA facility investigation are availabl^
When the corrective action is completed; and
When the Notice of Decision is released.
In addition, fact sheets can be written to explain a facility inspection, a
new technology, or an emergency action.
Fact sheets and statements of basis can be particularly useful in
providing background information prior to a public meeting or public
hearing.
Fact sheets and statements of basis are generally used in conjunction
with the mailing list, public notices, public comment periods, and public
meetings and hearings. However, as stated above, they can be helpful
at almost any stage in the permitting or corrective action processes.
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities
Page 5-2<
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Advantages and
Limitations
Fact sheets and statements of basis are effective in summarizing facts
and issues involved in permitting and corrective action processes.
These documents allow the regulatory agency to communicate a
consistent message to the public and the media. Produced throughout
the permitting or corrective actions processes, they serve to educate the
public about the regulatory process as well as the technical RCRA
issues and can aid in creating a general community understanding of
the project. They can be produced relatively inexpensively and
distributed easily and directly to the mailing list. In addition, fact
sheets and statements of basis can be tailored to meet specific
information needs identified during community assessments.
However, a poorly written fact sheet or statement of basis can be
misleading or confusing. Documents of this type that are not written in
an objective style can be perceived as being too "persuasive" and
considered "propaganda" by mistrusting communities. Fact sheets and
statements of basis also are a one-way communication tool, and
therefore should always provide the name and telephone number of a
contact person to encourage comments and questions.
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities
Page 5-27
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Checklist for Fact Sheet/Statement of Basis
Determine purpose and focus of fact sheet or statement of basis ^1
Develop outline
Organize contents in a logical manner
Determine appropriate graphics
Verify mailing list is up-to-date
Request mailing labels
Coordinate preparation of fact sheet or statement of basis with technical staff as
appropriate
_ Draft text
Draft graphics
Draft layout
Place mailing coupon on reverse side of mailing label
Coordinate internal review of fact sheet or statement of basis ^B
Incorporate revisions into final fact sheet or statement of basis
Proofread final fact sheet or statement of basis
Arrange printing of fact sheet or statement of basis
Select paper weight, ink color, and color paper
Print fact sheet or statement of basis
Distribute fact sheet or statement of basis to the mailing list and place additional copies in
the repository
ChapterS: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-2*
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SAMPLE
FACT SHEET
_
REGION 7
POST-CLOSURE PERMIT
BLACK HAWK COUNTY LANDFILL
WATERLOO, IOWA JULY 1990
The Black Hawk County Landfill has applied for a post-closure permit relating to the hazardous
wastes disposed of in the landfill from the time it was opened in the mid-1970s until 1985. The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made a tentative decision to issue the permit.
The landfill is on Washburn Road in the southern portion of Black Hawk County, Iowa. Wastes
disposed of in the landfill included hazardous wastewater treatment sludges, baghouse dust,
spent solvents, and wastes containing heavy metals.
Procedures tor Reaching a Rnal Decision: All facilities that treat, store or dispose of haz-
ardous wastes are required to obtain a permit under the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA). EPA will make the final decision on the RCRA post-closure permit after a 45-day
public comment period. Written comments received during the comment period, the require-
ments of the hazardous waste regulations, and EPA's permitting policies will be considered.
When EPA makes a final decision, notice is given to the applicant and to each person who
submits written comments or requests notice of the decision. If none of the commenters re-
quest a change in the draft permit, the final permit becomes effective when it is issued. If
changes are requested, the final permit becomes effective 30 days after notice of the decision
or at a later date if a review of the permit is requested.
Conditions in the Draft Permit: EPA has included conditions for monitoring the ground water
to detect movement of hazardous constituents from the landfill and actions that must be taken if
these constituents are detected in the ground water. The permit also includes requirements to
inspect and maintain the cap covering the wastes in the landfill.
Proposed Permit Availability: The administrative record on the draft permit is available for
public review. It includes the draft permit, Black Hawk County Landfill's permit application, and
other background information.
The administrative record will be available from July 25 to September 10 at the reference desk
of the Waterloo Public Library. 415 Commercial, Waterloo, Iowa; the EPA Region 7 Library,
726 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas; the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Air
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-29
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Quality and Solid Waste Protection Bureau, Wallace State Office Building, 900 East Grand|
Des Moines, Iowa; and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Region 1 Office, fl
209 North Franklin Street, Manchester, Iowa.
Opportunities for Public Comment: Citizens are invited to comment on the draft permit.
The comment period will begin with a public notice in the Waterloo Courier July 25 and end
September 10,1990.
Comments must be received during the comment period. Interested citizens will also have \
opportunity to comment on the draft permit verbally or in writing at a public hearing Tuesday
August 28,1990. The hearing will be at 7 p.m. in the Waterloo City Council chambers, 715
Mulberry Street. All correspondence or questions concerning the draft permit should be di-
rected to Ken Herstowski, EPA Region 7, RCRA Branch/IOWA Section, 726 Minnesota
Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66101. Copies of the draft permit and additional copies of this fac
sheet may be obtained by writing to Mr. Herstowski, by calling him at (913) 551-7058, or by
calling Region 7's toll-free Environmental Action Line, (800) 223-0425.
# # #
Chapters: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-34
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Public Comment
Period
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
A public comment period is a designated time period in which citizens
can formally review and comment on the agency proposed course of
action or decision. Comment periods for RCRA permits must be at
least 45 days.
There is no specific level of effort for a public comment period.
Estimates of the time required to conduct activities associated with the
public comment period (public notice, public hearing, etc.) are found
elsewhere in this chapter. The time required to receive, organize, and
determine how to respond to comments will vary depending on the
number of comments received and the complexity of the proposed
action.
Announce the public comment period in a local newspaper of general
circulation and on local radio stations. Public notices must provide the
beginning and ending dates of the public comment period and specify
where interested parties should send their comments and/or requests
for a public hearing. Refer to the Public Notice summary on page 5-18
for further information.
A minimum 45-day public comment period is required for RCRA
permits, including modifications to permits initiated by the regulatory
agency as well as Class 3 modifications requested by the facility.
Comment periods for Class 1 and Class 2 modifications are discussed in
chapters 3 and 4.
RCRA requires that the agency conduct a public hearing if requested
by a member of the public during the public comment period.
Announce the hearing through a public notice and through a fact
sheet, if one is prepared in advance. Public comment periods cannot
begin until notice is given.
Comments received during the public comment period must be
discussed in a written Response to Comments.
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities
Page 5-31
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Advantages and Public comment periods allow citizens to comment on regulatory
T . . . agency proposals and to have their comments incorporated into the
Limitations forma, public record
However, public comment periods only allow indirect communication
between citizens and agency officials because, in some cases, the formal
responses to the comments may not be provided for some time. Also,
in some cases, comments may not be responded to individually. A
public involvement program should provide other activities that allow
dialogue between agency officials and the community.
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-32
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Checklist for Public Comment Period
Determine dates of public comment period (minimum of 45 days)
Dates:
Determine contact person within the Agency who will answer citizens' questions regarding
the public comment period
Announce public comment period through a public notice
If requested by a member of the public during the comment period, schedule a public
hearing
Document with a memo to the file any comments that were not received in written form
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-33
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Public Hearings
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
Public hearings provide an opportunity for the public to provide for
comments and oral testimony on proposed Agency actions.
Occasionally the Regulatory Agency will present introductory
information prior to receiving comments. All testimony received
becomes part of the public record. In contrast to a public hearing, a
public meeting is intended for two-way discussion between regulators
and the community and is not recorded for the public record.
Public meetings are sometimes offered in conjunction with public
hearings to afford community members an opportunity to ask questions
of the Regulatory Agency prior to submitting oral or written comments
Because there are no formal time limits for a public meeting, as there
generally are for a public hearing, public meetings are the preferred
forum for discussing detailed or complex issues. In this way, public
meetings can be used to educate the public as well as provide an
opportunity for the community and the regulatory agency to
communicate informally. Ideally, a public hearing will follow a public
meeting.
Permittees have no role during a hearing. The hearing is a regulatory
requirement of the permitting agency.
Several days to a week may be required to arrange for a public hea^H
including the location, hearing logistics, and agenda preparation. Othei
activities include preparing the notice for the hearing, conducting a dry
run of the hearing, and preparing and copying materials.
To conduct public hearings:
1. Anticipate the audience and the issues of concern. Identify the
audience's objectives, expectations, and desired results. With this
information you can determine whether the hearing is likely to be
confrontational, or if the audience will need more detailed
information about a permit or corrective action. If a part of your
audience does not speak English, arrange for a translator.
2. Schedule the hearing location and time so that citizens
(particularly handicapped individuals) have easy access. Identify
and follow any procedures established by the local and state
governments for public hearings. Ensure the availability of
sufficient seating, microphones, lighting, and recorders. Hold the
hearing in the evening or on a weekend to accommodate the
majority of concerned citizens.
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3. Arrange for a court reporter to record and prepare a transcript of
the hearing.
4. Announce the public hearing at least 30 days before the hearing
date. Provide notice of the hearing in local newspapers and
mailings to interested citizens. Make follow-up phone calls to
interested parties to ensure that the notice has been received.
5. Provide an opportunity for people to submit written comments.
Not all individuals will want to provide oral testimony. Publicize
where written comments can be submitted and how they will be
reviewed.
6. Prepare a transcript of all oral and written comments.
Announce where the transcript will be available for public review.
The following are general tips on conducting public hearings:
Be clear and up front with meeting format and logistics. Public
hearings are very limited in the amount of information that is
exchanged and the extent to which responses are given. Participants
should not expect the question and answer format found in public
meetings.
Establish meeting format Public hearings should be managed by a
hearings officer or moderator, whose responsibility it is to ensure that
all comments are taken for the public record.
Establish speakers list. A moderator should develop a list of
speakers from the list of respondents to public notices (e.g., those
responding to a notice saying, "those wishing to be placed on the
list of commenters should contact...") and/or by asking those
wishing to speak to identify themselves on a sign up list on the
way into the hearing. While limiting commenters to a pre-
developed list is inappropriate, such lists serve as valuable
management tools in bringing forward commenters in an orderly
and expeditious manner.
Establish time limits for commenters. A moderator should
establish a set time limit for an individual to make comments.
Typically the limit is five minutes or less. Those wishing to make
more detailed comments should be encouraged to submit their
comments in writing.
Establish time limits (if any) for the hearing. Based on your
speakers list, and assuming a limited speaking time for individual
commenters, the moderator should establish any time limits on a
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When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
hearing. Most hearings last between two and five hours.
However, for very controversial topics, public hearings have been
known to extend over a period of days. mk
Interacting with commenters. Because comments become part of
the public record, the moderator should ask all commenters to
give their names and addresses. If there is doubt about spelling,
the moderator should ask the commenters to spell names or street
names. In cases where there may be litigation, it is common
practice to further request that anyone legally representing any
party as part of the permit process or decision identify that fact.
When giving the floor to a commenter, the moderator should also
note the person's name, so that he/she can thank the commenters
by name at the conclusion of the comment (e.g., "Thank you for
those comments, Ms. Smith.").
Speakers from the regulatory agency. There are no set rules for
who should participate or speak at a public hearing. In the spirit
of the law, the participants from the regulatory agency should be
those who will be most involved with making the actual decision --
that is the permit writer, and more senior staff who will weigh all
information, including these public comments, prior to reaching a
final decision. Speakers from the agency should be limited to
briefly explaining the decision being made (e.g., "We are here
discuss a proposed modification to the facilities permit to cone
the following activities...").
When requested by a member of the public during a public
comment period on a permit, closure, or corrective action. Once
requested, hearings require a minimum 30-days advance notice.
Public hearings are usually conducted during the public comment
period following the issuance of a draft permit, major permit
modification, or at the selection of a proposed corrective measure.
Public hearings may be appropriate at other times during the
process, especially if the level of community concern warrants a
formal record of communication.
Public notices distributed to the mailing list and published in local
newspapers are used to announce hearings to the public. If a hearing
is held to solicit comments on either a draft permit decision or
proposed corrective measure, a Response to Comments must be
prepared. This documents all public comments submitted and includes
the agency's responses to these comments. An educational workshop
or public meeting may be useful shortly before the public hearing
explain key issues of the proposed decision or corrective measure
respond to citizen concerns.
r
i
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Advantages and
Limitations
A hearing provides a record of communication so citizens can be sure
that their concerns and ideas reach the Agency. Public hearings gen-
erally should not serve as the only forum for citizen input. They occur
at the end of a process that should have provided the public earlier
with access to information and opportunities for involvement. Earlier
opportunities should answer most questions and arguments that are
based on emotion or sensationalism, thereby freeing the hearing for
factually based questions. The public may be reluctant to become act-
ively involved in the permit process or corrective action issues. Meet
citizens' needs for information before a formal hearing with techniques
such as fact sheets, small-group meetings, and one-on-one briefings.
The formality of a public hearing often creates an atmosphere of "us
versus them." There may be little opportunity to interact with citizens.
This may be frustrating to some, however, informal gatherings and
question and answer sessions are often effective ways to interact with
the public on an interpersonal level. A variety of informal techniques,
ranging from talking to citizens groups to holding workshops, are
discussed throughout this chapter.
A high level of citizen concern may precipitate a disorderly public
hearing, because the hearing provides a platform for citizen groups to
present their positions. The hearing can easily become adversarial.
One way to avoid hostility or confrontation is to make sure the
community has had an opportunity to express concerns in a less formal
setting prior to the hearing. More frequent contact with concerned
citizens before a formal public hearing will reduce the likelihood of a
confrontation.
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Checklist for Public Hearings
Determine location(s) for public hearing
Facility name, location
Contact person at facility
Phone number
Occupancy size
Handicap accessibility
Features:
Restrooms
Public telephones
Adequate parking
Security
Determine date, time of public hearing:
Date:
Time:
Confirm hearing facility availability (if facility not available, determine new facility or new
hearing date)
Announce the public hearing through a public notice in at least one newspaper 30 days
prior to the hearing
Contact local officials
Notify key agencies
Determine presentation requirements (depending upon the specific requirements of your
presentation, some of these items may be optional)
Electrical outlets
Extension cords
Accessible lighting control panel
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Checklist for Public Hearings (continued)
Podium
_ Stage
Table(s) and chairs for panel
_ Table skirt
Water pitcher and glasses
Sound system
Microphones (stand, tabletop)
_ Cables
Speakers
Technician/engineers available for hearing
Visual aids
_ Slides
Slide projector
Extra projector bulbs
Flip chart
Flip chart markers
Overhead transparencies
Overhead machine
VCR and monitor
Screen
Table for projection equipment
Security personnel
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Checklist for Public Hearings (continued)
Table for court reporter
Registration table
Registration cards
Writing pens
Signs
Miscellaneous supplies:
Scissors
Tape (masking, transparent)
Thumbtacks
Public information materials (fact sheets, etc.)
Prepare meeting agenda
Determine hearing participants/speakers
Prepare opening comments for hearing officer
Arrange contingency planning, decide what to do if:
more people show up than capacity
the crowd becomes disruptive
Coordinate with public involvement coordinator on notification of the media
Set date and time for debriefing following the hearing
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Notice of Decision
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
A notice of decision presents the agency's decision regarding permit
issuance or denial or modification of the permit to incorporate changes
such as a Subpart S corrective action remedy.
A notice of decision may take several days to write and review,
depending on the complexity. Allow time for several rounds of
revisions. If you need to develop graphics, such as site maps, allow
time to produce the graphics.
The notice should briefly specify the agency's final decision and the
basis for that decision. The notice should also refer to the procedures
for appealing a decision. Notices of decision must be sent to the
facility owner/operator (permit applicant) and each person who
submitted written comments or requested notice of the final permit
decision. You may want to send the notice to other interested parties
as well. Final permits generally become effective 30 days after the
notice of decision.
When to Use
When a permit decision has been finalized following the 45-day
public comment period;
When the Agency makes its final decision regarding a permit
modification.
Accompanying
Activities
A response to comments document must be issued at the same time the
final permit decision is issued.
Advantages and
Limitations
The notice of decision provides a clear, concise public record of the
decision. However, the notice of decision should not be a substitute
for other activities that involve direct two-way communication with the
public.
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Checklist for Notice of Decision
Determine contents of the notice of decision
Decision made and basis for that decision
Information on appeal procedures
Coordinate writing the notice with technical and legal staff
Technically accurate
Satisfies statutory requirements
Provides the public with all necessary information in a clear and concise manner
Coordinate internal review of notice of decision
Prepare final notice of decision based on internal review comments
Notify the facility owner/operator and anyone who submitted written comments or
requested notice of the final decision
Notify other interested parties of the decision
Place copy of the notice of decision in the administrative record and the information
repository
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Response to
Comments
Description of Activity
A response to comments identifies all provisions of the draft permit or
modification that were changed and the reasons for those changes. It
also briefly describes and responds to all significant comments on the
draft permit that were received during the public comment period.
The response to comments should be written in a clear and
understandable style so that it is easy for the community to understand
the reasons for the Agency's final decision and how public comments
were considered.
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
A response to comments can be a time-intensive activity because of the
large amount of organization, coordination, and review needed. On
average, allow several hours per comment for completion, as some
questions may take only a few minutes to answer while others may
involve in-depth technical and legal responses. In general, preparing
response to comments documents can take from several days for low-
interest facilities to several weeks for high-interest facilities.
There is no required format for preparing response to comments
documents. However, several EPA Regions have adopted a two part
approach:
Part I is a summary of commenters' major issues and concerns and
expressly acknowledges and responds to those issues raised by the
local community. "Local community" means those individuals who
have identified themselves as living in the immediate vicinity of a
facility. These may include local homeowners, businesses, the
municipality, and facility employees. Part I should be presented
by subject and should be written in a clear, concise, easy to
understand manner suitable for the public.
Part II provides detailed responses to all significant and other
comments. It includes the specific legal and technical questions
and, if necessary, will elaborate with technical detail on answers
covered in Part I. It also should be organized by subject.
Think of Part I as a type of fact sheet for the detailed responses
provided in Part n. Because both parts deal with similar or
overlapping issues, the response to comments should state clearly that
any points of conflict or ambiguity between the two parts shall be
resolved in favor of the detailed technical and legal presentation in the
second part.
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When to Use
In order to effectively address all public comments, closely coordinate
the preparation of responses with appropriate legal and technical staff.
Also, it is important to be certain that all comments are addressed. ^1
system of numbering all comments as they are received and referring TO
these numbers in all internal drafts of the response document may help
keep track of them.
In addition, the Response to Comments should include a summary that
includes the following:
The number of meetings, mailings, public notices, and hearings at
which the public was informed or consulted about the project;
The extent to which citizen's views were taken into account in
decision-making; and
The specific changes, if any, in the project design or scope that
occurred as a result of citizen input.
Response to comments documents must be sent to the facility
owner/operator and each person who submitted written comments or
requested notice of the final permit decision.
A response to comments is required for all final permit decisions.
Accompanying
Activities
A response to comments usually accompanies the notice of decision.
Advantages and
Disadvantages
A response to comments provides a clear record of community
concerns. It provides the public with evidence that their input was
considered in the decision process. The summary also is an aid in
evaluating past public involvement efforts and planning for subsequent
activities.
Comments may be difficult to respond to at times, like when the public
raises new issues, questions, or technical evidence during the public
comment period. EPA may need to develop new materials to respond
to these questions.
i
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Checklist for Response to Comments
After reviewing comments, determine organization of document
Determine groups, subgroups of comments
Where applicable, paraphrase and summarize comments
Write a response for each comment, group or subgroup of comments
Prepare an introductory statement including:
A summary of the number and effectiveness of meetings, mailing, public notices, and
hearings at which the public was informed or consulted about the project
The numbers and kinds of diverse interests which were involved in the project
Prepare a summary statement including:
The extent to which citizen's views were taken into account in decision-making
The specific changes, if any, in the project design or scope that occurred as a result of
citizen input.
Coordinate internal review of the Response to Comments with all necessary departments
(public affairs, technical, legal)
Prepare final Response to Comments
Distribute Response to Comments to:
Repository
Facility owner/operator
Each individual who makes written or oral comments
Individuals who asked to receive the Response to Comments
Appropriate Agency Officials
Administrative Record
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Additional Activities
v Introductory Notice
Information Repository
Exhibits
v News Releases
^ Translations
v Use ExistingGroups/Publications
v Contact Person
Telephone Contacts
Door-to-Door Canvassing
News Conferences
Facility Tours
Telephone Hotline
v Observation Deck
v On-Scene Information
Office
.0.
PROCESO DE
OTORGAMIENTO
DEL PERMI50
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Introductory Notice
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct: the
Activity
When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
An introductory notice explains the agency's permit application
process or the correction action process and the opportunities for
public involvement in that process.
The amount of time needed to prepare an introductory notice is based
on whether the notice is prepared as a public notice or a fact sheet. If
prepared as a public notice, allow a day or two for writing, review, and
placement in newspapers. If prepared as a fact sheet, allow several
days to a week to write and review, depending on the layout and
graphics used, and several days for printing.
To prepare an introductory notice:
1. Determine the best method to explain the permit application
review or corrective action process. An introductory notice can
be presented as a public notice, a fact sheet, or a flier distributed
to the facility mailing list.
2. Prepare and distribute the notice. Coordinate the writing and
distribution of the notice with technical project staff. Take care
to write the notice avoiding technical terms and jargon.
3. Include an information contact Provide the name, address, al
phone number of a contact person that the public can call if they"
have questions or need additional information about the facility.
You might add a return slip to the notice for people to complete
and return to the agency if they would like additional information
or to be placed on the facility mailing list.
An Introductory Notice can be used:
When you find the community knows little or nothing about
the RCRA process; and
When you need to notify the public of how they can become
involved in the RCRA process.
Informal meetings, availability sessions/open houses, or workshops may
be conducted following release of the notice.
i
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Advantages and ^ mtr°ductory notice informs the public about the agency's permit
° application review process and how they can be involved in the process.
Disadvantages However, the notice is a one-way communication tool. A contact
person should be identified in the notice so that interested members of
the community can call this person if they have questions.
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Checklist for Introductory Notice
Determine how you will distribute the notice.
Public notice in newspaper
Fact sheet or flier sent to the mailing list
Prepare draft introductory notice
Coordinate internal review of introductory notice
Write final introductory notice based on comments received during the internal review
Verify facility mailing list is up-to-date
Request mailing labels
Distribute introductory notice
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Information
Repository
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
The information repository is a collection of documents related to the
permit or corrective action. It is located in a convenient, public facility
such as a library so that interested members of the public can easily
review all relevant information on the facility and the nature of the
proposed permit or corrective action activities.
Depending on the amount of documentation available, the information
repository may take a week to establish, including compiling and
indexing documents and arranging for placement in a library or other
location. Updating may take a day or two every quarter. A public
notice announcing the availability of the information repository may
take between a day to write, review, and place in newspapers.
To establish an information repository:
1. Determine a suitable location. One or more locations may be
identified during community interviews. Typical locations are local
public libraries, town halls, or public health offices. Ensure that
someone is identified as the information repository contact who
can make sure that the information is kept orderly and accessible.
Depending on the level of community concern, or the location of
the facility relative to the surrounding communities, more than
one repository may be desirable. For example, if a county seat is
several miles from the RCRA-regulated facility, and county
officials have expressed a strong interest in the facility, two
repositories may be advisable: one in the community closest to
the facility itself, and the other in the county seat. At least one
repository should be open during evening hours and on weekends.
The repository should also be accessible to the handicapped.
2. Select and deposit the materials to be included in the file. At a
minimum, the repository for RCRA activities should include
copies of the following:
Background information on the company or facility;
Public involvement plan (if developed);
The draft permit;
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Reports prepared as part of the corrective action
investigations, including the RCRA Facility Assessment
(RFA), the RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI), and the ^
Corrective Measures Study (CMS); |H
Fact sheets prepared on the draft permit or corrective actioi
plan;
Notice of decision;
Response to comments; and
Copies of relevant RCRA guidance and regulations.
The following materials also are strongly suggested for the
repository:
A copy of the Cooperative Agreement, if the state is the
lead agency for the project;
Documentation of site sampling results;
Brochures, fact sheets, and other information about the
specific facility (including past enforcement history);
Copies of news releases and clippings referring to the sit
and
I
Any other relevant material (e.g., published studies on the
potential risks associated with specific chemicals that have
been found stored at the facility).
The documents should be organized in binders that are easy to
use and convenient for the on-site repository host. For projects
that involve a large number of documents, separate file boxes
should be provided as a convenience to the repository host to
ensure that the documents remain organized.
3. Publicize the existence of the repository. Notify local governmen
officials, citizen groups, and the local media of the location of the
project file and hours of availability. Newsletters of local
community organizations and church groups are another means of
notifying the public.
4. Keep the repository up-to-date by sending new documents to it
as they are generated. For some projects that are of high
community interest, or are controversial, several copies of key
documents may need to be provided so that they can circulate
within the community by being checked out of the repository
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When to Use ^° 'nfonnat'on repository is recommend:
When the regulatory agency requires the facility to establish
an information repository; and
When interest in the facility is high and the public needs
convenient access to relevant facility documents.
Accomoanvine ^e contact Person should be responsible for making sure that all
. ... relevant materials have been filed in the repository.
Activities
Advantages and ^° inf°rmat'on repository provides local officials, citizens, and the
° media with easy access to accurate, detailed, and current data about the
Disadvantages facility. It demonstrates that officials are responsive to citizens' needs
for comprehensive information on the facility.
An information repository is a one-way communication tool and does
not allow for interaction between the agency and citizen. The
information repository also includes technical documents, which may be
difficult for citizens to understand.
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Checklist for Information Repository
Determine location of Information Repository
Establish contact with the director of the location determined above
Mail a letter to the director confirming the location of the Information Repository
Collect and compile the documents to include in the Information Repository
Documents sequentially numbered
Index prepared
Documents placed in notebooks
Deliver documents to location determined above
Have location director sign a letter/memo acknowledging receipt of the documents
Place public notice in local newspaper(s) indicating the availability of the Information
Repository
Update the Information Repository as key public documents are available and at key
technical milestones
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Exhibits
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
Exhibits are visual displays such as maps, charts, diagrams, or
photographs. These may be accompanied by a brief text explaining the
displays and the purpose of the exhibit. Exhibits allow you to illustrate
in a creative and informative display issues such as health risks or
proposed corrective actions. They make technical information on the
RCRA program more accessible and understandable.
Exhibits may take from one day to one week to write, design and
produce depending on the complexity of the exhibit. Allow time for
review of the exhibit's design and concept. Short Cut: EPA has
developed a set of generic posterboards that may be used as part of an
exhibit.
To develop and display an exhibit:
1. Identify the target audience. Possible audiences include:
General public;
Concerned citizens;
Environmental groups;
Media representatives; and
Public officials.
2. Clarify the subject Possible subjects include:
The RCRA program or the permit or corrective action
process;
Historical background on the facility;
Public involvement activities;
Corrective action or waste management technologies; and
Health and safety issues associated with the facility.
3. Determine where the exhibit will be set up. If the general public
is the target audience, for example, assemble the exhibit in a
highly visible location, such as a public library, convention hall, or
a shopping center. If concerned citizens are the target audience,
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When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
4.
set up a temporary exhibit at a public meeting, availability
session/open house, or informal meeting. An exhibit could even
be as simple as a bulletin board at the site or staff trailer.
Design the exhibit and its scale according to the message to be
transmitted. Include photos or illustrations. Use text sparingly.
Advantages and
Limitations
Exhibits can be used:
When level of interest in the facility is moderate to high;
When information to be conveyed can be explained
graphically;
When staff time is limited and the audience is large;
« When a display can enhance other information being
distributed; and
When displays will be useful over long periods of time and at
different facilities (e.g., generic posterboards on RCRA
process).
Exhibits are useful to display at public meetings or public hearings. If
an observation deck is installed at a site, a nearby exhibit could explain
corrective action or compliance activities under way.
Exhibits tend to stimulate public interest and understanding. While a
news clipping may be glanced at and easily forgotten, exhibits have a
visual impact and leave a lasting impression. Exhibits also can convey
information to a lot of people with a low level of effort.
Although exhibits inform the public, they are a one-way communication
tool. One solution to this drawback is to attach blank postcards to the
exhibit, encouraging viewers to comment or submit inquiries by mail to
the agency. Another approach is to leave the phone number of the
contact who can answer questions during working hours. However,
these requests must be answered or citizens may perceive the Agency
as unresponsive to their concerns.
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Checklist for Exhibits
Determine purpose, use of exhibit
Identify the audience
Clarify the message
Determine where and how the exhibit will be displayed
Free-standing
Table-top display
Will the exhibit need to be easily transported?
Coordinate design and construction with public involvement coordinator (and
contractors, if available)
Write copy
Determine graphics
Design the exhibit
Coordinate review of the design, text, and graphics
Complete the exhibit based on review comments
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News Releases
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
News releases are statements released to the news media that discuss
RCRA-regulated actions. News releases allow the Agency to publicly
announce progress or key milestones in the RCRA process.
News releases can effectively and quickly disseminate information to
large numbers of people. They also may be used to announce public
meetings, report the results of public meetings, and describe how
citizen concerns were considered in the permit decision or corrective
action. Coordinate with the public affairs office to take on media
contact responsibilities.
News releases generally take eight hours to write, review, and distribute
to the media.
How to Conduct the
Activity
To prepare news releases:
1. Consult with external affairs personnel who regularly work with
the local media. External affairs personnel will assure that you
adhere to agency policy on news releases. They will assist in
drafting the release and can provide other helpful suggestions.
2. Identify the relevant regional and local newspapers and
broadcast media, and learn their deadlines. Get to know the
editor and environmental reporter who might cover the issue.
3. Contact other involved agencies at the Federal, State, and local
level to ensure that all facts and procedures are coordinated and
correct before releasing any statement. However, draft news
releases should not be shared ~ they are internal documents.
4. Select the information to be communicated. Place the most
important and newsworthy elements up front and present
additional information in descending order of importance. For
example, a new release prepared when a draft permit is completed
should contain the following facts:
Name of the facility applying for the permit;
Statement of why the activities are subject to the permit;
Statement of what regulations are being met by the permit;
and
Next steps.
Use supporting paragraphs to elaborate on other pertinent
information. Mention opportunities for public participation (i.e.,
public meetings, etc.) and contact persons and cite factors that
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When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
might contribute to earlier implementation or delays in the
corrective action or permit processing. Note the location of the
information repository or other sources for relevant documents.
5. Be brief. Limit the news release to essential facts and issues.
6. Use simple language. Avoid the use of professional jargon, overly
technical words, and acronyms.
7. Identify the agency issuing the news release. The top of the
sheet should include:
Name and address of the issuing agency;
Release time ("For Immediate Release" or "Please Observe
Embargo Until") and date;
Name and phone number of the contact person for further
information; and
Headline summarizing the action taken.
8. In some cases, send copies of the release to local officials and
citizen group leaders at the same time the release is given to the
news media. Coordinate with the public affairs office to
determine appropriateness.
Some of the occasions when you may want to issue a news release
include:
When significant findings are made at the site or during the
process;
When program milestones are reached;
When schedules are delayed;
Before a public meeting to announce subject, time, place;
and
A news release should not be issued at times when it may be
difficult to get in touch with responsible officials (e.g., Friday
afternoons, or the day before a holiday).
News releases can accompany any formal public hearings or public
meetings held by the Agency. They commonly accompany news
conferences. They should include the name of the contact person
should interested reporters want more information.
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Advantages and
Limitations
A news release to the local media can reach a large audience quickly
and inexpensively. If the name, address, and phone number of a
contact person are included, reporters and possibly interested
community members can raise questions about the information in the
release.
Because news releases must be brief, they often exclude details in
which the public may be interested. A news release should therefore
be used in conjunction with other methods of communication that
permit more attention to detail. A news release is not an appropriate
vehicle for transmitting sensitive information. In some cases, a news
release can call unwarranted attention to a situation; a mailing to
selected individuals should be considered instead. Frequent use of
news releases to announce smaller actions may reduce the impact of
news releases concerning larger agency activities.
News releases also can not be used in lieu of a public notice. Certain
activities, such as the preparation of a draft permit, are subject to
public notice requirements. See the Public Notice summary on
page 5-18.
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Checklist for News Releases
Coordinate news releases with the Agency Public Affairs Office
Determine purpose of news release
Coordinate writing and distribution of release with the public involvement coordinator
Verify that media mailing list is up-to-date
Request mailing labels
Write draft news release
Type and double space news release
Indicate the source of the news release (i.e., in the upper-left-hand corner, put the
name and phone number of the person writing the release, along with the agency or
department name and address)
Provide release instructions (i.e., "For Immediate Release")
Date the news release
Write concisely; avoid technical terms and jargon
Number pages; if more than one page is needed, put" ~ more --" at the center
bottom of the page that is to be continued; succeeding pages should be numbered and
"slugged" with an identifying headline or reference (i.e., "EPA - 2"); when you come
to the end of the news release, indicate the end with one of the following: 30 --,
####, or -- END -.
Coordinate internal review of news release
Prepare final news release based on review comments
Distribute news release to local media
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Translations
Descriotion of Activity Translations provide written or verbal information in a foreign language
to a predominantly non-English speaking community. There are two
types of translations:
A written translation of materials originally written in
English;
A simultaneous verbal translation (i.e., word by word) of a
public meeting or news conference, usually with small
headsets and a radio transmitter.
Translations ensure that all community members are informed about
activities at a facility and have the opportunity to participate in the
decision-making process.
Level of Effort ^e amount °f l^me needed to translate a document depends on the
length of the document and the complexity of the information in the
document. You should allow at least several days for translation.
HOW to Conduct the To devel°P a successful translation:
Activity 1 Evaluate the need for a translation. Evaluate the demographic
characteristics of the community as well as the type of public
involvement activities being planned. Consider whether citizens'
ability to take part in a public involvement activity is limited by
their inability to speak or understand English.
2. Identify and evaluate translation services. A successful
translation depends on the skill of the translator. More problems
may be created than solved if inaccurate or imprecise information
is given. Many translators will not be familiar with the technical
terms associated with hazardous materials and few, if any, will be
familiar with the RCRA permitting and corrective action
processes. This problem may be further compounded in the case
of verbal translations (especially simultaneous translations) as
there is no time for review or quality control. Thus, it is
necessary to contract someone with experience in translating
technical information. If possible, arrange to have another
person, preferably a staff member who can speak or read the
foreign language, check the translator's work to ensure that the
content and tone are in keeping with the agency's intent. You
also need to ensure that the translator uses the same dialect as
those in your intended audience.
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When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
3. Avoid the use of jargon or highly technical terms. As a matter of
standard practice, a staff member should go over in advance ail
technical and RCRA terms that may cause problems with the
translator.
4. For verbal presentations, public meetings, and news conferences,
plan what to say ahead of time. If the translator has a prepared
written speech to work with in advance, there is more time to
work out any vocabulary "bugs" and thereby reduce the chances of
faltering over unfamiliar material or making inaccurate word
choices. If possible, practice with the translator before the actual
meeting or presentation date.
5. Anticipate questions from the audience and reporters, and have
at least the technical aspects (e.g., chemical names, statistics) of
the answers translated in advance.
A translation can be used:
When a large percentage of the community is non-English
speaking. A written translation should be provided for fact
sheets or letters, unless a presentation or public meeting
would be more appropriate (e.g., the literacy rate among the
foreign-speaking community is low).
Verbal translations are recommended where there is
considerable concern over the facility, extreme hostility, or
suspicion of the lead agency's efforts to communicate with
community members.
The need for translations is usually determined during community
interviews. Translations are generally used for fact sheets, public
notices, presentations, public meetings, public hearings, and news
conferences.
Advantages and
Limitations
Written translations and use of translators ensure that a greater
number of community members can participate effectively in public
involvement activities and therefore provide input to decisions
concerning the RCRA-regulated process. This effort assures the
community of EPA's sincerity in providing opportunity for public
involvement.
Translations are very costly, especially simultaneous translations of
public meetings. Sentence-by-sentence verbal translations frequently
double the length of public meetings, and may make information more
difficult to present effectively and smoothly. In addition, very few
translators are familiar with, much less trained in, the RCRA permitting
and corrective action processes. For facilities having highly volatile or
sensitive problems, it may be difficult to communicate the lead agency's
position and involve community members in a constructive dialogue.
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Checklist for Translations
Determine need for translations
Identify translation service or identify staff to provide translating services
Fact sheet translations
Provide English text (including text for graphics, headlines, fact sheet flag)
Meeting translations
Determine if translation will be simultaneous or if translations will occur following
statements.
If simultaneous, provide audio equipment for translator/participants
Prepare list of technical and RCRA terms that will need to be translated
Prepare, in advance with the translator, presentations, responses to questions
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Using Existing
^^Groups/Publications
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
You can use the publications and mailing lists of established local, civic
or community organizations as vehicles to inform a community of site
activities.
Identifying and using existing groups and their publications may take
approximately two to four hours each time you determine the need to
use these publications.
To use existing groups/publications:
1. Identify existing groups and publications. Groups that may help
to publish information to the community or in organizing meetings
include:
Local civic or environmental groups;
Rotary clubs;
Church organizations;
Local trade associations, farmers' associations, and
cooperatives;
The League of Woman Voters; and
Local water companies or other independent agencies or
utilities.
Some types of appropriate publications may include:
Newsletters, newspapers, magazines, or bulletins;
Newsletters of homeowners' associations; and
Local/community independent or commercial newspapers.
2. Contact groups/editors to determine if they are willing to provide
mailing lists, publish site information, or organize meetings.
Just as important is the need to determine whether such groups
are appropriate for communicating agency information. By
publishing information through a group that has a specific political
interest or bias, the agency may be perceived as endorsing these
views. Groups that are "friendly" also may be inappropriate if
they appear to represent the agency's interests.
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When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
Advantages and
Limitations
Make sure that the relationship between the Agency and any
group is clearly understood by both the group itself and by the
public.
Use existing groups and publications:
When the RCRA process starts, to establish contacts and
develop a mailing list;
When meeting announcements or brief, non-technical
statements, are distributed; and
When resources for production of your own publications are
limited.
Existing groups and their publications may be useful for identifying
individuals for purposes of community interviews, mailing lists, and
door-to-door canvassing efforts.
The principal benefit of using existing groups and publications is that
they provide access to an established communication network. Less
time and expense will be needed to develop mailing lists and to
organize meetings.
Working too closely with existing groups, or working exclusively with
just one group, may be misperceived by other groups within the
community.
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«l
Checklist for Using Existing Groups/Publications
Identify existing groups and publications
Contact existing groups
Determine if the publication editors are willing to provide mailing lists or publish site
information
Document all calls
Provide information to the groups as it becomes available
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Contact Person
Description of Activity
The contact person is one designated staff member who is responsible
for responding to questions and inquiries from the public and the
media.
Level of Effort
The amount of time that the contact person spends responding to
citizen concerns and questions will depend on the level of interest the
community has regarding the facility's permit or corrective action
activities. A contact person may spend several hours a day responding
to citizen inquiries if there is high to moderate interest in the facility's
RCRA activities.
How to Conduct the
Activity
When to Use
Designate a contact person for each permit or corrective action who
will respond to citizens' requests for information, answer their
questions, and address their concerns on any aspect of the permit or
cleanup process. If citizens are able to interact with the same staff
person throughout the RCRA process, they may gradually develop
more trust and confidence in Agency actions.
When a contact person is assigned to a facility:
1. Send out a news release announcing the contact person to all
local newspapers, radio stations, and television stations. Include
the contact person's telephone number and mailing address in all
news releases, fact sheets, and mailings. Include in these
publications a self-mailer, which can be a separate flyer or a
designated cut-a-way section of the fact sheet that is addressed to
the contact person and leaves room for interested people to
request more information or write their comments.
2. Give all agency staff members and liaisons of other offices who
are involved with the facility the name, address, and phone
number of the contact person. Let staff members know they may
be approached for information and that they should coordinate
the release of information with the contact person.
3. Keep a log book of all citizen requests and comments received by
the contact person, and how each one was handled. This will help
to assure that incoming requests are not filed and forgotten. This
log book also provides another record of issues and concerns.
A contact person should be designated for every facility at the outset of
the RCRA process.
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Accompanying
Activities
Advantages and
Limitations
Designation of the contact person should be announced in news
releases and fact sheets. The contact person also should be responsible
for making sure that the facility's information repository, if required, is
kept up-to-date.
A contact person can assure citizens that the Agency is actively
listening to their concerns and can provide the community with
consistent information from a reliable source.
The contact person may not have the authority to resolve all of the
concerns raised by citizens; his or her role may be limited to providing
information and facilitating communication between appropriate
Agency staff and citizens. If, for any reason, the identity of the contact
person changes, it is important to inform the community about this
change quickly and to designate a replacement as soon as possible.
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Checklist for Contact Person
Determine agency official to serve as contact person for the facility:
Notify media of the name, mailing address, and phone number of the contact person
Inform all agency staff members and liaisons of other offices who are involved with the
facility
Have contact person maintain a log book of all citizen requests and comments received
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Telephone Contacts
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
Telephone contacts can be used to gather information about the
community and to update State and local officials and other interested
parties on the status of permitting or corrective action activities.
Telephone contacts can be a time-intensive activity, depending on the
nature of the call. Allow several hours per call when gathering
information.
In making telephone contacts:
1. Know exactly what information to request or give out. Plan
carefully what you want to say or what information you would like
to obtain from these individuals. Refer to the summary on
community interviews (page 5-3) for information on how to
conduct these interviews.
2. Conduct telephone calls and take notes for your files.
Telephone contacts may be used:
In the early stages of the RCRA actions to identify key
officials or citizens who have a high interest in the facility;
To gather information when face-to-face community
interviews are not possible;
When new and time-sensitive material becomes available;
and
When there is a high level of community interest in the
facility, and it is important to keep key players informed.
Telephone contacts are usually made to arrange or conduct community
interviews, develop mailing lists and arrange for other public
involvement activities such as news briefings, informal meetings, and
presentations.
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Advantages and Telephone calls can be an inexpensive and expedient method of
y . . . acquiring initial information about the facility. Once the initial
information has been gathered, telephone contacts are a quick means
of informing key people about facility activities and for monitoring any
shifts in community concerns.
Residents initially may feel uncomfortable discussing their concerns and
perceptions over the telephone with a stranger. Once residents have
met agency staff in person, however, they may be more open and
willing to discuss their concerns during follow-up telephone calls.
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Checklist for Telephone Contacts
Initial telephone contacts:
Identify individuals to contact:
State officials
Local officials
Concerned citizens
Media
Environmental groups
Prepare information to discuss on telephone
Prepare questions for individuals to answer
Prepare information that you can give them
Keep a log book of information received/given
Ongoing contacts:
Maintain up-to-date telephone contact list
Prepare information to discuss on telephone before each set of calls
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Door-to-Door
Canvassing
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
Door-to-door canvassing allows you to distribute information by calling
on community members individually and directly to provide fact sheets
or other materials and discuss the facility.
Door-to-door canvassing is a very time intensive activity because of the
number of staff needed to conduct the canvassing and the amount of
time you will need to plan for the canvassing. You will need to send
canvassers in pairs in areas where there may be a lot of contention or
in high crime areas. Allow at least a day to plan for the door-to-door
canvassing. This includes identifying the area to be canvassed,
determining the amount of staff needed, and notifying area residents.
The amount of time spent canvassing will depend on the size of the
area to be canvassed.
A door-to-door canvass involves training staff to gather information,
answer questions, and to communicate with a possibly irate or
suspicious public.
Procedures to follow in preparing a door-to-door canvass include:
1. Identify the area where canvassing is necessary or desirable.
Determine the area where special information must be given or
collected. This area may range from just a few streets to several
neighborhoods. Determine if there is a need for a translator or
materials in languages other than English. Also determine when
it is likely that people will be at home; the canvassing may have to
be conducted in the evening.
2. If time permits, notify residents in the designated area that staff
members will be calling door-to-door in the area and explaining
when canvassers will be in the neighborhood and the purpose of
the canvassing program. Advance notice will reduce the
suspicions of residents and encourage their cooperation. Also,
notify city officials so they are aware of the door-to-door
canvassing.
3. Provide canvassers with the information they will need to know
to respond to questions. Residents will want to know what is
happening at the facility and may have questions about possible
health effects associated with various activities. Distinguish
between the types of questions that a canvasser may answer (i.e.,
questions concerning the schedule of activity) and the types of
questions that should be referred to technical staff (e.g., highly
technical questions concerning hazardous waste or agency
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policies). Provide canvassers with written fact sheets or other
written materials.
4. Canvass the designated area. Note the name, address, and
telephone number of residents requesting more information.
Note also the names of those who were especially helpful in
giving information. Be prepared to tell residents when they will
next be contacted and how (i.e., by telephone, by letter, or in
person). All canvassers should have an official badge to identify
themselves to residents.
5. Send a thank-you letter after the canvass to all residents in the
canvassed area. If possible, provide information concerning recent
developments and any results or pertinent information gathered
by the canvass. Respond to special requests for information
either in the thank-you letter or by telephone.
When to Use Door-to-door canvassing may be used:
When there is a high level of concern about the site, but
meetings cannot be scheduled;
When you need to reach a specific group of people for a
specific purpose, such as getting signatures to allow access to
properties adjacent to the facility;
When the area has a low literacy rate and written materials
aren't useful to the community;
When the area consists of a population whose primary
language is not English, but it is important to pass
information to the area; and
When there is an emergency situation that the community
needs to know.
Accomoanvinff Telephone contacts and community interviews may help to identify
. ... appropriate areas for canvassing efforts. Canvassers should add to the
Activities mailing list names of individuals who either requested additional
information or provided particularly useful information.
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Advantages and
Limitations
This activity involves face-to-face contact, thereby ensuring that
citizens' questions can be directly and individually answered.
Canvassing demonstrates to the community that you are committed to
public involvement, and is a very effective means of gathering accurate,
detailed information.
This technique is very time-consuming and costly, even in a small area.
Furthermore, trained people that can answer questions at the necessary
level of detail are not typically available for this activity. This activity is
not recommended for the dissemination of information except in an
emergency. This high level of direct contact can raise more concerns
rather than allay them.
The safety and security of the canvassers also should be taken into
account when planning this activity. You may need additional staff so
that people can work in teams to two or three people or you may need
to hire security to travel with your staff.
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Checklist for Door-to-Door Canvassing
Identify area where canvassing will be conducted
Prepare maps for each team of canvassers
Send a letter to residents announcing canvassing
__ Prepare mailing list utilizing city directory (section listing residences by street
address)
Prepare letter; coordinate internal review
Determine security needs of canvassing team
Prepare any information (i.e., fact sheets) that canvassing team may provide to interested
residents
Identify staff to conduct canvassing and have official badges made to identify them
Brief staff on canvassing effort
Provide staff with a copy of letter sent to residents
Tell staff what kinds of questions they may answer and provide them with information
(i.e., questions concerning the schedule of activity)
Tell staff what kinds of questions they should refer to an agency specialist (i.e.,
technical questions)
Provide staff with prepared maps
Canvass designated areas
Note the name, address, and telephone number of residents requesting more
information
Sent thank you letter to all residents in the canvassed area
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News Conferences
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
News conferences are information sessions or briefings held for
representatives of the news media and may be open to the general
public. News conferences provide all interested local media and
members of the public with accurate information concerning important
developments during a RCRA-regulated process at the same time.
Enlist the aid of the Regional Public Affairs Office as the media
contact should be coordinated through the Public Affairs Office rather
than the RCRA Program Office.
Allow one to two days to prepare for, rehearse, and conduct a news
conference.
How to Conduct the
Activity
To conduct news conferences:
1. Coordinate all media activity through the agency public affairs
office. Public affairs personnel will assure that you adhere to
agency policy on news conferences. They will help arrange
location and equipment, etc.
2. Evaluate the need for a news conference. Use this technique
carefully because statements made during a news conference may
be misinterpreted by the media. For reporting the results of site
inspections, sampling results, and preliminary information other
public involvement techniques such as fact sheets, news releases,
and public meetings may be more appropriate. A news
conference announcing preliminary results of technical studies
may unnecessarily add to public concerns about the facility.
3. Notify members of the local and regional media of the time,
location, and topic of the news conference. Local officials also
may be invited to attend, either as observers or participants,
depending upon their interest. Including local officials at a news
conference underscores the agency's responsiveness and
commitment to a community's interests and concerns.
4. Anticipate reporters' questions and have your answers ready.
5. Present a short, official statement, both written and spoken,
about developments and findings. Explain agency decisions by
reviewing the corrective action and identifying the next steps.
Use visual aids, if appropriate. Live conferences leave no room
for mistakes so preparation and rehearsal is very important.
Open the conference to questions, to be answered by agency
officials, local officials, and any other experts present. Have
technical staff on hand to answer any technical questions. Decide
ahead of time who will answer what types of questions.
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When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
Advantages and
Limitations
News conferences can be used:
When time-sensitive information needs to reach the public,
and a news release may not be able to address key issues for
the community;
When staff are well-prepared to answer questions; and
During any phase of the permit application or corrective
action.
News conferences can be held before or after formal public hearings or
public meetings. They are usually accompanied by news releases.
Exhibits, telephone contacts, briefings, and mailing lists would
contribute to the planning and effectiveness of a news conference.
News conferences provide a large public forum for the agency to
announce plans and developments. They also are an efficient way to
reach a large audience. A written news release can help ensure that
the facts are presented accurately to the media. During the question
and answer period, the agency spokesperson(s) can demonstrate
knowledge of the facility and may be able to improve media relations
by providing thorough, informative answers to all questions.
A news conference can focus considerable attention on the situation,
potentially causing unnecessary local concern. Residents may not
welcome the increased attention that such media coverage is apt to
bring. News releases or lower-profile means of disseminating
information should be considered as alternatives.
A risk inherent in news conferences is that the media can take
comments out of context and create false impressions. This risk is
heightened when staff are unprepared or when the conference is not
properly structured or unanticipated questions are asked.
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Checklist for News Conferences
Coordinate news conference with the Agency Public Affairs Office
Determine purpose of news conference
Identify staff to make presentations/answer questions at news conference
Prepare visual materials (i.e., exhibits) and handout materials (i.e., fact sheets)
Prepare responses to "anticipated" questions from the media
Coordinate a rehearsal of all presenters
Determine date, time, location, and equipment needs of news conference
Is the location large enough to accommodate the media?
Notify local media of news conference in advance of news conference
Call the local media the day before the news conference as a reminder
Conduct the news conference
Set up room with a speakers table, chairs for the audience
Have handout materials available when media arrive
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Facility Tours
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
Facility tours are scheduled trips to the facility for media
representatives, local officials, and citizens during which technical and
public involvement staff answer questions. Facility tours increase
understanding of the issues and operations at a facility and the RCRA-
regulated process underway.
Facility tours generally take a day to plan and conduct.
To conduct facility tours:
1. Coordinate tours with the facility.
Determine tour routes;
Check on availability of facility personnel, if needed; and
Ensure that the tour complies with the safety plan for the
site.
If it is not possible to arrange tours at the facility, perhaps it
would be possible to arrange a tour at one like it. Interested
community members may benefit from touring a facility that has
similar operations or where similar technologies have been
applied. Touring a RCRA-regulated facility can give residents a
clearer perception of what to expect at their own site.
2. Develop a list of individuals that might be interested in
participating in a tour, including:
Individual citizens or nearby residents who have expressed
concern about the site;
Representatives of public interest or environmental groups
that have expressed interest in the site;
Interested local officials;
Representatives of local citizen or service groups; and
Representatives of local newspapers, television stations, and
radio stations.
3. Determine the maximum number that can be taken through the
facility safely. Keep the group small so that all who wish to ask
questions may do so. Schedule additional tours as needed.
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When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
4.
5.
Think of ways to involve tour participants. A "hands-on"
demonstration of how to read monitoring devices is one example.
Anticipate questions. Have someone available to answer
technical questions in non-technical terms.
Tours may be conducted:
When there is moderate to high interest in the facility,
especially among elected officials;
When it is useful to show activities at the facility to increase
public understanding or decrease public concern;
When it is practical and safe to have people on facility
grounds; and
During the remedial phase of corrective action.
Fact sheets and exhibits and presentations complement facility tours.
An observation deck near the facility would allow them to watch the
progress of activities on their own. An on-scene information office
would allow for an agency official to be around and for less formal
tours of the facility. An alternative to a facility tour would be a
videotape showing activity and operations at the facility. This would be
effective in cases where tours cannot be conducted for safety or other
reasons.
Advantages and
Limitations
Facility tours familiarize the media, local officials, and citizens with the
operations and the individuals involved in the permitting or corrective
action. Unreasonable fears about the risks of the facility may be
dispelled, as might suspicion of corrective action crews working at the
facility. The result is often better understanding between the
community and the agency.
Facility tours require considerable staff time to arrange, prepare, and
coordinate. Staff may have difficulty gaining site access for non-agency
people. Insurance regulations for the facility and liability, safety and
injury considerations may make tours impossible.
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Checklist for Facility Tours
Determine need for facility tours
Coordinate tours with the facility
Tour routes
Facility personnel
Tour dates
Compliance with health and safety
Determine maximum number of people that can be taken on the tour
Notify interested citizens on availability of facility tours
Call interested citizens
Distribute mailing to facility mailing list
Have citizens respond and reserve space on the tour
Determine plant staff or agency staff to conduct tour
Prepare responses to anticipated questions
Conduct tours
Follow-up on any requested information from interested citizens
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Telephone Hotline
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
When to Use
A hotline is a toll-free telephone number in an agency office that
provides citizens with an opportunity to ask questions and obtain
information promptly about RCRA activities.
The amount of time spent on the telephone hotline responding to
citizen concerns and questions will depend on the level of concern the
community has regarding the facility's permit or corrective action
activities. You may spend several hours a day responding to citizen
inquiries if there is high to moderate interest in the facility's RCRA
activities.
To install a telephone hotline, either as a semi-permanent fixture
(available throughout the permit review or corrective action process) or
as a temporary measure (installed at the time of major community
feedback, such as the public comment period):
1. Assign one or more staff members to handle the hotline calls.
Consider installing more than one line to minimize citizens
reaching a busy signal when they call. If staff are not available
throughout the day, install an answering machine directing citizens
to leave their name, number, and brief statement of concern, and
informing them that an agency official will return their call
promptly. Check the answering machine for messages at least
once a day. If the level of concern is high, check for messages
more frequently.
2. Announce the telephone hotline in news releases to local
newspapers, radio stations, and television stations, and in fact
sheets, publications, and public notices.
3. Keep a written record of each question, when it was received,
from whom, and how and when it was answered. All questions
and inquiries should be responded to promptly (within 24 hours)
if an answer cannot be given immediately. Be diligent in following
up requests for information and tracking down accurate, direct
responses.
A telephone hotline may be used:
When community interest or concern is moderate to high;
When emergencies or unexpected events occur, or when a
situation is changing rapidly;
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Accompanying
Activities
Advantages and
Limitations
When there is a high potential for citizen complaints (e.g.,
about dust or noise);
Where literacy rates are low and written information must be
supplemented; and
Where the community is isolated and has little opportunity
for face-to-face contact with project staff (e.g., rural areas,
areas far from Regional offices).
The hotline can supplement all other public involvement activities.
A hotline can provide citizens with a relatively quick means of
expressing their concerns directly to the agency and getting their
questions answered. This quick response can help to reassure citizens
that the agency is listening to their concerns. A telephone hotline also
can help monitor community concerns. A sudden increase in calls
could indicate that additional public involvement efforts may be
warranted.
Citizens calling the hotline must receive responses to their questions or
concerns quickly, or they may become frustrated with the agency. If
the number of calls is large, responding quickly to each inquiry could
prove burdensome to agency staff. Furthermore, dialing a hotline
number and receiving a recorded message on the hotline could irritate
or alienate some members of the public.
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Checklist for Telephone Hotline
Determine need for telephone hotline
Identify staff responsible for answering calls
Have staff maintain a log of all calls and responses
Install telephone hotlines/answering machines
Notify interested citizens of availability of telephone hotline
Public notice
Fact sheet
Mailing to facility mailing list
Coordinate staffing of hotline
Follow-up on calls to hotline
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Observation Deck
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
When to Use
An observation deck is an elevated deck on the facility property, near
the area where corrective or RCRA-regulated activities are in progress.
The deck allows interested citizens to observe facility activities or
corrective actions directly in order to remove some of the unfamiliarity,
and hence fear, that may encompass RCRA-regulated activities.
An observation deck may be a time-intensive activity depending on the
deck's hours of operation. You could spend up to 40 hours a week
staffing the deck. Short Cut: Consider hiring a contractor to staff the
deck.
To use an observation deck:
1. Decide whether or not an observation deck is needed or
desirable. Gauge community interest in the facility and whether
or not there is a location for a deck that would facilitate
observation.
2. Coordinate the observation deck with the facility. Determine the
best location for the observation deck keeping in mind safety
issues. Coordinate construction of the deck.
3. Coordinate staffing of the observation deck. Determine the
hours of operation for the observation deck. Identify staff to
supervise the observation deck and prepare staff to answer
questions from the public.
4. Announce the availability of the observation deck. Notify the
community that the deck is available through public notices, fact
sheets, and a mailing to the facility mailing list.
An observation deck may be used:
When community interest or concern is high;
When the community's understanding of facility operations
will be enhanced by direct observation;
When there will be sufficient activity at the site to promote
the community's interest;
When staff are available to supervise public use of the deck
and answer questions;
When it is physically possible to set up an observation deck
in a place where there is no danger to the public;
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When a corrective action is being implemented; and
When a new technology is being tested or implemented.
Accomoanvinff ^° observation deck could complement periodic facility tours or an on-
scene information office. Citizens can initially be educated about
operations or corrective actions during the tours, then can monitor the
progress of these activities at their convenience from the observation
deck. Fact sheets or an informative exhibit placed near the deck also
could further aid in explaining facility activities.
Advantages and ^° °bservation deck allows citizens and media representatives to
T . . . observe site activities without hindering the activities.
Limitations
Constructing and occupying an observation deck is expensive and needs
to be supplemented with an informational/interpretive program, so that
citizens understand what they see. Further, health and safety issues
must thoroughly be considered so that any visitor to the observation
deck is not endangered by activities at the facility.
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Checklist for Observation Deck
Determine need for an observation deck
Coordinate with facility
Identify staff available to supervise the observation deck and answer questions from
interested citizens
Coordinate deck construction
Set hours of operation for the observation deck
Notify interested citizens of availability of observation deck
Public notice
Fact sheet
Mailing to facility mailing list
Maintain observation deck
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On-Scene
Information Office
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
When to Use
An on-scene information office is a trailer (or small building) on the
facility site staffed by a full-time or part-time person who responds to
inquiries and prepares information releases.
An on-scene information office is a time-intensive activity. You may
have staff in the office up to 40 hours a week. Short Cut: Hire a
contractor to staff the office, however, always ensure an agency
representative is there for some specified period during the week.
To provide an on-scene information office:
1. Rent a trailer or arrange with the owner of the facility to
designate space in the facility to be used as an office and
launching area.
2. Install a telephone and an answering machine to respond to
inquiries and publicize the number in local newspapers and your
public involvement publications.
3. Assign someone to staff the trailer. Establish regular hours,
including some during the weekend and weekday evenings.
Publicize the trailer's hours and the services it offers.
4. Equip the trailer with the same materials normally contained in
an information repository. Equip the office with a copy machine
so that the public can make copies of documents in the
information repository.
An on-scene information office may be used:
When community interest or concern is high;
During corrective actions;
When cleanup involves complex technologies or processes;
When the community perceives a high level of risk to health;
When activities may disrupt the area surrounding the facility
(e.g., traffic patterns); and
When the area near the facility is densely populated.
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Accompanying
Activities
Advantages and
Limitations
The on-scene staff person can conduct meetings to inform citizens
about the status of the corrective actions and prepare and distribute
fact sheets and weekly news updates to local residents. They also can
conduct facility tours and man telephone hotlines. With the telephone
contacts they make, they can add to and update mailing lists and revise
public involvement plans.
Individuals staffing an on-scene information office for an extended
period of time will necessarily have a special role in the community.
Involvement in other public involvement activities may represent a
large part of their function. In addition to distributing information to
local residents, on-site staff will be responsible for maintaining data
bases of residents' addresses, the status of access to property, and a
daily log of citizen inquiries. It is important that on-site staff monitor
public perceptions and concerns daily. On-scene staff often can make
useful recommendations to the agency regarding citizen concerns.
Finally and perhaps most importantly, on-site staff members will
frequently serve as a liaison between the public and other agencies at
the Federal, State, and county levels, as well as facility owners and
contractors.
An on-scene information office can be an effective activity for ensuring
that citizens are adequately informed about the agency's actions and
that their concerns are addressed immediately.
An information office can be very expensive, since it requires, at a
minimum, a part-time staff person and a telephone. Hence, it should
be used only when community concerns are currently high or may be
high in the future.
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Checklist for On-Scene Information Office
Determine need for an on-scene information office
Identify staff to work in information office
Rent a trailer or space at the facility for the information office
Equip the office with a telephone, office equipment (i.e., copier), and all materials
contained in an information repository.
Notify interested citizens of availability of on-scene information office
Public Notice
Fact sheet
Mailing to facility mailing list
Maintain on-scene information office
Have staff conduct the following:
Maintain the mailing list
Review media coverage
Respond to citizen calls
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Meetings
>/ Informal
AvailabilitySessions/Open Houses
Workshops
>/ Briefings
Presentations
-------
Informal Meetings
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
Informal meetings are meetings with individual groups that the agency
has identified as having particular interest in the facility. These
meetings are held in an informal setting, such as a resident's home or a
local meeting place. Informal meetings allow interested citizens and
local officials to discuss issues and concerns. Staff responsible for the
facility receive first-hand information from interested community
members, special interest groups, and state and local officials, while
citizens have the opportunity to ask questions and explore topics of
interest regarding the facility in question.
Public meetings are a special form of informal meetings where the
entire community can participate. Public meetings allow all interested
parties to discuss issues regarding the facility with each other as well as
the regulatory agency. Public meetings can be especially useful for
allowing discussion before a public hearing and can be scheduled
immediately before the hearing. Comments made during a public
meeting do not become part of the official administrative record as they
do during a hearing. (See page 5-34 for a further description of public
meetings.)
An informal meeting will take two to three days to plan and conduct.
This includes about three hours to set up and schedule the meeting,
five hours for preparation, four hours to conduct the meeting, and four
hours to follow up on any issues raised during the meeting.
To conduct informal meetings:
1. Identify interested citizens and officials. Contact each citizen
group and local agency that is directly affected by the facility, or
contact individuals who have expressed concern regarding the
facility. Offer to discuss the permit or corrective action plans at a
convenient time, taking into consideration the following elements
that will affect levels of community interest and concern: for
facilities at which emergency actions are required, schedule the
meeting after the agency has accurate information to share with
the participants; for a corrective action, determine first when
community concerns may be highest and schedule meetings
accordingly. For instance, it may be appropriate to hold an
informal meeting when the risk assessment report is released.
Holding informal meetings early in the permit process can help
prevent potentially volatile situations from developing by
providing citizens with one-on-one attention.
2. Limit attendance. To increase effectiveness, restrict attendance
to between five and 20 individuals or specify attendance by
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invitation only. The larger the group, the less likely that some
people will candidly express their concerns. It is difficult to
establish rapport with individuals in a large group. If a greater
number of community members and officials are interested than
expected, schedule additional small meetings. If a greater number
of participants appears than are expected at an informal meeting,
divide the group into smaller groups to allow more one-on-one
discussion to take place.
3. Select a meeting date, time, and place convenient to attendants.
The meeting place should have chairs that can be arranged into a
circle, or some other informal setting conducive to two-way
communication. A private home or public library meeting room
may be more likely to promote an exchange of ideas than a large
or formal public hall. When scheduling the meeting, make sure
that the date and time do not conflict with other public meetings
that citizens may want to attend such as town council meetings, or
with holidays or other special occasions. Be sure that the meeting
location does not conflict with state "sunshine laws." In selecting
a public meeting place, be attentive to the special needs of
handicapped individuals (e.g., access ramps or elevators). Be
aware that meetings will frequently have to be scheduled during
evening hours to accommodate citizens' work schedules.
4. Begin the meeting with a brief overview. This short presentation
should include a summary of the permit review schedule and how
the public can be involved in the decision. These opening
remarks should be kept brief and informal (no more than a few
minutes) to allow maximum opportunity for open discussion with
meeting attenders. Cover whatever topics the public is interested
in discussing, these may include:
Extent of the activity;
Safety and health implications;
Factors that might speed up or delay the regulatory and
technical process; and
How community concerns are considered in making decisions
on permits and corrective actions.
5. Identify the decision-makers (major agencies and individuals
responsible for enacting and enforcing RCRA regulations.)
Citizens will then know where to direct further questions or voice
new ideas or suggestions.
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When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
Advantages and
Limitations
6. Gear the discussion to the audience. Be sensitive to the level of
familiarity that the citizens have with the more technical aspects
of the activities discussed.
7. Listen and take notes. Find out what the citizens want done.
Some concerns may be addressed by making minor changes in the
agency's proposed action. Discuss the possibility for
accommodating these concerns or explain the reasons why citizen
requests appear to be unworkable or conflict with program or
legal requirements.
8. Promptly follow-up on any major concerns. Stay in touch with
the groups and contact any new groups that have formed, so that
new or increasing concerns can be dealt with before problems
develop.
9. Write up brief minutes for your files.
Informal meetings can be used:
When there is widely varying level of knowledge among
community members;
When the level of tension is high and large meetings may
not be appropriate;
When the community needs more personal contact to have
trust in the agency;
When groups want to discuss specific issues in detail in
which the community as a whole isn't interested.
Community interviews or phone calls usually precede these meetings,
since it is during these interviews that concerned citizens groups are
identified and contacted. Possible meeting locations also can be
identified during the community interviews.
Distributing fact sheets at these meetings also may be appropriate,
depending on when they are held.
The primary benefit of informal meetings is that they allow two-way
interaction between citizens, local officials, and the agency. Not only
will citizens be informed about the developments, but officials
responsible for the site can learn how citizens view the site.
Informal meetings also add a personal dimension to what might
otherwise be treated as a purely technical problem. Informal meetings
offer both citizens and officials a chance to increase their familiarity
with how the process works, increase awareness of each others point of
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view, and actively promote public participation. Informal meetings also
may diffuse any tension between the community and the agency.
Some opposition groups may perceive the agency's efforts to restrict
the number of attenders as a "divide and conquer" tactic to prevent
large groups from exerting influence on potential actions and to
exclude certain individuals or groups. One way to prevent this
perception is to hold additional informal meetings with those
organizations who express concern about being left out of the process.
Irate groups or individuals also may accuse agency staff of telling
different stories to different groups at these small meetings. The
agency can avoid this criticism by inviting a cross-section of interests to
each small meeting or by having a large public meeting. Alternatively,
agency staff can keep a written record of the informal discussions and
make it available upon request. A record of discussions is required for
any legally-required meetings held during the public comment period.
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Checklist for Informal Meetings
Determine purpose of meeting
Determine number of attenders:
Determine location(s) for meeting (complete for each available facility)
Facility name, location
Contact person at facility
Phone number
Occupancy size
Handicap accessibility
Features:
Restrooms
Public telephones
Adequate parking
Determine date, time of meeting:
Date:
Time:
Identify interested citizens and officials
Contact citizen groups, invite a representative to the meeting
Prepare meeting agenda
Overview of project
Identify decision-makers
Allow time for discussion, question/answers
Follow-up
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Availability
Sessions/Open
Houses
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
Availability sessions/open houses are informal meetings in a public
location where people can talk to agency officials on a one-to-one
basis. The meetings allow citizens to ask questions, express their
concerns directly to project staff, and accommodate individual
schedules.
An availability session/open house may take two to three days to plan
and conduct. Allow sufficient time to select a date, time, and location
for the meeting, plan for the session, prepare supporting materials, and
meet with and brief agency staff who will attend the meeting. You
should plan for about five hours for the actual session.
To conduct an availability session/open house:
1. Select a date, time, and location for the availability session/open
house that encourages attendance. Evening hours usually are
preferable. The location should be in an easily accessible building
familiar to residents (such as a public library, school, or local
meeting room).
2. Anticipate the number of attenders and plan accordingly. If a
large number of people is expected, consider the possibility of
holding two availability session/open houses to enable staff to
meet and talk with each attender. Alternatively, increase the
number of staff or the length of the availability session/open
house. As a general rule, planning for one staff member per
15-20 attenders should foster an informal atmosphere for
conversation, and thereby avoid the situation where a staff
member has to speak to a "crowd."
3. Develop or gather together appropriate explanatory materials.
These materials may include posterboards, handouts, or fact
sheets.
4. Publicize the availability session/open house at least two weeks
ahead of time, if possible. Send announcements to newspapers,
television and radio stations, citizens on the mailing list, and any
interested community organizations that publish newsletters.
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5. Ensure that appropriate agency staff attend, so that citizens can
meet those who will be responsible for facility activities. The staff
present should be able to answer both technical and policy
questions.
6. Meet with and brief agency staff and rehearse for the session.
Anticipate questions that may be asked during the session and
prepare answers.
When to Use i^n availability session/open house is most appropriate:
When scheduling of meetings is difficult because of
community members' schedules;
When new information is available on several different
technical or regulatory issues that would make explaining it
in its entirety would be too long for a more formal meeting;
When community members have widely varying interests or
levels of knowledge;
When an informal setting is appropriate to enhance agency
credibility with the community;
When staff is available; and
When larger crowds will make it difficult for certain
members of the public to raise questions.
Accomoanvinff Exhibits and fact sheets can provide background information that
. . . . enables citizens to ask more informed questions about the site during
the availability session/open house.
Advantages and ^e one"to-one conversations during an availability session/open house
Y . . . can help build trust and establish a rapport between citizens and agency
staff. An informal, neutral setting will keep officials and the public
relaxed and make communications smoother.
Planning and conducting an availability session/open house can require
a significant amount of staff time. A low turnout may not justify the
effort. Hence, community interest in the site should be significant
before an availability session/open house is planned.
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Checklist for Availability Sessions/Open Houses
Determine location(s) for meeting (complete for each available facility)
Facility name, location
Contact person at facility
Phone number
Occupancy size_
Handicap accessibility_
Features:
Restrooms
Public telephones
Adequate parking
Determine date, time of meeting:
Date:
Time:
Prepare draft notice (public notice, flier)
Coordinate internal review of notice
Prepare final notice
Determine agency officials to attend availability session/open house:
Notify citizens of availability session/open house
Direct mailing to citizens on facility mailing list
Verify that mailing list is up-to-date
Request mailing labels
Public notice in local newspaper(s)
Prepare handouts, other information material for availability session/open house
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Workshops
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
Workshops are seminars or gatherings of small groups of people
(usually between 10 and 30), led by a small number of specialists with
technical expertise on a specific area. In workshops, participants
typically discuss hazardous waste issues where citizens comment on
proposed response actions and receive information on the technical
issues associated with the permitting process and the RCRA program in
general. Experts may be invited to explain the problems associated
with releases of hazardous substances and possible remedies for these
problems. Workshops may help to improve the public's understanding
of permit conditions or hazardous waste problems at a facility and to
prevent or correct misconceptions. Workshops also may enable agency
staff to identify citizen concerns and to receive citizen's comments.
A one-day workshop may take about three days to a week to plan and
execute. Another day will probably be required to follow up on any
issues that arise during the workshop.
To conduct a workshop:
1. Determine the focus of the workshop. Decide what topic or
topics will be covered in either one or more workshops.
Suggested topics include: purpose of RCRA; description of the
permit process or corrective action program; proposed remedies;
risk assessment; identified health or environmental problems;
and/or method and format for receiving citizen comments on the
proposed or ongoing actions. Determine what agency personnel
will be needed at each workshop and whether any outside experts
will be needed.
2. Plan the workshop. Decide ahead of time on a minimum and
maximum number of participants. If there are too few, consider
holding an informal meeting and postpone the workshop until
additional interest develops. Identify a convenient location and
time for the workshop, and set a date that does not conflict with
other important meetings or interests (for example, town council
meetings, high school sporting events).
3. Announce the workshop by publishing a notice well in advance (at
least 3 weeks) in the local newspapers. Send a notice of
workshops with mailings to all citizens on site mailing list and
distribute posters around town. Send out invitations and
registration forms to concerned citizens. Provide for multiple
registrations on each form to accommodate friends who also might
be interested in the workshop. Emphasize that the number of
participants is limited, and provide a deadline for registration.
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When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
Advantages and
Limitations
Workshops are appropriate:
When the RCRA process needs to be explained to
community members interested in participating in the
process;
When specific topics needs to be discussed in detail,
especially health or risk assessment issues; and
When technical material needs to be explained and feedback
from the community is important to make sure they
understand the material.
Workshops can be conducted before formal public hearings or during
public comment periods to give citizens some ideas on developing and
presenting testimony. Fact sheets and exhibits can be used at
workshops.
Workshops provide more information to the public than is possible
through fact sheets or other written materials. Workshops have proven
successful in familiarizing citizens with key technical terms and concepts
before a formal public meeting. Workshops also allow two-way
communication, making them particularly good for reaching opinion
leaders, interest group leaders, and the affected public.
If only a limited number are held, workshops can reach only a small
segment of the affected population.
When planning a workshop, agency staff should make sure that it is
announced in local newspapers, to help ensure that it will be
well-attended. In addition, it may be helpful to specifically invite all
residents who have expressed an interest in the site.
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Checklist for Workshops
Determine purpose of workshop
Determine number of attenders
Plan the workshop
Identify topics to be presented
Identify agency officials to present topics, handle registration
Prepare handouts, other informational materials
Determine location(s) for workshop (complete for each available facility)
Facility name, location
Contact person at facility
Phone number
Occupancy size
Handicap accessibility
Features:
Restrooms
Public telephones
Adequate parking
Determine date, time of workshop:
Date:
Time:
Prepare draft notice announcing workshop (public notice, flier)
Coordinate internal review of notice
Prepare final notice
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Checklist for Workshops (continued)
Notify citizens of workshop
Direct mailing to citizens on facility mailing list
Verify that mailing list is up-to-date
Request mailing labels
Public notice in local newspaper(s)
Determine presentation requirements
Electrical outlets
Extension cords
Accessible lighting control panel
Window covers
Podium
Stage
Table(s) and chairs for panel
Water pitcher and glasses
Sound system
Microphones (stand, tabletop, lavaliere)
_ Cables
Speakers
Technician/engineers available for hearing
Visual aids
_ Slides
Slide projector
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Checklist for Workshops (continued)
Extra projector bulbs
Flip chart
Rip chart markers
Overhead transparencies
Overhead machine
VCR and monitor
Screen
Table for projection equipment
Registration table
Registration cards
Writing pens
Signs
Miscellaneous supplies:
Scissors
Tape (masking, transparent)
Thumbtacks
Public information materials (fact sheets, etc.)
Arrange and conduct at least one rehearsal
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Briefings
Descriotion of Activity Briefings are held with key state and local officials to inform them of
the status of a permit application or corrective action; to provide them
with materials such as technical studies; results of the technical field
and community assessments; and engineering designs. Agency staff
conduct these sessions in person, and the briefings usually precede
release of information to the media or occur before a public meeting.
I^evel of Fffort Briefings will usually take a day to plan and conduct.
How to Conduct the To schedule and hold briefin8s:
Activity 1 Inform key state and local elected and agency officials far in
advance of the date of the briefing. It is usually best to hold the
initial briefing in a small public room, such as a hotel meeting
room or a conference room. Where relationships might be
antagonistic, it may be best to hold the briefing in a neutral
location.
2. Present a short, official statement explaining the information in
the context of the RCRA process and announce future steps in
the process.
3. Answer questions about the statement. Anticipate questions and
be prepared to answer them simply and directly.
If the briefing has been requested by state and local officials, find
out in advance the information they seek and prepare to answer
these and related questions.
When to Use Briefings are appropriate:
When state or local officials have expressed a moderate to high
level of concern about the facility;
Before the release of new information to the media and the
public;
When unexpected events or delays occur; and
At any point during the permit or corrective action processes. If
local officials have expressed concern during the preliminary
assessment of the facility, a briefing may be appropriate to explain
the RCRA permitting or corrective action program and the
technical actions that are scheduled for the facility.
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Accompanying
Activities
Advantages and
Limitations
Briefings usually precede news conferences, news releases, informal
meetings, or public meetings.
Briefings allow state and local officials to question the agency directly
about any action prior to public release of information regarding that
action. By doing so, officials and citizen leaders will be prepared to
answer questions from their constituents when the information becomes
public. Briefings also allow for the exchange of information and
concerns.
Because briefings are normally offered to a small select group, they are
not considered to be general information dissemination to the public.
Care must be taken to provide the public with ample opportunity to
receive information. At briefing sessions, include the appropriate
officials, taking care not to exclude people key to the public
involvement process. Avoid the perception that the agency may be
trying to bury facts or favor special interest groups.
Although briefings can be an effective tool for updating state and local
officials and community leaders, they always should be complemented
by activities to inform the general public, such as informal meetings,
public meetings or news conferences.
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Checklist for Briefings
Determine date, time, and location of briefing.
Date:
Time:
Location:
Notify key state and local officials, citizens, and other interested parties of the
briefing
Prepare presentation
Prepare any handout materials
Conduct briefing
Follow-up on any questions you are unable to answer during the briefing
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Presentations
Description of Activity
Level of Effort
How to Conduct the
Activity
Presentations are speeches or panel discussions held for local clubs,
civic or church organizations," school classes, or concerned groups of
citizens to provide a description of current RCRA activities. They help
improve public understanding of the issues associated with a permitting
or corrective action and explain how the agency will address these
issues and involve the community in the process.
One to two days may be needed to set up and schedule the
presentation, prepare for it, give the presentation, and follow up on any
issues raised.
Develop procedures that easily can be changed to suit different
audiences. To conduct presentations:
1. Contact groups that may be interested in learning about your
work. Announce the program through the media and in your
publications. Adjust the tone and technical complexity of any
presentation to suit the audience's needs.
2. Select a standard format such as the following:
Introduce yourself, RCRA, the process, and the facility;
Describe the issues that affect your audience;
Discuss what is being currently done; and
Discuss how citizens can assist the agency in making
decisions about the facility.
3. Set a time limit of 20 minutes. Consider having several staff
members deliver short segments of the presentation. Allow time
for a question-and-answer period.
4. Schedule presentations at convenient times, possibly evenings or
weekends, or during regularly-scheduled meetings of other groups.
5. Select supporting materials (slides, graphics, exhibits, etc.) that
will hold the audience's attention but not distract from the
speaker's message. Conduct a trial run in front of colleagues and
rehearse the presentation as much as possible.
6. If substantive issues or technical details cannot be handled in
the time allowed for the presentation, name a contact for further
information.
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When to Use
Accompanying
Activities
Advantages and
Limitations
Presentations may be held:
When there is moderate to high interest in a facility;
When it is practical to integrate short RCRA presentations
into meetings on other subjects; and
When a major milestone in the RCRA process is reached.
Fact sheets or handouts should be distributed so that participants have
something to refer to after the presentation. Incorporating exhibits
into your presentation will hold the audience's attention and aid in
their understanding of the material.
Because the presentation is delivered in person, the audience has a
chance to ask questions, and the agency can gauge citizens' concerns.
Also, many people can be reached at one time, reducing individual
inquiries. Making project staff available for community speeches and
presentations will signal the agency's interest in the community.
Presentations require substantial effort to be effective. A poorly
planned presentation can distort residents' views of the situation.
Because the presentation is rehearsed, accommodating different or
unanticipated concerns of the audience can be difficult. Handle these
concerns during a question-and-answer period after the presentation.
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities
Page 5-108
-------
Checklist for Presentations
Contact groups that may be interested in a presentation
Determine message(s) to be presented based on stated community interests/concerns
Prepare presentation(s) based on responses from groups contacted
Prepare handout materials
Prepare exhibits or other visual materials
Determine what staff are available for presentations
Schedule presentations
Conduct rehearsals
Conduct presentations
Conduct follow-up after presentations
Respond to questions you were unable to answer
Contact group regarding other presentation topics in which they may be interested
Chapter 5: Public Involvement Activities Page 5-109
-------
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Appendix 1
When the Facility Has a Role in the
Public Involvement Program
Introduction ^ou ma^ not ^ave l^e resources to ^° tne necessary public
involvement activities for every RCRA action. One option is to have
the facility provide support for some public involvement activities under
permitting agency oversight. Another option is to encourage the
facility to conduct its own public involvement activities. As noted in
Chapter 3, EPA regulations already require facilities to conduct public
involvement activities under certain conditions (i.e., permit
modifications, and certain activities proposed in the Subpart S rules.)
Delegating public involvement tasks to a facility is analogous to
delegating technical tasks (such as RFI/CMS studies, risk assessments
and other technical studies required in TSDF permit applications) to a
facility. In neither case does the permitting agency give up its oversight
role or decisionmaking power; in both cases, the facility is expected to
provide appropriately skilled personnel to carry out the tasks according
to guidance or professional standards. In some cases, working with a
facility on public involvement can be very similar to working with one
of EPA's contractors: you provide a scope of work and guidance, they
provide skilled personnel who must do the work to your satisfaction.
This appendix addresses some of the issues associated with facilities
becoming involved in the permitting agency public involvement
program. When is it appropriate and when is it not appropriate to
have the facility help the permitting agency conduct public involvement
activities? If it is appropriate, what are the avenues for getting the
facility to conduct agency public involvement activities? Which
activities should you delegate? What kind of oversight is necessary?
How can you keep your credibility with the community intact? What
problems may you encounter with facility participation in public
involvement activities? The appendix concludes with examples
illustrating how a facility and agency worked together on a public
involvement program.
Appendix 1
-------
Deciding Whether a
Facility Should
Have a Role in the
Agency's Public
Involvement
Program
Before you consider involving a facility, complete your initial
assessment of public involvement needs for the permitting or corrective
action process, following the approach in Chapter 2. Once you have a
rough idea of the level of attention the public involvement effort will
require (i.e., minimu?- required, moderate, high), evaluate your
resources. If you are unable to carry out required or expanded
activities for a particular facility in-house, you may want to consider
having the facility assist you or suggest that it undertake some activities
itself.
In each case, look carefully at the situation. Key issues to assess are
the facility's credibility with the community, its capability in-house or
through contractors to provide public involvement support, and the
likelihood that it will cooperate with the permitting agency in carrying
out the effort.
If the facility lacks credibility in the community, its public outreach
efforts are unlikely to be effective. If the community sees the
permitting agency working jointly with the facility, they may extend
their mistrust to the permitting agency. In extreme cases of community
disenchantment with a facility, it is inappropriate to give the facility any
role in the permitting agency public involvement effort and you may
want to distance yourself from any effort it undertakes on its own.
However, in most cases where there is some distrust, you can use
facility assistance if you restrict it to support functions such as the
development of an initial mailing list and draft informational materials
that you will review and revise before releasing under permitting
agency letterhead. Or you might ask the facility to identify meeting
places or appropriate media for public notices, but you would be the
contact with the public at the meetings, and you would place the
notices.
If the facility is unfamiliar with the concept of public involvement (as
being different from public affairs and public relations), it may need
guidance from you in determining whether it has in-house staff who can
do the job or whether it will need to hire public involvement
contractors. If you are requiring a facility to support you (see below)
and it does not have prior experience with the approach, you can
require that its work meet specific guidance and standards that you
enforce in your oversight role. However, if you are asking the facility
to support you voluntarily (see below) and it does not have prior
experience with the approach and is unwilling to hire specialists, you
may find that it is not worth the effort to ask for much assistance
because of the extra oversight that will be required.
Appendix 1
Page 2
-------
How to Get the
acility to Do The
Work
When the Facility
Has a Role:
Appropriate
Activities and
Agency Oversight
If you decide that you do want the facility to support your public
involvement program or conduct its own, you may require them to do
so in some circumstances, and ask them to do it voluntarily in others.
For corrective action, write public involvement tasks into a
corrective action schedule of compliance or §3008(h1 order.
Some EPA regions routinely require development of a public
involvement plan as part of the RFI workplan. In the
approved public involvement plan, roles and responsibilities
for the facility and the permitting agency are spelled out.
For TSDF permitting, ask the facility to voluntarily
undertake some public involvement tasks and coordinate its
public involvement efforts with yours. In the future,
permitting agencies may require public involvement activities
as part of the permit application process. Currently, you
cannot impose a permit condition requiring public
involvement activities early enough to provide for assistance
when it is most needed: during the phases of application
processing, draft permit preparation and public comment
before the permitting agency decides whether or not to issue
the permit. However, you can educate the facility about the
goals and benefits of public involvement and, in many cases,
enlist their support in developing and carrying out a public
involvement program throughout the permitting process.
You must determine the facility's role in agency public involvement
activities and your role in oversight on a site-by-site basis. It is possible
to have a facility assist with the entire agency public involvement
program with agency oversight. However, there are always some
activities (such as public hearings on a draft permit or major permit
modification) that you must conduct and, depending on the situation, it
may be inappropriate or unwise to delegate certain tasks to the facility.
In assigning tasks, you must distinguish between facility support of the
permitting agency effort, whether required or voluntary, and the
facility's own effort. For the permitting agency public involvement
program, all activities should be entirely under your oversight and
control, and the public should be able to see that clearly through
techniques such as the use of permitting agency letterhead or logo on
written material, the presence of permitting agency spokespersons at all
public events, and referrals to permitting agency contact persons for
questions and comments. All facility tasks will be support tasks (e.g.,
draft mailing lists, draft written materials, arrangements for interviews
and meetings). The permitting agency stamp will be on all final
products.
Appendix 1
Page 3
-------
For the facility's public involvement program, you are at most a friendly
advisor, and the public should not see your letterhead; logo, or
sponsorship of the facility's activities. However, if you and the facility
agree to coordinate and cooperate in your efforts, some of your
program needs (such as a fact sheet that explains operations at a
TSDF) might be met by a facility activity that it voluntarily conducts
under your oversight. Of course, for required activities, such as
mailings and public meetings to be conducted by a facility when it
initiates permit modifications, you have a mandate to assure that their
efforts fulfill the requirements.
In assigning tasks for corrective action under a schedule of compliance
or Section 3008(h) order, a common approach is to require the facility
to develop a formal Public Involvement Plan, based on a needs
assessment that includes community interviews. Some regions specify a
minimum set of activities that must be included in the plan, such as
development of a mailing list, establishment of an information
repository, and issuance of two fact sheets. You should specify that the
permitting agency must approve the list of interviewees and be given
the opportunity to conduct all interviews. In situations where there is
community distrust of the facility, you should conduct all interviews. At
a minimum, you or some permitting agency representative should be
present at all interviews with public officials and agency staff.
You should discuss the findings of the community assessment and your
ideas about necessary public involvement activities with the facility
before it prepares a draft plan. In reviewing the draft plan, be sure
that it provides for all required activities as well as additional activities
that you judge appropriate, based on the findings of the community
assessment. The plan should clearly state that it was prepared for the
permitting agency, with permitting agency oversight, and it should
specify for each activity the respective lead and support responsibilities
of the permitting agency and facility.
As a general rule, you can use the facility for any support activity so
long as a representative of the permitting agency is present at all public
meetings, a permitting agency contact is named in all written
communications, and no outreach material is released without prior
approval of content and form by the permitting agency. In cases where
a facility representative makes a presentation at a meeting or media
conference, you should make it clear that you have requested them to
do so. Likewise, you should not allow the facility to respond to
questions or comments at public meetings except as you direct them to
do so. The public must see the permitting agency in control at
meetings that are part of the agency's public involvement effort.
Appendix 1 Page 4
-------
Example « When A
acility Conducted
Public Invovlement
Activities With the
Agency
EPA Region 7 and DOE
EPA Region 7 successfully delegated non-required public involvement
activities during RCRA corrective action at the U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) plant in Kansas City, Missouri, to the DOE and its
contractors. This enabled the Region to focus its own resources on the
public hearing effort, which owed much of its success to the prior DOE
work to inform the concerned public about the ongoing effort.
The public involvement team included Region 7's public involvement
coordinator, compliance officer, attorney, and technical contractor; and
the public affairs staff at Allied-Signal Aerospace Company, which
operates the plant under contract with DOE. Without exception, every
member of the team was in tune with the concept of providing the
public the best available information for informed decisions. Allied-
Signal's public affairs staff developed a draft Public Involvement Plan
under a RCRA consent order. Region 7 reviewed the draft plan and
approved it after Allied-Signal made requested revisions. The plan did
not address EPA's public involvement effort, but it specified the EPA-
approved activities that Allied-Signal would carry out for DOE during
the corrective action process. In other words, this was the facility's
public involvement program, developed under EPA's order and subject
to EPA's approval, but not directly a part of EPA's own program.
A primary goal of the Allied-Signal program was to inform the
community, plant employees, news media, and government officials of
the RCRA consent order and its five-year, $84 million plan to address
35 contaminated sites at the plant. Techniques included letters mailed
to thousands of nearby residents asking what information they wanted,
in-person interviews, video spots played for employees on TV monitors
throughout the plant, public meetings, an environmental newsletter,
and separate plant tours for environmental organizations, the news
media, government officials, and local homeowners associations. Allied
Signal's public affairs staff planned and carried out all of these activities
as specified in the plan.
Allied Signal's community relations efforts prompted the Kansas City
Star to note that DOE had come out from behind its traditional veil of
secrecy at the plant, which produces non-nuclear components for
nuclear weapons. The concerted effort to share environmental
information also won praise for EPA and DOE from local
environmentalists in The Star's news pages. In this case, the public
welcomed the outreach and did not raise questions about EPA
collusion with DOE, probably because Region 7 took no active role in
the program once it had reviewed and approved the plan.
Appendix 1
PageS
-------
Region 7 scheduled a formal public hearing on DOE's proposal to
clean up the first of the 35 subsites, a PCB-contaminated area that had
once run off into a creek leading to the nearby Blue River before the
creek was rerouted. Agency officials spent hours of preparation in
refining and practicing a slide show for this hearing. The slide show
was so succinct that local TV stations were able to show large parts of
it on their evening news broadcasts. Approximately 60 people attended
the hearing, yet only one person asked to make a statement for the
record. This was a well-known local environmentalist who stated that
EPA and DOE had selected exactly the right remedy, and that he
wholeheartedly supported the decision.
Appendix 1 Page 6
-------
Case Histories
Chemical
Manufacturer in the
Northeast
This case illustrates a situation in which EPA might have averted a
contentious permitting process by anticipating problems, educating the
public with regard to the other agencies involved in regulating the facility,
and focusing on resource problems/workload adjustments. Upon the
request of the involved facility, the company name has been withheld.
For ease of discussion, the facility shall be referred to by the fictitious
name, "ChemCo."
Background
The ChemCo facility has operated a chemical manufacturing facility
since 1958 in a highly populated, highly developed area along a highway
in the southern part of a New England state. The facility is located on
the banks of a river, which is the drinking water source for approxi-
mately 250,000 people in several cities across the state boundary to the
north of the facility. Consequently, public and news media interest in
the ChemCo facility extends across state boundaries.
The facility has had four chemical releases in the past few years and
was the subject of a five-day multi-media safety audit by EPA in 1989.
The most serious accident was in 1988, when a release of hydrochloric
acid vapor forced the evacuation of 2,400 residents of two cities for
several hours.
Regulatory Involvement
In 1985, the State issued a RCRA permit to the ChemCo facility for
the tank and drum storage of hazardous waste. The reapplication
process for this permit began in summer 1989. In July 1989, EPA
released for comment a draft corrective action permit that required the
facility to conduct a comprehensive environmental assessment of the
facility property through a RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI), set
cleanup levels, and propose cleanup methods. Immediately, the public
was confused over the difference between the two permits. The
facility also operates under four additional State and federal permits.
Appendix 2
Pagel
-------
Public Comment Period Begins
Two weeks before the release of the RCRA corrective action permit
for public comment, the water level along the river dropped, exposing a
bright blue stain (iron-cyanide) that extended for a quarter mile along
the western bank of the river. The stain was caused by the interaction
of metals in the soils with a cyanide compound that had apparently
been released into the ground from the ChemCo facility sometime in
the past. Local residents were initially able to piece the story together
sooner than EPA, which contributed to the public's lack of confidence
in EPA's ability to handle the situation. Investigations by the Agency
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry showed the health risks from
the compound to be extremely low. Nevertheless, the surrounding
communities expressed tremendous concern and fear over the
chemical's discovery. This incident heightened the public's health and
safety concerns, and fueled their frustration with both the regulatory
agencies and the company.
EPA held an information meeting two weeks before the public hearing
on the proposed RCRA permit issuance. This was the first time that
the public had been told of EPA's plans to issue the facility a permit
and community reaction was angry and contentious. Meeting
presentations were punctuated by angry shouts and screaming from the
attendees. Given recent events, they did not understand how EPA
could even consider giving the facility a "permit to pollute." People
drove in from many of the surrounding states in order to attend
meeting presentations.
Approximately 75 people attended the public hearing that was held in
August 1989. The same people who attended the information session
also attended the hearing. The meeting was highly charged. A number
of environmental groups were in attendance, one of which distributed
an information sheet containing questions for residents to raise at the
hearing. Both meetings generated significant press coverage. The
primary issue was anger over EPA's plans to issue a permit to a facility
that, in the public's opinion, was a major threat to the community. It
also became quite apparent during that period that the general public
was confusing the HSWA corrective action permit with the hazardous
waste storage permit due for reissuance by the State.
Thus, in addition to becoming a focal point for questions regarding the
iron-cyanide discovery and past releases, the public expected EPA to
field questions on regulatory issues apart from the RCRA permit.
Issues raised by the community included the extent to which the facility
was releasing emissions to the air; suspected violations of the NPDES
discharge standards; the adequacy of emergency planning procedures;
and possible safety threats to the surrounding community.
Appendix 2 Page 2
-------
Many community members commented on the need for more public
involvement, possibly in the form of an EPA-organized citizens' group.
EPA suggested that it was more appropriate for the citizens to form
such a group and the facility responded by inviting a number of people
-- primarily businessmen, teachers, health professionals, and public
officials -- to form a Citizens' Advisory Board. Some environmentalists
and others who were not a part of the Board formed their own group,
called the Citizens' Oversight Committee.
Elected officials at a number of levels pressured EPA not to issue the
permit. Despite the controversy, EPA went ahead with its plans and
issued the RCRA permit (which the company subsequently appealed)
in September 1989.
Community Relations Program is Initiated
Following the public hearing, EPA decided to initiate an intensive
community relations effort targeted at the two interest groups described
above (Citizens' Advisory Board and the Citizens' Oversight
Committee). EPA augmented its public involvement resources with
contractor support and began by identifying all of the agencies involved
at the site and their areas of responsibility. EPA then developed a fact
sheet and mailing list with those ten other government agencies
involved in some way with the regulation of the facility. The fact sheet
listed the names, affiliations, and telephone numbers for each of the
government agencies. After the fact sheet was distributed, EPA
conducted community assessment interviews with members of the two
interest groups, as well as with local and elected officials. The two
information repositories were reorganized so that the public would
better understand the regulatory structure under which the ChemCo
facility functions. EPA also established contacts with the news media
and began meeting with the two interest groups.
Two years later, both EPA and the State are in a much stronger
position with the community. Communication has been established,
information has been exchanged, and EPA, especially, has earned the
trust of both interest groups.
Analysis
Although EPA did issue the RCRA corrective action permit, the
permitting process was highly time-consuming, contentious, and
frustrating for all parties concerned. Probably the biggest problems
that EPA staff faced were: (1) sorting out the public's confusion over
the multiple entities involved in regulating the facility, (2) lingering
suspicions engendered by the Agency's failure to give the community
adequate advance notice regarding its intention to issue the permit, and
(3) a lack of understanding on the part of the community regarding
Appendix 2 Page 3
-------
what a corrective action permit is - that "permit" is a misnomer unless
it is used in the context of an overall facility permitting process.
In the end, EPA established and implemented an excellent public
involvement program for the facility. However, a lot of confusion and
aggravation might have been avoided if the program had been
established earlier in the process.
Some of the lessons that can be drawn from this experience include:
1. Anticipate rather than react. At the outset of the permitting or
corrective action process, you should conduct at least a "mini-
assessment" of the community(ies) affected by facility operations to
determine the likelihood that RCRA actions will stimulate interest or
outright opposition on the part of the public. See Chapter 2 of this
manual for a complete discussion of how to assess the level of public
interest in a site. In the case of this facility, key indicators of the
potential for heightened community concern were past activism around
a ChemCo "sister" facility, past activism around other Superfund sites in
the area, the facility's location in a densely populated urban area, and
the record of past releases to the environment and resultant news
media attention caused by those releases. You should always conduct
community assessment interviews for high profile facilities such as this
one.
If EPA had developed a better sense of the strength of community
concerns about the facility, it might have chosen to put more distance
between the public hearing and (a) the iron-cyanide release, and (b)
the beginning of the reapplication process for the state permit. In so
doing, EPA would have reduced the likelihood of the public hearing
becoming a "lightning rod" for these issues.
Finally, you should lay groundwork in the form of a few basic fact
sheets and information meetings well in advance of a public hearing.
Had EPA given the community at least a "heads up" that the permit
was coming, and educated them about the differences between
corrective action and ongoing facility operation, it is unlikely that EPA
and company officials would have been suspected of trying to sneak a
regulatory approval past the community.
In the case of this facility, there was strong opposition to approving the
permit from residents and environmental groups both close to and
outside of the facility community. Ultimately, EPA had to deal with
not one but two organized interest groups. In retrospect, EPA might
well have considered establishing some kind of community advisory
group to try to constructively channel and resolve ongoing community
concerns about the facility. By forming such a group early in the
process, you can conserve your own resources (time saved in meeting
with one large group rather than several smaller ones), and create a
Appendix 2 Page 4
-------
situation where the participating individuals and groups are more likely
to work jointly (with you and each other) than at cross purposes.
2. Educate the public on the various agencies involved in regulating a
facility. One of the first things that the EPA project manager did,
following the disastrous public hearing, was to determine which
agencies were involved in regulating the ChemCo facility and get that
information out to the public. Had this been done earlier in the
process, the public's confusion might have been minimized. Developing
a fact sheet at the very beginning of the process that provides
information on all of the regulatory activities relevant to a facility and
the community can be a very valuable public involvement building
block. Subsequent mailings from the various agencies might include a
box devoted to updating the community on other regulatory activities
associated with the facility. You might also consider including a
continuously updated timeline.
You should also give the involved agencies an opportunity to review
and comment on your technical schedules and public participation plan
(if you develop one). Prior to developing such a plan, be sure to find
out if other agencies are doing public involvement activities at the
facility, and see if you can coordinate activities to complement each
other.
EPA might also have decided to have state representatives available at
the information session to answer questions about state-regulated
activities and steer future questions from the public to the right people.
In the case of a public hearing, while all of the agency representatives
need not be in attendance, you should know the general status of other
projects and have a sheet of contact names and numbers available for
referral to interested members of the public.
3. Focus on resource problems/workload adjustments. EPA's job was
exacerbated by the fact that (a) the project manager had no support
from an Agency community relations specialist, and (b) given the
reputation of the facility in the community, EPA was reluctant to turn
over any responsibilities for community relations to the facility. What
did the EPA project manager do? He got contractor support.
If you assess the facility to be a high profile site, you need to
immediately think about how to maximize and possibly augment the
community relations resources available. If you are unable to get staff
assistance, you may be able to access a community relations contractor.
You also need to think about adjusting your workload to allow you to
devote additional time to public involvement activities. Recognize that
public involvement pressures are usually cyclical (i.e, correspond to
technical milestones). The more work that is done up front, the less
time you usually need to devote later on.
Appendix 2 Page 5
-------
The Ensco
Hazardous Waste
Management
Facility in Mobile,
Arizona
Also, although the company's standing in the community precluded the
EPA project manager from enlisting the company's help in the public
involvement effort, you can oftentimes ask a facility to contribute to
the public involvement program in a way that does not compromise the
credibility of the program. For example, you might have the facility do
the time-consuming work of pulling together information materials and
setting up meetings, but arrange to have the material go out under your
name or jointly. Be creative about working with the facilities. Help
them see that they are the ones who most directly benefit from the
fruits of a good public involvement program.
This case illustrates a facility permitting effort that would have benefitted
from the implementation of a concerted public involvement program early
on in the process. It also points to the value (in hindsight) of taking
advantage of what other EPA and state personnel have learned from
meeting with the community on similar permitting projects - in this case,
one that involved several proposed incinerators.
Background
In the late 1970s, the State of Arizona began the development of a
State Hazardous Waste Management Program. The Arizona
Department of Health Services (ADHS) developed preliminary
hazardous waste regulations and began to investigate possible locations
for siting a hazardous waste management facility. A "best site" was
identified in 1978 in Yuma County and a public meeting was held in
the county to advise the local residents of ADHS' tentative decision.
In response to intense local opposition, the State legislature became
involved in the issue.
The passage of the State's Hazardous Waste Siting Act in 1980 directed
ADHS to conduct a new siting study, including generation of another
list of potential sites. ADHS completed the analysis and developed a
draft report that was the subject of three public hearings. A total of
368 people attended the hearings; 53 people testified; and 200 pieces
of written testimony were submitted. The 1981 report narrowed the
search down from eleven sites to three. The report also made two
significant recommendations: (1) that the facility be owned by the
State (to provide for perpetual management) and be operated by a
private entity under contract; and (2) that a "full and open debate" be
solicited on allowing the facility to accept (import) waste from other
states. This second recommendation was based on projections related
to the relatively low volumes of hazardous waste that would be
generated in Arizona during the early years of the facility's operations,
and the consequent projected high costs for disposal during those years.
By importing waste from other states, the operating costs would be
significantly reduced.
Appendix 2
Page 6
-------
In response to the draft report, legislative hearings were conducted
and, within a relatively short period of time, the Legislature chose the
Rainbow Valley site (near the town of Mobile) for the facility. This
action was codified into law in February 1981 by Governor Bruce
Babbitt.
The Arizona legislature also directed ADHS to acquire title to the one-
square mile site for facility development. ADHS took steps in 1981 to
begin acquiring federal land from the Bureau of Land Management for
the facility and prepared an Environmental Impact Statement on sale
of land to Arizona for purposes of constructing a hazardous waste
treatment, incineration, and landfill facility. The League of Women
Voters was selected to initiate the EIS scoping process and two days of
meetings were held in Mobile and Phoenix in February 1982.
Approximately 60 people and 45 people, respectively, participated in
the meetings.
In updates to the State legislature that year, ADHS further discussed
issues relating to waste importation. ADHS conducted one public
meeting and two public hearings on the draft EIS in February and
March 1983. Substantial comments were received, including written
comments from 31 individuals and organizations and oral comments
from 6 people. One of the issues addressed in the EIS was the
potential impacts from interstate shipment of PCB and other organic
wastes to the facility. All of the comments were addressed in the final
EIS, which was issued in July 1983. BLM developed a proposed
decision on the sale of the land to ADHS and initiated public notice in
September 1983. A group calling itself Concerned Citizens of Rainbow
Valley collected approximately 1,185 signatures in opposition to the
Mobile site. Despite the petitions, BLM proceeded with its plans to
transfer ownership of the land to the State. The plan to require
private financing of the proposed facility was included in an
amendment to the State Hazardous Waste Siting Act in 1983.
ENSCO was the company chosen for the job of financing, designing,
constructing, and operating the facility, following a competitive bidding
process. During that same time, ADHS conducted a survey of the
Rainbow Valley residents to enable the State to understand the precise
nature and strength of community concerns. According to State offi-
cials, the results were mixed. Although the survey results revealed
opposition to the project, area residents welcomed the anticipated new
jobs that the project would create, and were reassured by the existence
of a buffer zone planned for the site.
The State assumed legal ownership of the Rainbow Valley property in
1984. In January 1986, the State signed a contract with ENSCO that
provided for a "full service facility" with storage and treatment units
(including incineration), and land disposal. In that same year, ADHS
Appendix 2 Page 7
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approved ENSCO's updated business plan that included phased
construction of at least two incinerators.
In July of 1987, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
(ADEQ) was extracted from ADHS as an independent agency. In
August, ENSCO submitted a revised plan to expand the landfill and
add a third incinerator; the plan was partially approved by ADEQ. The
EIS was not revised subsequent to this change. However, a
transportation risk assessment study was completed, which discussed the
risks associated with waste importation to the site.
ENSCO was required to get a number of permits pursuant to its
contract with the State, including an ADEQ-issued Air Quality
Installation Permit for the three incinerators; a State-issued Solid
Waste Approval permit; a State-issued Groundwater Protection Permit;
and a federal PCB incineration permit. At the time that the State
permits were issued, ADEQ had no regulatory authority to hold public
hearings on the proposed air quality permits. In February 1988 ADEQ
did hold a public hearing in Mobile on the proposed Groundwater
Protection permit. According to State officials, the meeting did not
reveal any major opposition to the Project at this point. By 1989
ADEQ had approved all of the State permits and minor construction
activities began on the site. Development of additional permit
applications was in progress.
In April 1990 ADEQ announced its plans to hold a joint ADEQ/EPA
public hearing on additional RCRA permit applications needed to
install and test the incinerators. The hearing date was scheduled for
May 7, 1990 in Mobile.
EPA had just recently held a RCRA hearing on an incinerator in
Southern California that became very unruly, and so contacted the
State to offer advice about meeting preparations for the ENSCO
facility. Members of Greenpeace, one of the primary activist groups
participating in the California hearing process, had actually picketed
EPA's regional office in San Francisco. At the California hearing,
attendees blew whistles and overturned tables and chairs.
In fact, in the weeks prior to the May hearing, local Arizona news
media were reporting that Greenpeace organizers had been talking
with area environmental groups. In late-April, Greenpeace members
staged two major protests: one an ongoing vigil on the Capitol Mall in
Phoenix; the other a one-day protest on the facility site, where
Greenpeace members chained themselves to trucks and hung a banner
on a building. It was rumored that public opposition to the facility
siting process was gaining tremendous momentum.
ADEQ officials did not accept EPA's offer to help in the meeting
planning arrangements, but they did increase the number of chairs both
Appendix 2 Page 8
-------
in and outside of the meeting facility and set up speakers on the lawn
to enable an overflow crowd to hear the proceedings from outside.
Despite these preparations, ADEQ was wholly unprepared for what
happened at the meeting.
The room was far too small for the 300 people who came, and most
people were forced to remain outside. Greenpeace organizers and
other environmentalists were present in large numbers. Members of
the crowd became extremely agitated and the situation quickly got out
of control. The agitation of the crowd was evident by the pushing,
shoving, and screams from both inside and outside. The meeting was
punctuated by shouting and yelling, and the pounding of fists on the
windowglass outside. ADEQ officials feared that the windows would
soon shatter. The police overreacted, and violence erupted. The
situation deteriorated to the point that the Sheriffs Department used
stun guns on angry community members and environmental organizers.
Following the stun-gunning and arrests of twelve people, the State
decided to continue with the meeting, rather than shutting it down and
rescheduling. The meeting went well past midnight. Following the
meeting, people from both ADEQ and Greenpeace received death
threats.
The Governor's office stepped in after the meeting and proposed to
extend the public comment period through November 1990 and
conduct additional meetings. In June, a two-day public hearing was
held in Phoenix and a one-day hearing was held in Tucson. These
meetings were held in very large rooms (5,000 + capacity) and involved
heavy security and detailed contingency plans. The State and EPA
collaborated on the meetings, which emphasized low-profile security,
adequate meeting space, and involvement of a neutral party as
facilitator. While still very close to becoming unruly, these meetings
were more successful in allowing the community to voice its opinions
about the ENSCO facility. Nevertheless, the meetings were hampered
by participation by individuals who seemed more intent on disrupting
the proceedings than in listening to the information that the agencies
had to offer.
Also in June, ENSCO voluntarily ceased work at the site and began
conducting a media campaign regarding the facility. Prior to this time,
ENSCO had issued brochures and other informational material about
the facility and, in 1988, the company had conducted a tour of the
facility for a delegation from the State legislature. According to State
officials, further efforts were not deemed necessary, given the relatively
low level of community concern that had been evidenced prior to 1990.
ADEQ received approximately 1,700 public comments during that
public comment period, covering approximately 200 subject areas. The
concerns covered a range of issues, with strong opposition to
Appendix 2 Page 9
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importation of hazardous wastes, and the charge that the State and
ENSCO were in collusion to keep the real details of the project hidden
from the public. The EIS was said to be wholly inadequate, as well.
There was a change in governorship in 1991, and Fife Symington (the
new governor) directed ADEQ to look into the feasibility of buying out
ENSCO. This is because the State recognized that the ENSCO project
could not possibly go forward if waste importation was part of the deal;
however, the Agency was bound to allow importation by the terms of
its contract with ENSCO. The State's only options were to either buy
ENSCO out of the company's part of the contract, or risk losing an
estimated $150 million lawsuit filed against the State by ENSCO. In
May 1991 Symington announced that the State would buy out ENSCO
for $44 million. Governor Symington declared that ENSCO had agreed
to completely shut down the facility and that the project was
"mothballed" and that all ADEQ permitting efforts had been
suspended. At this time, it's not clear how the Project will proceed.
ADEQ still needs hazardous waste capacity, but the political climate
that resulted from the recent chain of events makes any course of
action difficult to pursue at this time.
Analysis
The RCRA public involvement requirements are much less stringent
than are those of Superfund. No actual public involvement activities
are required until the point that the draft permits are set to go out for
public comment. Thus, if you follow the letter of the requirements,
you risk being surprised, as was the state, when vehement opposition to
your project develops ~ seemingly out of nowhere. Some of the
lessons learned out of this case include the need to:
1. Reevaluate the politics of your project on a continuous basis. Be
prepared to adjust your public involvement program at any point to
best suit the needs of both you and your public. In hindsight, ADEQ
should have put off the hearing for a few months and used the time to
go out and meet with the various factions that had developed within
and outside of the community. A public hearing is the last place where
you want to learn in this case for the first time who is your
concerned public and what they think about the project. This is
especially the case when you suspect the public hearing may be used as
an opportunity for media attention on the part of some members of the
public.
As the technical process develops, you need to be continuously
analyzing and trying to understand the public's information needs,
issues, and "stakes" in the process. Meet with residents and community
groups prior to major meetings -- in small groups if possible, or in a
series of information sessions. Continue to meet until you understand
Appendix 2 Page 10
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the community's point of view and the strength and depth of
community concern and/or opposition.
2. Consider the operation you are permitting in the broader context.
In fact, opposition to incineration had become a highly controversial
issue by the late '80s. ADEQ's experience in Mobile and EPA's
experience in Southern California were just the tip of the iceberg of an
emerging local and national activism that groups like Greenpeace were
spearheading.
Take advantage of what others know: use your professional network.
You cannot get too much help and advice from others who have been
through a similar situation, when it comes to dealing with the public on
environmental issues. Although there is no guarantee that closer
collaboration with EPA would have resulted in a public hearing that
did not help to derail the permitting process, it is highly likely that the
hearing would have been a lot less contentious and inflammatory had
ADEQ taken EPA's advice about room size and strategies.
3. Institute a two-way public involvement program. Although the
concept of providing for more give and take in the outreach process is
beginning to be embraced in the corporate PR philosophy, the
environmental public involvement programs are significantly different
from classic PR campaigns. While environmental public involvement is
designed to provide for two-way communication between the agencies
and the public, public relations campaigns are primarily about one-way
communication to sell a project or a service. Whether you are an
agency responsible for the public involvement program, or you have
delegated that responsibility to the facility, it is crucial that this
distinction be made and that a genuine public involvement program be
established.
While it is appropriate - oftentimes necessary - to have the facility
handle a large part of the public involvement responsibilities, you as
the permitting agency must be in contact with the affected community
in order to establish a relationship that will not only withstand the
involvement of outside interests, but will result in a project that is
mutually acceptable to you, the facility, and the community.
In the ENSCO case, some kind of regular communication process
should have been established with the Rainbow Valley residents from
the day the petition was submitted. Mailing lists should have been
developed from previous public meetings and hearings, and notes made
of the groups that were testifying in front of the State legislature in
earlier years. Given the magnitude of the project, the signs of public
discontent (albeit sporadic) and the political controversy surrounding
incineration projects nationwide, a dynamic, two-way public
involvement program should have been established that signalled a
recognition on the part of ADEQ of the project's sensitivity.
Appendix 2 Page 11
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Appendix 2 Pa*e l2
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^Appendix 3
Public Involvement Resources
There are a variety of resources available to help you plan and conduct
RCRA public involvement activities. Below are a few of the things
available to you.
Your RCRA Public
Involvement
Coordinator
CRA Public
Involvement
Reference Catalog
RCRA Storyboards
Fact Sheet
Templates
Many EPA Regions and State agencies have a staff person dedicated to
RCRA public involvement. The person is often called the RCRA
Public Involvement Coordinator (PIC) and is usually a member of your
agency's public affairs staff. The PIC can help you plan and conduct
public involvement activities. A coordinator also serves as a liaison
between the public and permit writers, enforcement personnel (both
EPA and state), facility owners/operators, and other appropriate
individuals or groups.
This three-volume document contains hundreds of sample public
involvement materials as well as valuable information on a variety of
hazardous and solid waste issues. Each EPA Regional headquarters
office has a copy of this document. Contact the EPA Regional Public
Involvement Coordinator or Public Affairs Office in your EPA Region
if you would like to use the catalog.
EPA has created numerous freestanding, laminated storyboards for
each EPA Region to illustrate important RCRA-related issues, such as
the permitting process. These storyboards are excellent for
openhouses, workshops, public meetings, and the like. Contact the
EPA Regional Public Involvement Coordinator or Public Affairs Office
in your EPA Region if you would like to use the storyboards.
Your EPA Region may have fact sheet templates. Templates are
"skeletons" of a fact sheet in a computerized graphic format. The
templates include standard RCRA information (e.g., an explanation of
the steps in the corrective action process) but leave room for you to
drop in facility-specific information. These templates allow you to
produce a polished fact sheet without rewriting or designing. Contact
the EPA Regional Public Involvement Coordinator or Public Affairs
Office in your EPA Region if you would like to use the templates.
Appendix 3
Page 1
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Training and Other
Videos
Facilities
Contractors
Some EPA Regions have instructional videotapes on RCRA public
involvement and other relevant topics, such as risk communication.
Ask your EPA Regional Public Involvement Coordinator or Public
Affairs staff if they have access to instructional videos.
Even though it is essential to clarify that oversight of public
involvement activities is the sole responsibility of the permitting agency,
facility owners and operators are a valuable resource available to you in
implementing your public involvement strategy. Public education
activities may be initiated by owner/operators and should be
encouraged, particularly when resources are limited. 'The more public
outreach the facility conducts, the more time you will have to devote to
other public involvement activities at that facility or another one. See
Appendix 1 for more information on influencing facilities to conduct
public involvement activities.
There may be contractors working for your Region who can conduct
some of the more time-consuming activities, such as conducting
community interviews, coordinating logistics for public meetings, and
preparing routine fact sheets. You also may want help from graphic
designers, typesetters, public affairs and management personnel, and
support staff. You should contact your contract officer for advice on
getting contractor support for your public involvement needs.
4
Appendix 3
Page 2
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Appendix 4
Modifying RCRA Permits
-------
-------
sxEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(OS-305)
EPA 530-SW-89-050
Seoiemtjer 1939
Modifying
RCRA Permits
Introduction
The Resource Conservation and Recov-
ery Act (RCRA) requires each hazardous
waste treatment, storage, and disposal fa-
cility to manage hazardous waste in accor-
dance with a permit issued by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
or a state agency that has a hazardous
waste program approved by EPA. A
RCRA permit establishes the facility's op-
erating conditions fur managing hazardous
waste. EPA and state agencies use the per-
mit to specify the administrative and tech-
nical standards for each facility. Over
however, the facility needs to modify
it to improve equipment or make
nges in response to new standards.
lizing this. EPA established pro-
cedures early in the program for modifying
permits. The Agency has now revised
these procedures to provide more flex-
ibility to both owners and operators of fa-
cilities and EPA and to increase public
involvement. This brochure briefly de-
scribes EPA's new procedures for modify-
ing RCRA permits.
These procedures are effective- now in
states where EPA administers the RCRA
program. However, authorized states will
not use these procedures until they have
adopted them as pan of their own
programs.
The Old Process
Acknowledging that a permit would
need to be modified for various reasons
during its life, EPA established in 1980 a
process for modifying them. The process
included different procedures for major
and minor modifications. A minor permit
modification allowed a limited number
of minor changes to occur, after EPA
reviewed and approved the modification
request. There was no requirement for
public notice and comment.
For major modifications, EPA would fol-
low procedures that were almost the same
as those for issuing an initial permit.
These procedures included developing a
draft permit modification, announcing in a
local newspaper and on the radio the avail-
ability of the proposed modification,
'providing a 45-day public comment
period,-and, if requested, holding a public
hearing. Public participation was limited
to the specific permit conditions being
modified.
A Need for Change
The old permit modification process was
becoming increasingly unwieldy. It was
impeding the ability of treatment, storage.
and disposal facilities to respond quickly
to improvements in technology and shifts
in the types of wastes being generated.
This made the routine changes necessary
for effective operations more difficult to
accomplish. Furthermore, the procedures
often did not involve the public early
enough in the modification process.
In response to these concerns. EPA de-
veloped new procedures with help from
representatives from states and industrial,
environmental, and public interest groups.
The new process provides more flexibility
for facilities to respond to changing con-
ditions, clean up waste, and generally
improve their waste management opera-
tions. In addition, the new procedures al-
low for more public involvement by
expanding public notification and par-
ticipation opportunities.
The Congress, in an effort to address the nation's growing concern about its hazardous and solid waste problem,
enacted the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984
greatly expanded RCRA and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) authority to regulate these wastes.
As a result. EPA is developing regulations and programs to reduce, recycle, and treat wastes; restrict land disposal;
and require corrective action for releases of hazardous wastes, or their constituents, into the environment. EPA's
Office of Solid Waste, through its publications, aims to foster public understanding and encourage citizen involvement
in helping to manage the nation's waste problem.
Appendix 4
Pagel
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The New Process
The new process establishes three
classes of permit modifications and sets
administrative procedures for approving
modifications in each class.
Class One addresses routine and admin-
istrative changes. Lowest range of permit
modifications.
Class Two primarily addresses improve-
ments in technology and management
techniques. Middle range of
modifications.
Class Three deals with major changes to
a facility and its operations. Highest
range of modifications.
Class One Modifications
Class One modifications do not substan-
tially alter the conditions in the permit or
reduce the facilit\'s ability to protect
human health and the environment. Such
changes may include
Improving administrative and routine
functions.
Upgrading plans and records maintained
by the facility.
Replacing some equipment with func-
tionally equivalent equipment.
Most Class One changes do not require
approval by the authorized permitting
agency either EPA or a state before
they are implemented. There are several
types of changes, however, that may
require such approval. EPA may deny
any Class One modification.
Notifying the Public. Within 90 days
of implementing a change, a facility mak-
ing a Class One modification must notify
the public by sending a notice to all panics
on its mailing list. This mailing list in-
cludes people and organizations who have
asked to be notified of the facility's ac-
tivities. The list is maintained by the per-
mitting agency. Citizens may be added to
the mailing list by sending a wntten re-
quest to the agency. Any member of the
public may ask EPA to review a Class One
modification.
Class Two Modifications
Class Two modifications include those
changes that enable a facility to respond to
variations in the types and quantities of
wastes that it manages, technological
advancements, and new regulatory re-
quirements. Class Two changes do not
substantially alter the facility's design or
the management practices prescribed by
the permit. They do not reduceand in
most cases should enhancethe facility's
ability to protect human health and the en-
vironment. Under some circumstances, the
permitting agency may determine that the
modification request should follow the
more restrictive Class Three procedures.
Class Two modifications address
changes like
Increases of 25 percent or less in a facil-
ity's tank treatment or storage capacity.
Authorization to treat or store new
wastes that do not require different man-
agement practices.
Modifications to improve the design of
regulated units or improve management
practices.
The new procedures require the facility
to submit a request for approval of the
change to the permitting agency. The re-
quest describes the change, explains why
it is needed, and provides information
showing that the change complies with
EPA's technical standards for the facility.
For Gass Two modifications, a facility
may begin construction 60 days after sub-
mitting a request, although the permitting
agency may delay all or part of the con-
struction.
Involving the Public. The permit '
holder must notify people and organiza-
tions on the facility mailing list about the
modification request by sending them a let-
ter and publishing a notice in a major local
newspaper. The notice must appear within
seven days before or after the facility sub-
mits the request to the permitting agency.
The newspaper notice marks the beginning
of a 60-day comment period and an-
nounces the time and place of an informal
public meeting.
This public comment period is an op-
portunity for the public to review the facil-
ity's permit modification plans at the same
time as the permitting agencyearly in
the process. All written comments submit-
ted during the 60-day comment period will
be considered by the agency before a final
decision is made on the modification
request.
The public meeting is conducted by the
permittee and is held no fewer than 15
days after the start of the comment period
and no less than 15 days before it ends.
The purpose of this meeting is to [
for an exchange of views between the ]
Ik and the facility's owner or operator and,
if possible, to resolve any issues concern-
ing the permit modification. The meeting
is less formal than the public hearings held
when a new RCRA permit is under devel-
opment. Because the meeting is intended
to be a dialogue between the facility owner
or operator and its neighbors, the permit-
ting agency is not required to attend the
meeting. EPA believes that the meeting
will result in more public comments being
submitted to the agency and, perhaps, vol-
untary revisions to the permittee's modi-
fication request.
To inform citizens about how the facility
has met the conditions of the permit, the
permitting agency must make the facility's
compliance history available to the public.
A compliance history may include a sum-
mary of any permit violations, when
Appendix 4
Page 2
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ations have occurred, and how the vio-
lations have been corrected.
Default Provision. The procedures for
Class Two modifications include a default
provision to ensure that the permitting
agency responds promptly to the facility's
request. The agency must respond to a re-
quest within 90 days or, if the agency calls
for an extension. 120 days. If the agency
does not reach a final decision on the re-
quest within 120 days, the facility is auto-
matically allowed to conduct the requested
activities for 180 days. During this period.
the facility must comply with all federal
and state regulations governing hazardous
waste facilities. If the permitting agency
still has not acted by day 250. the facility
then must let the public know that the fa-
cility will become permanently authorized
to conduct the proposed activities unless
the agency approves or denies the request
by day 300. At any time dunng the Class
Two procedures, the agency may reclassify
the request as Class Three if there is sig-
nificant public concern or if the permitting
determines that the facility's pro-
is too complex for the Class Two
es. This reciassification would re-
move the possibility of an automatic deci-
sion by default.
Class Two Modification Schedule
Day 1 Modification request re-
ceived by agency. News-
paper notice published and
mailing list notified.
Days 15-45 Informal public meeting
held.
Day 60 Written public comments
due to agency.
Day 90 Agency response to Class
Two modification request
due. Deadline may be ex-
tended 30 days.
Day 120 If no response, requested
activity may begin for 180
days.
Day 250 If still no response, public
notified.
Day 300 If still no response, activity
permanently authorized.
Class Three Modifications
Class Three modifications address
changes that substantially alter a facility en-
its operation. For example, the following
modification requests fall under Class
Three:
Requests to manage new wastes that re-
quire different management practices.
Major changes to landfill, surface im-
poundment, and waste pile liner, leach-
ate collection, and detection systems.
Increases in tank, container, or incinera-
tor capacity of more than 25 percent.
Major changes to the facility's ground-
water monitoring program.
Involving the Public. For Class Three
modifications, the facility must initially
follow the same public notice, comment,
and meeting procedures as for Class Two
modifications. This allows for early public
review and comment on proposed changes.
Then the permitting agency must prepare a
draft permit modification, allow 45 days
for public comment on the draft, hold a
public hearing if requested, and then issue
or deny the permit modification-request.
Public Involvement Steps for
Class Three Modifications:
The facility representative
Requests a modification of the permit to
the permitting agency.
Notifies the public.
Holds a public meeting.
The permitting agency
Allows 60 days for public comment on
the modification request.
Prepares draft permit modification
conditions.
Notifies the public of the agency's draft
permit conditions.
Allows 45 days for public comment on
permit conditions.
Holds a public hearing, if requested.
Issues or denies the revised permit
conditions.
Temporary Authorization
For certain Class Two or Three modi-
fications, the permitting agency may grant
a facility temporary authorization to per-
form certain activities for up to 180 days.
For example, temporary authorizations
may be granted to ensure that cleanups, or
corrective actions, and closure activities
can be undertaken quickly and that sudden
changes in operations not covered under a
facility's permit can be addressed
promptly. Activities performed under a
temporal y authorization must comply with
the applicable waste management regula-
tions. The facility must notify the public
within seven days of making the request.
The permitting agency may grant a. tempo-
rary authorization without notifying the.
public. A facility may renew a temporary
authorization only by requesting a permit
modification and initiating public
participation.
Administering Permit
Modifications
These procedures are effective now in
states where EPA administers the RCRA
program. States with hazardous waste pro-
grams equivalent to, or more stringent
than, the federal program may be autho-
rized by EPA to administer RCRA haz-
ardous waste programs. Authorized states
Appendix 4
Page 3
-------
are not required to adopt this new permit
modification process, although it is ex-
pected that many of them will. Therefore,
for state-administered RCRA permits, the
state agency may use different modifica-
tion procedures until it adopts the new
modification approach. However. EPA may
use these new procedures in authorized
states whenever it is necessary to change a
RCRA permit to implement provisions im-
posed by federal law. EPA regional offices.
listed below, maintain up-to-date informa-
tion about which states are following this
and other hazardous waste programs.
Getting Involved
EPA encourages community involve-
ment in the permitting and permit modi-
fication processes. The revised permit
modification procedures expand oppor-
tunities for the public to be notified and to
participate. The procedures also allow for
the expeditious approval of requests when
there is no apparent public concern about
proposed changes.
Citizen Involvement Steps
Contact your EPA regional office or state
agency to identify the permitting agency.
Write the permitting agency and request
to be put on the mailing list to receive
notices of permit modification requests.
Review modification requests.
State your support for, or objection to.
the requested modifications during the
public comment period by providing
written comments.
1 Participate in the public meetings. The:
informal meetings allow facility repre-'
sentatives to explain their permit modi-
fication requests and answer your
questions.
For a copy of the new regulations gov-
erning the permit modification process and
more information on the new permit modi-
fication process or other RCRA programs,
call EPA's RCRA Hotline: 800-424-9346:
in Washington, D.C., the number is
382-3000. Or contact EPA Regional
Offices:
ffWQIOfl I
JFK Federal Building
Boston, MA 02203
(617) 573-9644
Region!
26 Federal Plaza
NewYork.NY1O278
(212)264-8682
Region HI
841 Chettnut Building
Philadelphia. PA 19107
(215)897-7940
Region IV
345 Courtland Street N.E.
Atlanta. GA 30365
(404) 347-3433
Region V
230 S. Dearborn Street
13th Floor (HR-11)
Chicago, IL 60604
(312) 353-0398
Region VI
First International Bldg.
1445 Ross Avenue
Dallas. TX 75202
(214)655-6785
Region VH
726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City.KS 68101
(913) 236-2888
Region VIII
99918th Street
One Denver PL. Suite 13OO
Denver, CO 80202-2413
(303) 293-1676
Region IX
215 Fremont Street
San Francisco. CA 94105
(415) 974-8026
Region X
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle. WA 98101
(206)442-1099
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Solid Waste
Washington. DC 20460
i
Appendix 4
Page 4
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Appendix 5
Draft Strategy for the Combustion of
Hazardous Waste
-------
United States Communications. Education,
Environmental Protection And Public Affairs
Agency (A-107)
SEfft Environmental News
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, MAY 18, 1993
EPA ADMINISTRATOR BROWNER ANNOUNCES NEW HAZARDOUS
WASTE REDUCTION AND COMBUSTION STRATEGY
Robin Woods 202-260-4377
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol M.
Browner today announced new steps to protect public health and
the environment by reducing the amount of hazardous waste
produced in this country and strengthening federal controls
governing hazardous waste incinerators and industrial furnaces.
"Beginning today," said Browner, "we are changing our
approach to hazardous waste management in this country, to ensure
maximum protection to the public. I am directing EPA's regional
offices to immediately give their highest priority over the next
18 months to bringing existing facilities under rigorous permit
controls. This will have the general effect of a temporary
capacity freeze as we reexamine our national waste strategy."
Administrator Browner said she is also taking a series of
immediate additional actions to permanently enhance the hazardous
waste prevention and combustion programs:
conducting a major overhaul of federal rules
governing waste combustion;
starting today, requiring full risk assessments,
including those for indirect exposure, in all new permits to
ensure that they are based on the best scientific evidence;
immediately requiring new permits to include an
appropriate dioxin emission standard;
immediately requiring new permits to include an
appropriate, more stringent control for metals;
calling for hazardous waste producers to commit to
waste reduction programs;
R-114 (more)
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calling for a national review of the relative roles
of waste combustion and waste reduction in hazardous waste
management; and,
calling for greater public involvement opportunities.
"I believe today's actions are a significant step toward
enhancing the safety of disposal operations for industrial
wastes, but even more importantly, they move us closer to my goal
of reducing hazardous waste," said Browner. "The Clinton
Administration is committed to using every tool available under
the law to make changes that will result in the safety of
hazardous waste disposal.
"My highest priority is the prevention of pollution at its
source, before it is ever created," said Browner. "Hazardous
waste reduction represents the future of waste control in this
country as well as the future in safeguarding the health of our
citizens.
Hazardous waste producers must commit to waste reduction
programs using guidelines issued today. These guidelines specify
necessary elements for these programs and are the first-ever
hazardous waste reduction guidelines EPA has ever published.
Under the federal hazardous waste law, the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA), hazardous waste producers have been
required since 1984 to have waste reduction programs in place,
but no specific guidance has been issued to define those programs
until today.
Nearly five million tons of hazardous wastes, equal to the
amount which could be carried in enough 6,000 gallon tank trucks
to cover 2400 miles, end-to-end, from Washington, D.C. to Los
Angeles, are burned each year in 184 incinerators and 171
industrial furnaces, including 34 cement kilns. About half of
the five million tons are burned each year at 15 large commercial
incinerators and the 34 cement kilns, which also take commercial
wastes. The remaining incinerators and industrial furnaces are
"on-site" facilities, permitted for non-commercial use only.
"It has been 12 years since the federal rules governing the
safety of hazardous waste incinerators have been reviewed or
strengthened," said Browner. "Today we are taking significant
interim steps to vastly improve permits, as well as conducting a
complete review of the incinerator standards and the more recent
industrial furnace rules to reflect changes in advanced pollution
control technologies."
R-114 (more)
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Until new rules are published, EPA will continue to use its
general "omnibus" permitting authority to require new controls
and risk assessments in each new permit when necessary to protect
the public or the environment.
Browner emphasized the important role of the public in the
permitting process: "I will provide for increased public
participation opportunities in the permitting process, such as
during test burns, to help local citizens assure themselves that
facilities in their neighborhoods are operated safely."
Browner also will convene a task force of EPA and state
officials to undertake a broad evaluation of the role of
hazardous waste combustion in the nation's management of
hazardous waste, specifically to include waste reduction.
Currently, federal rules do not routinely require full risk
assessments or the new emission controls. For dioxin, federal
rules now generally only require that hazardous waste be burned
to a percentage destruction of dioxin. The use of risk assess-
ments, including those on indirect exposure, along with the
addition of an appropriate emission limit for dioxin in new
permits, will provide a greater measure of certainty that dioxin
does not present an unacceptable risk.
Browner also today tightened the controls for particulate
matter (pm) in new permits, used to control metals emissions.
The new, more stringent, standard is based on the availability of
advanced technology.
Over the next 18 months, as a result of Browner's new
directive, EPA's regional offices will work with the states to
begin bringing incinerators and industrial furnaces under full
permit controls. This will include all of the 171 industrial
furnaces, including over 30 cement kilns.
Browner's directive to fully permit existing capacity prior
to considering additional capacity is based on EPA data indica-
ting that, at this time, there is approximately 2.7 million tons
of commercial combustion capacity available. Of this, approxi-
mately 55 percent of the liquids combustion capacity is being
utilized while nearly 90 percent of the solids combustion
capacity is being utilized.
R-114 # # #
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STATEMENT BY CAROL M. BROWNER
EPA ADMINISTRATOR
America today disposes of nearly five million ton* of
hazardous vast* by burning than in 184 incinerators and 171
industrial furnaces, including 34 cement kilns. This volume is
the equivalent of full tanX trucks stretched nose to tail from
Washington O.C. to Los Angeles. How we safely dispose of this
great quantity of waste is an issue that affects the health and
safety of all Americans.
Today, I am taking steps designed to immediately strengthen
the environmental safeguards for hazardous waste incinerators and
industrial furnaces while at the same time taking steps that
move us in the direction of the real solution to the problem, which
is simply reducing the amount of waste we produce. The Clinton
Administration will use every tool under the lav to <.*sura real
change for the safest possible hazardous waste disposal.
Until the late 1970s, much waste was disposed of on the
ground, leading to hazardous waste sites. Recent efforts under the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act have sought to discourage
land disposal, and as a result, the amount of wastes being burned
has steadily increased. Now it is time to review the overall
strategy.
Among my highest priorities at EPA is the development of
policies that prevent pollution at its source, before it is ever
created. No system of disposal, no matter how safe or well
regulated, can be as environmentally effective as. minimizing the
amount of wastes presently generated. The reduction of such wastes
in our commercial enterprises represents the future of hazardous
waste control, as well as the future of safeguarding the health of
our citizens and assuring the protection of our environment.
To begin this process, I would first like to announce today
that I am issuing guidelines for waste reduction programs that
generators of hazardous waste must develop in order to meet their
responsibilities under the current law governing hazardous waste,
the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
These guidelines are important because I will be making public
the list of generators required to certify that they have such
programs, and I will ask these generators to make the details of
their programs publicly available.
In addition, I em taking action today to immediately
strengthen our program for the regulation of incinerators and
industrial furnaces that burn hazardous wastes
Beginning today, EPA will make its chief permitting priority
over the next 18 months bringing already-operating hazardous waste
incinerators and industrial furnaces under permit controls. X
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believe that we must devote our resources to ensuring the safest
operation of existing facilities. This means that overdue nextli
months we will give low priority to processing requests for new
capacity. This will have the general effect of temporarily
freezing capacity at existing levels.
Second, we will use our existing permitting authorities to
include in final permits for incinerators and industrial furnaces,
for the first time, dioxin emission standards, where necessary to
protect human health or the environment. Currently, the federal
rules generally only require that hazardous wastes must be burned
to a certain percentage destruction level for dioxin. The addition
of an emission standard provides a greater measure of certainty
that the actual emissions will present no unacceptable risks to
human health or the environment.
Third, under the same permitting authorities, we will,
starting today, be adding to new permits more stringent controls
for particulate matter, which controls metals. Currently, federal
rules require an older, less stringent standard for particulate
matter.
Fourth, we will be requiring that any issuance of a new
hazardous waste combustion permit be preceded by a complete risk
assessment. Currently, such risk assessments are not required.
This will assure that our permitting decisions incorporate the best
possible scientific basis.
Fifth, we will ensure that the issuance of hazardous waste
combustion permits be preceded by better and more timely public
participation. Currently, the public does not have the right to
participate in some significant aspects of permitting decisions,
such as a test burn. This will provide local citizens with the
opportunity to assure themselves that facilities in their
neighborhoods be operated safely.
All of these new guidelines will be applied not only to
existing facilities awaiting final permits, but, in time, to all
existing facilities as their permits come due for renewal.
Finally, I will be convening a task force of EPA and state
officials to undertake a broad evaluation of the role of hazardous
waste combustion in our national hazardous waste management
strategy. And I am asking that their evaluation and recommenda-
tions specifically include methods for promoting waste reduction.
I believe today's actions are a significant stride toward
strengthening our controls on hazardous waste incinerators and
industrial furnaces and, more importantly, they move us closer to
the ultimate goal of generally reducing th« amount of hazardous
waste we generate.
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Environmental Fact Sheet
Source Reduction and Combustion
of Hazardous Waste
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a directive to its Regional Offices outlining the
importance of source reduction and a series of protective actions to be taken during the permitting of
hazardous waste incinerators and boilers and industrial furnaces (BIFs). In addition, EPA is issuing
guidance on the elements that should be included in a generator's waste minimization program in
order to properly certify that the generator has a waste minimization program in place. Finally, EPA
is issuing a draft strategy as the starting point for a broad and open evaluation of how source
reduction and waste combustion must be integrated in the nation's hazardous waste management
strategy.
Overview of the Combustion Debate
The role that combustion plays in hazardous waste management has
changed dramatically over the last decade and a half. Early on, disposal of
hazardous waste primarily involved putting wastes into landfills and surface
impoundments. As we reached the mid-1980's, there arose a widespread
recognition that land-based disposal practices were continuing to present long term
pollution problems, particularly with respect to contamination of the nation's ground
water.
In 1984, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) was
substantially amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA).
These Amendments charted a new course for hazardous waste management --
away from historic land disposal practices and towards much greater use of
treatment technologies prior to disposal. HSWA also further articulated the national
policy to emphasize pollution prevention as the first and primary goal for the waste
management program.
As a result of this change, combustion of hazardous waste in incinerators and
boilers and industrial furnaces (BIFs) began to increase substantially. Concurrent
with increased use of combustion as a form of waste management, public concerns
began to be voiced about the safety and reliability of combustion facilities. In
addition, citizens began to ask whether an overabundance of combustion capacity
serves to undercut reduction of waste generated at industrial facilities.
At this juncture, EPA has decided to initiate a fresh look at how to achieve a
fully integrated waste management program in which source reduction is given its
proper emphasis and in which the role of combustion is carefully considered. As
detailed below, this involves the establishment of a broad dialogue on these national
policy questions under the joint leadership of EPA and the states. At the same time,
EPA will take a series of interim actions designed to further ensure the safety and
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reliability of hazardous waste combustion in incinerators and BIFs while longer-range
scientific research is being conducted and while technical amendments to the
regulations are being evaluated. These interim actions will help to ensure that
operation of combustion facilities do not present unacceptable risks to human health
or the environment.
Background Facts and Figures
About 5 million tons of liquid, semi-solid, and solid hazardous waste are
burned each year in hazardous waste incinerators and BIFs. In everyday terms,
these 5 million tons would fill up a line of tank trucks stretching from Washington,
D.C. to Los Angeles, some 2400 miles. About 90% of the wastes combusted today
are generated by 10 industry categories, which comprise major segments of
American industry, for example, petroleum refineries, agricultural chemical
manufacturers, and organic and inorganic chemical plants. Common types of
wastes being combusted are spent solvents, distillation bottoms, and off-spec
organic chemicals and products.
EPA's incinerator regulations were adopted under the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act: (RCRA) in 1981. In 1988, EPA's Office of Solid Waste issued
supplemental guidance that directed use of the RCRA "omnibus" permit authority to
add controls for emissions of metals, products of incomplete combustion (PICs), and
hydrochloric acid (HCI) into new incinerator permits on a case-by-case basis.
As of July 1,1993, there are 190 hazardous waste incinerators, 149 of which
can operate under final permits and another 22 of which are operating in interim
status pending final resolution of their permit applications. Another 19 facilities have
submitted permit applications for new incinerator units. There are 27 commercial
incinerators in the United States, 21 of which are in commercial operations today.
Major types of BIFs burning hazardous waste include cement kilns,
lightweicht aggregate kilns, and industrial and utility boilers. Currently, there are 159
BIFs, or -hich some 34 are commercial facilities accepting wastes from other
generators. BIFs are subject to comprehensive EPA RCRA regulations that were
promulgated on December 31,1990 (56 Fed. Reg. 7134, Feb. 21,1991). Among
other key features, these regulations contain controls on metals, PICs, and HCI
being emitted from BIF facilities. At the present time, these controls are imposed as
interim status standards. No BIFs have yet received final permits although a number
of permit applications have been recently filed.
EPA's Objectives
In taking these actions, EPA has articulated several goals that will guide its
future actions and will provide the framework for debate on EPA's draft strategy.
These goals are:
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To establish a strong preference for source reduction over waste management, and
thereby reduce the long-term demand for combustion and other waste management
facilities.
To better address public participation in setting a national source reduction agenda,
in evaluating technical combustion issues, and in reaching site-specific decisions
during the waste combustion permitting process.
To develop and impose implementable and rigorous state-of-the-art safety controls
on hazardous waste combustion facilities by using the best available technologies
and the most current science.
To ensure that combustion facilities do not pose an unacceptable risk, and use the
full extent of legal authorities in permitting and enforcement.
To continue to advance scientific understanding with regard to waste combustion
issues.
The Process for Pursuing a National Strategy
Under RCRA, EPA and the States are partners and co-regulators of the
generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste.
EPA is firmly committed to the view that any evaluation of the role of hazardous
waste combustion in the hazardous waste management system must be undertaken
as a joint federal and state effort. To that end, an EPA-State Committee on
Hazardous Waste Management has been formed to further develop the national
strategy. The initial charge to this Committee includes focusing on aggressive
source reduction measures, improvements to technical and permitting standards,
facilitation of alternative treatment technologies, and developing a better scientific
foundation for decision making.
Furthermore, EPA intends to involve all stakeholders in this dialogue. EPA is
issuing a draft combustion strategy as a starting point for debate on needed source
reduction actions and regulatory changes that must be pursued, and will engage the
widest range of interested parties in this debate. In particular, EPA is emphasizing
aggressive use of source reduction as the first and primary goal to be pursued with
respect to the generation of combustible wastes. However, EPA will immediately
pursue a number of actions to ensure that existing combustion facilities are operated
safely and without unacceptable risks to human health and the environment while
the discussions on the source reduction and the national waste management
strategy are taking place.
Actions Being Taken
While the national dialogue on source reduction and hazardous waste
combustion is taking place, EPA has issued a directive to its Regional Offices that,
effective immediately, calls for a series of actions to be taken in connection with
making permit decisions on incinerators and BIFs. These actions include:
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aggressive use of waste minimization measures as part of permitting and
enforcement efforts involving generators of combustible waste as well as
incinerators and BIFs,
ensuring that a comprehensive risk assessment, including indirect exposures,
is conducted at each facility site,
use of omnibus permit authority to include, where necessary to protect human
health and the environment, dioxin/furan emission limits and a stringent
paniculate matter standard in new permits,
providing for earlier and more effective public participation, and
giving low management priority to permitting any new incinerator and BIF
capacity over the next 18 months unless the new facilities would replace and
be a significant improvement over existing capacity.
In addition, the directive targets incinerators and BIFs for enhanced inspection and
enforcement efforts regarding compliance with EPA's regulations and with individual
facility permit conditions. These enhanced inspection and enforcement activities will
also include use of waste minimization requirements as part of compliance actions.
With respect to source reduction, EPA is also issuing interim final guidelines
on the elements of a sound waste minimization program. These elements, which
span administrative, financial, and technical areas, should be contained in a
generator's waste minimization program in order for that generator to make a proper
certification under RCRA. The RCRA statute requires that each generator of
hazardous waste make such a certification.
On a broader scale, the Administrator is convening a task force of EPA and
state officials to undertake a broad evaluation of source reduction and waste
combustion as integral components of the national waste management strategy.
Concurrently, EPA is issuing a draft combustion strategy as a starting point for
discussion on source reduction and waste combustion.
EPA is committed to ensure that all waste management technologies are fully
protective of human health and the environment. EPA will not tolerate operation of
waste management facilities that present unacceptable risks to human health and
the environment. The series of short and longer-term actions set forth in the
Administrator's directive to the Regions and proposed for discussion in the draft
combustion strategy are designed to achieve this end. These actions will ensure
that EPA doing what it can to pursue aggressive source reduction, to enhance
controls on existing combustion facilities, and to promote public participation in
permitting and source reduction efforts.
Revised August 1993
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United States Solid Waste and
Environmental Protection Emergency Response EPA/530-F-93-009
Agency (OS-305) May 1993
Office of Solid Waste
5>EPA Environmental
Fact Sheet
Hazardous Waste Minimization:
Interim Final Guidance for Generators
The concept of waste minimization enjoys widespread support and
achieves one of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) primary
goals of preventing or minimizing the generation of hazardous waste. To this
end, the Agency is developing guidance to help hazardous waste
management organizations and facilities design satisfactory programs that
fulfill the provisions of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA), and that meet their specific waste management and economic
needs.
Background
RCRA sets national policy that emphasizes the importance of reducing
or preventing the generation of hazardous waste. It also contains provisions
to promote implementation of waste minimization programs at hazardous
waste management facilities. Under those provisions, hazardous waste
generators must certify that they have a waste minimization program in-
place to reduce the volume or quantity and tcodcity of their waste to the
degree they determine to be economically practicable. Owners and
operators of facilities that receive a permit for the treatment storage, or
disposal of hazardous waste that they generate on the premises also are
required to make the same certification at least once a year.
Action
EPA is issuing interim final guidance that describes the basic elements
of a hazardous waste minimization program and defines the term waste
minimization. The term waste minimization includes source reduction, or
preventing waste from being generated in the first place (using the legal
definition of source reduction that is found in the Pollution Prevention Act)
and certain forms of recycling. fThose forms of recycling that closely
resemble conventional waste management practices are not included in the
definition.)
By describing the basic elements of a hazardous waste minimization
program, hazardous waste generators may be able to properly certify
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programs that are more suited to their Individual needs. EPA believes that g*
a "program-in-place" Includes: fl
top management support;
characterization of waste generation and waste management costs;
periodic waste minimization assessments;
appropriate cost allocation;
encouragement of technology transfer; and
program implementation and evaluation.
The public is encouraged to submit comments on this interim final
guidance. The Agency is committed to establishing a strong partnership
with the states to develop a network of pollution prevention programs.
While this interim guidance is designed to encourage generators of
hazardous waste to reduce the amount and toxidty of their waste, the
states play a key role in assisting all Industries in implementing pollution
prevention measures.
Contact
For additional information or to order a copy of the Federal Register
notice, contact the RCRA Hotline, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
EST. The national, toll-free number is (800) 424-9346; TDD (800) 553-
7672 (hearing impaired); in Washington, D.C., the number is (703) 412-
9810, TDD (703) 412-3323.
Copies of the Federal Register notice or other documents pertaining to
hazardous waste minization may be obtained by writing: RCRA Information
Center (RIC), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste
(OS-305), 401 M Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20460.
I
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*********************************************
DRAFT STRATEGY
FOR COMBUSTION OF HAZARDOUS WASTE
*********************************************
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
NAY 1993
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DRAFT STRATEGY FOR COMBUSTION OF HAZARDOUS WASTE IN INCINERATORS
AND BOILERS AND FURNACES
I. INTRODUCTION
During the last decade, a dramatic transition in hazardous
waste management has occurred. Untreated hazardous waste ceased
to be placed on the land, and widespread use of waste treatment
technologies, including combustion, ensued. We also began to
understand that even vigorously regulated and enforced hazardous
waste management requirements cannot totally solve our long-term
waste problems. Rather, our long-term national waste management
strategy must have reduction of waste as its first and primary
goal.
EPA, the States, industry, and the public have learned much
about the concept of waste reduction over the last decade. Our
challenge for the next decade is to take these lessons and
develop a strategy to accomplish our goal of source reduction.
Source reduction is and will continue to be at the top of
our waste management hierarchy and must be more aggressively
pursued to reduce the long-term demand for waste management
facilities. EPA intends to take a fresh look at hazardous waste
management issues as part of moving towards the promise of
pollution prevention and source reduction. Specifically, in this
effort, EPA's goal is to develop an integrated and balanced
program for source reduction and waste management. EPA will
examine the appropriate roles of source reduction and waste
treatment in the nation's hazardous waste management system. EPA
also intends to reexamine its existing regulations and policies
on waste combustion.
This evaluation will be led by a committee of EPA and State
officials. This EPA-State Committee will first be asked to
address the relationship between hazardous waste combustion
facilities and source reduction of hazardous waste, and to make
recommendations on additional source reduction opportunities that
should be pursued. The Committee's second charge will be to
address how EPA could improve its technical and permitting rules
for hazardous waste combustion facilities to ensure that such
facilities reflect the state-of-the-art as well as continued
technological innovation. The Committee will also be asked to
explore the development of alternative waste treatment
technologies, as well as the need for better science in
evaluating combustion technologies and monitoring emissions from
combustion facilities.
As a starting point for this effort, EPA is issuing this
Draft Combustion Strategy. This document will serve as a
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catalyst for discussion with and input from all interested
parties on how best to integrate source reduction and waste
combustion and on ways by which we can better assure the public
of safe operation of hazardous waste combustion facilities.
This draft combustion strategy consists of a discussion of
the goals and objectives for this project and a series of short
and longer-term actions that can be taken to achieve our goals.
These actions are intended as the starting point for discussions
with the public and industry. The list of actions in this
document are presented for debate and additional ideas. However,
while that discussion is taking place, EPA intends to
aggressively pursue several of the interim activities.
IT. EPA'8 STRATEGIC GOALS
A. Background for the Goals
Combustion is currently a large component of hazardous waste
management in the United States. It has become a large component
as the nation moved away from land disposal in the 1980's and
into treatment to reduce the volume and toxicity of hazardous
waste. As this shift occurred in the 1980's, citizens in areas
where incinerators or boilers and industrial furnaces (BIFs) are
located have increasingly challenged the need for these hazardous
waste combustion facilities. Citizens evidence concern that
waste combustion is too frequently used where source reduction
may be the preferred alternative. Citizens also raise concerns
regarding facility siting and potential health risks posed by
waste management facilities.
Hazardous wastes being burned today are generated by major
segments of American industry, and represent a spectrum of
commonly-encountered wastes, including spent solvents, sludges
and distillation bottoms, and off-spec organic chemicals and
products. About 5 million tons of these highly organic wastes
are being combusted each year some 40% in incinerators and 60%
in BIFs. Based on our most recent data, it appears that
substantial Excess capacity exists for combustion of hazardous
waste, particularly liquid wastes. It should also be recognized
that although some additional wastes are untreated today, thes«
wastes will soon be subject to treatment requirements mandated
under the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA).
These treatment requirements could use up much of today's surplus
capacity over the next several years.
Incinerators and BIFs burning hazardous waste are regulated
by EPA and authorized states under the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA's incinerator permit regulations, first
promulgated in 1981, control emissions of principal organic
hazardous constituents (POHCs), hydrochloric acid (HC1), and
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particulate matter at incinerators. For interim status
incinerators, only general facility regulations are in place. In
1988, the Office of Solid Waste (OSW) issued guidance to the EPA
Regional Offices directing that, on a case-by-case basis under
the omnibus provision in RCRA section 3005(c), incinerator
permits should be issued with major substantive improvements
including controls on metals and products of incomplete
combustion (PICs) and improved controls on HC1 and acid gases.
BIF facilities burning hazardous waste are all currently in
interim status. These facilities such as cement and
lightweight aggregate kilns are subject to EPA regulations
adopted in 1991. These regulations, among other things, impose
emission controls for metals, PICs, and HC1 and acid gases that
remain in effect until final permits are issued for these
facilities. Currently, there are about 160 interim status BIFs,
which are pending final determinations on their permits.
Waste combustion has been viewed as a means to detoxify
many hazardous wastes, particularly those containing high levels
of organics. EPA's position has been that, if conducted in
compliance with regulatory standards and guidance, combustion can
be a safe and effective means of disposing of hazardous waste.
As new information has come to light, improvements to the
regulations governing BIFs and incinerators have been and will
continue to be pursued.
EPA believes that our task now is to better integrate source
reduction with the regulatory approach to combustion of hazardous
waste, and further ensure that national rules reflect the best
combustion controls possible. For example, we should broaden our
approach to include consideration of how an aggressive source
reduction program should factor into national policy on the
permitting of hazardous waste combustion facilities. Of course,
remediation wates present a different circumstance than newly-
generated wastes and, given the finite set of options for dealing
with historic cleanup sites, combustion may be the most
appropriate remedy. In addition, waste minimization
opportunities at cleanup sites are usually severely limited. The
EPA-State Committee will focus on these and other similar issues
as part of the national dialogue on integration of source
reduction and waste management.
B. EPA's Goals
The foundation of this draft strategy are the following five
goals:
o To establish a strong preference for source reduction
over waste management, and thereby reduce the long-term
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demand for combustion and other waste management
facilities.
o To better address public participation in setting a
national source reduction agenda, in evaluating
technical combustion issues, and in reaching site-
specific decisions during the waste combustion
permitting process.
o To develop and impose implementable and rigorous state-
of-the-art safety controls on hazardous waste
combustion facilities by using the best available
technologies and the most current science.
o To ensure that combustion facilities do not pose an
unacceptable risk, and use the full extent of legal
authorities in permitting and enforcement.
o To continue to advance scientific understanding with
regard to waste combustion issues.
These goals address the major issues surrounding hazardous
waste combustion today and provide an appropriate framework for a
broad assessment of how source reduction and combustion of
hazardous waste can be integrated into a national waste
management program. This assessment will be comprised of many
different activities, many of which will be led by the EPA-State
Committee. The Committee and other interested parties are
encouraged to examine these goals critically and to consider
whether and how they can be improved.
III. THE PROCESS FOR PURSUING A NATIONAL STRATEGY
Under RCRA, EPA and the States are partners and co-
regulators of the generation, transportation, treatment, storage,
and disposal of hazardous waste. EPA therefore is firmly
committed to the view that any evaluation of the role of
hazardous waste combustion in our hazardous waste management
strategy must be undertaken as a joint federal and state effort.
To that end, an EPA-State Committee will be formed under the
aegis of the EPA-State Operations Committee. As mentioned
earlier, the initial charge to this Committee includes components
dealing with aggressive source reduction, improvements to
technical and permitting standards, alternative treatment
technologies, and a better scientific foundation for decision
making.
In each of these areas, this draft strategy lays out a
series of short and longer-term actions for public discussion.
EPA intends to involve all stakeholders in this dialogue. EPA is
providing these ideas as a starting point for discussion on
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needed source reduction actions and regulatory changes that must
be pursued, and encourages all interested parties to comment upon
and contribute additional ideas. In addition, however, EPA
believes that we must immediately pursue a number of actions to
ensure that existing combustion facilities are operated safely
and without unacceptable risks to human health and the
environment. Accordingly, while we implement the elements of
this strategy, EPA is directing its Regions to immediately take
actions to pursue aggressive source reduction programs at
hazardous waste facilities, and to ensure that waste combustion
is closely controlled through permitting and aggressive
enforcement.
Both EPA and the EPA-State Committee will seek to engage the
widest range of interested parties in our evaluation of source
reduction and waste combustion. This will include federal,
state, and local officials, waste generators and treaters, the
waste combustion industry, environmental and citizen groups, and
members of the public at large. Meaningful participation by, and
communication among, all affected parties is a cornerstone of
EPA's federal hazardous waste program. We intend to take all
steps necessary to foster this participation and communication.
EPA is also keenly aware that, ultimately, we serve the
public. Our mission under RCRA, and that of the authorized
states, is explicit we must ensure adequate protection of
human health and the environment. EPA fulfills this
responsibility in the light of full public scrutiny. He will
continue to do so during this reevaluation of the role of
combustion in our national waste management strategy.
IV. ACTIONS TO IMPLEMENT STRATEGIC GOALS
All waste management technologies must assure full
protection of human health and the environment. EPA will not
tolerate operation of waste management facilities that present
unacceptable risks to human health and the environment.
Accordingly, EPA will engage in a series of short and longer-term
actions designed to pursue aggressive source reduction, to
enhance controls on existing combustion facilities, and to
promote public participation in permitting and source reduction
efforts.
The short term actions include:
o An aggressive source reduction program that integrates
waste combustion with waste management decision making
o Direction to EPA Regions and states to:
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Perform site-specific risk assessments, including
indirect exposure, at incinerator and BIF
facilities in the permitting process
Use omnibus permit authority in new permits at
incinerator and BIF facilities as necessary to
protect human health to impose upgraded
particulate matter standards and if necessary
additional metal emission controls, and to impose
limits on dioxin/furan emissions
Establish a priority for reaching final permit
decisions for incinerators and BIF facilities
Enhance public participation in permitting of
incinerators and BIFs
Enhance inspection and enforcement for
incinerators and BIFs.
The longer-term actions include:
o Continued efforts to build an aggressive source
reduction program, including exploration of the
usefulness and feasibility of setting a national
capacity reduction goal for generation of combustible
waste
o Investigation of feasibility and risks associated with
alternative waste treatment technologies
o Upgrades to EPA's rules on emission controls at
combustion facilities and on continuous emission
monitoring techniques
o Upgrades to EPA's rules on the permitting and public
involvement process for combustion facilities
A. Short Term Actions
1. Integration of Aggressive Source Reduction and Waste
Combustion
o Use of permit priorities to stimulate source
reduction
Over the next 18 months, as the national dialogue on source
reduction is held, EPA will give low priority to permit-related
requests for additional combustion capacity except where that
capacity offsets the retirement of existing combustion capacity.
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The Agency will consider such requests for additional combustion
capacity only if the new capacity would provide a substantial
reduction in emissions. These administrative measures will allow
the Agency to focus as a priority matter on assuring the safety
of currently operating facilities. Furthermore, to the extent
any new capacity is considered, it will be state-of-the-art
combustion units designed to achieve more efficient combustion
and lower emissions. These measures will extend to new permit
applications, modifications to existing permits to expand
combustion capacity, and expansion of interim status combustion
operations.
o Publication of final "Waste Minimization Program
in Place" guidelines.
These guidelines identify the elements of a waste
minimization program for generators and facilities to make a
proper certification to EPA that they have a waste minimization
program in place, as required by the RCRA statute. EPA will also
pursue compliance with the enhanced certification requirements to
the maximum extent permitted under RCRA authority. EPA is also
considering publication of lists of non-compilers to alert the
public and the waste treatment industry. Where legally
appropriate, EPA may also use enforcement orders and permits to
incorporate the elements of a good waste minimization program
into the set of requirements that a facility must meet.
o Work with the waste treatment industry as a means
to get more aggressive action on source reduction
from the generators of combustible waste.
EPA will ask treatment companies to consider accepting
wastes only from customers that have conducted source reduction
audits and have an enhanced waste minimization program in place
(per EPA's "Program in Place11 notice). In doing so, we hope that
a working partnership can be established among the regulatory
agencies, the treaters, and the generators such that we can
achieve, as *a national priority, the maximum amount of source
reduction possible. All interested parties must pursue an
aggressive source reduction program. EPA will work closely with
the treatment industry to identify additional opportunities for
source reduction.
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o Target generating industries that produce
combustible wastes both for source reduction
inspections and for requiring generators to
conduct waste minimisation audits.
EPA will give top priority to ensuring compliance with waste
minimization requirements/guidance at those facilities that are
driving the demand for waste combustion. In addition, at the
same facilities, EPA will to the maximum extent possible include
audit requirements in enforcement settlement agreements, permits,
and as part of corrective action orders. The audits will allow
these companies to investigate the maximum possible use of source
reduction to the extent that they are not already doing so in
partnership with EPA and the states.
o Maximum public involvement and information
regarding source reduction and its integration
with waste combustion
EPA will also establish a program to more effectively
provide information to the public on the types of wastes going to
combustion units and the sources of those wastes. First, EPA
will compile information from the Biennial Report and will
collect information from commercial combustion facilities. This
information -- such as the specific types and volumes of wastes
being sent for combustion as well as the generators of these
wastes will be complied in a report and be provided to the
public. This information will apprise citizens of those
industries that rely on combustion of their wastes and will allow
the public to better focus their attention on the appropriate
generating facilities.
2. Immediate Actions in Combustion Facility Permitting
The Agency's goal is to continuously improve the regulation
of hazardous waste combustion to reflect advances in scientific
understanding so that adequate protection of human health and the
environment Is assured. During the time it takes to propose and
finalize updates to national regulations, EPA will us* its
omnibus authority on a case-by-case basis as necessary to protect
human health and the environment to include the appropriate
conditions in permits being issued.
At this time, EPA believes that regions and states should
use the RCRA omnibus provision and RCRA permit modification
regulations to add permit conditions as necessary to protect
human health and the environment whenever a combustion facility
owner/operator is seeking issuance of a new permit or reissuance
of an expiring permit, or, in appropriate circumstances, when
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existing permits are reopened for modification. The following
will be addressed during the permitting process.
o Risk Assessments
EPA is directing that site-specific risk assessments be
conducted at incinerators and BIFs during the permitting process.
These should be done in accordance with EPA's draft indirect risk
assessment guidance. EPA is currently developing updated, final
guidance on conducting risk assessments at combustion facilities,
including consideration of the risks from indirect exposures.
Until this national risk assessment guidance is completed, all
risk assessments at combustion facilities will be done on a site-
by-site basis. EPA and State technical experts will be available
to serve on risk assessment teams to assist regions and states in
conducting these risk assessments (particularly with regard to
indirect risks).
o Upgraded Particulate Matter Standard and
Supplemental Controls on Metal Emissions
Hazardous waste combustion units should be required, through
appropriate use of the omnibus permit authority, to meet the more
stringent particulate matter standard that is now applicable to
municipal waste combusters 0.015 mg/dscm. This technology-
based standard operates to provide a major control on metals
emissions from combustion unit. In addition, each combustion
facility should be required to consider, as part of its facility-
specific risk assessment, whether the upgraded PM standard
affords adequate protection against the risks posed by metals.
If additional metal controls are found to be necessary, the
regions and states should impose these controls through use of
the omnibus permit authority.
The upgraded PM standard will be used for BIFs unless
another protective standard is applicable under state or federal
lav. These upgraded PM standards will continue to be used until
an alternative PM standard has been promulgated for incinerators
and BIFs. It may be that the upgraded PM standard is sufficient
for many combustion facilities. However, some combustion units
may be emitting metals above de minimis quantities, in which case
additional controls may be warranted.
e Dioxins and Furans
Site specific risk assessments at hazardous waste combustion
facilities may reveal the need for additional controls on dioxin
and furan emissions. Through appropriate use of the omnibus
permit authority, the regions and states should impose as an
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interim measure emission limits of 30 ng/dscm (based on the sum V
of all tetra through octa dioxin and furan congeners). This
standard is the same as the New Source Performance standard for
new municipal waste combusters. Regions and states should
supplement this with more stringent emission limits if the site-
specific risk assessment warrants.
o Permit Controls on Incinerators and BIFs
EPA regions and states should bring incinerators and BIFs
under permit controls as soon as possible. This will be
implemented through establishment of a schedule for calling in
all BIF permits for final determinations. Each region will
develop a plan that provides for commercial BIF permits to be
called in within the next 12 months and for all other BIF permits
to be called in within the succeeding 24 months. Permits
represent one of the most effective means by which EPA and the
authorized states can develop and enforce conditions on the
operation of incinerators and BIFs. At this point, no BIFs have
had final permit decisions. Thus, permit determinations should
be made as expeditiously as feasible to effectively control those
operations that can be operated safely as well as deny permits
at those facilities that can not be operated safely.
o Enhanced Public Participation
Public participation is one of the major cornerstones of
EPA's environmental programs. EPA is committed to meaningful
public involvement in its permitting programs. Local citizens
must be given the opportunity to assure themselves that
facilities in their neighborhoods will be operated safely.
EPA will immediately provide for greater public
participation in the permitting of BIFs and incinerators, and
will initiate amendments to its rules to reflect new avenues for
public participation. Prior to these amendments being finally
adopted, EPA will direct all regions and states to provide
immediately Tor additional public participation opportunities
during permitting of combustion units - particularly at earlier
stages than now provided for under EPA's current permitting
regulations. These should include, but are not limited to,
public comment on the trial burn plan. EPA will also direct that
local citizens be given the opportunity to participate during the
risk assessment process at combustion facilities.
o Enhanced Inspection and Enforcement
EPA will continue and enhance its current enforcement
efforts regarding combustion units through aggressive inspection
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and enforcement at both BIFs and incinerators and through use of
specialized combustion inspectors. Based on our experience and
the level of public concern about the compliance record of
commercial combustion units, the use of aggressive enforcement
and special inspectors will ensure the maximum timeliness and
extent of compliance. In particular, if an event occurs that
results in non-compliance, EPA or the state will be in a position
to take the appropriate enforcement or permitting action,
including abatement of the problem or, if necessary, shutdown of
combustion operations. Whenever appropriate, Regions and States
are encouraged to use permanent on-site inspectors at commercial
incinerators and BIFs.
B. Longer Term Actions
EPA will also immediately pursue a number of longer term
actions to continue the progress towards our goals of source
reduction, balancing the amount of combustion capacity with the
actual needs, ensuring combustion safety, and providing for
greater public participation.
o Continue to build an aggressive source reduction
program
EPA will conduct a national round table on source reduction
opportunities for hazardous wastes. The national round table on
source reduction will seek to highlight avenues for reducing the
amount of waste being combusted, and will explore the appropriate
balance between source reduction and use of combustion as a waste
management tool. The round table will explore both regulatory
and non-regulatory options to encourage and/or require source
reduction. Generating and treatment industries will be asked to
participate actively in this effort. Results will also be used
by the EPA-State Committee to establish a national dialogue among
the interested parties.on the proper integration of source
reduction and waste combustion.
o Establishment of a Percent/Target Year Program for
reduction of combustible hazardous wastes
EPA will work with the states towards establishing a program
in which industry is challenged to reduce by a selected
percentage and by a target year the amount of process wastes
going to combustion units. EPA will discuss with all interested
parties the appropriate percentage reduction to be used as a goal
and the appropriate time frame for this reduction.
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o Upgrade EPA's rules to reflect state-of-the-art
advancements
EPA will initiate a rulemaking to upgrade our combustion
rules. In doing so, EPA will explore the feasibility of a
technology-based approach, particularly with respect to setting
emission controls on metals, dioxins and furans, acid gases,
particulate matter, and products of incomplete combustion. In
addition, EPA will continue to refine its risk assessment
guidelines to ensure that all risks are effectively addressed by
national regulations or site-specific permit conditions.
o Upgrade EPA's rules on permit process for
combustion units
While EPA is directing regions and states to immediately
afford greater public participation on a permit-by-pennit basis,
we will seek to modify our rules to reflect expanded public
participation. EPA will initiate a rulemaking to codify our goal
of increased public participation at earlier stages in the
permitting process for incinerators and BIFs. In particular, EPA
will address the trial burn process and the public's role in that
process.
EPA also believes there is a need to explore a rulemaking to
reform the permit appeal process for combustion units whose
permit applications have been denied by the Regional
Administrator or State Director. In particular, where the unit
has been burning waste under interim status, EPA will seek to
establish rules that prevent the continued burning of waste
during administrative appeals of a permit denial decision. EPA
will also explore additional guidance or a rulemaking to clarify
the number of permissible trial burns allowed.before permit
denial.
o Use and Feasibility of a Long-Term National
Capacity Reduction Goal
EPA will explore the usefulness of developing a long-term
reduction goal (e.g., a 25% reduction in combustion capacity over
the next 10 years) to reduce combustion capacity beyond that
which can be achieved through source reduction efforts. The
purpose of such a goal would be to give more concrete national
guidance on how best to mesh combustion demand with capacity.
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o Conduct research on continuous monitoring for
organica, including dioxins and metals.
EPA will use its research resources to continue and enhance
scientific inquiry on ways to better determine what constituents
are in emissions from combustion units and to develop the
technology needed to monitor these emissions on a continuous
basis. EPA will work cooperatively with the waste combustion
industry to address these research areas.
o Investigate innovative waste treatment
technologies that provide protection to human
health and the environment.
EPA will continue and enhance its efforts to foster the
development of innovative technologies for the safe and effective
treatment of hazardous waste. Such actions are essential to our
national waste management system and to our global
competitiveness.
CONCLUSION
EPA is committed to evaluating the role that source
reduction and combustion of hazardous waste should play in our
national waste management program. EPA will work in full
partnership with the States in this effort. EPA and the States
will embark upon a full and open discussion with all
stakeholders, including affected citizens and industries, on the
issues and actions detailed in this Draft Combustion Strategy.
6 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1993 715-003/87084
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