4969
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
May 1977
o
'"'3
The Public
. and
^Construction
' Grants
f
Building
Together
for Clean Water
800R77101
-------
Early involvement by the
local people—those who are
most directly affected by a
particular water pollution
control program—is vital
if delays and needless
controversies are to be
avoided. The U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) cannot
approve Federal funds
for a construction project
unless the public has had
an adequate opportunity
to take part in planning
that project.
By law, public participation
is required in:
• developing a State priority
list of wastewater treatment
projects;
• developing an areawidc
waste treatment management
plan;
• developing a river basin
waste treatment management
plan;
• obtaining a permit for
discharging treated wastewater
into a stream, river, or lake; and
• preparing a wastewater
treatment facility plan.
The purpose of broad
public participation in
water pollution control is
to allow government to
be more responsive to public
concerns and priorities
and to help people understand
government programs and actions.
This pamphlet is intended
to help local government
officials understand and
meet Federal requirements
for public participation in the
construction grant process.
-------
A major element in the construction grant pro-
gram is the need for local governments to,
comply with the public participation require-
ments in Federal law. This early local involvement
is vital to avoid delay in the processing of a com-
munity's application for a Federal grant to build
sewage treatment facilities, for EPA cannot approve
a grant unless the public has had an adequate op-
portunity to take part in the formulation of the
proposed project. Such local participation also
helps to head off needless controversy within a
community.
Communities planning to build sewage treatment
facilities must, of course, meet the requirements of
their own State and local laws. Those varying State
and local laws contain their own requirements for
public involvement—such as public hearings, voter
approval of a project or bond issue to finance it,
city or county council approval, etc.
But whatever the specific requirements of your
own local and State laws, please note that Federal
law sets forth specific requirements for public par-
ticipation in the grant application process.
Why Public
Participation?
Citizen involvement—public participation—in
government is the stuff that makes our democratic
system work. Without public support and coopera-
tion, government programs and laws cannot be
effective. This is especially true in pollution control,
which often requires changes in attitudes and values
in order to break the pattern of business and pollu-
tion as usual.
Congress recognized this and in Section 101(e)
of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amend-
ments of 1972 (PL 92-500), Congress issued a
mandate for public participation in the national
water cleanup campaign. That section states:
"Public participation in the development, revision,
and enforcement of any regulation, standard,
effluent limitation, plan, or program established by
the Administrator or any State under this Act shall
be provided for, encouraged, and assisted by the
Administrator and the States. The Administrator, in
cooperation with the States, shall develop and pub-
lish regulations specifying minimum guidelines for
-------
public participation in such processes." (Emphasis
added.)
With those sixty-one words, Congress made public
participation an integral part of water pollution con-
trol—including the construction grant program. As
required by the Act, EPA has issued general guide-
lines for public participation.
In brief, those general guidelines set forth these
policies and objectives:
• "Participation of the public is to be provided for,
encouraged, and assisted to the fullest extent prac-
ticable in water pollution control activities."
• "The major objectives of such participation in-
clude greater responsiveness of governmental ac-
tions to public concerns and priorities, and improved
popular understanding of official programs and
actions."
• "Although the primary responsibility for water
-------
quality decision making is vested by law in public
agencies at the various levels of government, active
public involvement in and scrutiny of the intergov-
ernmental decision-making process is desirable to
accomplish those objectives."
• "Conferring with the public after a final decision
has been made will not meet the requirements."
• "The intent of these regulations is to foster a
spirit of openness and a sense of mutual trust be-
tween the public" and government "in efforts to
restore and maintain the integrity of the Nation's
waters."
Those general guidelines for public participation
apply to all levels of government—local and State
agencies, and EPA itself—involved in implementing
the 1972 law.
In addition to the general guidelines, EPA has
also issued specific public participation require-
ments for various programs established by the 1972
Act.
What's
Required?
Here's how the requirements apply to the con-
struction grant program.
If your community plans to apply for a Federal
grant to build a sewage treatment project, it will
be directly affected by several specific public par-
ticipation regulations issued by EPA. For example:
• In order to be considered for a Federal grant,
your community's proposed project must be on
your State's "priority list" of projects eligible for
grants. Before your State approves the priority list
and submits it to EPA, your State must hold a
public hearing on the proposed list. Thus the need
for your community's proposed project will be sub-
ject to public review and comment when your
State holds its required public hearing on the
priority list. Without that public hearing, EPA
cannot approve the priority list.
• Your proposed project must conform with a waste
treatment management plan developed by an area-
wide planning agency and approved by EPA under
Section 208 of the Act. Even if an areawide plan
has not yet been developed, your proposed project
-------
must be submitted to the areawide planning agency
for comment. Public participation is required in the
areawide planning program.
• Your proposed project must also be in confor-
mity with any river basin plan developed under
Section 303(e) of the Act. Public participation is
required in the basin-wide planning program too.
• Public participation is required in the permit
program under which your community will be al-
lowed to discharge treated wastewater into a stream,
river, or lake.
• And of most immediate concern to a community
applying for a Federal construction grant, public
participation is required as your community evalu-
ates alternatives and chooses a specific plan to
remedy its municipal wastewater pollution problem.
This is the heart of public participation in the
construction grant program. It is here, in the prepa-
ration of the facility plan, that your local govern-
ment must seek to involve the public directly at the
earliest possible moment.
Specific public participation requirements in the
facility planning process are spelled out in the final
construction grant regulations issued by EPA.
In brief, those regulations say that:
• Your local government must carry out a public
participation program in the facility planning proc-
ess that is consistent with the general guidelines for
public participation published in the Federal Regis-
ter August 23, 1973.
• You should hold one or more public hearings or
meetings to obtain public advice at the beginning
of the planning process.
• You mast invite all government agencies and
others known to be concerned about or interested
in the plan to participate.
• You must hold a public hearing before adopting
a facility plan.
•You must give at least 30 days' notice in advance
of the public hearing.
• You must make available to the public informa-
tion on the water pollution problem and the alter-
natives considered in the planning process.
• You should send written notice of public hear-
-------
ings to appropriate local and State agencies, to
State and local clearinghouses, to appropriate local
officials, and to interested individuals and groups.
• And you must, when submitting your proposed
facility plan to EPA for approval, summarize the
steps you have taken to encourage public participa-
tion, provide documentation that you published a
notice of the public hearing in a local newspaper,
and briefly describe the views expressed at the
public hearing, or in writing, on the proposed
project.
Those are minimum public participation require-
ments. EPA encourages all local governments to
go beyond those minimums, however, to foster a
spirit of mutual trust and cooperation between the
public and government agencies responsible for
controlling water pollution.
No matter how you choose to meet the public
participation requirements, it is important to keep
in mind the intent of public participation as well
as the specific mandatory steps that must be taken.
The fundamental objective should be public con-
tributions and involvement before a decision is made
on what sort of treatment plant will be built, where
it will be located, where the interceptor and outfall
sewer lines will be located, etc. Early public par-
ticipation is essential to public understanding, ac-
ceptance, and support of the project. To achieve
that objective, your local government should ap-
proach public participation in good faith and with
a positive attitude.
To begin with, a sewage treatment project should
not be developed in a vacuum. Project planners
should be familiar with the community's overall
goals and aspirations. That means being familiar
with the community's growth plans, its park and
recreation plans, its housing, population, economic
development, highway projections, and environ-
mentally sensitive areas. In theory, if not always in
practice, a community's comprehensive plan re-
flects a consensus of public values and aspirations
and evolves from a public participation process of
its own. At the outset, therefore, planners of waste-
water treatment projects must be thoroughly familiar
with their community's comprehensive plan and its
land-use and zoning controls. Your sewage treat-
ment project must be planned within the context
of your community's overall long-range goals.
-------
At the same time, you should also identify and
try to involve groups and individuals concerned
about water pollution and other environmental prob-
lems in your community, as well as civic groups,
neighborhood associations, and others who will be
most affected by the project.
This will give you a head start in meeting the
public participation requirements. It will also be
invaluable in helping you assess the environmental
impact of the proposed action and alternatives as an
integral part of your facility plan.
You should thus seek help and counsel from
environmental organizations, historical and cultural
groups, outdoor groups, and others, on the current
condition of the environment. Those groups, as well
as appropriate local, State, and Federal agencies
and colleges and universities in the area, can help
answer a variety of questions:
Are there any unique or vulnerable ecological
systems in the area? What about significant archeo-
logical and historical sites? Parks, wetlands, and
scientifically important areas? Flood plains where
development may not be acceptable? Esthetically
sensitive areas? Socially sensitive areas? Potential
controversies?
By seeking that kind of information early in the
planning process, you will not only be opening
planning to responsible public participation, but
you will also be identifying community goals, en-
vironmental constraints, and public values. You
will be getting information you will need to measure
the environmental effects of alternative plans, to
identify any unavoidable adverse environmental and
social impacts, and to determine public attitudes
toward various alternatives.
This process will also serve as an early warning
system. It will bring out potentially controversial
issues that you might otherwise not be aware of
until after the planning is completed. Early involve-
ment of the public may thus spare both the public
and local government officials needless controversy.
In short, citizen involvement can and should be
part of the basic data gathering that must be under-
taken before you can prepare a facility plan and
the required assessment of the plan's impact on the
environment.
The greater the public participation before the
required public hearing on alternative plans, the
-------
greater the likelihood that the alternatives will be
realistic; that each alternative will be properly
weighed against community goals and environ-
mental constraints; that the anticipated benefits and
costs and environmental and social effects of each
alternative will be properly spelled out; that the
concerned public will know the trade-offs involved;
and that a proper decision will be made and sup-
ported by the public.
How Do
You Do It?
Let's assume now that your community is ready
to proceed. You've identified your municipal waste-
water pollution problem. You've gotten your com-
munity on your State's priority list, thus making
you eligible to apply for a construction grant.
You've retained a qualified consulting firm to help
plan the project. You and your consultant have held
an informal pre-application conference with State
and EPA representatives.
How do you go about getting the public involved?
There are many ways of involving the public in
the business of government, which is, after all, the
public's business. If you are an elected public offi-
cial, you undoubtedly are familiar with a variety of
techniques to reach the public. And you may well
have approaches not covered here.
But as a checklist if nothing else, here are some
of the ways communities across the Nation have
involved the public in the construction grant process.
Note that the public participation steps required by
Federal laws are included in the checklist. Note too
that some of the techniques that follow—except the
required steps, of course—may not be applicable
in your community.
Whatever techniques you use, level with the pub-
lic. Explain the need for the new treatment facilities.
At any rate, here's what the Mayor, the County
Executive, or the head of your community's sewage
treatment agency can do to encourage and assist
public participation in the grant process:
• Identify concerned organizations and individuals.
• Appoint a representative citizen advisory com-
mittee to advise you throughout the planning and
construction of the project.
• Plan to hold an informal public meeting at which
you will outline the water pollution problems of
-------
the community, discuss the planning process, and
invite public suggestions.
• Send a press release to your local newspapers,
television and radio stations—and to interested
groups and individuals—in advance of the public
meeting.
• Hold the public meeting. Make note of the
names and addresses of all who attend. Make a
summary of the meeting.
• As planning progresses, send follow-up releases
and other educational material to the press, to
concerned groups and individuals, and to those
who attended the public meeting.
• Seek invitations to speak at meetings of various
civic organizations.
• Prepare a film or slide show on your community's
water quality problems and possible solutions.
• Prepare exhibits and display them at city hall, in
public libraries, and in other public buildings.
• Invite recommendations from concerned groups,
individuals, and the public at large.
• Send out mail questionnaires to determine citi-
zen attitudes on the water pollution cleanup pro-
gram.
• Hold periodic meetings with your citizen advisory
committee to keep members up-to-date on progress
and problems.
• Give careful consideration to public suggestions
and comments.
• Schedule the public hearing on alternatives pre-
sented in the facility plan. Check to avoid conflicts
with other events in your community that might
attract your potential audience.
• Send out public notice of the hearing at least 30
days in advance of the hearings. (This is required.)
Send the hearing notice to all concerned groups and
individuals you've identified earlier. (This too is
required.) Send the notice to the press. Place an ad
or legal notice in the local newspaper announcing
the hearing date, time, and place.
• Make information on the alternatives available
to the public in advance of the hearing. (This is
required. You must make the information avail-
able at least 15 days before the hearing; if possible,
try to make it available at least 30 days in advance.)
At a minimum, the hearing notice must tell the
-------
public where copies of the material to be discusst
at the hearing may be examined in advance. If
possible, make extra copies and send them to con-
cerned groups and individuals well in advance of
the hearing.
• Hold the hearing. (More on this later.)
• After the public hearing—and before you select
the alternative to be recommended in the facility
plan—carefully study suggestions made by the pub-
lic at the hearing and in written comments. Keep
in mind that public acceptability is vital. That does
not mean that total consensus is necessary. It does
mean that the plan finally chosen should be gener-
ally acceptable to the public, especially to those
segments of the public that will be most affected by
the project. If any aspects of the project are espe-
cially controversial, discuss them with your ad-
visory committee and with the groups or individ-
uals most concerned. (As Abraham Lincoln once
said, "public opinion is everything. With public
sentiment nothing can fail; without it, nothing can
succeed.") Then make your decision.
• Make a transcript of the public hearing. (This is
required; you must make the document available to
the public for review, and if anyone wants a copy,
you must make it available at cost. It need not be
a literal "court reporter" type but it must be an
accurate summary of proceedings.)
• Finally—and this too is required—a summary of
all public participation steps taken throughout the
process must be submitted with the facility plan to
the State and to EPA.
By approaching public participation in a positive
manner, that will pose no problem, for you will
have built an enviable record of public involvement.
And while early and continuing public involvement
will not guarantee that the plan selected will not be
controversial, it will dramatically increase the
chances that the plan finally selected will have
widespread public support.
It is especially important during the whole proc-
ess that you explain the benefits, the total and local
costs, and the environmental impacts of all alterna-
tives. Seek suggestions from the public on how to
minimize or avoid adverse impacts and how to
accommodate group and community goals while at
the same time achieving the necessary water pollu-
tion cleanup.
-------
Throughout this procedure, give the public access
to all available information. The better the public
is informed, the more responsible it will be. And
in public presentations and written materials, avoid
technical language and jargon wherever possible.
So be sure to translate the complex and technical
language of the sewage treatment industry into
language that can be understood by intelligent but
non-technically trained adults.
About
Public Meetings
and Hearings
Local and State laws may require a set format
for a local government's formal public hearing on
a facility plan. If so, the Federal requirement that
a public hearing be held before a plan is selected
can probably be satisfied by the hearing required
under State or local law, providing other Federal
requirements arc met too.
Federal laws and regulations do not set hard and
fast rules for the conduct of the required public
hearing, however. As far as EPA is concerned, the
required public hearing—and any informal public
meetings held earlier—should be informational and
educational. Rules and procedures are necessary, of
course, to keep order and to expedite the hearing.
But the hearing should be as informal as possible
to encourage attendance and participation.
Interested persons may well come to the hearing
with a prepared statement. But written statements
should not be required. Nor should advance notice
be required as a condition for attendance or par-
ticipation. (There's no harm in requesting notice
of intention to speak at the hearing, however; that
will give you an indication of how much time to
allow for the hearing.)
Presentations, speeches, and remarks by local
government officials should be complete—but they
should also be as brief as possible to allow as much
time as necessary for comments, questions, and
suggestions from the public. The hearing should be
approached and conducted as an opportunity for
the public and the local government to learn from
each other. Try to respond to all questions. If
you don't have the answer at hand, tell the ques-
tioner you will get the information and send it
along as soon as possible.
10
-------
If possible, the hearing should be held in the
evening or on a weekend to give the greatest num-
ber of people an opportunity to attend. Registration
fees or other charges must not be levied as a con-
dition for attending and participating. Whenever
possible, the hearing should be held in a location
accessible by public transportation.
If the project covers a large and heavily popu-
lated area, the local government should consider
holding more than one hearing in different loca-
tions within the project area.
The local government should be well prepared
for the public hearings. Make plans in advance.
Prepare an agenda. Decide who will chair the hear-
ing, who will present the alternative plans, who will
operate the slide projector (if you're using one),
who will prepare and set up exhibits, who will
record and stenotype. the proceedings, etc. Detailed
advance planning is essential for a successful public
hearing.
Finally, don't be disappointed if only a few
people turn out for the hearing. In the absence of
controversy, many public hearings on proposed
facility plans are attended by only a few dedicated
souls. Moreover, a thorough public education and
information program may satisfy many members
of the public in advance and make them decide not
to attend the hearing.
The important point is not how many bodies
show up but you well you have given the public an
opportunity to get involved from the very beginning.
A Final Note
Local governments must meet other public par-
ticipation requirements during the construction
grant process.
EPA regulations concerning the procurement by
local governments of professional services under a
construction grant require communities with a
population of more than 25,000 to give public
notice before retaining outside consulting services
from architects and engineers. These regulations
also require formal advertising for bids on the con-
struction of the project and public opening of the
bids.
In addition, if a project involves the acquisition
of land and the relocation of people, the local gov-
11
-------
ernment must provide "an opportunity for presen-
tation of information and discussion of relocation
services and payments at public hearings, prepare
a relocation brochure, and give full and adequate
public notice of the relocation program for each
project." And in areas where "a language other
than English is predominant, public information
shall be published in the predominant language as
well as in English."
Before issuing a construction grant for a project,
EPA requires an environmental assessment as an
integral part of the facility plan. EPA then reviews
the facility plan to determine whether significant
adverse environmental impacts or other factors re-
quire preparation of an Environmental Impact
Statement. When EPA prepares an EIS, it is made
available to the public for review and comments.
The Agency may also hold a public hearing in the
community on the impact statement.
Using Land Disposal?
If your community's proposed treatment project
involves land application of treated wastewater,
you should get a copy of EPA's Technical Bulletin
430/9-75-001. issued in 1975. on "Evaluation of
Land Application Systems." That bulletin says:
"To ensure that the best system is selected by
the decision-makers, all aspects of the alternatives
should be made available for public review and
evaluation, including the engineer's recommenda-
tion. Re-evaluation and modification of the plans
may be necessary before a system is selected and
general acceptance is received."
The bulletin also says: "The establishment of
an extensive public information program at the
earliest possible time is wise, especially when
alternatives under consideration may be contro-
versial. Public involvement to the maximum pos-
sible extent should be sought, with feedback to
planners and decisionmakers. In many cases,
public opposition to proposed land-applications
systems can be related to lack of knowledge or
understanding of the fundamentals involved. Con-
sequently, a well-planned information and educa-
tion program is highly desirable, and in many
cases, required."
A copy of Technical Bulletin 430/9-75-001 is
available from your EPA Regional Office.
12
-------
But over and above the minimum legal require-
ments for public participation imposed on local
governments, States, and EPA itself, remember that
public participation and water pollution control are
continuing processes. To make government respon-
sive to public concerns and priorities, and to im-
prove public understanding and support of govern-
ment programs and actions to combat water
pollution, public participation should be viewed as
a continuing, positive process.
Merely paying lip service to public participation
is not enough. That would be contrary to the intent
of Congress, And it would be self-defeating, for
EPA may reject a grant application if the steps
taken by a local government to encourage and
assist public participation have been inadequate.
Or EPA may require the local government to hold
additional public hearings if concerned inteiests
have not been given adequate opportunity to pre-
sent their views.
Inadequate public participation can only delay
attainment of the national goal of restoring and
maintaining the integrity of the Nation's waters.
And it can only further diminish the public's esti-
mate of government credibility.
Note: The full text of general regulations concern-
ing public participation in water pollution control
was published in the Federal Register August 23,
1973. Also, final construction grant regulations,
published in the Register February 11, 1974, in-
cluded requirements on public participation (Sec-
tion 35.917-5). Both these documents are avail-
able free upon request from EPA's ten Regional
Offices and also from EPA's Public Information
Center (PM-215), Washington, D.C. 20460.
Following are the addresses and telephone num-
bers of the Agency's Regional Offices and the
States included in each Region.
13
-------
United Stales
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office ol
Public Affairs (A 107)
Washington DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
S300
Postage and Fees Paid
Environmental
Protection Agency
EPA 335
Thirc Class Bulk
Address
EPA Region 1
Room 2303
JFK Federal Building
Boston, MA 02203
EPA Region 2
Room 1005
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10007
EPA Region 3
Curtis Building
6th and Walnut Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19106
EPA Region 4
345 Courtland St., NE
Atlanta, GA 30308
EPA Region 5
230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL 60604
EPA Region 6
1201 Elm St.
Dallas, TX 75270
EPA Region 7
1735 Baltimore Street
Kansas City, MO 64108
EPA Region 8
Suite 900
1860 Lincoln Street
Denver, CO 80203
EPA Region 9
100 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
EPA Region 10
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
States Covered
Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Rhode Island,
Vermont
New Jersey, New York, Puerto
Rico, Virgin Islands
Delaware, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, Virginia, West
Virginia, District of Columbia
Alabama, Georgia, Florida,
Mississippi, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Tennessee,
Kentucky
Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
Michigan, Wisconsin,
Minnesota
Arkansas, Louisiana,
Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri,
Nebraska
Colorado, Utah, Wyoming,
Montana, North Dakota, South
Dakota
Arizona, California, Nevada,
Hawaii
Alaska, Idaho, Oregon,
Washington
------- |