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FY 2022 Annual Report

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Cover photo: EPA


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1 I FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

Executive Summary

This report highlights the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) key achievements in providing
environmental collaboration and conflict resolution (ECCR) in fiscal year (FY) 2022 and the infrastructure
that supports this work. In FY 2022, EPA's Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center (CPRC) provided
facilitators and mediators who helped EPA address some of its most challenging cases. CPRC provided
these services either directly by its staff or, more often, through its $53 million Conflict Prevention and
Resolution Services (CPRS) contract. These professional facilitators and mediators assisted EPA on dozens
of high-level cases and projects, including the Clean School Bus Program, Circular Economy Stakeholder
Engagement, the National Water Reuse Action Plan, the Red Hill Administrative Order on Consent
facilitation, the Portland Harbor Superfund Site and the Tijuana River Watershed Stakeholder
engagement. Overall, EPA used ECCR in 118 cases and projects, and each region and most program offices
utilized ECCR in their work. EPA handled slightly fewer ECCR cases in FY 2022 but maintained its position
as a leader among federal agencies in ECCR use. CPRC also built EPA's capacity to engage in ECCR
practices; it trained over 866 staff and managers in 14 training sessions during FY 2022. EPA staff and
managers continued to report important benefits from using ECCR, including timely outcomes, more
efficient processes, better decisions, avoidance of litigation, and the advancement of EPA's mission. ECCR
continues to be an essential tool used to advance the Agency's goals, including tackling the climate crisis,
taking decisive action to advance environmental justice and civil rights, and strengthening tribal, state, and
local partnerships.

Contents

Executive Summary	0

Introduction	2

Background	3

ECCR Infrastructure at EPA	4

FY 2022 ECCR Use at EPA	7

Overall Use of ECCR at EPA	8

FY 2022 ECCR Case Highlight:	17

ECCR Training at EPA	18

ECCR Evaluation at EPA	19

Opportunities for ECCR at EPA	20

Conclusion	21

Appendices	22


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2 I FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

Introduction

Throughout its history, EPA has sought input from the public, worked with stakeholders to reach common
ground, and negotiated agreements on contentious issues as it strives to fulfill its mission. Each action EPA
takes to serve the public is the product of dialogue with a diverse set of stakeholders. Developing
environmental policies and involving multiple stakeholders in decision-making processes is often
complicated. A neutral facilitator or mediator who has expertise in ECCR can help EPA staff and managers
work more effectively with stakeholders. CPRC serves as the primary office to help EPA meet the
challenges of stakeholder engagement and overcome environmental conflicts.

CPRC staff advise EPA staff and managers on topics such as public meeting design and communication with
stakeholders. CPRC also provides facilitators and mediators who help stakeholders have a voice in EPA's
decisions, often resulting in more acceptable, cost-effective, and timely outcomes than traditional
alternatives. CPRC offers services directly through its staff and through its Conflict Prevention and
Resolution Services contract, which provides every EPA office with timely access to professional neutral
facilitators, mediators, and trainers who specialize in ECCR.

Neutral professionals also mediate cases before the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) and the Office of
Administrative Law Judges (OAU). With CPRC's services, and with mediation offered through the EAB and
the OAU, EPA frequently uses ECCR more than any other federal agency. EPA continues to be a leader in
federal government ECCR practice and expertise.

This annual report is required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ)1 and is prepared by CPRC with input from its Regional ECCR Specialists. While
it is important for a cross-government understanding of the use of ECCR, this report is also a tool for EPA
management, staff, and the public to understand EPA's use of ECCR and to enlighten readers about the
variety of situations in which ECCR can be used to resolve conflict and to achieve better engagement with
the public and other stakeholders.

In fiscal year (FY) 2022, EPA established its FY 2022-2026 strategic plan. This plan sets goals for the
enforcement of EPA's environmental laws and ensuring clean air, water, land, and chemicals for the
American public. It also includes goals for addressing climate change and advancing and integrating
environmental justice and external civil rights in all of EPA's work. Now part of the new Office of
Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, CPRC is well positioned to serve as a critical component of
these efforts. ECCR can help to achieve the Agency's priorities by resolving disputes, supporting
meaningful public engagement, and improving communication with stakeholder groups.

1Office of Management and Budget & Council on Environmental Quality (2012). Memorandum on Environmental
Collaboration and Conflict Resolution. Washington, D.C.

http://www.udall.gov/documents/lnstitute/OMB CEQ Memorandum 2012.pdf.


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3 I FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

Background

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is the use of a neutral third party
to conduct "any procedure that is used to resolve issues in controversy,
including but not limited to, conciliation, facilitation, mediation, fact
finding, mini-trials, arbitration, and use of ombuds, or any combination
thereof."2 All aspects of ADR are voluntary, including the decision to
participate, selection of the neutral, and the content of any final
agreement. ECCR is essentially environmental ADR, but it also includes
proactive collaborative decision-making, with the aim of preventing
future conflict. OMB and CEQ, define ECCR as ". . . third-party assisted
collaborative problem solving and conflict resolution in the context of
environmental, public lands, or natural resources issues or conflicts,
including matters related to energy, transportation, and water and land
management."3

Several statutes direct or support EPA's work to provide ECCR. These include:
the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act (1996), which encourages the use
of ADR in agency actions, directs all federal agencies to appoint a Dispute
Resolution Specialist, promulgate an agency ADR policy, and provides guidance
on the issue of confidentiality during ADR processes; the Negotiated
Rulemaking Act (1996), which encourages the use of facilitated consensus in
developing federal regulations; and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act
(1998), which directs the federal courts to establish ADR provisions and
processes. EPA's ADR policy (65 FR 81858) affirms the Agency's support for
using ADR to address environmental conflicts, among others.

In addition to EPA, several federal agencies that implement environmental
statutes and whose actions have significant environmental impacts also
maintain ECCR services. In FY 2022, these agencies included the Department of
the Interior (DOI), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and several others. EPA has been and
continues to serve as a government-wide model for effective use of ECCR. EPA
has been a national leader in the practice, teaching, and evaluation of ECCR for

ECCR is defined as . . third-
party assisted collaborative
problem solving and conflict
resolution in the context of
environmental, public lands, or
natural resources issues or
conflicts, including matters
related to energy,
transportation, and water and
land management

2 5 U.S.C. § 571(3)

3 Office of Management and Budget and President's Council on Environmental Quality Memorandum On
Environmental Conflict Resolution, https://www.udall.gov/documents/lnstitute/OMB CEQ Memorandum 20Q5.pdf


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4 I FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

close to two decades. For ail but three of the past 14 years of required reporting, EPA engaged in more
ECCR cases than any other federal agency4 (see Figure I).5

Figure 1: ECCR Cases in the Federal Government - FY2008 to FY2021

500

TO

u
oc
u
u

0)
-Q

E

3

450

400

350

300

250

451

250 262

200

150

100

50

142

131

166

184

161

145 142	136

124V^128 112-434

•DOI

FERC

EPA

USACE

¦Annual TOTAL

FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21

4	FY 2021 data is the most current ECCR case data available from all federal agencies.

5	This chart comes from the John S. McCain III National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution. Environmental
Collaboration and Conflict Resolution (ECCR) in the Federal Government: Synthesis of FY 2020 Report. Tuscon, AZ and
is available online here:

https://www.udall.gov/documents/ECRReports/2021/ECCR%20Forum%20Report_FY2021.pdf


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5 I FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

ECCR Infrastructure at EPA

CPRC is the Agency lead for ECCR services and training, and two additional EPA offices support the Agency
with ECCR services consistent with the EPA's ADR policy.6

The Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center (CPRC) is the office that leads EPA's ECCR program and
provides most ECCR services at EPA. Its director also serves as EPA's Dispute Resolution Specialist. CPRC
supports the entire Agency by helping any program or regional office to collaborate, prevent, and resolve
environmental disputes. With five full time employees (FTE), CPRC provides expert ECCR services, either
directly by staff or, more often, through its $53 million Conflict Prevention and Resolution Services (CPRS)
contract. The contract offers access to reliable and easy-to-use services from private sector experts in the
ECCR field. In addition to mediation and facilitation, CPRC staff and contracted ECCR experts provide
training, coaching, and related services in support of ECCR.

CPRC also works closely with EPA's Office of External Civil Rights Compliance (OECRC), which enforces
several civil rights laws, most notably Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination
on the basis of race, color, or national origin, including limited English proficiency, by recipients of federal
financial assistance. CPRC assists OECRC by offering mediation and facilitation to parties involved in Title VI
complaints when appropriate. In FY 2022 CPRC collaborated with OECRC to establish a new process to
enhance communication and engagement with environmentally overburdened communities and increase
their participation in the resolution of Title VI complaints. Through the collaboration between CPRC and
OECRC, complainants, recipients, and EPA participate in facilitated dialogues as part of an effort to develop
an Informal Resolution Agreement (IRA). CPRC facilitated six Title VI cases using this process in FY 2022.

In September 2022 CPRC moved from the Office of General Counsel, its home for more than 20 years, to
the newly formed Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. Although CPRC's mission to
provide all of EPA with expert collaboration and conflict resolution services remains unchanged, this move
recognizes the key role that CPRC has played in helping the Agency to engage communities with
environmental justice (EJ) concerns and help ensure that EPA's external civil rights process is more
effectively available to the most vulnerable communities through the use of expert facilitation and
mediation. This move positions CPRC to increase the use of ECCR in EJ and civil rights cases and to serve as
a critical link between EPA and communities in support of the administration's priority of increasing
meaningful stakeholder engagement.

CPRC's staff are augmented by 20 skilled ECCR Specialists, who are in all ten EPA regions and help CPRC
deliver ECCR services and training. Many are attorneys in the Offices of Regional Counsel, but others work
in a variety of contexts, including public involvement, EJ, and enforcement. Most do the work as collateral
duty. The ECCR Specialists have been trained in a variety of ECCR skills, including facilitation, mediation,
negotiation, and/or conflict coaching. ECCR Specialists advance the use and understanding of ECCR at EPA

6 https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-04/documents/epa adr policv.pdf


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6 I FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

by, among other things, serving as liaisons for ECCR activities; supporting ECCR education and training;
building and supporting communities of practice; tracking requests for assistance, ECCR cases and projects;
and contributing to the development of this annual report to OMB and CEQ. On occasion, they also serve
as mediators, facilitators, and conflict coaches. EPA's network of ECCR Specialists grew and became more
active in FY 2022; they served as facilitators for multiple cases and delivered multiple conflict resolution
trainings.

The Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) is an independent office in EPA's Office of Mission Support
(OMS). In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, the administrative law judges (ALJs) conduct
hearings and render decisions in enforcement and permit proceedings between the EPA and those
regulated under environmental laws. The ALJs also may conduct hearings related to findings by OECRC of a
violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. All litigants before the ALJs are offered the opportunity to
resolve cases through ECCR.

The Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), also located in OMS, hears appeals of permitting decisions and
administrative penalty decisions. A wide range of stakeholders appeal to the EAB, including companies,
state and local governments, tribes, non-governmental organizations, and citizens. The EAB offers parties
the option to resolve disputes using ECCR with the assistance and EAB judge who serves as a neutral
mediator. The EAB's ECCR program has fostered negotiated settlements that speed up resolution of EAB
cases and conserve government resources. In FY 2022, the EAB did not conduct mediation. With the recent
filling of a vacant EAB judge position, the EAB has been offering parties the opportunity to engage in
mediation and expects to be conducting mediations in FY 2023.

Figure 2: EPA Regions

Northern Mariana
Islands	

lr„ = : Termor

epa.gov/aboutepa/visiting-regional-office


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7 I FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

FY 2022 ECCR Use at EPA

Since 1978, EPA has used ECCR to fulfill its mission to protect human health and the environment. Using
ECCR allows the EPA, its stakeholders, and the public it serves to more effectively engage with one another
and develop a common understanding of environmental issues, prevent conflict, reduce differences, and
resolve disagreements. In FY 2022, the use of ECCR at EPA not only increased but expanded in innovative
new directions, such as facilitating dialogues with parties involved in Title VI civil rights complaints as part
of an informal resolution process, which provided a forum for including Title VI complainants in that

Over the years of reporting on ECCR, EPA's program and regional offices
have noted its many benefits. They've reported that ECCR use furthered
the EPA's mission and strategic goals to protect human health and the
environment by helping them establish collaborative processes to resolve
environmental problems. ECCR has been used to improve collaboration
and working relationships, which has resulted in more meaningful
engagement with a broad range of stakeholders, including federal, state,
tribal, and community partners. In FY 2022, multiple projects served as
examples that both advanced EPA's mission and involved extensive
collaboration with many stakeholders. They include the Portland Harbor
Collaborative Group (page 12), the Pike and Mulberry Streets Superfund
site (page 14), and the development of Region 2's Climate Adaptation Plan
(page 15).

The use of ECCR has also led to more efficient and cost-effective processes. When the Agency used a
neutral third party, it provided structure and focus to negotiations and moved cases along more quickly.
Offices also noted that, compared to litigation, ECCR provided an opportunity for early resolution of
enforcement cases, which resulted in cost savings.

Finally, ECCR resulted in better outcomes, some of which could not have been achieved without neutral
third-party assistance. These included outcomes that improved environmental conditions, were more
creative, and fostered external stakeholder ownership in the EPA's initiatives, programs and agreements.
In short, ECCR helps the Agency make better decisions, work with stakeholders more effectively, and attain
sustainable environmental outcomes. For example, in FY 2022 CPRC supported the Tijuana River
Watershed Stakeholder Engagement, which resulted in a more creative outcome due to stakeholder
ownership (page 17),

In FY 2022 CPRC and the other ECCR offices at EPA continued to serve an important Agency function by
supporting meaningful virtual public engagement through expert virtual facilitation and mediation. ECCR
support for virtual engagement, which was born of necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic, has helped
EPA to obtain valuable input from members of the public, many of whom may not have previously been
able to participate in Agency events.

process for the first time.

Noted Benefits of ECCR

•	Furthers EPA's mission and
strategic goals

•	Improves relationships

•	More productive
conversations

•	Greater efficiency

•	Better outcomes


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8 I FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

Overall Use of ECCR at EPA

For the first time in seven years, the EPA increased its use of ECCR; there were 118 cases and projects in FY
2022, up from 99 in FY 2021. In FY 2022, EPA used ECCR in all ten regions and several program offices for a
broad range of applications. Figure 3 illustrates the current level of ECCR use across EPA's program offices
and regions.

Figure 3: FY2022 ECCR Use by EPA Program Office and Region

20
18

16 	 	 —

14

Program Office or Region

Note: Cases or projects that were tied to a specific location are included in the counts for the regions; those
counted as program office cases were national or programmatic in scope or were led by a program office.

EPA also used ECCR in a wide variety of circumstances. For example, EPA used ECCR to mediate disputes
over Superfund cleanups, gather public input during complex and high-tension meetings, and mediate
enforcement disputes. In these matters, facilitators and mediators designed and led meetings so EPA staff
could focus on technical and substantive issues and keep projects moving forward.


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9 I FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

Figure 4: FY2022 ECCR Cases by Statute

In FY 2022, EPA used ECCR in 118 cases and projects. Every
EPA region and several program offices had an ECCR case,
which included matters involving Superfund cleanups,
brownfields redevelopments, permit disputes, and policy
development.

As in past years, in FY 2022 EPA used ECCR most
frequently to address issues under the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
(CERCLA, commonly known as Superfund, used in
approximately 52% of cases) and the Clean Water Act
(CWA, used in approximately 22% of cases), as seen in
Figure 4. Cases classified as "multiple" were
predominantly facilitated processes involving communities
with several environmental issues.

In FY 2022, CPRC handled most of EPA's ECCR cases, while
EPA was also involved in several ECCR matters with other
Agencies. CPRC handled 89 cases on behalf of client programs and regions, and the ECCR Specialists and
other EPA facilitators were responsible for 15 cases. Of the cases that CPRC handled, six were Title VI civil
rights cases where OECRC used CPRC facilitation assistance to include complainant parties from
overburdened communities in meaningful dialogue about the complaint with the recipient and EPA. EPA
was involved in three other matters in litigation, which were mediated with the assistance of the U.S.
Department of Justice. Other federal agencies mediated or facilitated five cases to which EPA was a party.
Five other ECCR cases involving EPA were handled by a combination of means (for example, multiple
parties paid for a neutrally facilitated or mediated process or another federal agency led the process).

EPA senior leaders continue to use ECCR to help the Agency achieve its mission. Senior leadership actively
engaged in and strongly supported the use of ECCR in several high-profile cases and projects in FY 2022,
including:

FY 22 Cases by Statute

A

•

¦d el

1^



Mi

9



•

.

¦ CERCLA ¦ CWA

¦ RCRA ¦ Multiple

¦ CAA ¦ Title VI

¦ SDWA

•	Circular Economy Stakeholder
Engagement

Clean School Bus Program Outreach
Colorado Smelter Superfund Site
Facilitation

Columbia River Basin Restoration
Program Facilitation
Diamond Alkali/Lower Passaic River
Superfund Mediation
Federal Mining Dialogue Facilitation
GE-Pittsfield/Housatonic Citizens
Coordinating Council Facilitation

•	Harbor Island Community Involvement
Plan Engagement

National Water Reuse Action Plan
Facilitation

Nampa Hispanic Community
Engagement

Portland Harbor Southeast Superfund
Facilitation

Red Hill Administrative Order on

Consent Facilitation

Tijuana River Watershed Stakeholder

Engagement

Trash Free Waters Facilitation and
Public Involvement
USS Lead Site Facilitation


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In FY 2022, EPA used ECCR in air, water, and land cases and projects under the Clean Air Act (CAA), CWA,
Superfund, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and the Safe Drinking Water Act
(SDWA). In FY 2022, EPA did not have any ECCR cases related to chemicals involving the Toxic Substances
Control Act (TSCA) or the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). However, EPA has
used ECCR in cases related to TSCA and/or FIFRA in the past and expects to do so again.

Air - The air program at EPA continues to consistently use ECCR services, both for facilitating efforts to
reduce air pollution in communities and for mediating cases in litigation. EPA used ECCR in five air cases
in FY 2022. Two cases addressed industrial facilities and fence-line communities, one involved gathering
public input for a policy decision, and one dealt with asthma caused by indoor air pollution in Pacific
Northwest tribal communities.

Water - Historically, EPA has used ECCR to resolve issues with water-related cases more than any other
media, except land (i.e., Superfund and RCRA), and this continued to be the case in FY 2022. EPA has
many different water programs. Contentious disputes often arise in the context of water permitting,
planning, and enforcement actions. Of the 30 water-related (both CWA and SDWA) ECCR cases in FY
2022, 20 arose in seven of EPA's 10 regions and six were programmatic or national in scope. These cases
involved watershed or community water-resource planning, compliance and enforcement issues, storm
and hazard mitigation planning, policy dialogue facilitation, permit issuance and appeals, voluntary
programs, and defensive litigation.

In Region 1, the Mystic River Watershed Partnership benefitted from ECCR support for a series of
facilitated roundtable discussions to address water quality management. These roundtables contributed
to more meaningful stakeholder engagement and improved water quality. The Mystic River Watershed
is a highly urbanized and industrial area just north of Boston and extends into the Boston Harbor. The
Partnership is a collaborative effort to both improve water quality and environmental conditions in the
watershed, as well as to create and protect open space and public access to the Mystic River and its
tributaries. The Partnership, which is guided by a steering committee composed of 22 governmental and
non-governmental organizations, requested facilitation to support roundtable discussions with a focus
on identifying funding mechanisms to achieve the partner communities' stormwater management goals.


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11 | FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

Figure 5: Mystic River Watershed

A neutral facilitator planned and led a series of
roundtables, which provided a forum for
participants to discuss challenges, share ideas,
and support each other's efforts to reduce
nutrients and improve water quality. Effective
stakeholder engagement was essential to this
process and the facilitator actively involved
communities, including some burdened by
historic pollution.

These roundtable discussions are already
benefitting impacted communities in the
Mystic River Watershed by encouraging
localized stakeholder discussions to identify
financing mechanisms to support efforts that
will lead to improvements in water quality and
greater community resilience. Importantly, this
project could serve as national model for
similar facilitated stakeholder engagements in
other EPA Regions.

EPA Region 1

Mvstic River	'rO&.	Land - For decades, EPA's most frequent use of

Watershed	AFWl mECCR has been supporting Superfund cleanups.

The large number of Superfund-related ECCR
matters is primarily due to the legal
requirement to involve communities in the
development of cleanup remedies and the financial support available through Superfund. Superfund
cleanups involve planning, community involvement, outreach about complicated scientific matters, and
sometimes contentious negotiations and litigation. EPA most often uses ECCR to provide support to
establish and facilitate community advisory groups (CAGs), to facilitate challenging public meetings, to
provide conflict coaching so EPA staff involved in site cleanups can work more effectively with
stakeholders, and to mediate disputes over responsibilities and terms of cleanups. The 61 Superfund
ECCR cases in FY 2022 often were CAG facilitation (13 cases), but also involved other community
involvement facilitation, situation assessments and community surveys, potentially responsible party
allocation negotiations, and facilitation on federal facilities.

EPA often uses ECCR to improve the functioning of community advisory groups (CAGs) at Superfund
sites.


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12 | FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

ECCR support for the Portland Harbor

Collaborative Group offers an

example of its effective use to

manage a large and complicated

Superfund site in an overburdened

community. A professional facilitator

worked with EPA Region 10 staff to

create an "inclusive forum for

interested and affected parties to

share and receive updates, provide

feedback, and make individual

member recommendations to EPA

and the Oregon Department of

Environmental Quality (DEQ)

regarding the Portland Harbor

Superfund Site cleanup process for

the life of the project."7 While EPA
and DEQ co-convene the Portland	Portland Harbor Superfund Site Public Meeting, Photo: EPA Region 10

Harbor Collaborative Group, this

forum is driven by impacted and affected community members of the Portland Harbor Superfund Site
(please see Figure 1 for the composition of the group). Community members and other interested
groups envisioned the Portland Harbor Collaborative to be a hub for anyone who has a stake in the
cleanup. They wanted to be able to discuss many different topics with all members present, even if a
topic might be outside of one group's scope. Since many community members in the Portland area have
environmental justice concerns, this vision is particularly important.

7 Portland Harbor Collaborative Group Charter, pp. 4. https://www.triangleassociates.com/wp-
content/uploads/2022/09/PH-Collaborative-Group-Charter Adopted-in-Principle 9-14-2022.pdf.


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13 | FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

Developing the initial charter for the Portland Harbor Collaborative in collaboration with community
members and leaders required specialized facilitation expertise. Furthermore, after a rough draft of the
charter was developed, the contracted facilitator provided invaluable support in explaining the Portland
Harbor Collaborative concept and attempting to gain buy-in from various community organizations,
business groups, potentially responsible parties, government organizations (local, regional, state), and
others. At the end of FY 2022, the Portland Harbor Collaborative included over 40 members, and every
quarterly meeting is open and very well attended by observers. With the guidance of the expert neutral
facilitator, the Portland Harbor Collaborative continues to grow, improve, and adapt as a powerful
venue for effective community involvement at a critical Superfund site in an overburdened community.

Portland Harbor Superfund Site, Photo: Elizabeth Allen, EPA

The EPA also used ECCR in 10 RCRA cases in FY 2022. These cases involved a broad range of topics,
including cleanup from hurricanes and other natural disasters, solid waste tracking and recycling, and
implementation workshops with municipalities in Regions 2, 3, 5 and 9.

In addition to using ECCR to address specific environmental issues, EPA also uses it to improve the
overall work of the Agency. A few notable uses of ECCR at EPA include working for EJ in communities
that have disproportionately dealt with the impacts of pollution, improving transparency in government
operations; and engaging the public to protect human health and the environment.


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14 | FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights - As noted above, ECCR can be
an essential element for engaging meaningfully with communities with environmental justice concerns.
A neutral facilitator can help EPA design processes that help to ensure communities are heard and their
concerns are addressed. In FY 2022, several EJ cases benefitted from ECCR practices, including the Pike
and Mulberry Streets PCE ftetrachloroethvlene) Plume Superfund site. To better involve the public in the
economically disadvantaged rural community of Martinsville, Indiana, where this site is located, a
neutral facilitator worked with EPA Region 5 to enhance community engagement; support the
formation, organization and healthy functioning of a Superfund CAG; support EPA outreach efforts and
coordination; and improve communication amongst residents and other local stakeholders at the Pike
and Mulberry Streets PCE Plume Superfund site. This all led to building capacity and trust between EPA
and the community surrounding the site. Engaging in consistent communication and effective outreach
was difficult while attempting to reach residents of this rural and impoverished community with
numerous vapor intrusion and groundwater plumes across the city and a general distrust of government.
Over 200 properties, primarily homes, needed urgent sampling and the eventual installation of vapor
mitigation systems.

Once it was established, the CAG helped leverage EPA
resources to improve communication with residents and
local stakeholders and to ensure that they had better
understanding of issues at the site. For example, a
nearby university research team also studying PCE
contamination in the area formed their own group
known as a Community Advisory Board or "CAB" causing
confusion regarding the roles of a CAG versus a CAB. The
neutral facilitator, and subsequently the CAG, helped to
delineate the university's work from EPA's work and
encouraged collaboration amongst both groups. This
collaboration supported EPA in building a network of
trust between residents, local community stakeholders
and EPA, resulting in frequent visits and direct
communication among all parties. The neutral third
party also provided facilitation services directly to the CAG, holding well-attended quarterly meetings
with EPA and state agency participants. The neutral facilitator's assistance was key to building this
positive environment and maintaining strong and trusted relationships throughout the community.

To further support EPA's goal of advancing environmental justice and civil rights, ECCR facilitators helped
to improve the process to resolve Title VI civil rights complaints by providing a forum for members of
overburdened communities who have filed complaints to engage in constructive dialogue with the state
and local governments at the center of the complaints. In FY 2022, ECCR facilitators provided support for
six Title VI cases and afforded parties the opportunity to have meaningful discussions about the
discrimination issues raised in a complaint as part of the effort to reach an informal resolution
agreement.

An EPA Community Involvement Coordinator preparing to
meet with community members regarding door-to-door
air sampling related to the Pike and Mulberry Site,

Photo: EPA Region 5


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15 | FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

Tackle the Climate Crisis - ECCR can also be an effective tool for addressing climate change and planning
for future severe weather. The causes and impacts of climate change are very complex, which makes
finding consensus when dealing with them especially challenging. Using ECCR can not only help
stakeholders understand complex issues, but also productively work together to find long-term, durable,
solutions. An example of that is ECCR support for Region 2's Climate Adaptation Implementation Plan.

A cadre of approximately 25 Region 2 facilitators, who were trained in part by the Region 2 ECCR
Specialist, supported the development of the region's Climate Adaptation Implementation Plan (CAIP) at
two virtual stakeholder workshops on July 14 and 16, 2022. The workshops were designed to gather
input from stakeholders on the draft CAIP, which was issued in May and assessed the climate-related
vulnerabilities in the Region and identified 36 priority actions to address them. The input was used to
finalize the CAIP. The facilitators led the first workshop in English with simultaneous Spanish translation.
The second workshop, which focused on Puerto Rico, was conducted in Spanish with simultaneous
English translation. Approximately 164 participants attended the workshops and brainstormed ideas in
small simultaneous breakout rooms, which generated 141 ideas to address climate-related
vulnerabilities. As a result, the Region added six new priority actions to the final plan on topics such as
building community capacity to access funding, healthy public housing, heat island effect, youth
engagement, green infrastructure, native plants, food security and coral reefs. The Region also amended
several draft priority actions to incorporate input on funding (including translation of information on
funding opportunities into Spanish), droughts and flooding, food security, impacts on utilities, and supply
chains.

Strengthen Tribal, State, and Local Partnerships and Enhance Engagement - As the Agency's experts in
public participation and the main providers of contracted public participation support, CPRC staff
routinely support all EPA programs and regions to increase transparency and public participation. In FY
2022, CPRC regularly advised on how to organize public participation processes that reduce conflicts.
Expert facilitators and mediators accessed through CPRC's contract supported the creation and
improved functioning of CAGs at Superfund sites and helped create forums for environmental justice
communities to engage with EPA throughout the country. CPRC also provided training to help EPA staff
better plan, design and deliver meetings with improved public participation.

ECCR can be essential for meeting EPA's needs to engage with diverse groups from around the country
and process extensive feedback. The New Circular Economy Programs offers an example of the benefits
of ECCR support when gathering widespread stakeholder input. The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
provided EPA with authority and immense federal funding to develop and implement new initiatives to
support communities and spur industry toward creating a circular economy for all. This funding
supported the implementation of EPA's Circular Economy Strategy Series and the Solid Waste
Infrastructure for Recycling grant program authorized under the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act.


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16 | FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

To create new recycling programs that are aligned with stakeholders' needs, CPRC assisted ORCR in
engaging stakeholders to develop a Recycling Education and Outreach grant program, the Solid Waste
Infrastructure for Recycling grant program, and Battery Collection Best Practices and Labeling Guidelines.
CPRC provided coordination and meaningful facilitation to help ORCR hold over 115 feedback sessions
nationally and engage over 4,700 people across all EPA Regions. CPRC's professional facilitators and
support team were essential in gathering and synthesizing stakeholder input from a wide range of
groups. The stakeholder discussions generated valuable insights on recycling challenges, barriers, and
needs, which were instrumental in designing EPA's new recycling programs.

Figure 6: Statistics from EPA's Circular Economy Stakeholder Engagement

m w w

115

participant engagemenl meslirtgs held across
the country on National Recycling Strategy/
Bipartisan Infrastructure Low activities

4,719

participants represeniing states. Tribal Nations,
local government, nongovernmental organizations,
and industry reached through meetings

MEETINGS ATTENDED BY PARTICIPANT TYPE

Genera! Public
States

Municipal and Local Government

Tribal Nations
Nongovernmental Organization/
Community-Based Organization
Industry

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

MEETINGS CONDUCTED BY EPA REGION

HQ 1


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17 | FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

FY 2022 ECCR Case Highlight:

While there were multiple successful ECCR cases and projects this year, the following case is this year's
case highlight due to the many and diverse stakeholders involved, the building of significant trust
through the process, and the critical environmental impact the project is expected to have.

A CPRC facilitator and professional facilitators hired through CPRC's contract improved public
involvement and gathered key information for decisionmakers, which led to the Agency's announcement
of the projects it will pursue to address the severe negative impacts to water quality, public health, and
the environment in the Tijuana River watershed. In 2020, the U.S. government, through the EPA,
committed $300 million in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), to identify
infrastructure solutions to mitigate this decades-old problem. The USMCA requires EPA, in coordination
with eligible public entities, to carry out the planning, design, and construction of high priority treatment
works in the Tijuana River watershed to address transboundary fiow pollution.

When announced, there was significant concern among the public and leaders of municipalities in the
San Diego area that EPA would not act quickly and would not adequately consider their concerns when
deciding how to use the funds. There were also many ideas about how to address the problem and little
consensus about how to proceed. Through parallel public engagement processes, the CPRC facilitator
and contracted facilitators planned and led meetings with key stakeholders and the public to ensure that
all who were interested were heard and had their concerns and ideas incorporated into EPA's analysis.

The facilitated meetings significantly contributed to EPA's ability to increase public confidence in
proposed actions to address the long-term problem of transboundary wastewater pollution. This effort
culminated in the announcement of EPA's plan to pursue a comprehensive solution in staged phases to
address the problem as quickly as possible. The proactive engagement of the public and key
stakeholders has likely led to the limited criticism the plan has received as it goes through National
Environmental Policy Act review.

Aerial image of wastewater entering the Pacific Ocean from the
Tijuana River, just south of San Diego. Photo: EPA Region 9


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18 | FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

ECCR Training at EPA

In FY 2022, CPRC and the ECCR Specialists led the Agency's ECCR training activities to strengthen EPA
staffs skills and promote the use of ECCR. They delivered all trainings virtually in FY 2022 and trained
more people than in any of the prior six years. In FY 2022, CPRC trained 866 EPA staff, in 14 sessions,
totaling 57 hours of training delivery. This represents a significant increase from the 512 training
participants in FY 2021. Furthermore, ECCR Specialists trained an additional 56 EPA staff in two training
sessions, totaling ten hours. ECCR Specialists in Region 3 led trainings on negotiation and engaging
constructively in difficult conversations.

CPRC continually improved its trainings after each delivery and
adapted in-person trainings to virtual trainings to better serve the
Agency's needs while most staff were teleworking during the
pandemic. For example, CPRC updated its popular Designing
Effective Public Involvement training for virtual delivery and offered
it to the entire Agency. CPRC staff and ECCR Specialists taught other
core trainings, such as Engaging Constructively in Difficult
Conversations, Become a Better Negotiator: An Interest-Based
Approach, and Facilitating Dialogue virtually on multiple occasions.
CPRC also delivered a new hour-long training, De-escalation in
Communication, which helps EPA staff be aware of and defuse
challenging conversations with other staff and with the public.

CPRC provided training during its 15th annual Conflict Resolution Day
program in October 2021. CPRC holds this annual event to increase
EPA staff and managers' awareness of ECCR services at EPA and
improve their ECCR knowledge and skills. CPRC hosted four virtual
sessions, open to all agency staff. The Conflict Resolution Day sessions
included CPRC's Become a Better Negotiator: An Interest-Based
Approach training, a discussion of stakeholder engagement, a panel on
how facilitation has helped EPA advance EJ and address climate
change, and a De-escalation in Communication training. Combined,
the four sessions had over 419 attendees.

"I will use this in both my
professional and personal life to
come to more effective
agreements

- EPA Interest-Based Negotiation

Trainee

"I now have a clear understanding
of how to structure my public
involvement for a particular case.
The impact will be that everyone
can understand upfront what
type of public involvement is
expected and what are the
desired outcomes

- EPA Public Involvement Trainee


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19 | FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

ECCR Evaluation at EPA

As part of its commitment to continuous improvement, CPRC continued to conduct case, training, and
contract evaluations in FY 2022, the 15th year of its evaluation program. CPRC evaluated two trainings
during FY 2022. CPRC used training evaluation data to improve the quality and effectiveness of the
trainings it delivers for EPA employees. For example, evaluation data revealed opportunities to improve
CPRC's delivery of its trainings on virtual meeting platforms. CPRC also evaluated the two Title VI
facilitated IRA cases that were completed in FY 2022, and the results led to changes in the structure of
facilitated meetings to better meet all parties' expectations. CPRC continued to evaluate its Conflict
Prevention and Resolution Services contract by annually surveying the dozens of task order contracting
officer representatives that use it. Their input helped CPRC improve the quality, efficiency, and
effectiveness of the contract's use.


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20 | FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

Opportunities for ECCR at EPA

While EPA has effectively used ECCR in a variety of cases, as described above, there are still
opportunities for greater use of ECCR in the Agency, such as in its EJ work. EPA recognizes that, for
generations, people of color and low-income communities are burdened by more than their fair share of
pollution. Some EPA staff may lack awareness of, or appreciation for, non-traditional stakeholder
communities (e.g., informal EJ or community groups, faith groups, civil rights organizations) and the
extra time and care required to authentically engage with them. ECCR can be used to help build the
Agency's capacity in this area through practices such as facilitated dialogues and to more effectively
bring communities together with EPA staff and other stakeholders to address long-term problems and
ensure a healthy environment for future generations. Another opportunity for ECCR is to assist with
potential conflicts among grant recipients. With the historic influx of grant funding EPA has received to
support environmental justice, there are many more grant recipients and the potential for
miscommunication and conflict among recipients working collaboratively on grant-funded projects.
Additionally, in its efforts to address the urgent and complicated climate crisis, EPA can make greater use
of neutral facilitators to lead processes to gather and share information on complex issues and plan for
action. Finally, there are more opportunities for virtual and hybrid engagement with the public. EPA can
continue to increase its use of ECCR to better engage the public in virtual and hybrid environments.

Photo: EPA


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21 | FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

Conclusion

In FY 2022, EPA remained a lead federal agency in the provision of ECCR services and CPRC offered easy
access to high quality ECCR services to help the Agency achieve its mission and strategic goals. As
described above, ECCR was used in every EPA region and most programs to assist with cases across all
media in EPA (land, water, air, and chemicals). ECCR services help EPA to engage effectively and
efficiently with stakeholders and facilitate informed, transparent, fair, and just decision making. As the
Agency strives to combat climate change and ensure environmental justice, ECCR processes are essential
tools for making progress on those goals. ECCR helps the Agency to plan as well as prevent and resolve
disputes so that we better serve all communities in the United States.


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22 | FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

Appendices

Appendix A - OMB & CEQ Questionnaire

In collaboration with the John S. McCain III National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution (the
Agency which collects and summarizes these reports for OMB and CEQ), EPA continued to produce a
reformatted ECCR Annual Report. EPA did this to make the report more understandable and useful for
the reader. Below are the summarized questions from the OMB and CEQ questionnaire and references
to where the corresponding answers can be found in this report (in italics).

1.	Agency Submission Information

Name of Department/Agency responding: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Name and Title/Position of person responding: Jake Strickler, Conflict Resolution Specialist

Division/Office of person responding: Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center

Contact information (phone/email): 202.564.4692

Date this report is being submitted: January 27, 2023

Name of ECCR Forum Representative: Gina Langan Garcia

2.	ECCR Capacity Building and Investment:

Describe any NEW, CHANGED, or ACTIVELY ONGOING steps taken by your department or agency to
build programmatic and institutional capacity for environmental collaboration and conflict resolution in
FY 2022, including progress made since FY 2021.

Please also include any efforts to establish routine procedures for considering ECCR in specific situations
or categories of cases, including any efforts to provide institutional support for non-assisted
collaboration efforts.

Please refer to the mechanisms and strategies presented in Section 5 and attachment C of the OMB-CEQ
ECCR Policy Memo for additional guidance on what to include here. Examples include but are not
restricted to efforts to:

•	Integrate ECCR objectives into agency mission statements, Government Performance and Results Act
goals, and strategic planning;

•	Assure that your agency's infrastructure supports ECCR;

•	Invest in support, programs, or trainings; and focus on accountable performance and achievement.

•	ECCR programmatic FTEs


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23 | FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

•	Dedicated ECCR budgets

•	Funds spent on contracts to support ECCR cases and programs

a) Please refer to your agency's FY 2021 report to only include new, changed or actively ongoing ECCR
investments or capacity building. If none, leave this section blank. Please describe the trainings
given in your department/agency in FY 2022. Please include a list of the trainings, if possible. If
known, please provide the course names and total number of people trained. Please refer to your
agency's FY 2021 report to include ONLY trainings given in FY 2022. If none, leave this section
blank.

Description of EPA infrastructure on pages 5 and 6
EPA ECCR trainings on pages 18

3. ECCR Case Example

Using the template below, provide a description of an ECCR case (preferably completed in FY 2022). If
possible, focus on an interagency ECCR case. Please limit the length to no more than 1 page.

•	Name/Identification of Problem/Conflict: [Please add case "title" here]

•	Overview of problem/conflict and timeline, including reference to the nature and timing of the
third-party assistance, and how the ECCR effort was funded.

•	Summary of how the problem or conflict was addressed using ECCR, including details of any
innovative approaches to ECCR, and how the principles for engagement in ECCR outlined in
the policy memo were used.

•	Identify the key beneficial outcomes of this case, including references to likely alternative
decision-making forums and how the outcomes differed as a result of ECCR.

•	Please share any reflections on the lessons learned from the use of ECCR.

Other ECCR Notable Cases

Briefly describe any other notable ECCR cases in FY 2022. (OPTIONAL)

ECCR case example on page 17

Other notable ECCR case examples on pages 10,12, 14 and 15
4. ECCR Case Numbers

Final ECCR Case Numbers for EPA on pages 8 and 9


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24 | FY 2022 EPA ECCR Annual Report

Appendix B - Abbreviations

ADR - Alternative Dispute Resolution

ALJ - Administrative Law Judge

CAA - Clean Air Act

CAB - Community Advisory Board

CAG - Community Advisory Group

CAIP - Climate Adaptation Implementation Plan

CEQ- Council on Environmental Quality

CERCLA - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, also known as
"Superfund"

CPRC - EPA's Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center

CPRS - Conflict Prevention and Resolution Services contract

CWA - Clean Water Act

DOI - U.S. Department of the Interior

EAB - EPA's Environmental Appeals Board

ECCR - Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution

EJ - environmental justice

EPA - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

FERC - U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

FIFRA - Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act

FTE - full-time employee

FY - fiscal year

GE - General Electric

OALJ - EPA's Office of Administrative Law Judges

OECRC - EPA's Office of External Civil Rights Compliance

OMB - Office of Management and Budget

PCE - tetrachloroethylene

RCRA - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

SDWA - Safe Drinking Water Act

TSCA - Toxic Substances Control Act

USACE - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

USMCA - United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement


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