On Tuesday, January 16, Smart Growth America, the National Brownfields Coalition’s Environmental Justice Committee, and our allied technical assistance partner organization, Green Resources & Opportunities Workforce (GROW), submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s draft Meaningful Involvement Policy. The revised policy will guide EPA’s public involvement approach across all of its programs and regions.
The draft policy provides essential updates to the 2003 public involvement policy and demonstrates a thoughtful and inclusive strategy that acknowledges the diverse needs and priorities of environmental justice communities. Our comment offered suggestions on how to best engage the public to achieve health and environmental protection, based on key lessons we’ve learned through our own technical assistance work. In addition, we suggested five revisions that would make the policy stronger:
- Address scenarios in which “Meaningful Involvement” is triggered
- Encourage cross-agency involvement
- Develop supplemental and more accessible resources
- Recognize that communication structures are not static
- Incorporate an understanding of discriminatory land use practices
Finally, we provided a list of projects and resources that serve as strong examples of meaningful public involvement. They include:
- Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision-Making
- Minnesota Department of Transportation Public Engagement Resources
- Our Streets Minneapolis
- India Basin Waterfront Park Equitable Development Plan in San Francisco, CA
- Hampton Roads Public Participation Plan
- Broward MPO Public Participation Plan
- CMAP Public Participation Plan