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Partners For Tomorrow's WestPARTNERS PROMOTING INTERGOVERNMENTAL COOPERATION |
Utah
Customer Service Oriented Environmental Quality Department
Wyoming Intergovernmental
Cooperative Land Management
Utah Customer Service Oriented Environmental Quality Department
Problem Statement
Past misalignments and enforcement-oriented regulatory practices within the Department often resulted in delays, frustration, and increased costs for businesses, inefficient delivery of environmental services, and wasted taxpayer resources.
Misalignments between federal and state and local governments, business interests, and citizens often resulted in inefficient and ineffective environmental programs and services. Some environmental issues were poorly coordinated because each agency thought the other was responsible. As a result, some community problems were left unresolved. Federal, state and local agencies sometimes addressed environmental issues differently.
This situation, besides being inefficient and ineffective, created confusion and frustration for the public. The public would receive inconsistent information and not know which agency to approach.
The public's interest, to get a problem solved no matter which government agency was responsible, was not served. The mounting impacts of rapid state growth and development exacerbated this already difficult situation.
"Utah needed new ways of doing environmental business."
History of the Initiative
In January 1993. Governor Leavitt appointed Dianne Nielson Executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and charged the Department to operate as a customer service organization. The governor's charge expanded the agency's customer-focused Total Quality Management (TQM) initiative, begun the prior year, and focused DEQ on this key objective:
"Make state government directly responsive to the people it serves."
DEQ leaders gave the governor's initiative dynamic form. They revised the department's strategic goals to reflect this new way of doing business and began including key customers and staff in their planning process. They linked these goals, intended to guide every agency activity, through the entire organization to individual, front-line employee performance plans. In addition, DEQ managers and staff established "Operating Principles" which spell out the new way to do business and guide each person in creating an atmosphere of cooperation.
The Partnership Vision
Realizing that DEQ can best achieve its mission by working closely in partnership with its customers, constituents, and other government agencies, the department dramatically changed the way it does business. DEQ staff actively works to develop partnerships through forums for information sharing, joint planning and problem-solving with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Local Health Departments (LHD), city and county governments, local facility operators, developers, industry leaders, small business owners, special interest groups, legislative representatives and concerned citizens. Employee and customer feedback guide improvements as these activities continue to evolve.
Business Partners
Although working in partnership with regulated industries is a radical departure from traditional oversight and enforcement, this approach actually achieves greater compliance in many cases. Guided by environmental standards, DEQ makes every effort to help businesses achieve compliance.
Compliance assistance resources include technical workshops and other educational programs for businesses and industry consultants, on-site assistance visits, fact sheets, coordination and support through industry associations, technical assistance by phone, Internet access to regulations, and Small Business Assistance Programs.
Local Health Department Partners
The Partnership Council, formed in 1993 with Local Health Departments and DEQ representatives, has become a successful model of local and state cooperation, joint planning, and service improvement. Formed to improve deteriorated working relationships and to address service delivery concerns, the Council has chartered and managed successful problem-solving teams, established environmental services delivery plans, and jointly petitioned the Legislature for program support and budget requests.
Specific accomplishments through the Partnership Council include:
- Major improvements in the DEQ underground storage tank program and the creation of an industry-sponsored tank training facility.
- Improved local emergency response capabilities through acquisition of emergency response equipment and additional training for LHD personnel.
- Creation of an ongoing LHD/DEQ joint problem solving and review committee to assure consistent state practices through the used tire recycling program.
- Solutions to many state drinking water service delivery concerns through greater coordination, communication, and training.
- New DEQ/ LHD service contracts to create greater flexibility, simplify reporting procedures and reflect improved, more trusting relationships.
Integrating resources has benefitted Utah citizens and improved services throughout the state. Decades of mutual frustration have been transformed into partnership relationships that make possible the multilevel Partnerships for the Environment, described below.
Federal Government Partnerships
Through ongoing negotiations with the EPA and through active leadership in national organizations, DEQ leaders influence national policy and funding to support Utah environmental needs.
- In October 1995, DEQ was one of the first states in the nation to sign a Performance Partnership Agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the National Environmental Performance Partnership System (NEPPS). This annually negotiated agreement establishes Utah goals for environmental protection as standards for state accountability.
- Utah was one of the first states to adopt Performance Partnership Grants, which allow Utah to use grant resources flexibly to address state needs.
Partnership for the Environment
As a natural extension of these working partnerships, greater communication and trust, the Partnership for the Environment initiative brings together three levels of government (EPA, DEQ & LHD) to address environmental problems identified by local officials and community leaders. The partnership initiative reflects Governor Leavitt's commitment to "Customer-Driven Government" and creates a new, ongoing model for federal, state, and local government cooperation.
New Ways to Do Business
The partners have practiced new ways to do business, guided by jointly developed vision, value and operating principles. Their willingness to work within this framework made the initiative possible.
Shared values identified by the local, state, and federal government partners shaped the vision and made the initiative possible:
- Focus activities at the local level.
- Solve or prevent problems by using each agency's resources and authority.
- Take risks, build trust, and listen to community needs.
- Commit personal leadership, teamwork and follow-through to assure success.
Practices for Working with Counties
Addressing individual county environmental issues through collaboration and coordination was and continues to be the overall goal. The specific objectives are:
1. Determine what elected officials and other community leaders perceive to be the environmental problems in their respective counties and prioritize those concerns.
2. Identify resources which partners can contribute to solve these problems and commit jointly to appropriate steps to address each issue.
3. Maintain regular contact with community leaders to communicate progress and seek necessary assistance.
4. Assure adequate communication, coordination and collaboration between the agencies to provide a seamless resolution to the issues.
Southwest Partnership for the Environment
The five-county Southwest Utah Partnership for the Environment, initiated in January, 1996, is an ongoing partnership success for the EPA, DEQ, LHD, county commissioners, the Five County Association of Governments, and the people of Southwest Utah.
The Southwest Utah Public Health Department (SWUPHD), DEQ and EPA met to determine what each agency could bring to the partnership and how to begin. Next, a meeting was held locally with invited community leaders from each of the five counties in this 17,000 square mile area. During this meeting, DEQ directors briefly presented county-specific environmental information. County groups then expressed their specific environmental needs, issues, and concerns. Their issues were consistent with those identified during a statewide, EPA-funded Comparative Risk Project through which communities previously were surveyed. Phase two of the Comparative Risk Project, working directly with communities, was initiated through the Southwestern Partnership.
With the needs, issues and concerns identified by the counties, SWUPHD, DEQ and EPA began the process of clarifying the information. The three agencies met to make sure everyone heard the same thing and to discuss what could be done. Follow-up meetings were held with county commissioners to verify needs, establish priorities and learn more about their concerns. Each county identified drinking water and waste water as priority issues. Other priorities included landfills, radon, used tires, and air quality.
Once this identification and verification process was completed, the three agencies chose assignments based on their particular resources. The work began. A tremendous amount of work was accomplished in a very short time and without any increases in agency budgets. Once the three agencies focused their collective resources on the same issues, each partner shifted priorities to provide staff, technical expertise, services, regulatory authority and funding to this project.
Results
The following has occurred in direct response to the needs, issues and concerns expressed by community leaders.
1. Adoption of a local health department ordinance addressing non-public water systems. Government partners, county commissioners, county building inspectors, and well drillers prepared the ordinance which the SWUPHD Board of Health adopted after public hearings.
2. Adoption of model county ordinance/recommendations addressing septic tank management for groundwater protection. Government partners, county building inspectors, and real estate interests prepared the ordinance adopted by county commissioners. Through the EPA Senior Environmental Employee program a retired engineer was hired to work with the public and county planning and zoning commissions on this ordinance. Government partners produced a tri-fold color brochure for public information.
3. "Ideas for Water Management Strategies," a workshop for more than 100 people from the five county area was conducted by the partners and representatives from local governments.
4. The SWUPHD is developing a certification program for individuals interested in being able to conduct percolation tests and soil analyses for septic systems. Small counties need more local, qualified individuals.
5. In order to stop illegal dumping, partners helped landfills increase public accessibility, educate citizens, and coordinate state/county enforcement actions
6. A basin/aquifer study for groundwater protection began in Washington County to assess septic system impact on the aquifer and the need to restrict septic system density. A similar study is now being developed for Iron County.
7. Public information and availability of radon test kits through the Beaver County newspaper helped citizens where radon readings are highest in the state.
8. The partners, five county commissions, and federal and state land managers met to discuss needed coordination of controlled burns in this scenic tourist destination where more than 90 percent of the five county area is publicly owned.
9. Additional activities included watershed management, underground storage tank seminars, used tire disposal, fact sheets on open burning, fugitive dust and air quality, and a recycling guide for Iron County.
10. Improved relationships have helped all governments utilize each other's resources for more effective environmental services delivery. Each agency is recognized as willing, helpful, and effective in solving problems in these rapidly growing communities. They proved they could listen and work together effectively.
Using the model developed in the southwest, a community-based partnership with DEQ, the Tri-County Health Department, other local entities and the EPA began in August. 1997 in the Uintah Basin.
Over time, partnerships between EPA, DEQ, and the remaining ten local health departments, and county governments will be initiated to address local needs throughout the state.
Contacts:
Dianne Nielson, DEQ Executive Director
(801) 536-4400
Brent Bradford, DEQ Deputy Director
(801) 536-4403
Leah Ann Lamb, DEQ Director Office of Planning and Public Affairs
(801) 536-4476
Wyoming Intergovernmental Cooperative Land Management
Under Governor Jim Geringer, Wyoming has found better ways to coordinate federal and state land management planning and decision making. Those better ways include the Governor's Kitchen Table and the Capital City Coordinator.
Governor's Kitchen Table
Shortly after taking office in 1994, Governor Geringer decided to address the fact that state and federal agencies in the state often worked at cross purposes on land management issues where there was shared jurisdiction. Recognizing the need for better cooperation, the governor invited federal and state agencies to meet with him and his staff to "strive for alignment" among agencies and set the stage for the most "effective and efficient public service." He called this meeting his "Kitchen Table" because in rural America, friendships are built, business is discussed, and binding agreements are sealed with a handshake over a cup of coffee around the farm or ranch house kitchen table. Eleven state and federal agencies attended this first Governor's Kitchen Table.
That meeting was such a success that the governor institutionalized the effort. Participants at the second Kitchen Table discussed strategies for coping with shrinking agency budgets. Opportunities for sharing data and other resources were identified. As a result of that meeting, Governor Geringer, Rocky Mountain Regional Forester Lyle Laverty, and Intermountain Regional Forester Jack Blackwell signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) regarding data sharing and data management at the 1998 Kitchen Table.
Also stemming from the 1996 Kitchen Table, an interagency task force was established to develop a model which could accurately predict the movement of particulate matter in the southwestern Wyoming airshed. Regional haze has been a major issue in mineral development efforts there because of a Class I wilderness area "downwind" of proposed development, and existing air transport models did not accurately predict movement of particulate matter within this airshed.
That group, the Southwest Wyoming Technical Air Forum (SWyTAF), will run their new model and test it against actual measurements beginning late this year. SWyTAF is itself recognized as an excellent working model for federal/state agency cooperation.
Participants in the third Kitchen Table discussed innovative opportunities for state and federal partnerships in the federal planning and NEPA processes. Those processes were discussed in the context of such issues as roads, non-point source pollution, and land exchanges. The Wyoming Capitol City Coordinator position is an outgrowth of these discussions.
Over 20 agencies and three congressional offices participated in the fourth Kitchen Table this year. Using a general framework of air and water quality issues, participants clearly defined each agency's role and responsibilities. Discussions identified jurisdictional overlaps and gaps, recognized where partnerships were happening effectively, and identified opportunities to improve partnerships.
Wyoming Capital City Coordinator
The Wyoming Capital City Coordinator position was established in 1997 by Governor Geringer and two regional foresters to promote communication, coordination, and cooperation among state and local governments in Wyoming, the USDA Forest Service (FS), concerned interest groups, and Wyoming's congressional delegation. The coordinator is a Forest Service employee who is housed at the Department of State Lands and Investments.
The coordinator strives to improve Forest Service program delivery, presence, and credibility by establishing and maintaining effective contacts in the Capital City and across Wyoming. Issues and projects the coordinator has helped work on include: the Forest Service/Wyoming data sharing MOU signed at the 1998 Governor's Kitchen Table; national issues, including the proposed Forest Service transportation system policy; a proposal to reform policy governing Forest Service payment to the states; a natural resource agenda; and coordination of local and regional issues with the State of Wyoming, local agencies, and other federal agencies.
Stan Sylva is the current coordinator. He is a career Forest Service employee who has served in a variety of positions in Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota and California.
Contacts:
Steve Reynolds
Director, Wyoming State Lands
(307) 777-6523
Stan Sylva
Wyoming Capital City Coordinator
U.S. Forest Service
(307) 777-6523