EPA Seeks Comment on Draft Policy for Public Participation in Agency Decision-Making Processes

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of the draft policy, Achieving Health and Environmental Protection Through EPA’s Meaningful Involvement Policy, that outlines updates on how the Agency will engage with the public and provide meaningful public involvement in all of its programs and regions. This policy is grounded in the acknowledgment that EPA's actions further strengthen health and environmental protections when they are informed by individuals with lived experience.

This draft policy updates EPA’s 2003 Public Involvement Policy, and incorporates lessons learned over the past twenty years as it has worked to promote an agency-wide approach to providing meaningful involvement opportunities. EPA will apply the draft policy to all national program and regional actions that may benefit from public input. The draft policy describes 3 steps for meaningful involvement:

• Identifying the decision(s) in an EPA action that may be influenced by public input,
• Using the public participation spectrum, and
• Using the public participation model.

The draft policy will be available for a 60-day public comment period, ending on January 16, 2024.

Tribes may request consultation regarding this policy by January 5, 2024, by visiting EPA’s Tribal Consultation Tracking Opportunities System (TCOTS) website.

Comments can be submitted via:

• Emailing: MeaningfulInvolvementPolicy@epa.gov;
• Submit the contact us form: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/forms/epas-meaningful-involvement-policy-public-comment-submission 
• The draft policy docket: EPA-HQ-OEJECR-2023-0326 at www.regulations.gov. 

Learn more: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/epas-meaningful-involvement-policy