This note addresses the petitions the Department of Toxic Substances
Control (DTSC) received regarding a Community Advisory Group (CAG), and
the expanded public outreach effort we plan for the Santa Susana Field
Lab community. As a signatory to one of the two petitions received,
I’d like to thank you for your interest in this important project.
I’ve learned through many years of experience that our cleanups are
best made when we have the benefit of an informed and involved
community. To that end, we are committed to improving our transparency,
communication and public participation efforts on this project.
As I mentioned, DTSC received two petitions regarding the CAG. The
first asked DTSC to form a CAG, which is an advisory panel that is
intended to channel a community’s diverse stakeholder viewpoints into
a focused and productive process. The second petition asked that no new
group be formed, and instead requested we improve our current DTSC
forums and outreach processes to better inform the community and bring
the community’s ideas into our decision-making.
While not dismissing the concerns raised by those who requested a CAG,
DTSC has decided not to form the panel at this time. As we noted in our
letter to the CAG petitioner (see attached), we have concerns that the
formation of another advisory group for this project will amplify
divisions within the community, rather than facilitate communication.
We believe there is another option, one that enhances transparency and
communication, and best utilizes the community’s and DTSC’s limited
time. I’ll go into details in a moment, but in brief, this effort
will involve improved electronic access to information, more effective
face-to-face exchanges of ideas and improvements to existing
communication forums. Community input is vital to building on these
concepts, so very soon we will initiate efforts to gather ideas and
comments from you and other stakeholders.
We are launching a new SSFL Web site that will better organize our
ability to instantly provide you with what’s new, and more
conveniently access all published information in our files. With your
input it will become a primary portal for those seeking information on
our progress, project background, technical documents, correspondence,
studies, past decisions and other vital documents. The site will be able
to be accessed at www.dtsc.ca.gov/sitecleanup/Santa_Susana_Field_Lab/,
and will be live next week.
We have also created a convenient way for you to receive regular e-mail
notifications of news and information, community meetings, workshops,
document posting, opportunities for public participation and comment,
and related items of interest. You’ll be able to sign up for this
email notification feature from the new web site. You can also subscribe
to this new email feature by clicking on:
http://www.calepa.ca.gov/Listservs/dtsc/. On that page, scroll down
to "DTSC: Santa Susana Field Laboratory" and click on "Subscribe."
Recognizing that you have many demands on your time, we also want to
improve our meetings with stakeholders by ensuring that your time is
well-spent. Our current series of community and open technical meetings
will continue, of course, but we’d like to know from you how they can
become more useful. We also want your ideas on other effective
communication forums. We’ll be hosting several “listening
sessions” in neighborhoods surrounding SSFL in upcoming weeks where
we’d like to hear your ideas on how these personal exchanges can
better fit your needs. The first session will be held April 7th at the
DTSC Chatsworth office at 9211 Oakdale Avenue from 7-9:30 p.m. The
second session will be held on April 8th from 6-9 p.m. at the Oak Park
Library, 899 North Kanan Road in Oak Park. Additional meetings are also
being scheduled in West Hills and Simi Valley. As soon as I have dates
and locations, we will send out a meeting notice and post the
information on our web site. I hope you can join us at one of these
sessions.
DTSC will continue its participation at the existing and long-standing
Community Work Group meetings. However, we recognize that there is
concern about the makeup and information-sharing of this group. We plan
to raise these concerns with the Work Group and with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, seeking to enhance the Work Group’s
composition and ensure that its agenda and discussions facilitate open
dialogue between the diverse perspectives within the community.
We need your help in improving communications using all of the above
tools, as well as the need for identifying new opportunities to share
information. This process of improvement will continue throughout the
project and we urge your involvement.
Again, I want to thank you for the time you have dedicated toward this
project, and ask that you join me in developing a decision-making
process that is transparent, informative and participatory. I look
forward to your input.
Rick Brausch
SSFL Project Director
Department of Toxic Substances Control
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