3. Examining existing or potential community exposures to environmental pollutants as well as the efficacy of the laws, regulations, strategies and programs either proposed or in place to deal with them.

4. Obtaining and reviewing pertinent information from all segments of the county, both public and private.

5. Communicating recommendations and findings to the citizens of Hamilton County, to local governments, and to appropriate federal, state and local agencies.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

HCEAC soon developed into an open forum for presentations and nonpartisan discussion of issues concerning the County’s environmental quality. The members focused on assessing the environmental quality of the Mill Creek as an initial action item. By 1994, HCEAC developed a broader work plan that included supporting Mill Creek restoration efforts, comparative risk analysis, joint meeting/training session of environmental groups, improving in the implementation of pollution prevention plans, improving Hamilton County’s "Environmental Index," and creating an environmental directory.

Three principal achievements for HCEAC over the past decade include:

A new vision for the Mill Creek. The Mill Creek, flowing through the heart of Hamilton County, had been severely degraded for almost two centuries as a result of the impacts of urbanization. By the early 1990s, parts of the Mill Creek were merely an open ditch for storm water, combined with sewer overflow, and other natural/man made wastes. Other parts of the basin were in better condition, showing the Mill Creek’s potential for restoration.

In response to this pressing environmental concern, in 1993 HCEAC published Creating a New Vision for the Mill Creek, a document that both described current conditions along the Mill Creek and its riparian corridor and outlined a restoration strategy for the area. The principal goal of the new strategy was to encourage affected communities to establish a permanent Mill Creek watershed improvement organization that would spearhead and coordinate restoration initiatives. HCEAC saw the need for collective action due to the absence of any rational public decision-making processes concerning the Mill Creek.

Specifically, HCEAC recommended that the political jurisdictions along the Mill Creek should enter into an agreement that would pledge to commit and cooperate toward the restoration of the Mill Creek. The centerpiece of such an agreement would be the creation of a Mill Creek restoration committee or council, composed of representatives of political jurisdictions and other local, state, and federal organizations. Jurisdictions participating in the agreement would agree to cost-sharing and other financial mechanisms for supporting the new organization. Assistance from the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments or other appropriate organizations in the areas of administration, coordination, planning and reporting, technical research and watershed implementation activities would be provided as needed.

The HCEAC document included a number of specific action steps needed to enact the vision of Mill Creek restoration, including: 1) evaluating previous and ongoing studies concerning the impacts of pollution along the Mill Creek; 2) developing an information packet for distribution to all watershed communities; 3) convening meetings within local political jurisdictions encouraging sign-on to an intergovernmental agreement; and 4) identifying financial and technical resources needed for a comprehensive restoration effort. It was hoped that this decision-making process would consider a broad spectrum of needs of the communities along the creek as well as the people in the region.

HCEAC followed up the report in August, 1993 by forming a steering committee to explore the possibility of multi-jurisdictional, watershed management approach to improve the Mill Creek. Less than two years later, representatives of 17 political jurisdictions signed a unique and historic intergovernmental agreement forming the Mill Creek Watershed Council (<http://www.millcreekwatershed.org/>) Interest in improving the health of the Mill Creek also led to the formation in 1994 of the Mill Creek Restoration Project (<http://www.millcreekrestoration.org/>), a private non-profit organization whose mission is to serve as catalyst for developing sustainability in the Mill Creek watershed through community-based planning and empowerment, environmental education, and economically sound ecological restoration.

. These two successful organizations emerged in response to the vision for the Mill Creek articulated by HCEAC in 1993. By focusing a significant amount of community attention on the Mill Creek corridor, Creating a New Vision for the Mill Creek had a profound impact on environmental quality in Hamilton County.

Directory of environmental organizations in Hamilton County. From its inception, HCEAC members have viewed the sharing of environmental information as a critical part of the organization’s activities. In 1995, HCEAC worked in partnership with the National Association of Professional Environmental Communicators (NAPEC) to publish a directory of environmental organizations in Hamilton County. The goal of the directory was to provide information to the local community concerning the environmental stakeholders and interested parties in the area. The directory, which has been updated on an annual basis by Alan Vicory of ORSANCO, includes the names of the organizations, contact information, and a brief synopsis on the organization (<http://hceac.epa.state.oh.us/envdir.htm>) Organizations are listed alphabetically and are categorized by type (public interest, government, business, academic, religious, and media). A number of organizations have indicated that the directory has served as a resource for improving communication among divergent groups about environmental issues.

Hamilton County Environmental Priorities Project (HCEPP). In December 1994, HCEAC initiated the Hamilton County Environmental Priorities Project (HCEPP) a massive effort to bring together people from the general public, environmental organizations, businesses and industry, and government to work collaboratively to improve the environment of Hamilton County. The original HCEPP process lasted nearly four years and included hundreds of Hamilton County civic and religious leaders, scientists, academics, public officials, business executives, neighborhood and environmental activists, and other interested citizens.

The goals of the HCEPP included: 1) the identification of issues on which they could work together to reduce actual, estimated, and anticipated environmental threats; 2) the ranking of issues by levels of importance based upon scientific information and public values; 3) the development of recommended actions and strategies that would serve to guide the policies and practices of individuals, institutions, corporations, and governments. The products that were anticipated from the HCEPP included: 1) an informed public discussion of environmental issues; 2) broad-based consensus on action plans to reduce environmental harm; 3) agreement to collaborate to implement prioritized plans.

The HCEPP process began with the convening of a number of Working Groups (Air, Land, Water, and Environmental Decision-Making and Public Participation). The Working Groups, made up of interested community volunteers, spent a number of months clarifying the environmental issues and challenges, and collecting and analyzing data about the issue areas. The Working Groups then developed reports that summarized the data they collected and suggested proposals for addressing the issues. In these reports, the Working Groups identified over 100 environmental issues of concern, including issues related to air quality (including outdoor and indoor air concerns), water quality (including microbial and chemical concerns), flooding, ground water supply, natural environment and exotic species, brownfields and toxic chemicals, and urban sprawl.

Once the Working Groups drafted their reports, they were shared and discussed in a series of community meetings to garner input from Hamilton County residents. Final drafts were then submitted to the Consensus Forum, a smaller group of community members, business leaders, and government officials in Hamilton County, for additional consideration. The Consensus Forum met in June, 1998 to discuss those reports and work towards an agreement on the issues addressed and the actions that need to be taken. As a result of the Consensus Forum, HCEPP launched seven new action initiatives to address what were identified as critical environmental challenges facing Hamilton County. The new initiatives included:

1. Regional Sustainability Initiative: A vision for sustainable Greater Cincinnati Region; drafting and adoption of sustainability principles to guide public decisions affecting land use, infrastructure investments, and public support of economic development; adoption of principles by local jurisdictions; and agreement on key indicators of sustainability for the region.

2. Regional Greenspace Office: Planning and implementation of regional greenspace strategy; develop a master plan for green space management; develop land protection and acquisition strategies; coordinate development of recreational trails, greenways, wildlife corridors and protection of natural assets. Proposed lead agency: Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments. Possible partners: county and municipal park districts, Hillside Trust, Mill Creek Watershed Council, Oxbow, Audubon, Ohio Greenways.

3. Environmental Information and Education Center: Provide educational resources and encourage locally based research efforts; coordinate data bases, calendar information, electronic bulletin boards, etc. Proposed lead agency: and Environmental Information and Education Center Development Committee to prepare for a non-profit organization.

4. Environmental Forum: Establish a citizen-based, public forum to address regional environmental issues. This is not intended to be and advocacy organization, but rather an event, perhaps held two to three times a year, gathering people together to share information and strategies. It may sometimes focus on specific issues. It might be organized like a conference.

5. Air Quality Issues Impacted by Mobile Sources: Supporting the regional clean cities program; increasing the use of alternatively fueled vehicles by supporting changes in the state fleet vehicle purchase program; encouraging cooperation of local governments in transportation planning; promoting the voluntary use of reduced Reid Vapor Pressure Gasoline during the ground-level ozone season; promotion of legislation that will reduce the sulfur levels in gasoline; encourage infrastructure development for alternatively-fueled vehicles and alternatively-fueled fleet purchases.

6. Wet Weather Initiative: Regional approach to storm water management and drainage control planning; training for zoning and planning officials from township, municipalities, and counties.

7. Enforcement of Dumping and Littering Regulations: Adding authority and increased allocations and personnel for enforcement of solid waste dumping and littering regulations, especially in transportation corridors and waterways; establishing a neighborhood-based environmental watch program.

In the years since 1998, HCEAC has monitored progress made to implement each of the HCEPP initiatives. In 2001, HCEAC issued a report assessing efforts undertaken by community members, industry officials, and government agencies in Hamilton County to implement these initiatives (<http://www.terconline.org/pages/content/hceppinitiatives.html>). In addition, in conjunction with the fourth HCEPP initiative, HCEAC has taken a lead role in hosting a number of Environmental Forums in Hamilton County over the past few years, including meetings on the issues of air quality (May, 1999), smart growth (January, 2000), transportation (October, 2000), and the proposed Deep Tunnel project (August, 2001).

ASSESSMENT OF HCEAC PROCESS

HCEAC has held regular meetings on a monthly basis for a decade. Meetings have generally consisted of updates on environmental issues and activities provided by HCEAC members, followed by a more focused discussion or presentation on a particular theme, concern, or ongoing project being undertaken by the group. The open-forum format of HCEAC meetings has allowed members to benefit from the effective transfer of information, as well as the sharing of diverse viewpoints, on a host of environmental issues facing Hamilton County and the surrounding region.

A survey of current and former HCEAC members was conducted in 2002 (complete survey results are available upon request). The survey included an item asking respondents to comment on the group dynamics and process of information exchange within HCEAC. Responses to this item included:

· Good forum for receiving information

· Open, honest, and respectful forum for diverse views

· Members work very hard to have productive discussions, respect differences of opinion, and seek consensus

· Everyone is viewed as being equal, something that doesn’t occur as often during meetings of other groups or organizations

· While there may not always be agreement or consensus, there is a sense of integrity and camaraderie among members

· Egos are checked at the door in the spirit of cooperation and friendship

On the same survey, current and former HCEAC members were asked what they have gained from participation on the Commission. Responses to this item included:

· Networking opportunities with a wide variety of local environmental stakeholders

· Forming enduring and valued relationships and feeling a sense of accomplishment

· Opportunity to interact with representatives of academia, environmental groups, industry, and government on a variety of environmental issues

· Access to knowledgeable people to call upon with specific questions on environmental issues

· Satisfaction with participating in a group that works for the improvement of the local environment

The achievements of the HCEAC over the past ten years are due in large part to the positive group dynamics that have developed and endured over time.

NAME                TITLE              ORGANIZATION

Dr. Thomas Hauser (chair) Professor            University of Cincinnati

Valdas V. Adamkas Administrator              Regional U. S. EPA, Region V

Stanley Broadnax Health Commissioner   Cincinnati Health Department

Robin Corathers Director                   Hillside Trust

Raymond Fern       Administrator               Hamilton County

Michael Gunn       Assistant to City Manager City of Cincinnati

Bob Herrick       Member               Cincinnati Environmental Advisory Council

Susan Higgins      Manager, Govt and Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce
                              ^{Community Affairs}

Larry McGraw      Deputy Health Commissioner  Hamilton County Health District

Tom Saygers      Director                 Metropolitan Sewer District

Tim Sisson      Conservation Chair Sierra Club-Miami Group

Harry St. Clair      Acting Director         SW Ohio Air Pollution Control Agency

James W. Sumner   Manager Env. Programs   General Electric Aircraft Engines

Robin Tollett          Section Head                Procter & Gamble Co.
                             ^{Wastewater and Solid Waste Technology}

Alan Vicory, Jr.     Executive Director Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission

Tom Winston         Chief                            Southwest District Office Ohio EPA