MORNING

𝟗:𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐌—𝟏𝟎:𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐌 (𝐂𝐒𝐓) | 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞?
There are valid reasons why agency, facility, tribal staff, and community members may hesitate to undertake community engagement efforts, particularly when they involve contentious permit issues. However, the benefits can be significant when engagement efforts are designed with intention and transparency. Effective community engagement can save the agency time and money over the long run, by encouraging stakeholders to engage with regulatory agencies and by providing accurate information to communities to improve their decision-making. Having the opportunity to listen to and hear community concerns, admit mistakes, and apologize if needed, can help build trust with communities and other partners. Understanding community concerns can also result in better agency decision-making and increase the agency’s capacity to do more and create lasting relationships. Simply put, community engagement is a commitment to good governance. The panelists will share their lessons learned when community trust is broken and the importance of allotting the time and energy to prepare and implement effective community engagement. The panelists will also share tools, initiatives and strategies.

𝟏𝟎:𝟎𝟓 𝐀𝐌—𝟏𝟏:𝟎𝟓 𝐀𝐌 (𝐂𝐒𝐓) | 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 & 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬
Effective community engagement cannot be accomplished with a one-size fits all checklist. Community engagement requires intentional relationship building, a two-way dialogue, and an openness on all sides. During this session, panelists will share step-by-step engagement processes that they have implemented successfully. You will walk away from this session with an understanding of the fundamental components of a community engagement effort, examples of model engagement that you can adapt for your own purposes, and a list of tips.
 


LUNCHTIME

𝟏𝟐:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌—𝟏:𝟑𝟎 𝐏𝐌 (𝐂𝐒𝐓) | 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬
Making connections and building relationships can be just as important to secure funding as knowing the ins and outs of grant writing. Participants will learn how to find and apply for grants, with information on current grant availability, tips on how to find future grants, tricks for matching funds, and the dos and don'ts of applying. Attendees will also gain a deeper understanding of competitive vs. noncompetitive funding and how to navigate the world of alternative funding sources. They will also gain insight into how foundation funding works, what to have ready when funds become available, and how to build relationships that can open new opportunities to funding.



EVENING

𝟔:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌—𝟖:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌 (𝐂𝐒𝐓) | 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬
This session will zoom in on how businesses and community members have established and deepened partnerships with facilities and communities. The stories that are shared will provide insight into how to work with cultural organizations, struggles in engaging with the community from facility perspectives, and the benefits of engagement. By hearing from various speakers of differing backgrounds, participants will gain an understanding of limitations on both sides. These limitations and challenges include: constraints on time, money, and capacity; range of formal education; and language barriers and gaps in cultural competency. The real-world case studies and the resources provided will help participants build a playbook of where to best apply efforts, where to start, how to build relationships, and how to truly address issues.

MORNING

𝟗:𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐌—𝟏𝟏:𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐌 (𝐂𝐒𝐓) | 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐉𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐍
EJSCREEN is a mapping application that combines environmental and demographic data to highlight areas with potential environmental justice concerns. EJSCREEN can be useful to communities, local governments, and others in identifying areas with higher environmental burdens. This, in turn, allows for targeted outreach to these areas for participation in decision-making processes that impact their health and environment. EJSCREEN can also be used to support educational programs, grant writing, community awareness efforts, and other purposes. During this session, presenters will (1) provide an overview of EJSCREEN, (2) demonstrate some of its capabilities, (3) describe best practices and considerations for using EJ data to inform engagement design, and (4) provide real world examples. The demonstrations will enable the audience to understand and envision real life uses of the tool and available data. The real world examples will make the audience better equipped to share this knowledge and apply it.



EVENING

𝟔:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌—𝟕:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌 (𝐂𝐒𝐓) | 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬
The session will discuss how indigenous communities see natural resources as an integral part of culture and traditional lifeways. In the presentations, speakers will discuss treaty rights, what it looks like to go beyond regulatory responsibilities, and considerations to benefit the long-term good for tribes and communities.

𝟕:𝟎𝟓 𝐏𝐌—𝟖:𝟎𝟓 𝐏𝐌 (𝐂𝐒𝐓) | 𝐈𝐧-𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐎𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬
This session will foster an understanding of what considerations are needed when preparing permitting materials that are accessible and engaging for people from oral cultures. Speakers will highlight specific considerations, including communicating in different languages, reaching people with different learning styles, using a variety of methods of communication, and working with interpreters when hosting public meetings.

MORNING

𝟗:𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐌—𝟏𝟎:𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐌 (𝐂𝐒𝐓) | 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏𝟎𝟏
The session will, at a fundamental level, describe what a permit is and what it means to have a permit. Session presenters will provide a basic overview of the air permitting process, points of contact within the agency, and how to comment on air permits. Additionally, participants will gain an understanding of how responses to public comments are prepared by the regulatory agency and delivered to commenters, as well as the role facilities play in responding to comments. Participants will also learn how modeling is used as a cost effective way to simulate permit requirements, and compare the potential impacts to health based ambient air quality standards.

𝟏𝟎:𝟎𝟓 𝐀𝐌—𝟏𝟏:𝟎𝟓 𝐀𝐌 (𝐂𝐒𝐓) | 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬
In this session, speakers will help participants understand the impacts that various laws and policies have had on indigenous practices. Speakers will also reflect on the mental health trauma inflicted on indigenous communities as it pertains to loss of culture and connection when ancestral lands are negatively impacted and the rights of tribes are violated. In addition to highlighting the issues, the speakers will shed light on how to minimize negative impacts on people and natural resources.



LUNCHTIME

𝟏𝟐:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌—𝟏:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌 (𝐂𝐒𝐓) | 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐚𝐰
Participants will learn about the rights of community members and resources for citizens. This includes the administrative right of appeals processes and challenges to permits, contested case hearings, ways to petition EPA to review a permit, appealing a permit after issuance, and requesting an administrative hearing. They will also learn about the nature of zoning and land use decision making on more local levels of government. Participants will have time to ask questions and engage in open dialogue with the presenters.



EVENING

𝟔:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌—𝟖:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌 (𝐂𝐒𝐓) | 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
This session will briefly expose participants to risk assessment and communication. They will learn what goes into conducting a risk assessment. Speakers will give an overview of how to communicate risk. The goal is for participants to know how to understand risk and what it takes to successfully communicate risk.