Involving Communities to Develop a Community Involvement Plan: A Case Study of the Hudson River PCB Public Participation Project
Presented by: Catherine Allen and Adam Diamond, MNG Center at SRA International; Cindy Cook, Adamant Accord, Inc.; David Kluesner; and Douglas Sarno, The Prospectives Group

The Hudson River PCB Dredging Project is arguably one of the most contentious remediation cases in the history of EPA’s Superfund program. This case study presentation will explore the approach and process used to develop the community involvement plan for the Hudson River PCB Dredging Project. In February 2002, the U.S. EPA announced its decision to dredge a 40-mile segment of the Hudson River that was contaminated with PCBs from past industrial operations. Discord and distrust among the communities located along the upper and lower Hudson and EPA has defined the 20-year debate on how to clean up the river. EPA recognized that it would need the cooperation and ongoing input of the affected communities. Accordingly, EPA has committed to an unprecedented level of public involvement related to the design, implementation and evaluation of the dredging project.
The goal of the Hudson River PCBs Public Participation Project was to involve a broad range of stakeholders to ensure rigorous and meaningful community involvement in this project. EPA’s first challenge was to assure the public that it was serious about developing a community involvement process that was truly
responsive to community issues and concerns. To do this, EPA recognized that affected communities had to be an integral part of the design and implementation of the community involvement plan, and that neutral third parties would help further the process. EPA contracted with a team of experienced senior public participation professionals for this purpose.
This case study will examine how the EPA and the neutral facilitation team approached each stage of the Hudson River PCBs Public Participation Project. The facilitation team and EPA staff will share important lessons and insights from this complex public involvement process.