As a communications person, sometimes it\u2019s hard to feel directly connected to EPA\u2019s mission. How does editing a speech help protect human health and the environment? I\u2019m not a scientist assessing monitoring data or an enforcement officer\u2026enforcing things. I write about what they do.<\/p>\n
Recently, though, I had an opportunity to get a little more involved by helping create an online discussion forum to get insights from the public on some of the biggest problems facing our nation\u2019s water resources. We debuted Coming Together for Clean Water<\/a> (in mid-March and took public comments on watershed management, nutrient pollution, and stormwater management for two weeks so that we could get broad input on these topics in advance of EPA\u2019s upcoming conference of the same title. The conference will convene about 100 executive-level leaders from across the water sector to discuss these three topics. The comments from the online forum will be shared with conference participants.<\/p>\n We received hundreds of thoughtful, detailed comments from people involved in all aspects of the water sector\u2014state environment officials, engineers, advocates, and interested citizens. A lot of participants seemed to want to harness the momentum of the environmental movement by ramping up outreach efforts. By making people feel ownership of their watersheds, rivers, and lakes, we can help them become partners in caring for these resources.<\/p>\n Moderating the comments and watching the conversation grow on this forum (or being the \u201cblog mama,\u201d as I called it) was a great experience. Reading so many great suggestions for addressing water pollution, frustrations about what\u2019s not working, and success stories made me realize that EPA is not in the environmental fight alone\u2014we\u2019ve got lots of willing partners from all walks of life, and they are eager to share their experiences.<\/p>\n