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Description
Mission Statement
A representative body drawn from a cross-section of the community that serves as a forum for ongoing, open communications to continually improve and protect the quality of life, human health, and the environment of Calcasieu Parish
Forum Developed With Input From
- Industry representatives
- Elected officials at city, parish and state levels
- Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LaDEQ)
- US Environmental Protection Agency - Region 6 (EPA)
Steps in the Development of the Forum
- Define Goals
- Issues of Concern
- Type of Meeting
- Meeting Format
- Identify/Recruit Membership
- Select Facilitator
- Member Orientation
- Meeting Location
- Meeting Agendas
- Evaluations
Development Process Included
- Interviews and discussions with interested parties and agencies
- Feedback from interested parties and agencies
- Citizen/Group input to LaDEQ and EPA-Region 6
- Organizational Meetings with potential members of the Forum
Guiding Principles for Operation of the Forum
- Meetings should be run by an impartial facilitator that all parties agree upon in advance
- Meeting times and places will encourage public participation
- Opportunity will be available for questions from the public after each agenda item
- Open public microphone will be provided to the public before closure of each public meeting
- Decisions by the membership of the Forum will be made and agreed to by consensus
- Forum attendees representing a Forum member will not be considered consensus members
- Federal and state agencies will be resources but not consensus members and will be able to provide necessary and timely technical assistance
- Process of setting agendas and selecting presenters will be done by the complete Forum
membership
- Meeting agendas will be provided to the Forum membership at least one week prior to the meeting and an effort will be made to include information that will be distributed at the meeting
- Meeting notice to the public will be published 5 days in advance
- Meeting record will be published, archived and posted on the internet
- Meetings will be held on the 2nd Tuesday of every odd month with every other meeting being designated as an agenda preparation meeting
- Forum members will not have more than three (3) consecutive unexcused absences and/or three (3) unexcused absences in the period of one year
- Forum openings will be replaced as soon as possible with coordination with the facilitator. Identified groups will identify their selected representative and community candidates will be proposed by the Forum such that the
facilitator can confirm participation
- Forum will maintain a broad-based membership that is representative of the initial Forum.
Makeup of the 21-member Forum will include the following:
| Cities |
(3) |
| Parish |
(1) |
| State |
(1) |
| Industry |
(3) |
| Environmentalists |
(6) |
| Education |
(2) |
| Medical |
(1) |
| Minister |
(1) |
| Emergency Management |
(1) |
| Agriculture |
(1) |
| Small/nonindustrial business |
(1) |
Forum adopts a policy of prudence; that is, decisions will be made to best protect the public health and the environment
Topics Selected by the Forum as items for Future Public Meetings
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in Calcasieu Parish
- Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) in Calcasieu Parish
- Enhanced Air Monitoring in the Lake Area
- Status of the Chicot Aquifer
- Broad-based Resource Management Education
- Permitting Issues in Calcasieu Parish
- Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) - Surface Water Issues
- Multimedia Inspections/Reports
- Environmental Justice in Calcasieu Parish
- Ozone in Calcasieu Parish
Sponsorship
The Calcasieu Community Health and Environmental Forum is sponsored by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Hosted by the Violet H. Howell Institute for the Study of Industry-Community Relations located within the
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences at McNeese State University
Memberships
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