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Portland Water Bureau (XLC)XLC Logo

October 29, 1998 Meeting #1 Summary

Project XL for Communities Sponsor/Stakeholder Meeting for
Portland's Lead Hazard Reduction Program (LHRP)
Meeting Summary
Meeting #1, October 29, 1998 , 9:00am-12:00pm

In Attendance:

Facilitator - Joan Brown-Kline
Sponsors - Bert Seierstad, Stacey Drake Edwards, Curt Ireland
Co-sponsors - John Dougherty, Chris Johnson, Dave Leland
EPA Stakeholders - Bill Glasser, Kristina Heinemann, Monica Kirk, Barbara Rose
Direct Participant Stakeholders - Jerry Arnold, Dean Fritzke, Alan Hipolito, Annabelle Jaramillo, Ellen Johnson, Ann Kimerling, Rick Leiker, Alfonso Lopez, Harvey Rice, Rick Hill, Damon Whitehead


The following were presented as Desired Outcomes for Today's Meeting:

Introductions
All meeting participants introduced themselves, indicating their role in the Portland XL for Communities project as Sponsors, Co-sponsors, or EPA stakeholders, or by which organization or group of stakeholders they represented.

Establishment of Groundrules for Today's Meeting
The group agreed on the following groundrules:

Information on the Final Project Agreement Process

Note:  Refer to the handouts for more detailed information.  EPA personnel (Bill Glasser and Kristina Heinemann) presented information on the development of a Final Project Agreement (FPA):  the participants, the key steps in the process, the need for clear definitions of stakeholders' roles and a clear Decision-Making process, and the provisions for Public Comment (typically 30 days).  Information was also presented on the significance of the FPA, and what it is, and is not.  FPAs are not legally-binding documents, but they are "firm agreements" which "reflect serious commitments" on the part of project sponsors.  The components of an FPA include: an overview of the project, the applicable XLC Selection Criteria, description of the stakeholder process, commitments of the sponsors and stakeholders, legal mechanisms, how the project will be evaluated, and administrative provisions.  Signatories to the FPA include project sponsors, the EPA, and Direct Participant stakeholders who wish to accept that role and commitment.  Direct Participants who sign the FPA will need to be clear about whether they are signing as individuals, or as representing their organization.  The "implementing mechanism" for the Portland XLC project has been provided by the Oregon Health Division as the drinking water regulatory authority in Oregon as granted primacy by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Because of the nature of XL for Communities projects, It is clear that traditional outreach methods don't always produce the most effective community-based programs.  Recognition of this need is the primary reason for convening these Sponsor/Stakeholder meetings and developing the FPA for the Portland XLC project in a participatory manner which involves those persons and populations who have the greatest stake in the project's outcomes.

Review of Lead Hazard Reduction Program Components
Note:  Refer to the handouts for more detailed information on each of the components of the LHRP.  Bert Seierstad presented information on the Water Treatment and Water Quality Monitoring program component.  Chris Johnson and John Dougherty presented information on the Home Lead Hazard Reduction Program, CLEARCorps, Evaluation, and the Lead Dust Prevalence Study.  Stacey Edwards presented information on Stakeholder Involvement, Public Education, and Outreach for all components of the LHRP.  Curt Ireland presented information on the Lead-in-Water Testing program component.

The Lead Hazard Reduction Program is being managed by the Portland Water Bureau for compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule on behalf of the Bureau and its wholesale water purveyors.  The LHRP applies to the Bull Run Service District (see "Water Providers Map handout).   As the components of the program continue to be implemented, it will be very important to ensure equitable availability of outreach, education, and program  resources across the Bull Run Service District.

The pilot year of the CLEARCorps program has produced data indicating that 31% of the window sills and 66% of window wells of participants' home exceed the Action Levels for lead dust.  The CLEARCorps Team does spread bark dust on bare soil which is found to be a significant source of lead.  The Lead Dust Prevalence Study is being conducted on eleven zip codes in the Bull Run Service area which contain about 50% of the homes built before 1950, including 10,000 homes that have children.  About 40-50 houses have been sampled, and the study is ongoing.  The results are very preliminary, and can not be cited here.  Approximately half of the houses appear to have a lead dust problem, which preliminarily indicates a somewhat higher magnitude problem than perhaps would have been expected in the Portland area.

Stakeholder involvement for the Lead Hazard Reduction Program began in the first year of the program with outreach which was focused primarily on education and recruitment of participants from the pilot neighborhood in Northeast Portland.  Current outreach efforts have been expanded to encompass all four components of the LHRP, the entire geographical area of the Bull Run Service District and its identified target populations, and to include education on numerous routes of lead exposure (not just lead dust/paint and water).  Outreach is being developed which will reach additional populations which the programs will serve (Asian, Hispanic, Russian, etc.).

Establishment of Groundrules for the FPA Development Process
The group began a discussion of the groundrules (or Guiding Principles) that would be necessary for successful development of an FPA:

Discussion of the Lead Hazard Reduction Program in the context of XLC Selection Criteria; Identification of Issues and Concerns for each program component
The time remaining was short (about one-half hour), but the following subset of three critical XLC Selection Criteria were presented and used as a basis to begin discussion of the LHRP components and identify stakeholders' issues and concerns: Stakeholders identified the following questions and concerns: Time was very limited, but some responses were provided to the identified concerns.  These concerns match well with those of project sponsors and co-sponsors.  A number of efforts are ongoing, and can only benefit from the additional feedback and suggestions for improvement that the XLC process will provide: There was a discussion about the need to have both more broadly-based, meaningful stakeholder involvement, and the need for a cohesive group of stakeholders to be directly involved in this FPA process.  Concerns were expressed that we be careful to delineate those efforts, recognize that they can be efforts which are parallel and separately focused, but also efforts which are effective and comprehensive.

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