Superfund Community Involvement Toolkit

General CI Toolkit Information

EPA's Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI) prepared the Superfund Community Involvement Toolkit to provide Superfund Regional Site Teams and other staff with a practical, easy to use aide for designing and enhancing their community involvement activities. The Toolkit also is intended to help avoid the pitfalls common to the community involvement process. The Toolkit enables EPA's community involvement staff and Regional Site Teams to quickly review and adapt existing community involvement tools, such as public notices, presentations, and community interviews, to their own needs. In addition, the Superfund Community Involvement Toolkit lists useful references and resources available to community involvement staff and provides examples of a wide range of outreach and educational materials. Electronic versions of many of the materials referenced in the Toolkit (templates, sample documents, fact sheets, etc.) have been assembled and are listed below.

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How to Use the Toolkit

The Superfund Community Involvement Toolkit is a comprehensive and practical tool for promoting successful community participation in the Superfund process. The Toolkit contains tools which describe activities that Superfund Site Teams have used successfully or provides information on available resources. All of the tools are listed below, and are presented in alphabetical order.

Each tool begins with an introduction that summarizes the tool or community involvement activity. The introduction provides a brief description of the activity, indicates whether the activity is required by law or regulation (if relevant), and includes suggestions on how to use the tool/activity and when in the Superfund process it works best. The introduction concludes with a brief summary of key tips for using the tool/activity. Any tools or aids follow the introduction.

Many tools include sample document templates, easy-to-use aids, fact sheets, and a wide range of suggestions and recommendations for implementing various community involvement activities. The tools are cross-referenced with related tools, and many include citations to reference materials and guidance. The tools can be adapted, combined, or reinvented as necessary to fit the specific needs of community involvement staff or the Regional Site Team. Electronic versions of the supplemental templates and documents referenced in each tool are listed directly below that tool. The supplemental templates and documents are in either a PDF format for printout or in Microsoft Word format that can be edited.

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Community Involvement Toolkit

Revisions to the Superfund Community Involvement Toolkit Since Publication

As of October 2005, the following revisions have been made to the Superfund Community Involvement Toolkit since publication in September 2002:

• A new Tool on Evaluating CI Activities (Tab 48) was added. (October 2005).

• A new Tool on Redevelopment Planning (Tab 47) was added. Ten OSWER Directives related to Superfund Community Involvement were added (July 2003).

• Tab 41 (Technical Assistance for Communities) was revised to reflect recent EPA rulemaking for administering Superfund Technical Assistance Grants (TAG). Tab 40 (Superfund Regional Ombudsman) was revised to reflect the re-designation of Ombudsmen as Public Liaisons (June 2003).

• Tab 16 (Federal Agencies) and Tab 27 (Other EPA Programs) were revised to update contact information and website addresses (May 2003).

Superfund Community Involvement Toolkit Files

Toolkit Preface and Table of Contents (PDF) (8 pp, 289K)

Community Involvement Activities Throughout the Superfund Remedial Process (PDF) (1 pp, 37.7K)
Community Involvement Activities Throughout the Superfund Removal Process (PDF) (1 pp, 42.1K)

1. Brownfields (PDF) (2 pp, 69K)
2. Citizen Recognition (PDF) (2 pp, 47K)
3. Communications Strategies (PDF) (10 pp, 539K)
4. Community Groups (PDF) (4 pp, 87K)
5. Community Interviews (PDF) (10 pp, 111K)
• Information Needed from an Interview (MS Word) (2 pp, 23.5K)
• Planning/Implementation Checklist (MS Word) (1 pp, 22.5K)
• Sample Confirming Letter (MS Word) (1 pp, 21.0K)
• Sample Scheduling Call (MS Word) (1 pp, 20.5K)
6. Community Involvement Impact Analysis (PDF) (8 pp, 116K)
7. Community Involvement Plans (PDF) (40 pp, 405K)
• Community Involvement Plans Template (MS Word) (23 pp, 285K)
• Community Involvement Plans Template--Additional Tasks (MS Word) (3 pp, 40.5K)
8. Community Profile (PDF) (4 pp, 98K)
9. Community Visioning Process (PDF) (2 pp, 395K)
10. Computer-Based Resources (PDF) (28 pp, 517K)
11. Contract Management (PDF) (12 pp, 262K)
12. Cross-Cultural Communications (PDF) (6 pp, 90K)
    Evaluating CI Activities (PDF) (4 pp, 896K) (See Tab 48)
13. Exhibits (PDF) (6 pp, 340K)
14. Facilitation/Conflict Resolution/ADR (PDF) (10 pp, 289K)
15. Fact Sheets (PDF) (4 pp, 81K)
16. Federal Agencies (PDF) (34 pp, 701K)
17. Focus Groups (PDF) (8 pp, 515K)
• Focus Group Check List (MS Word) (2 pp, 28.0K)
18. Frequently Asked Questions/Referrals (PDF) (8 pp, 242K)
19. Hot Sites Template (PDF) (8 pp, 87K)
• Hot Sites Template (MS Word) (5 pp, 73K)
20. Informal Activities (PDF) (4 pp, 69K)
21. Information Repository (PDF) (4 pp, 450K)
22. Local Resources (PDF) (6 pp, 81K)
23. Mailing List (PDF) (4 pp, 66K)
24. Maps and Aerial Photographs (PDF) (2 pp, 273K)
25. Media (PDF) (16 pp, 126K)
• Media Log (MS Word) (1 pp, 22.5K)
• Message Template (MS Word) (1 pp, 23.5K)
• Sample News Release (MS Word) (1 pp, 23.5K)
26. On-Site Activities (PDF) (4 pp, 71K)
• On-Site Activity Planning Checklist (MS Word) (1 pp, 25.0K)
27. Other EPA Programs (PDF) (12 pp, 133K)
28. Partnering (PDF) (12 pp, 145K)
29. Presentations (PDF) (16 pp, 148K)
30. Public Availabilities/Poster Sessions (PDF) (10 pp, 472K)
• Public Availability/Poster Session Checklist (MS Word) (1 pp, 28.0K)
31. Public Comment Periods (PDF) (6 pp, 79K)
32. Public Meetings (PDF) (12 pp, 535K)
• Public Meeting Check List (MS Word) (2 pp, 32.5K)
33. Public Notices (PDF) (4 pp, 345K)
• Public Notice Ad Samples-1 (MS Word) (4 pp, 2.97MB) | PDF Version (597K)
• Public Notice Ad Samples-2 (MS Word) (8 pp, 4.04MB) | PDF Version (289K)
• Publishing Effective Public Notices (PDF) (8 pp, 393K)
34. Redevelopment Planning (PDF) (4 pp, 203K) (See Tab 47)
35. Residential Relocations (PDF) (4 pp, 91K)
36. Resource Book (PDF) (6 pp, 88K)
37. Responsiveness Summaries (PDF) (2 pp, 61K)
38. Risk Communication (PDF) (14 pp, 155K)
39. Special Events (PDF) (4 pp, 69K)
• Special Event Planning Checklist (MS Word) (1 pp, 25.0K)
40. Spokesperson (PDF) (2 pp, 66K)
41. Superfund Regional Public Liaison (PDF) (1 pp, 159K)
42. Technical Assistance for Communities (PDF) (12 pp, 127K)
43. Telephone (PDF) (6 pp, 71K)
44. Translation Services (PDF) (2 pp, 67K)
45. Treatment Technologies (PDF) (6 pp, 109K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Activated Carbon Treatment (PDF) (2 pp, 159K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Air Stripping (PDF) (2 pp, 155K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Bioremediation (PDF) (2 pp, 1.46MB)
• A Citizen's Guide to Capping (PDF) (2 pp, 158K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Chemical Dehalogenation (PDF) (2 pp, 129K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Chemical Oxidation (PDF) (2 pp, 228K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Cleanup Methods (PDF) (4 pp, 700K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Fracturing (PDF) (2 pp, 128K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Incineration (PDF) (2 pp, 1516K)
• A Citizen's Guide to In Situ Flushing (PDF) (2 pp, 149K)
• A Citizen's Guide to In Situ Thermal Treatment Methods (PDF) (2 pp, 155K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Monitored Natural Attenuation (PDF) (2 pp, 162K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Permeable Reactive Barriers (PDF) (2 pp, 174K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Phytoremediation (PDF) (2 pp, 135K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Pump and Treat (PDF) (2 pp, 153K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Soil Excavation (PDF) (2 pp, 160K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Soil Vapor Extraction and Air Sparging (PDF) (2 pp, 200K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Soil Washing (PDF) (2 pp, 87.2K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Solidification/Stabilization (PDF) (2 pp, 154K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Solvent Extraction (PDF) (2 pp, 177K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Thermal Desorption (PDF) (2 pp, 110K)
• A Citizen's Guide to Vitrification (PDF) (2 pp, 152K)
46. Videos (PDF) (8 pp, 185K)
47. Workshops (PDF) (8 pp, 149K)
48. Redevelopment Planning (PDF) (4 pp, 203K)
49. Evaluating CI Activities (PDF) (4 pp, 1.2MB)

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