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Department of Ecology News Release - July 17, 2003
03-146
OLYMPIA - It is now easier than ever to learn about opportunities to participate in decisions being made by the state Department of Ecology.
The department has unveiled a centralized public-events calendar on the main page of its Web site, located at www.ecy.wa.gov.
The public-events calendar lists information about hearings, meetings and comment periods related to proposed regulations, permits, water cleanup plans, toxic cleanups and other regulatory actions.
The information is searchable by the type of involvement opportunity (e.g., hearing, comment period, etc.), dates, city, county or topic. People also may search using their own words.
"Public involvement in government decisions is vital to the success of the democratic process, but it can be very hard to keep track of all the important things government is doing," said Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons. "Our new public-events calendar is designed to make our actions more visible and transparent to the public, and also easier for people to take part in decisions affecting Washington's environment.
"Anything we can do to improve accessibility is a good step forward," he added.
All proposed regulations, cleanup actions and most permits issued by Ecology must go through a public-comment period, and those comments must be considered before a final action is taken.
Public-involvement opportunities have been posted on Ecology's Web site for several years, but the information was scattered throughout the site and hard to locate. The new site is intended to provide one-stop shopping to find out about local and statewide issues that are pending before Ecology.
In addition to the new Web page, Ecology will continue to post legal notices in local newspapers, as required by law.
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Media Contact: Sheryl Hutchison, 360-407-7004
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
