Policies and Procedures for Providing Meaningful Access to Participation in UMRBA’s Programs and Projects
Statement of Purpose
The principal purpose of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (UMRBA) is to maintain communication and cooperation among the states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin and among federal agencies with missions on matters related to water resources planning and management of the Upper Mississippi River Basin and in other areas of the United States.
UMRBA is a voluntary organization for interstate cooperation. While this cooperative arrangement allows for interagency and intergovernmental coordination, it does not provide a single authority for broad-based river management functions. This arrangement requires the independent state governments and federal agencies to secure the policies and resources to carry forward any agreements for cooperatively managing the basin’s water resources and related lands.
UMRBA is committed to supporting meaningful access to individuals directly and indirectly affected by its interstate programs, services, and activities. At the same time, UMRBA respects the layered approaches to public participation both through interacting in the interstate discussion forums and the states’ and federal agencies’ mandated public participation processes.
As a leading organization in the Midwest dedicated to solving the complex water resource challenges facing the Upper Mississippi River Basin, UMRBA recognizes the essential importance of including meaningful access to individuals, communities, and organizations and will strive to integrate voices represented of the geography and demographics and water resources interests in the process of creating and implementing solutions to these challenges.
UMRBA is also committed to understanding and addressing the impact that its policies and programs have on different people and communities, and working to ensure equity in opportunity and outcomes. UMRBA is consistently striving to expand the range of voices, experiences, and perspectives that are heard in the discussions we convene throughout the Basin.
This UMRBA Public Participation Plan will be implemented in tandem with the UMRBA Language Accessibility Plan, Disability Accessibility Plan, and UMRBA Standard Operating Procedures for its Quarterly and Other Public-Facing Meetings as well as best management practices and guides to public participation processes made available by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the International Association for Public Participation.
Opportunities for Public Participation in UMRBA
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Quarterly Meetings
The UMRBA Board (Gubernatorial appointees) meet on a quarterly basis to perform Association business, convene discussions, and invite experts or representative stakeholder individuals and/or organizations to provide UMRBA with insight, experience, and recommendations on matters relevant to UMRBA’s priorities.
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Ongoing UMRBA Programs
UMRBA provides interstate forums for supporting more detailed coordination on water quality and quantity, ecosystem health, and emergency response. Each issue area involves different processes and levels of effort in supporting interstate cooperation.
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One-Time Projects
At times, UMRBA will establish ad hoc committees or work groups to focus interstate cooperation on a particular water resources question, issue, or other policy or programmatic matter. Or, at times, existing coordinating groups will be tasked with implementing a specific project to advance a solution or address an implementation challenge.
UMRBA Nondiscrimination Coordinator
The UMRBA Nondiscrimination Coordinator is Natalie Lenzen (nlenzen@umrba.org). Natalie Lenzen serves as UMRBA’s point-of-contact for any discrimination grievances and to coordinate UMRBA’s nondiscrimination policies, procedures, and activities.
Processes for Facilitating Public Participation
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Public Participation with the UMRBA Board
UMRBA will implement the UMRBA Language Accessibility Plan, Disability Accessibility Plan, and UMRBA Standard Operating Procedures for its Quarterly Meeting for offering public participation. The quarterly meetings will offer opportunities for individuals and organizations to engage in discussions on specific topics and to offer comment on general matters.
UMRBA will implement the UMRBA Language Accessibility Plan Disability Accessibility Plan on its website. The UMRBA website will maintain the UMRBA Notice of Nondiscrimination, UMRBA Grievance Procedures, contact information for the UMRBA Nondiscrimination Coordinator, and historical records for the Association, including quarterly meeting minutes and official UMRBA position statements.
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Public Participation with Programmatic Convening Entities (Councils, Committees)
UMRBA will reference the UMRBA Language Accessibility Plan, Disability Accessibility Plan, and UMRBA Standard Operating Procedures for its Other Public Meetings when convening interstate discussion forums.
UMRBA will reference the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Public Participation Guide for developing and maintaining Public Participation Plans for ongoing interstate programmatic convenings – e.g., the UMRBA Water Quality Executive Council.
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One-Time Projects
UMRBA will reference the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Public Participation Guide for crafting a public participation plan for one-time, ad hoc projects – e.g., a workshop, strategic planning initiative, monitoring project. UMRBA will also reference relevant materials published and made available by the International Association for Public Participation. The public participation plan will be made available on a UMRBA webpage dedicated to the respective project with instructions for individuals and organizations to submit input on the plan to UMRBA.
References
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Public Participation Guide: https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/public-participation-guide-introduction-guide
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International Association for Public Participation: https://www.iap2.org/mpage/Home
