In December 2007 and the first quarter of 2008, EQC held 3 listening sessions to receive input on our Public Participation process. We received over 5,000 comments, and the feedback indicated opportunities for improvement in five general areas:

• Notification
• Communication with the public and among ourselves
• Education
• Consistency
• Foresight

The meetings/sessions also helped us develop a “top 12” list of priorities. We want to:

• Improve our notification process
• Make our notifications more informative and effective
• Educate the public on its role in the public participation process
• Focus on health Issues
• Improve enforcement
• Educate the public
• Make SC rules more stringent than federal guidelines
• Create partnerships
• Work on processes/policies
• Do a better job keeping the public informed
• Update "Who to Call" information
• Improve methods for reaching stakeholders