The national government expressed its concern regarding the environment in the National Environmental Policy document, approved by Parliament in 1991 which stressed, among others, principles of sustainable development. Chapters of the national policy devoted to the role and tasks of local government in implementation have defined necessary action as:
LEAPs for the towns of Radom and Elk have been developed within the national framework as pilot projects of the National Environmental Action Program. The main idea of this pilot project was to select two cities of different sizes - introduce and test the foreign methodology in one, adapt the methodology to local conditions, and subsequently implement it in the other. The city of Radom, with a population of 230,000 was selected as the largest city where the coordination of such a project is still feasible, while Elk, with a population of 55,000 serves as a smaller test site.
The pilot project in Elk differs from that of Radom in concept: the action plan in Elk is being developed with an underlying vision of sustainable development; it does not deal exclusively with environmental protection. This means that in executing this venture in Elk, environmental protection action must be integrated with other municipal development activities and programs (economic). The focus is on strategies, both to protect the environment and stimulate the local economy.
Factors determining the selection of Elk and Radom included the presence of typical environmental problems, interest and support of the local authorities and other organizations, and the fact that both cities had not before developed comprehensive municipal environmental plans. The Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD) in Warsaw had already cooperated with Elk over a period of several years before this project started.
The project has been executed jointly by the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) in Vermont, USA, supported by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and ISD. From its very inception, ISD devoted a great deal of attention to the concept of sustainable development at the local level, as well as public participation in the decisionmaking process. The experience of ISC and the interests of ISD resulted in the creation of this joint venture. This is considered both an important element in the implementation of recommendations of the Lucerne Conference on the Environment, as well as an important aspect of PolishÐAmerican cooperation in environmental protection.
Completion is expected around the end of 1996.
These legislative changes created the setting necessary to launch local activities such as this pilot project. The ongoing debate regarding the introduction of a second tier of self-government may accelerate the process of establishing local sustainable communities. A major barrier to their implementation, however, can be the replication of a typical model suitable only for a western economy, based on the concept of economic growth.
Several towns were visited and meetings were arranged with local residential representatives, local government, representatives of environmental organizations, environmental protection services, etc., to chose suitable venues for the project. Decisive factors for selection were as follows:
The representatives of local interest groups established public Program Committees (PC). Wide participation has been strong in the decisionmaking process, extending to community residents. Almost one hundred people -- teachers and college staff particularly -- took part in several meetings aimed at publicizing the project and increasing public participation. Meetings with representatives of local industry and local environmental groups also took place.
The authorities of Radom and Elk, through a local coordinator, have supervised the project implementation, supported a process of environmental data collection and are to implement the LEAP prepared within the framework of the Pilot Project. Cooperation with the regional offices of Radom and Suwalki guarantees consideration of environmental protection matters outside the jurisdiction of town authorities, assistance in procuring necessary data, and the widest possible response to action undertaken within the framework of this project.
Due to the size of the project, it was necessary to establish the post of a full-time, local coordinator at ISD, responsible for logistical support.
The most developed, economic fields in Radom are the machine and metallurgical industries, telecommunications, the chemical industry, food processing, and the timber, garments, leathergoods and tanning, tobacco, and construction industries. As a result, the most polluting industrial facilities in the town include the combined electricity generating and heating plants, plants manufacturing sewing machines and typewriters, switch manufacturing plant, leathergoods plants and tanning facilities, the paint manufacturing factory, the fireÐresistant materials factory, and the tobacco products plant. Additional problems stem from the municipal dump and the sewage treatment plant.
Areas of greatest natural value are the six municipal parks), three historical parks, a small wetland area (the breeding grounds of certain species of birds), and a forest.
Many environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are active, including the Center for Ecological Education, the Polish Ecological Club, the "Wole Byc"("Prefer to Be") Youth Group, the Nature Protection League, the "Oddychanie"("Breathing") Foundation, and the Teachers' Environmental Association. Environmental awareness among Radom residents is high, a fact confirmed by a questionnaire on environmental pollution, conducted during the project. The poll demonstrated that the residents of Radom know the environmental problems facing their town, and with the appropriate education and assistance, are capable of becoming involved in their solutions. Environmental NGOs receive substantial material and financial support from the local government.
The municipal government consists of the Council and the Board - the executive organ. The Board encompasses many different departments, including health, education, social welfare, promotion and foreign cooperation. The Department of Environmental Protection and Agriculture is responsible for environmental problems and can provide monitoring and supervision, as well as the appropriate coordination of related ventures. The department employs 15 persons in three sections - municipal parks (vegetation and agriculture), water and sewage treatment, and the Environmental Monitoring Task Force (noise and vibration, environmentally polluting emissions, and environmental monitoring). The level of proÐenvironmental investment in the town exceeds five percent of the municipal budget. Funds available from the municipal Environmental Protection Fund, established in 1993, amount to US$ 160,000 annually.
Several projects aimed at improving the environment in the town are currently underway. The most important ones include a solution to communal waste treatment, methods of supplying the town water system up to the year 2010 on the basis of deep wells, communal sewage and liquid waste treatment, the clean production program, and the construction of a sanitary and storm sewage network.
During one of the first meetings of the newly established PC, training was conducted related to the structure of meetings, team work, generating discussions, and the principles of communication. SubÐcommittees were created within the framework of the committee to deal with particular environmental problems.
Besides issues related to the local environment, issues considered important for the town's economic development, the state of technical infrastructure, education, health care, and living standards were discussed and a comprehensive action plan for the town's sustainable development was drawn up.
1. The preliminary identification of environmental problems
For preliminary identification of environmental problems, the "brainstorming" method was used. Thus an initial draft outlining environmental problems was drawn up, with basic explanations as to causes for concern.
2. Initial verification of the list of environmental problems by the PC, supplemented with other items by the committee.
This phase mainly attempted to eliminate those problems from the list which, by their nature, were not environmental problems, but rather matters of environmental management. Examples include insufficient legal regulation, low environmental awareness, or insufficient financial resources.
3. A subsequent verification of the list of identified local environmental problems by the PC.
During the verification of the list of environmental problems, attention was paid to several matters which may have an impact on future phases of project implementation, such as designating priorities on the basis of a comparative risk analysis. Subsequently, a list of 17 environmental problems was submitted for review by Radom residents, with a widely- distributed sociological questionnaire.
Experience from the United States and from Western European countries shows that designated environmental priorities rarely reflect the actual threat posed by environmental problems. Decisionmakers in this field often react more to pressure from the community than as a result of objective assessment.
Such an approach can lead to delays in solving problems of which society is not fully aware, but which carry major dangers. Methods based on comparative risk analysis were therefore used. Comparative risk analysis methodology provides general answers to such questions as: Which environmental problems (bearing in mind the present state of knowledge and available data) create the greatest threat to the health of a given community, its natural environment, economy and the quality of life of its inhabitants. Therefore, which problems should be considered priorities? The comparative risk analysis, though, founded to a great extent on results of scientific analysis, is imprecise and is based only on available data. An important feature of such an analysis is that all assumptions are explicitly stated and data limitations openly acknowledged. Another important characteristic is the weight applied to the results of discussions and debates on risk assessment between those directly interested. A significant aspect of the comparative risk analysis is the consideration of public opinion. For this reason the PCs stressed from the beginning the importance of keeping the community informed of the progress of work.
The methodology of comparative risk analysis has not been conducted before by local people in Poland. For this reason, several training sessions were necessary.
Identification and general characteristics of local environmental problems alone do not provide the basis for a risk analysis - data must be collected in order to conduct such an analysis. The character and scope of this data stems directly from the methods used in health, environmental, economic, and quality of life risk analyzes.
Specifically, collected information and data pertained to: quantities of emitted pollutants, their sources, range, numbers of persons affected by the given pollutants (measured as the number of persons living in a given area of the town or bathing in a polluted lake, for example); the scale of the problem as it increases over the years; the natural environment subject to a given pollutant; the opinions of committee members related to the economic impact of the environmental problems of the town; residents' opinions on the decrease in the quality of life as a result of environmental pollution, etc.
I. Health risk assessment
A health risk analysis was conducted by a team of experts from the Institute of Occupational Medicine of Lodz. This team assessed health risks linked to specific environmental problems on the basis of data collected by the PCs.
The health risk analysis addressed problems of air pollution, water pollution, noise, waste and disasters. Problems relating to the depletion of aquifer and the disappearance of surface streams were not included in the analysis due to a lack of proven causeÐandÐeffect links between the existence of this environmental problem and the state of the town's inhabitants health.
II. Ecological risk assessment
Ecological risk analysis was the domain of a separate team of experts. In order to define factors which are detrimental to the natural environment, it was necessary to define such elements as ecoÐsystems or populations which are particularly sensitive, rare or threatened by negative factors. It was also necessary to assume a certain distribution of pollution over the analyzed area. The analyzed area was not restricted to the town limits, but encompassed some land beyond it.
The ecological risk analysis did not include threats related to noise and vibration, nor those tied with the quality of drinking water.
III. Economic and quality of life risk assessment
Economic risk and the decrease in the quality of life were assessed jointly. The PC conducted the analysis in these fields. Such factors as aesthetic and environmental values, psychological comfort, recreational potential, the good of future generations, a sense of justice, community values, and economic values were all considered.
The results of the risk analyses were initially to be discussed in the wider context of particular environmental problems in order to rank the problems according to priority. However, it was necessary to prepare synthetic reports containing information on the results of analyses, as well as other information that could influence the course of discussions and subsequently ranking results (scale of threats, reversibility, uncertainty).
Ranking method
Ranking of environmental problems by the PC took place over a period of two-days. The final ranking considered not only the threat which the given environmental problem may pose to human health, ecosystems, the economy, and the quality of life, but also such factors as social preference, the jurisdiction of local government, legal requirements, etc. Like all plenary sessions of the PC, the ranking session was open to the public and took place over a weekend to ensure the widest possible public participation. Representatives of district and local governments, MoE, ISD, USEPA, ISC and the USAID were invited to attend.
During the first day of the session, the previously identified and analyzed local environmental problems were arranged according to the risk they posed. On the second day, participants discussed the weight of environmental problems according to criteria other than risk. The committee took into account residents' opinion of the town's environmental problems, (based on a sociological survey), as well as the local government's ability to find solutions. The session resulted in the compilation of a list of local environmental problems according to urgency, as seen by the PC: all problems categorized as high risk on the first day were given priority status. The problems of the aquifer depletion and disappearance of surface flows were identified as the top priority, with air pollution from transport and industrial sources as the second priority. In the Summary, the PC ranked the problems as:
Radom completed the first draft of the LEAP. The City Council is expected to approve the LEAP by September 1996. The LEAP focuses on the top five priority problem areas. Each chapter describes the problem, identifies goals and preferred strategies for achieving the goals. The PC is now developing an Implementation Plan which will focus on how to solve the aquifer depletion issueÐthe top priority problem. Implementation of preferred strategies is expected to begin in the fall.
Public Participation
The Radom PC has undertaken a number of activities to educate the public about environmental issues, solicit their opinions and actively involve them in solving environmental problems. The Committee has published and distributed a quarterly newsletter, participated in local radio and TV programs, and held a series of public information meetings about the top priority problem areas. The Committee prepared and distributed a survey to over 1,000 Radom residents asking them, among other items, which environmental problems they felt were most severe. In April 1996, the PC organized a tree-planting day, bringing 2000 residents together to plant over 600 trees throughout the community.
Areas of greatest natural value within the town boundaries are two lakes and a beaver refuge with an area of 1.9 sq. km.
The structure of local government is similar to that of Radom, but proportionally fewer people are employed by the municipality office. There are two staff specialists in the Department of Architecture and Land Management, and environmental protection inspectors. Funds available from the municipal Environmental Protection Fund for 1995 totalled US$ 42,000. An additional US$ 2,6 million was earmarked for the modernization of the sewage treatment plant, the communal waste dump, and the building of a sanitary sewage main for a housing estate. A similar sum is guaranteed for 1996. Elk has implemented the "Elk - Environmental City" Program and prepared "Principles of Environmental Protection and Shaping" within the framework of the City of Elk Master Spatial Development Plan. Education in the field of environmental policy has had limited scope to date. Training has been given at the district level for the staff of the local administration.
The Elk Environmental Society has existed since 1993. The Environmental Emergency Task Force is in operation as a part of the State Fire Department. The society has organized such campaigns as the Great Mazurian CleanÐUp, Clean Up the World, and participation in the Earth Global Action Plan.
3. A subsequent verification of the list of identified local environmental problems by the PC
In Elk it was decided that the priority list should be restricted to the five main environmental problems considered most important by town residents: lake and river pollution, air pollution from low emission sources, degradation of plants and animals, air pollution from high emission sources, and noise. Thus, soil and ground water degradation issues were removed from the list of topics to be included in the program. Other subjects of interest to citizens, such as economic development, were also considered.
The health risk analysis for Elk encompassed problems relating to air pollution, water pollution of the lake and river, and noise.
Ecological risk assessment
The same risks to ecological systems as in Radom were assessed in this step.
Economic and quality of life risk assessment
Residents of the town had an enormous interest in the economic development of the town on the basis of existing environmental resources. The PC therefore decided to conduct separate analyses for economic risk linked with environmental degradation, and analyses related to the decrease in quality of life. Economic risks were evaluated by the PC in a "brainstorming" session. The main economic effects of observable environmental problems were defined as a result of this process. The effects were then evaluated by the Committee, with emphasis on the scale of burden.
The risk to quality of life was assessed by the PC on the basis of a sociological questionnaire distributed to the town residents.
Ranking method
The host of the session was a primary school, well known for its interest in environmental education. Representatives of the voivodeship, as well as town authorities and those of neighboring municipalities, were present.
The comparative risk analysis proved successful as a method for determining local environmental problems. Threats resulting from each individual problem were assessed (based on knowledge of the town's environmental problems, results of expert analyses, including the analysis of economic threats and the decrease in quality of life).
Taking into consideration four risk categories and the weights applied to specific types of threats, environmental problems were ultimately grouped:
The second day was devoted to discussions related to the results of the residents' sociological questionnaire. The Mayor of Elk and Municipal Office staff were invited to the session because of their knowledge and experience in this field.
Other issues to be raised included:
The priority problem finally agreed to was the lake and river pollution.
A cooperative agreement was signed between the town authorities and the surrounding communities (within the Municipality of Elk limits). This first step included:
The same steps towards real action as identified in Radom were to be taken in Elk: selection of strategies, creation of an action plan, setting indicators for project effects, and the implementation of an action plan to address priority problems.