The following set of draft procedures is being evaluated by the Conservation Governance Committee. This posting invites comments by entities or individuals on this draft. Comments, to be consolidated for the CGC by Jarrett Mason - [log in to unmask] - should be sent in by July 1. PUBLIC FACILITIES REVIEW PROCEDURES Background: Recently the Sierra Club has been involved in a number of high-profile disputes involving opposition to schools and other public facilities designed to serve economically disadvantaged communities. These disputes necessarily involve weighing the impacts on the natural environment against the social needs of the community that stands to benefit from the project. These disputes can raise important environmental justice issues and can escalate into high-profile political or media events. As a result, the Sierra Club believes they require an added level of review. For these reasons, the Sierra Club proposes to adopt the following guidelines: Proposed guidelines before opposing a school, hospital or other project serving an economically disadvantaged community. Before any Sierra Club entity opposes the siting, funding, construction, or reconstruction of a school, hospital, low-income housing project, or other project designed to provide services principally to an economically disadvantaged community, it must follow the process described below. This is meant to cover only projects where the overall primary beneficiary is a economically disadvantaged community, not a project that has a small component that benefits this community. (For example, a school designed primarily to serve a low-income community, not a housing project that consists primarily of housing for affluent homebuyers where a minor component of the project is a small number of low-income units.) If a Club entity wishes to support the project, or offer conditional support (recommend minor modifications), then these guidelines do not apply and no further national review is required. Review Procedures (1) First, meet with the beneficiary community face to face. This meeting should be a listening session, seeking common ground, and no Club position should be conveyed, although environmental concerns should be shared. (2) Prepare a written assessment of the environmental impacts of the project, any feasible environmentally superior alternatives, and the needs and desires of the local beneficiary community. If the beneficiary community is divided, this should be noted. This is not meant to be an exhaustive environmental impact statement, just a clear and concise summary of the issue to familiarize other Club leaders with the situation. A couple of pages of narrative should suffice. (3) Request concurrence from the chapter in which the project would be located (for entities other than chapters). (4) If the chapter in which the project would be located believes the Club should oppose the project, then the matter should be referred to the Vice President for Conservation. The Vice President, or his/her designee, will consult with the designated representative of the chapter and the chair of the National Environmental Justice Committee, or his/her designee. The Vice President (or designee) will discuss the issue with the two parties, seek consensus, and issue a ruling. If either party disagrees with the ruling, it may be appealed to the full Sierra Club national Conservation Governance Committee (CGC). (5) If, inadvertently, the Club takes a position in opposition to such a project without following this procedure, the CGC shall have the authority to decide whether or not the opposition position should be sustained, reversed, or modified. The initiating Sierra Club entity and the chapter are encouraged to seek advice any time during this process from appropriate knowledgeable national and regional conservation entities and staff, including, but not limited to, the National Environmental Justice Committee. Erin E. Jordahl Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club 3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280 Des Moines, IA 50310 515-277-8868 [log in to unmask] www.iowa.sierraclub.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp