Objectives and Scope
The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) has formed an independent stakeholder group, the Drinking Water Quality Task Force, to address issues related to drinking water quality and consumer confidence in the District of Columbia.

As an initial objective, the Task Force is charged with exploring threats posed by lead in drinking water.  DDOE is convening the Task Force to advise the agency on the scope and design of an independent evaluation of lead levels in District drinking water. When issues of scope and design are complete, DDOE will issue a request for proposals (RFP) to retain an outside contractor to conduct sampling and analysis.  The Task Force will also discuss other issues related to drinking water quality, which will most likely be addressed following conclusion of the lead evaluation discussions.

The Task Force will provide recommendations to DDOE, but DDOE retains decision-making authority with respect to scope and design of the independent lead evaluation and other subsequent analysis of drinking water quality.

Task Force discussions and activities will be forward-looking rather than evaluating past activities and will not be limited to the scope of federal compliance requirements.

Participation

DDOE has invited the following organizations to serve on the Task Force:

• Alliance for Healthy Housing
• Clean Water Action
• DC Appleseed
• Friends of the Earth
• Office of Councilmember Jim Graham
• Office of the City Administrator
• Parents for Non-Toxic Alternatives
• US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EPA Region 3
• Virginia Technology Institute
• DC Water and Sewer Authority Board and Staff
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Washington Aqueduct
• Williams and Cunningham

Each of these organizations has designated one member and one or more alternates. While not all members and alternates can attend all meetings, participants will strive for consistent involvement. Participants agree to take responsibility for staying informed about meetings that they have missed and voicing their perspective on developing proposals as soon as possible. To promote early, broad, and frequent involvement among all interested parties, participants also agree to actively reach out to their constituency to seek feedback on proposals in development.

DDOE is convener and chair of the Task Force. DDOE staff will support the Task Force through: meeting preparation, including agenda development; participation in meeting discussions; and meeting follow-up, including drafting meeting minutes and maintaining the Task Force website.

Decision Making

DDOE will strive for consensus recommendations on topics of discussion. “Consensus” means that all member organizations “can live with” recommendations and products, taken as a whole. Consensus recommendations will be documented in writing. While DDOE retains decision making authority, the agency agrees to give considerable weight to consensus recommendations. Participants understand that recommendations to DDOE will be strongest if they represent consensus among a broad cross-section of stakeholder groups.

If consensus is not reached on all aspects of the general scope, participants will articulate areas of agreement and disagreement (including the range of participant viewpoints) for DDOE’s consideration as the agency makes final decisions.

Product/Proposal Development

Participants will strive to get all issues “on the table” at initial meetings and work toward solutions by generating proposals to address these issues. Issues and proposals will be discussed and developed to the extent possible during monthly meetings. All proposals are considered working drafts. Parties can indicate agreement in principle with these drafts, while reserving final agreement on the full package until all issue areas are addressed. Participants are encouraged to share draft language with their constituents, but should refrain from characterizing proposals or other materials in development as a consensus product.

Characterization of Views / Interactions with the Press

To the extent feasible, Task Force members (and their alternates) will refer inquiries from the press regarding the Task Force and its deliberations to DDOE (contact Alan Heymann at (202) 741-2136 or alan.heymann@dc.gov) and/or the Task Force website.  If a Task Force member engages in discussion with the press or makes public statements about the Task Force or related issues, he or she should refrain from characterizing the views of, or attributing comments to, other Task Force members or the Task Force as a whole. To further encourage an open exchange, DDOE requests that other attendees at Task Force meetings also comply with this guidance.

Any members of the press are requested to identify themselves and refrain from quotes taken during Task Force discussions in favor of speaking with participants at the conclusion of the meeting.

Meeting Ground Rules

To support the above objectives and operating procedures, all Task Force participants agree to observe the following meeting ground rules:

• Be solution-oriented
• Focus on issues, not individuals – no personal attacks
• Offer suggestions that you think will work for all
• Keep the focus in the room
• No side conversations – share your thoughts with the group
• Turn phones and PDAs to silent or vibrate