News Release No. 479

OMBUDSMEN REACH OUT TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE

Volume 33-479

Contact: Connie Patterson

(For immediate release)

573-751-1010

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, NOV. 21, 2005 -- The Department of Natural Resources' ombudsmen have made more than 230 contacts with citizens, community officials and businesses since September. The department put the ombudsmen in place this fall in an effort to improve environmental compliance and customer service to Missouri citizens.

"The ombudsmen are learning about minor frustrations folks have with the department," said Department of Natural Resources Director Doyle Childers. "Serving as my eyes and ears in the local communities gives our ombudsmen the ability to work with our technical staff in addressing these frustration before they turn into major problems. In the interest of improving customer service, we're going to the problems instead of waiting for them to come to us."

Visits by ombudsmen to county commissions, communities and businesses across Missouri have helped put a face on the department. "Developers and builders will be happy for the opportunity to be heard," said Matt Morrow, executive officer of the Springfield Home Builders Association. "The Home Builders Association is very receptive to the ombudsman program."

Many of the ombudsmen success stories to date include finding answers to questions and resolving problems, often within a number of hours instead of days or weeks, for citizens, communities and businesses. "Sometimes it's as simple as directing someone outside the agency to the right program or staff person within the agency to address their concern," said Scott Totten, the department's chief ombudsman. "One constituent in southeast Missouri told us he was going to send all his problems to the ombudsman after we successfully resolved an issue for him."

Childers said the development of the program reflects a core belief that the ombudsmen can help the department improve the quality of life for Missouri citizens. "Many times I've heard the phrase 'Ignorance of the law is no excuse,'" said Childers. "As a former teacher and educator, I believe education and training go a long way to removing ignorance as an excuse. Today, there are better ways to provide a cleaner environment with less hassle and red tape for ordinary citizens."


One way the department is hoping to cut down on hassle and red tape is a compliance assistance initiative announced last week www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel/nr05_459.htm. "We're surveying the new permit holders to determine if the visits were helpful and if solutions were identified to any problems that might have been found," said Totten. "Because it's important to us that everyone's voice be heard, our ombudsmen will follow up with anyone who didn't return the survey to learn if there were any problems we might have missed."

Not learning about problems in time to correct them has led to a number of urban myths that the Department of Natural Resources is trying to debunk, according to Childers. "When we've delved into them, we've found these myths have mushroomed without much basis in fact," he said. "Is there room for improvement? Absolutely. However, the reality is we've provided good technical assistance in the past, but it's not well known to many people. Missourians have a right to expect good customer service from us, and I want people to know what a good job this agency does in protecting our air, land and water quality."

There are currently six ombudsmen serving central, northwest, southeast and southwest Missouri as well as the St. Louis area. The department hopes to find an ombudsman to serve the Kansas City area soon. Visit www.dnr.mo.gov/ombudsman-map.pdf for a map of how the ombudsmen regions are divided across the state.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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