Changing Adversaries into Allies | Aggregates Manager
1. Aggregates Manager Sta, June 1, 2013
Changing Adversaries into Allies
(http://www.aggman.com/9les/2013/05/community-supportUntitled-1.gif)The
permitting process can be contentious, but long term community outreach and
involvement can build better relationships.
By Christopher Hopkins
Getting a quarry expansion or a new green<eld site approved through the local permitting process
can be a grind. It will likely be contentious, volatile, and at the end of the day, regardless of the
outcome, there will be some hard feelings on both sides of the argument. After all that, when I tell
clients, “it wasn’t personal, it was only business,” they sometimes look at me as if I have insulted their
mother.
Well, it isn’t personal; it is only business for the most part on both sides. You have to remember that,
for the vast majority of Americans, their home is the largest investment they will ever have, and any
perceived threat to that asset will spur them to action. The average person has no idea what an
aggregate quarry is, how it operates, or what the product is used for. And they de<nitely have very
little reason to trust the large company “ramming it into their backyards.”
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(http://www.aggman.com/<les/2013/05/kidUntitled-
1.gif)
Creating community goodwill
garners long-term results,
but requires a long-term
perspective. Short-term
e,orts are easily seen for
what they are.
(http://www.aggman.com/<les/2013/05/earth-
dayUntitled-1.gif)
Earth Day is a great opportunity to
showcase your plant, and industry,
to the public.
(http://www.aggman.com/<les/2013/05/baaseballUntitled-
1.gif)
The application process on the local, state, and federal levels has
become a political process. Decisionmakers want to get re-elected or
re-appointed to their positions, so political dynamics make it far
more likely that a board of county commissioners will vote to please
a roomful of angry voters demanding that a project be denied, rather
than defy their constituents — even if those citizens have been riled
by misinformation spread in a misguided iyer.
The vast amounts of readily available information on the internet —
true or not — adds to the peril. If you are a nationwide company, any
past problems at your plant in Bangor, Maine, will be raised as an
issue by opponents during a public hearing on your project in Little
Rock, Ark. If you are a local company, information about the industry
and issues and violations involving other producers can and will be
used to attack your application.
Any resident with access to a copy machine and a computer can
distribute iyers saying that your new facility will be blasting away
the foundations of neighborhood homes, that dust will cause asthma,
and trucks will run over children. Whether it is true or not, people can
still put it out there. And I guarantee you that if they pass out a thousand of these iyers, 250 people
will show up to oppose you at the public hearing.
You actually can combat this, even if you cannot control the deeds of other producers or the industry
as a whole.
When you want to increase your quarry footprint or open a
new plant in a neighboring community, the local elected
o,icials and other decision makers usually want to approve
your project. The reason is simple: the new facility will bring
new jobs into the community for which they can take credit,
and you will increase the commercial tax base for the city or
county where you operate (and unlike a home, you will not be
placing children into the local school system). Overall, a new
facility is a win for the municipality.
But the decisionmakers are not going to like it enough to put
their political futures at risk.
In this day and age, simply dealing with the “power brokers” in
town does not get you approvals. You need to garner a trust
with the community — residents need to know you, and you
need to become part of local fabric. Trust is the most di,icult barrier to overcome when reaching out
to a neighborhood and natural opponents. Face it, they are inclined to not trust you, and the only way
to have them trust you is to demonstrate that the community is not just a place of business for you,
that this is your home as well, that you and your employees live here and want what is best for the
community. The only way to accomplish this requires time, e,ort, and communication. Simply writing
a check for sponsorship opportunities is not enough by itself. In fact, taking just that step is missing
an incredible opportunity.
Creating community goodwill garners
long-term results, but it is not a short-
term exercise relegated to the times you
need to expand your operation or some
other permit from the town or county.
Those short-term e,orts are easily seen
for what they are: an attempt to buy
approvals through gifts and mitigation. It
provides you with no goodwill and can
cause a backlash and resentment from
your would-be opponents. You will hear
comments such as, “They are trying to
after-miner-falls-at-sand-and-gravel-mine/)
(http://www.aggman.com/msha-serious-accident-alert-
after-miner-falls-at-sand-and-gravel-mine/)
(http://www.aggman.com/msha-serious-accident-alert-
after-miner-falls-at-sand-and-gravel-mine/)
Komatsu introduces new EPA Tier 4 Final WA320-8
wheel loader
(http://www.aggman.com/komatsu-introduces-new-
epa-tier-4-<nal-wa320-8-wheel-loader/)
(http://www.aggman.com/komatsu-introduces-new-
epa-tier-4-<nal-wa320-8-wheel-loader/)
3. Consider sponsoring a Little League team and having an
employee coach it. This is one great way to build good
will with parents and local o,icials.
buy the new quarry,” or “The planning
board works for Acme Paving.” True or
not, it doesn’t play well among residents
or in the media.
The more e,ective way to conduct community outreach is to make sure your company and employees
become part of the community. This e,ort is going to take time and hard work. Some clients I’ve
worked with had already been participating in community activities, and some had not. Those who do
get involved <nd the goodwill they build can be a crucial bene<t when they need a demonstration of
public support.
One of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to become involved is through the local school system
— “adopting” a grade or two in a local school whose pupils come out once a year, parents and
teachers in tow, to tour your facility and play on the trucks and movers. It is a great way for your
company to be seen, and can even be enhanced by having your plant manager visit the classroom to
teach the students about construction materials and geology. Developing such a partnership will
introduce you to teachers, students, parents, and members of the school board. You will likely receive
public thanks from the town board, the school committee, or the local PTA.
International producer Cemex has found this very e,ective tool to use at its plants, according to
Cemex Community Relations Manager Jenna Register Emerson. “Many educators have come to bat
for us when we have needed them due to our extensive onsite education programs and partnerships,”
she says. “For example, we are working on permitting a new mine that has, what do you know,
received some pushback, and we are able to rely on these educators to send letters to the
commission supporting us and even have them show up to hearings and speak on their partnership
with Cemex.
“Most people are misinformed about our industry so by being active and taking an interest in
educating our communities this has helped us come out on top. You can turn people’s opinions
around just by giving them the right information,” she adds.
Remember that, in most instances, the increased tax revenues generated by your expansion or new
development will result in more resources for the local schools (and you can remind the teachers and
parents of this when meeting with them at the quarry or in the classroom).
Earth Day is always a great opportunity to showcase your plant and the industry to the public. Not
many people immediately equate our industry with being environmentally conscious, but simple
programs to commemorate Earth Day can go a long way. Some approaches that have been e,ective
in the past include volunteering a team of your employees to clean up a stretch of roadway, or having
a team conduct a tree planting exercise in town, preferably in a busy, visible location. When you do
this, your company name and logo should have a prominent placement, so passers by will know who
is doing the good work. This is also an excellent time to announce any environmental awards you
may have earned over the previous year, locally or through industry organizations. The press should
be invited; especially the local newspapers that need articles to <ll their pages. At a minimum, a press
release should be issued with a photo.
In some communities, we have had clients who align themselves with Little League baseball. They
sponsor a team, have an employee coach the team, and the company takes on the responsibility of
maintaining the <eld, which they can do easily enough with their sand, gravel, and other materials.
This has resulted in building goodwill with those large numbers of parents and local o,icials who are
involved with youth sports. The company banner can be placed in a prominent place during opening
day ceremonies to ensure the <rm’s contributions are noticed.
There are countless ways to become visibly involved in the community, and there are signi<cant
bene<ts to being seen as a good corporate neighbor. Each of the examples I have noted provides the
chance for your company to interact with the residents, discuss the industry, and, importantly, to
collect information about these potential supporters for future use — name, address, phone, and
email.
You should start by sending thank-you notes to those who attended the events, and this should form
the beginning of a database of recipients for a company or plant newsletter to provide the latest
information about the quarry and your operations. This will also be an opportunity for you to receive
4. feedback from the public about any issues they might be upset about. After time, when neighbors and
local residents see that they get answers to their questions or responses to their complaints, they will
contact you <rst rather than contacting a city councilor or the mayor. Even though you cannot always
give a resident the resolution that they want, just the fact that you are openly communicating with
them and creating that relationship will go a long way in being seen as a good corporate citizen.
The real bene<t gained from all these e,orts will come if and when you seek to expand your
operations, add a cement facility, or build an asphalt or ready-mix plant — either locally or in a
nearby community or county. With public hearings or public comment required for virtually every
permit or approval you seek, the database you’ve built now becomes indispensable. It is OK to send
out messages and to ask for support for your application from these people. After all, they
independent citizens who can testify about your good corporate citizenship and contributions to the
community in which you operate.
“All of the contributions, whether it through monetary support or volunteer e,orts, have helped with
local opposition with respect to permitting,” says Register Emerson. “It is much harder to oppose an
application when you have personally bene<ted from the local e,orts of a company.”
In the end, reaching out to your community is a positive. The e,ort engages us in conversation with
local residents and o,icials, and gives them a chance to explore our industry, which is not well
understood by the average person. Explaining what aggregates are used for, how the average person
depends on our product every day, how state-of-the-art all the science is, and how safe an industry
this is can go a long way when community support is needed to provide the political justi<cation for
local decision makers to vote ‘yes.’
Chris Hopkins is senior vice president for aggregates and mining at The Saint Consulting Group,
which specializes in building community support for controversial land use proposals.
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