Guest Column: When the left, right hands meet

Unfortunately, this is an easy pitfall for government entities. Though our responsibilities may overlap other federal, state and local agencies, it’s sometimes difficult to know who’s doing what and how.

For the health and well-being of the public, however, it’s critical that we communicate with our partners in other government agencies.

When Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Southeast Regional Ombudsman Jackson Bostic was visiting with county public health agencies recently, he began to notice a trend. Representatives from several local health agencies told Bostic they’d like to find a better way to communicate with our department. They particularly wanted clarification on how duties were divided between DNR and local county health departments, because there is often overlap. For example, county public health agencies regulate any onsite sewage disposal for single-family residencies, while DNR is responsible for any disposal system greater than 3,000 gallons per day. Several county health officials were confused about regulations for systems that fall between a single-family residency and the 3,000-gallon-per-day flow.

One local health administrator suggested a meeting to discuss these types of issues, so the department’s Southeast Regional Office brought together staffs from the departments of Natural Resources and Health and Senior Services, along with 36 officials from 20 local county public health agencies. In all, 65 people met in Poplar Bluff to discuss a range of issues.

The meeting was so successful that other ombudsmen in our department organized similar meetings with county health departments in Springfield, Kansas City and Macon. Local and state officials came together to address issues such as open burning, illegal dumping, water sampling and more effective ways to alert the public when a boil water order has been issued.

Though each meeting focused on a slightly different set of topics, all agreed on one important issue: More meetings of this nature were needed.

The county health department meetings that our ombudsmen and regional offices hosted produced effective solutions and helped us clarify some of our processes and procedures. By bringing all these working hands together at one table, we’ve also promoted a healthier, cleaner Missouri.

Doyle Childers is director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. He can be reached at doyle.childers@dnr.mo.gov.