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Energy Department and INL highlight continued commitment to openness
One of the first things President Barack Obama did when he came into office
earlier this year was to issue a memo to government agencies outlining his
commitment to openness in government. Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently
amplified that commitment in a memo to his senior managers, which was shared
with all U.S. Department of Energy employees nationwide.
In Idaho, the DOE’s Idaho Operations Office and Idaho National Laboratory
have been committed to openness in government for many years. The department and
the lab have established good working relationships with stakeholders throughout
the region, and remain committed to keeping the lines of communication open.
“Senior managers from both the Department of Energy and Idaho National Lab
have spent a lot of time communicating with our stakeholders to keep them
informed about what we are doing here and to listen to their concerns,” said
Dennis Miotla, interim manager of the DOE’s Idaho Operations Office. “In recent
months, we’ve met with numerous groups ranging from the Snake River Alliance to
Grow Idaho Falls. Recently, a group from the lab traveled to Jackson, Wyo., to
brief Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free on the status of our key programs.”
While DOE and INL managers may not always agree with the philosophy or goals
of the various stakeholder organizations, they understand the need to
communicate with them, Miotla said.
“Our No. 1 responsibility as a federal agency is to protect people and the
environment, a close second is to be a good steward of taxpayers’ dollars and
assets. Included in that responsibility is communicating with the public about
what we are doing with their money, why we do what we do, and how we go about
doing it.”
In addition to providing briefings to stakeholder groups, DOE and INL are
both working to utilize new media opportunities to provide information to the
public about the organizations’ activities. For example, INL regularly posts
videos to YouTube and produces weekly podcasts about its activities, which are
available on iTunes. DOE-ID also frequently updates its online website to ensure
the available information is current and useful for the public.
Additionally, the Idaho Operations Office is committed to quickly turning
around Freedom of Information Act requests, a topic of President Obama’s initial
memo on government openness.
The Department welcomes input on how it can better communicate with the
public. To make suggestions, please contact Brad Bugger, DOE-ID Public Affairs
Officer, at (208) 526-0833,
bpbugger@id.doe.gov.
-DOE-ID-09-011-
Editorial Date June 18, 2009
By Bradley Bugger
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