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GAC
Advisors for a Sustainable Future
U.S. Governmental Advisory Committee
Independent Federal Advisors
on the North American
Agreement on Environmental Cooperation
Committee Members
Chair
Jeffrey Wennberg
Tel 802-793-5345
wennbergs@comcast net
Designated Federal Officer
Oscar Carnllo
Tel 202-564-2294
camllo oscar@epa gov
November 24,2014
Jeffrey Wennberg
Chair
Vermont
Laurie Berman
California
John Bernal
Arizona
Gmny Broadhurst
Washington
Kirk Cook
Washington
Teri Goodmann
Iowa
Justin G. Johnson
Vermont
Dale G Medearis
Virginia
Edna A. Mendoza
Arizona
Vincent R. Nathan
Texas
OctavianaTrujillo
Pascua Yaqw Tribe
Crist ina Viesca-Santos
Texas
Roger Vintze
California
Gerald Wagner
Blactyeet Tribe
The Honorable Gina McCarthy
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
Dear Administrator McCarthy.
The Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) to the U.S. Representative to the North
American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) held its forty-third meeting by
teleconference on October 23rd, 2014. This letter represents our full advice resulting from
that meeting. We have previously transmitted our preliminary advice pertaining to the U.S.
proposals for projects under the 2015-2016 draft Operational Plan to Acting Assistant
Administrator Nishida in order to accommodate the October Alternate Representatives
discussion, and have included that advice here
During our meeting Jane Nishida, Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of
International and Tribal Affairs (OITA), and JoAnn Chase, Director of EPA's Indian
Environmental Office, briefed the committee on U.S. priorities including Traditional
Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and the Operational Plan. We also thank Sylvia Correa, Senior
Advisor for North American Affairs in OITA for attending the meeting and providing
context for the presentations and answering our questions. Their attendance and contribution
are much appreciated.
The GAC also wishes to thank Office of Diversity, Advisory Committee Management
& Outreach (ODACMO) Director Denise Sirmons, Associate Director Mark Joyce and
NAC/GAC Designated Federal Officer Oscar Carrillo and all of the ODACMO staff for their
excellent support work, before, during and after the meeting.
Dr. Irasema Coronado, Executive Director of the CEC Secretariat, provided an update
on progress at the Secretariat toward the implementation of Council priorities approved at
Yellowknife, in addition to the Performance Framework and the Operational and Strategic
plans.
We also thank Bob Varney, Chair of the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC), for
sharing plans for JPAC's November Regular Session meeting in Arlington, Virginia with a
focus on Blue Carbon and the impacts of climate change on North America's coastal regions.
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The GAC deeply appreciates EPA’s continued support of our role in advising the United
States Government on the enhancement of environmental conditions throughout North
America. The committee also wishes to express appreciation for the personal interest you
have taken in our work. Your attendance at our spring meetings has provided an invaluable
opportunity to directly discuss your priority concerns and, we trust, enable us to provide
more helpful advice than would otherwise be possible.
We look forward to your response
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Wennberg, Chair
U.S. Governmental Advisory Committee
cc: Jane Nishida, Assistant Administrator for the Office of International and Tribal Affairs
Denise Sirmons, Director, Office of Diversity, Advisory Committee Management &
Outreach
Oscar Carrillo, Designated Federal Officer
Sylvia Correa, Senior Advisor for North American Affairs
Bob Varney, Chair, Joint Public Advisory Committee
Irasema Coronado, Executive Director, CEC
Members of the U S. National and Governmental Advisory Committees
Administrative support for the GAC is provided by the U S Environmental Protection Agency,
Office of Diversity, Advisoiy Committee Management and Outreach
Mail Code i6Oi-M, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, I) C 20460
(t) 202.564-2294 (f) 202.564-8i29
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Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC)
to the U.S. Representative to the
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
Advice 2014-4 (November 24, 2014):
Charge Question: CEC Operational Plan
The first Charge Question states:
“Provide advice on how to integrate the three 2014 Council priorities and the three cross cutting
themes into the new projects of the CEC Operational Plan. EPA is leading an interagency
process to develop project ideas for the new Operational Plan. You may recommend specific
projects that support the goals of the 2014 Council priorities or provide feedback on the current
projects being developed [ by] the US interagency group
If we view the priority areas as subjects or topics the Council seeks to sponsor, and the themes as
organizational goals the Council wishes to achieve, the question of how to best integrate themes
and priorities is, in our view, a misstatement of the challenge. Projects and activities by their
nature either serve or support multiple priorities and themes, or fail to do so. The challenge is to
evaluate and select projects and activities that best address the priority subject areas while
serving the organizational goals.
GAC members also noted that the three Council priorities are not separate from one another.
Mitigation and adaptation to address the challenges of climate change are critical if we are to
support sustainable communities and ecosystems; likewise, sustainable communities must rely
upon green growth to be truly sustainable. Green growth in the transportation and energy sectors
must address these sectors’ contributions to climate forcing GHGs. Our review of the list of U.S.
potential projects for the 2015-2016 Operational Plan (below) illustrates this point by identifying
the multiple benefits some projects offer.
The GAC members noted the same is true about the cross-cutting themes. An examination of the
proposed projects shows that many projects serve at least two of the themes. The GAC members
therefore recommend that the best way to ‘integrate’ priorities and themes is to identify those
projects and work products that best further the organizational goals and advance the priorities as
expressed by the themes.
The GAC’s review of potential priority U.S. projects was transmitted previously but is repeated
here.
Members of the GAC have reviewed summaries of the 28 U.S. Government project proposals
and submit the following advice regarding those projects the GAC believes should be given
priority consideration. GAC members’ understanding of the projects is in most cases limited to
the brief summaries provided. It is possible that, with more detailed information and more time
to investigate and deliberate, the following advice might be amended.
GAC members:
1. evaluated the projects against the three priorities adopted by the Council last July; and
2. considered whether entities other than the CEC are engaged in similar projects; and
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3. considered whether the CEC would be the most appropriate organization to undertake the
work given its unique focus and tn-lateral scope.
Finally, GAC members noted that many of the projects listed below support more than one of the
Council’s three priorities and often more than one cross-cutting theme.
The projects that the GAC recommends deserve priority consideration are:
Priority - Climate Change
1. North America’s Blue Carbon: Assessing the Role of Coastal Habitats in the
Continent’s Carbon Budget (Ariana Sutton-Grier and Lauren Wenzel, NOAA, Phil
Colarusso and Clay Miller, EPA) Building on the Blue Carbon project conducted under
the 2013-2014 Operational Plan, this project will refine the methodologies and protocols
for measuring and mapping Blue Carbon habitats in North America.
Blue Carbon is specifically listed in the first Council priority; it is continental in scope and
particularly suited to the capabilities and resources of the CEC. The GAC also notes that the
project may also support the third priority, Sustainable Ecosystems.
3. Interoperabilily and Maintenance of Information Systems (Bill Sonntag, US EPA) The
purpose of this project is to develop a long-term maintenance and development strategy
for the information systems that have been developed by the CEC Secretariat, including
the Environmental Atlas, Taking Stock On-Line, and the On-line Information Platform on
Climate Change, as well as other databases developed through CEC projects.
This project was discussed at some length. Several GAC members expressed concern that its
technical and internal focus might result in its treatment as a lower priority. However the GAC
believes that this project directly addresses the third cross-cutting theme identified by the
Council, enhancing information, transparency, capacity building and communication.
Furthermore, this is the single clearest example of a project that can only be undertaken by the
CEC.
4. Air Quality Monitoring and Public Information (Phil Dickerson, US EPA) The purpose
of this project is to continue to increase public access to information about air quality in
their communities. There are two main elements I) “AirNow in the Cloud” which
involves implementing the A irNow real-time air quality data management system in a
cloud computing environment to lower the cost of bringing AirNow to more communities,
particularly in Mexico 2) “Kids Making Sense” which is an exploration of the use of
small, low cost sensors to understand air pollution sources and exposures through an
education program working with secondaiy school students.
GAC members noted the transboundary nature of this issue and believe it supports the third
priority area, Sustainable Communities and Ecosystems, and the first and third cross-cutting
themes, learning from and assisting vulnerable groups and indigenous communities, and,
Enhancing information, transparency, capacity building and communication.
8 Opportunities for North American Greenhouse Gas Trading (Marc Lemmond, EPA)
The goal of this project is to detail existing GHG trading systems in North America;
outline options for a cohesive system involving Mexico, US, and Canada, examine
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measures necessary to align/create necessary complementary regulatory schemes across
North America.
GAC members noted that similar project proposals have been made by the GAC in the past, and
that through the Western Climate Initiative, on November J 9 th, California and Quebec will
undertake their first joint cap-and-trade auction. This project addresses directly the first priority,
Climate Change, and may lead to support of the second cross-cutting theme, enhancing the
alignment of environmental regulatory standards, enforcement and compliance.
Priority — Green Growth
11 Promoting North American Markets, Innovation, and Policy Alignment for Greener
Products and Supply Chains (Ted MacDonald, EPA) Use the CEC to promote a North
American platform to promote regional markets, innovation and policy alignment to
encourage development of greener products and supply chains Particular focus will be
directed to enhancing application of sustainable public procurement and life cycle
assessment, with associated tools and data networking, as instruments to promote green
growth
GAC members note the successful earlier work of the CEC on private sector supply chains, and
see this as a logical expansion of those efforts. The project supports the Green Growth priority
and the third cross-cutting theme, enhancing information, transparency, capacity building and
communication.
12 Reducing Emissions from shipping in North America (Angela Bandemehr, EPA)
Utilizing data models from 2013-2014 CEC project work to emphasize the air quality,
public health, environmental and ecosystem benefits of reducing maritime shipping
emissions, this project will showcase technologies and policies to promote clean and
efficient maritime shipping. Ultimately, this projects seeks the establishment of an
Emissions Control Area in Mexico, adjacent to the existing US-Canada ECA and thus
establishing a true North American ECA, and to monitor the emissions reductions
achieved
GAC members identified this as a project very well suited to the CEC’s mission and resources. It
builds upon prior CEC work and potentially interconnects all three priorities and the second and
third cross-cutting themes.
13 Technical guidelines on environmentally sound management of spent lead acid
batteries (SLABs) (Rick Picardi, EPA) Building on the cooperative work conducted under
the 2013-2014 CEC Op Plan, this project will seek to close efforts to develop SLAB ESM
technical guidelines.
The CEC’s prior work in this area recommends continued support through achievement of
environmentally sound management guidelines. The project also supports the second cross-
cutting theme of enhancing the alignment of environmental standards and compliance.
18 Improve North American Trade Statistics on Elemental Mercury and Mercury-added
Products (Laura Nazef US EPA) The Mrnamata Convention will require parties to
restrict or reduce exports and imports of elemental mercury as well as mercury-
containing products. To measure the effectiveness of the actions taken by Canada,
Mexico, and the US, it will be necessary to have a reliable baseline of imports and
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exports for mercury and mercury products The project would enable the CEC to
characterize the problem
The GAC believes this is another example of a project with a scope well suited to the CEC. The
CEC has addressed mercury through several efforts in the past. The project addresses the second
and third priorities and supports the second and third cross-cutting themes.
Priority — Sustainable Communities and Ecosystems
24. North American Wildfire Smoke Exposure Risk and Human Health Impacts Tool
(Brooke Hemming, US EPA) This project will build on an already well-developedfire
and air quality analysis tool set developed by the Western Regional Air Partnership
(WRAP), expanding its scope to include more information about the current composition
of North American forest eco.systems and their emissions potential, how they will change
with ongoing climate and land-use change, and their susceptibility to fire with projected
meteorological change in order to create policy-relevant assessments of the impact of
their emissions on human health
The GAC supports this project as a priority but notes that a great deal of work in this area has
been done by a variety of entities. The CEC’s role in this work should be to integrate the work
done by others and identify any gaps that need to be addressed. The project supports the third
priority and the third cross-cutting theme.
25. Improving Indoor Air Quality to Improve Children’s Health in North America (Martha
Berger, EPA) This project will continue work begun in 2011 to provide furl her low cost
interventions and education to improve air quality and children ‘s health, building on the
activities and continuing and building partnerships with environmental health
professionals and tribal groups. Possibility of collaboration with Mexico and Canada
would be an added bonus
The GAC recognizes the documented benefits of the existing project referenced in the summary
and supports an expansion of the effort, but the next focus should be on different populations
facing similar challenges, preferably in climates that would include Mexico. The project has
already demonstrated support of the third priority and the first cross-cutting theme.
27 Enhancing Environmental Law Enforcement in North America (Debbie Kopsick and
Susan Bromm, EPA) This project will continue to promote intelligence-led enforcement
and pursue existing project, refining and enhancing our ability to share information and
intelligence to support enforcement actions. Intelligence led enforcement can support
projects in all three strategic priorities that wish to include an enforcement component
The EWG will strive to aid other proj ects that wish to include an enforcement component.
One example would be providing consultation to help develop a compliance monitoring
and enforcement plan to support the low-sulfur fuel requirements for maritime traffic in
the North American Emission Control Area
The GAC notes this project’s linkage with number 12, Reducing Emissions from shipping in
North America, and encourages consideration of coordinating efforts. The project is another
good fit with the CEC’s past work and mission, supports priorities two and three and the second
cross-cutting theme.
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Recommendations:
1. The GAC recommends that the U.S. government supports Council and Secretariat use
the 2014 Council priorities and cross-cutting themes as the basis for prioritizing project
and other budget priorities under the 2015-2016 Operational Plan. Special emphasis
should be given to those activities that serve multiple priorities and themes. By
undertaking these activities the Council will effectively integrate priorities and themes
and accomplish the combination of subject matter and organizational goals established
in Yellowknife.
2. The GAC recommends that the U.S. Alternative Representative seek support for the
following U.S. project priorities for inclusion in the 2015-2016 Operational Plan:
a. North America’s Blue Carbon: Assessing the Role of Coastal Habitats in the
Continent’s Carbon Budget
b. Interoperabilily and Maintenance of Information Systems
c. Air Quality Monitoring and Public Information
L Opportunities for North American Greenhouse Gas Trading
e. Promoting North American Markets, Innovation, and Policy Alignment for
Greener Products and Supply Chains
f Reducing Emissions from shipping in North America
g. Technical guidelines on environmentally sound management of spent lead acid
batteries
h. Improve North American Trade Statistics on Elemental Mercury and Mercury-
added Products
t. North American Wildfire Smoke Exposure Risk and Human Health Impacts
Tool
j. Improving Indoor Air Quality to Improve Children’s Health in North America
k. Enhancing Environmental Law Enforcement in North America
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Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC)
to the U.S. Representative to the
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
Advice 2014-5 (November 24, 2014):
Charge Question: Traditional Ecological Knowledge
The second Charge Question states:
“Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). Provide advice on how to comprehensively integrate
traditional ecological knowledge into all CEC projects addressing climate change, green
growth, and sustainable communities and ecosystems
Only recently has there emerged a growing recognition that indigenous, or “traditional,”
knowledge systems can enrich our understanding of natural systems and provide a “new”
perspective on the challenges we all face. The bias of conventional Western science is deeply
ingrained into the language, institutions and methods of the CEC and its government, academic
and private sector partners. Indeed, as Paul Nadasdy argued, “The simple act of framing the
problem as one of ‘integration’ automatically imposes a culturally specific set of ideas on the life
experiences of aboriginal people.” Therefore the answer to the question of integrating TEK into
CEC activities requires more thought and a broader engagement than can be provided by the
GAC. As a result, our response to this charge question should be focused on process rather than
programs or results.
There are groups that have been working on the challenge of ‘integrating’ TEK for some time.
There are a few U.S. tribal nation work groups already formed to address this area and there will
be an international meeting in Geneva sponsored by the United Nations in January to address this
topic as well. The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) at Northern Arizona
University has done some excellent work and no doubt could contribute to the efforts of the CEC
in this effort.
The GAC’s first recommendation is to reach out to and engage with these groups. The
opportunity to learn from their experiences should accelerate the achievement of this Council
priority. The GAC also believes that this effort will expand and diversif ’ the groups and
institutions that can utilize and appreciate the CEC’s resources and work products.
The GAC’s second process recommendation is to form a trilateral working group to establish an
institutional interface between indigenous peoples, traditional knowledge (TK) holders, and
governments for clear, transparent and culturally appropriate terms of reference, particularly
through the development of formal research agreements, policies, and initiatives. The preferred
structure is a tn lateral working group with representation from tribes or their equivalents from all
three CEC partners. If this is not immediately possible, then the U.S. should unilaterally create a
working group to advise EPA while the U.S. seeks to persuade our partners to adopt the tn-
lateral approach.
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Recommendations:
1. The GAC recommends that the U.S. government support CEC engagement with groups
like the Inst itute for Environmental Professionals (ITEP) at Northern Arizona
University and tribal working groups that have been working on this issue.
2. The GAC recommends that the U.S. government recommend formation of a trilateral
working group whose functions would be
a. The establishment of an institutional interface between indigenous peoples,
traditional knowledge holders, and governments;
b. To recommend changes to CEC policies and structures to facilitate the
incorporation of TEK consistent with the Council priority;
c. To review and comment on potential CEC projects and grants as they relate to
TEL
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Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC)
to the U.S. Representative to the
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
Advice 2014-6 (November 24, 2014):
Charge Question: CEC Performance Framework
The third Charge Question states:
“CEC Performance Framework: The Council has proposed aframework for performance
measurement and strategic planningfor the CEC. The framework proposes measures to address
internal efficiencies and project performance as well as the effectiveness ofpublic engagement
and outreach Please provide us with feedback on the draft performance framework”
The GAC has long encouraged the development of performance measurement metrics to help the
Council set priorities for projects and grants. The Draft Framework for a Performance
Measurement System is a promising first step in this direction.
In regard to the draft itself, nearly all of the measures are in the process of developing baselines
this year. Little information is available at this point to determine if the targets are measureable
or appropriate, but the following observations are offered based upon the descriptions provided
in Draft Framework.
Organizational Measure #2 (from Attachment 1): Increased capacity of government
officials in enhancing, conserving or protecting the North American environment
Definition: The number of government officials at all levels of government in Canada,
Mexico and the US who have increased their capacity to enhance, conserve or protect
the North American environment through the CEC collaborative work projects (e.g.,
through project participation, collaboration or training)
A target will be set based on the collaborative work programs.
Measuring the number of government officials may be misleading given the size range of
environmental organizations at all levels of government. The GAC recommends tracking the
number of government organizations at the local, state, and federal level that have increased
their capacity to enhance, conserve or protect the North American environment through the CEC
collaborative work projects.
The GAC also recommends that some metric should be used to assess how government officials
are trained by the CEC, and the range of topics covered. Absent these measures maximizing the
number of individuals or organizations benefitting from CEC training might encourage a limited
range of training methods and too narrow an agenda.
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Organizational Measure #6: Use of CEC work in enhancing environmental knowledge
Definition Number of citations of the CEC work in published documents, including
reports, books, journals, and peer-reviewed documents
The first year of implementation of the performance measurement system will be used to
collect baseline information and a target will be set for subsequent years
The number of citations of CEC work should be conditioned with citations of “relevant
knowledge to conserve, protect, and enhance the North American environment.” Simply
referring to the CEC without confirming that the citation addresses current environmental
conditions is not an adequate measure of enhanced knowledge.
Meaningful Public Engagement Measure #8. Increase public awareness of and
engagement in, CEC activities
Definition This measure will have two components
1. Number of members of the public who have participated in CEC-sponsored meetings
(including via webcast), other meetings where CEC staff present the CEC work, and CEC
social media (i e., twitter, Facebook). 2. Number of news articles covering CEC work.
The first year of implementation of the peiformance measurement system will be used to
collect baseline information members of the public participating in CEC related meeting
and a target will be set in subsequent years A target for the number of news articles will
be set for year 1 of implementation based on historical data
The GAC believes this is a critical measure but notes the lack of a specific reference to the JPAC
and its outreach activities. The JPAC has been very successful in its efforts to engage and
educate the public, and while application of this metric to their activities is implied, the GAC
believes specific mention of this is needed, perhaps including a separate class of metrics so that
the progress of the JPAC and the CEC can be reported independently.
Reco,nmendations:
The GAC recommends that the Performance Framework:
1. Track the number of government organizations in lieu of go vernment officials at the
local, state, and federal level that have increased their capacity to enhance, conserve
or protect the North American environment through the CEC collaborative work
projects.
2. Condition the number of citations of CEC work with citations of “relevant knowledge
to conserve, protect, and enhance the North American environment.”
3. Make spec /ic mention of the JPA C’s public engagement efforts, perhaps including a
separate class of metrics so that the progress of the JPA C and the CEC can be
reported independently.
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Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC)
to the U.S. Representative to the
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
Additional Advice (November 22, 2014):
The GAC has no additional advice to offer at this time.
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