Local Government | A \ Advisory %^4TllJA\y Committee EPA Small Communities Advisory Subcommittee Meeting Monday, November 23, 2020 MINUTES 4:00-4:05 pm EDT: Welcome/Call to Order and Opening Remarks • Administrator Brian Fulton, SCAS Chair, called the meeting to order at 4:00 and welcomed members. • Administrator Fulton explained that each workgroup will present their respective charges and prospective recommendations, and then SCAS members will deliberate on those and offer input from the small community perspective. The meeting will also include a discussion of priority topics for 2021 and the upcoming public SCAS and LGAC meetings on December 9, 2020. 4:05-4:10: Greetings and Remarks from EPA • Britt Carter, Assistant Deputy Associate Administrator for the Office of Intergovernmental Relations, provided welcoming words on behalf of EPA. 4:10-4:15: Roll Call SCAS members present: • Administrator Brian Fulton (SCAS Chair) • Commissioner Kitty Barnes (LGAC Chair) • Secretary Jeff Witte (LGAC Vice-Chair) • Mayor Jose C. Aponte Dalmau • Mayor Vincent DeSantis, Esq. • Commissioner Joan Lee • Town Manager Susan Lessard • Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt • Commissioner Libby Szabo • Chairman Shawn Yanity EPA staff present: • Jack Bowles (Director of State and Local Relations, OCIR) • Britt Carter • Wayne Heard (Office of Policy) • Victoria Ludwig • Jordan Pic (OCIR) 1 ------- Local Government | A \ Advisory %^4TllJA\y Committee 4:15-4:45 PM: SCAS Input on Workgroup Charges and Prospective Recommendations Air Workgroup • Commissioner Libby Szabo described the Air Workgroup's charge and prospective recommendations regarding the EPA Office of Air and Radiation's National Program Guidances (NPG) • Commissioner Szabo explained that given the importance and complexity of Ethylene Oxide, it warrants further discussion by the Air Workgroup. Therefore, it will be sent back to the Workgroup for consideration at their next meeting in 2021. • Regarding the NPG, SCAS members supported the recommendations for EPA to consider cross-jurisdictional air pollution and natural background air pollutants when making attainment determinations, as these are not always within the control of the local government in question. • Members agreed to hold off commenting on Ethylene Oxide. Revitalizing Communities Workgroup • Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt Commissioner summarized the Revitalizing Communities Workgroup's two charges and prospective recommendations: 1) Food waste management 2) Community-based environmentalism • Food waste management recommendations: o SCAS members concurred with the recommendations on food waste management, particularly the main takeaway that what communities need most from EPA is curated information tailored to the unique situation and characteristics of each community, o Secretary Witte: He serves on the EPA Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Federal Advisory Committee (FRRCC), and they have discussed food waste as an important topic for these communities. Is there a way to explore synergies between FRRCC and LGAC in tackling food waste? o Victoria Ludwig: She has been in touch with Rebecca Perrin, the DFO for FRRCC, and they are currently assessing possible synergies, o Commissioner Reinhardt: The Revitalizing Communities Workgroup supports FRRCC and LGAC working together, for example on the issue of food deserts, o Administrator Fulton: Any food waste initiatives should include a focus on public education, given that small communities don't typically think about this component. 2 ------- Local Government | A \ Advisory %^4TllJA\y Committee • Community-based environmentalism recommendations: o SCAS members concurred with the recommendations on community-based environmentalism, including the main takeaway that communities need more carrot (e.g., funding, technical assistance) and less stick/hammer from EPA. o Administrator Fulton: Several of the recommendations came from small communities, which is great. In Mississippi, small local governments usually partner with the state DEQ, so they don't tend to interact directly with EPA. Therefore, it would be great if EPA could work with the states to help them create state technical assistance programs for small communities, o Member: As far as EPA grants, it's important to keep in mind that small communities often don't have technical expertise or the ability to comply with the matching funds requirements, o Commissioner Reinhardt: Public-private partnerships are very important for achieving successful outcomes. Extended Producer Responsibility is an example. The electronics industry needs to be a part of the solution for managing electronic waste, as local governments can't solve the problem on their own. Water Workgroup • Since Secretary Michael Scuse wasn't present, Victoria Ludwig summarized the Water Workgroup's charge and prospective recommendations regarding the proposed 2020 Financial Capability Assessment for Clean Water Act. • Members had no comments on the recommendations. 4:45-4:50 PM: Priority Topics for 2021 • Administrator Fulton opened the floor for input from members on environmental issues they would like to discuss in 2021. • Harmful algal blooms were mentioned as a continuing concern for many localities. • Commissioner Szabo: What happened with past recommendations provided by LGAC to EPA? It would be good to know if the agency accepted the recommendations. That way members will know whether they need to meet again and refine the charges and/or recommendations. • Commissioner Barnes: Could EPA provide an update at the December 9 meeting? • Jack Bowles: The usual process is that the recommendations are sent to the corresponding program office, which then prepares a response to LGAC. A response was completed on LGAC's recommendations regarding harmful algal blooms - we can re-send that to the members. We can also provide an update on harmful algal blooms at the December meeting. The LGAC risk communication report was very 3 ------- Local Government | A \ Advisory %^4TllJA\y Committee well received, and recently there has been a lot of activity related to risk at the agency. OLEM considered LGAC's input on the RCRA Corrective Action Program - we will send that information to members. 4:50-4:55 PM: Public SCAS and LGAC Meetings - December 9, 2020 • Administrator Fulton explained that on Wednesday, December 9, 2020 there will be back-to-back public SCAS and LGAC meetings. The SCAS meeting is from 2:30-3:30pm EDT, and the LGAC will meet from 3:30-6:00pm. Both will be held virtually, most likely using Microsoft Teams or another audio/video platform. • The main purpose of the SCAS meeting is to finalize and vote on SCAS's comments on the four charges and recommendations. These will then be reported out to the LGAC during its meeting later that afternoon. LGAC will consider SCAS's input during its deliberations on the charges. Another topic for the meeting is to finalize priorities for 2021 and discuss administrative issues. 4:55-5:00 PM: Next Steps and Wrap-Up • Administrator Fulton stated that since SCAS members didn't have substantial input on any of the charges/recommendations today, there is no need to send them back to the corresponding workgroup for re-consideration. Therefore, our input provided today will be folded in as is. • Administrator Fulton adjourned the meeting at 5:00 pm. 4 ------- |