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New Members of First-Ever Agricultural Advisory Committee Announced

Release Date: 02/20/2008
Contact Information: Dave Ryan, (202) 564-4355 / [email protected]

(Washington, D.C. - Feb. 20, 2008) Continuing efforts to strengthen relations with the agriculture community, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson today announced the appointment of 30 citizens to serve on a newly-formed Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Advisory Committee.

"Through increased cooperation with our agriculture partners, EPA is planting the seeds to reap both environmental and economic benefits for the American people," said Johnson.

"I am honored and pleased to provide leadership to this positive breakthrough in relations between the EPA and the agriculture community," added Committee Chairman James R. Moseley, former deputy secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. "I look forward to helping the committee provide EPA with solutions that benefit agriculture, the environment, and the economy."

The committee will be composed of the following members:

Martha Guzman Aceves, Sacramento, Calif.
James O. Andrew, Jefferson, Iowa
Leonard M. Blackham, Moroni, Utah
A. Richard Bonanno, Methuen, Mass.
Marion Long Bowlan, Manheim, Pa.
Garth W. Boyd, Topsail Beach, N.C.
Michael W. Brubaker, Lititz, Pa.
Christine Chinn, Clarence, Mo.
Gary A. Cooper, Oakwood, Ohio
Otto C. Doering, West Lafayette, Ind.
Robert G. Flocchini, Davis, Calif.
Thomas M. Franklin, Woodbine, Md.
Suzy Friedman, Arlington, Va.
Earl J. Garber, Crowley, La.
Ralph Grossi, Novato, Calif.
Karri M. Hammerstrom, Kingsburg, Calif.
Michele Laur, Washington, D.C.
Tom McDonald, Dalhart, Texas
James R. Moseley, Clarks Hill, Ind.
Dave Nelson, Belmond, Iowa
Martha L. Noble, Washington, D.C.
Dawn R. Riley, Louisville, Ky.
Clifford S. Snyder, Conway, Ark.
Jeff Tee, Latah, Wash.
Dennis H. Treacy, Smithfield, Va.
Teferi Tsegaye, Huntsville, Ala.
Jeffrey R. Vonk, Pierre, S.D.
Jay Vroom, McLean, Va.
William F. Willard, Poolesville, Md.
G. Douglas Young, Union Springs, N.Y.

The committee is an important part of the administrator's ongoing effort to strengthen relations with the agriculture community. It will advise the administrator on environmental policy issues impacting farms, ranches, and rural communities, and will operate under the rules of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The first meeting of the committee will take place March 13 and 14, 2008 at The Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Initially, EPA will ask the committee to focus on the following three issues:

-- How EPA's policies and regulations on climate change and renewable energy will affect the agriculture community. The agricultural industry -- through the development of renewable energy sources -- can play a significant role in the nation's ability to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and its dependence on oil imports.

-- An environmental strategy for managing waste from livestock operations that considers regulatory and voluntary approaches, and provides tools for producers to attain superior environmental performance.

--Development of a constructive approach to advancing sustainable agriculture, protecting the environment, and addressing communication between environmental and agricultural interests.

Members were selected from a pool of more than 200 applicants generated from a request for nominations published Nov. 15 in the Federal Register. The new members represent: large and small farmers, ranchers, and rural communities; rural suppliers, marketers, and processors; academics and researchers who study environmental issues impacting agriculture; and, environmental and conservation groups.

The committee is being developed as part of a comprehensive National Agriculture Strategy adopted by the administrator in May of 2006. That strategy seeks to engage agriculture in cooperative, collaborative, and innovative ways, in addition to the traditional regulatory programs the agency administers.

For additional information about the committee and biographies of all newly appointed members, visit the EPA Web site:

Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee site: epa.gov/agriculture/frrcc

EPA's Agriculture Web site: epa.gov/agriculture

EPA's Agriculture Strategy: epa.gov/agriculture/agstrategy.html

More information about the Federal Advisory Committee Act: epa.gov/ocem/faca/index.html