For Immediate Release
February 20, 2008
Contact:  Lisa Landis, Legislative Director
717-787-6709
llandis@pasen.gov
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Senator Brubaker Named to First-Ever EPA Agricultural Advisory Committee

One of 30 individuals nationwide to receive honor

HARRISBURG – State Senator Mike Brubaker (R-Lancaster) announced today that he is one of 30 citizens to be appointed to serve on a newly-formed Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Advisory Committee through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

"I commend the EPA for recognizing the important link between the environmental and agricultural communities, and I am very honored to be selected for this opportunity," Brubaker said. "This will be an excellent chance to consider policy decisions from both perspectives and to work with some very talented and knowledgeable individuals."

The Committee is an important part of the EPA's ongoing effort to strengthen relations with the agriculture industry and other interested parties, and was developed as part of a comprehensive National Agriculture Strategy adopted by the EPA in May 2006. That strategy seeks to engage agriculture in cooperative, collaborative, and innovative ways, in addition to the traditional regulatory programs the agency administers.

The Committee 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). Initially, it will focus on three issues:

• How EPA's policies and regulations on climate change and renewable energy will affect the agriculture community, and, conversely, how 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, 2007, 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. 

"I look forward to working with the other Committee members to develop solutions that benefit agriculture, the environment and the economy," Brubaker said.