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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the appointment of 15 new and 7 returning members to the Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC). The announcement came at a public meeting of the Committee, where members presented recommendations on implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

“Our partnerships with local governments are critical to EPA’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis and ensure that investments from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act reach the communities that need them most,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. “The recommendations provided by the LGAC today demonstrate the pride we take in prioritizing local voices, and I look forward to working with the new membership over the coming year.”

The 34-member LGAC will have an even split of female and male members, including 14 people of color, and representation from 29 different states and U.S. territories. The Administrator also appointed 13 new and 5 returning members to the LGAC’s Small Communities Advisory Subcommittee.



Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird of Lincoln, Nebraska will continue to as the LGAC’s chair, and Mayor Lucy Vinis of Eugene, Oregon will serve as the LGAC’s vice chair. Administrator Regan also appointed Ann Mallek, Supervisor of Albemarle County, Virginia, as co-chair of the SCAS. Mallek will join Commissioner Christine Lowery of Cibola County, New Mexico, who has held the position for the past year.



“I look forward to continued service on the EPA’s Local Government Advisory Committee and remain committed to the important work of advancing climate security, infrastructure development, economic opportunity, environmental justice, and quality of life for people here in Lincoln and across our country,” said Mayor Gaylor Baird of Lincoln, Nebraska.



Recommendations focused on the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants and included providing funding directly to local and tribal governments, prioritizing the decarbonization of buildings, supporting meaningful engagement with disadvantaged communities in climate planning, and coordinating IRA implementation across the federal family. Regarding the IRA Heavy-Duty Vehicles program the LGAC recommended that EPA support the decarbonization of government fleets and streamline applications. The recommendations will be finalized and sent to Administrator Regan later this month.



Members were chosen from a pool of more than 80 highly qualified candidates. Selections for the one- and two-year terms were made in accordance with the LGAC charter to achieve balance and diversity in terms of geographic location, gender, ethnicity, and stakeholder perspective.



The new and returning (denoted with *) LGAC members and their affiliations are:

• The Honorable Ras Baraka, Mayor, Newark, NJ*
• The Honorable Luke Bronin, Mayor, Hartford, CT
• The Honorable Sharon Broome, Mayor, Baton Rouge, LA
• Mr. Gary Brown, Director of Water and Sewerage Department, Detroit, MI*
• The Honorable Kimberly duBuclet, Water Reclamation District Commissioner, Cook County, IL
• Ms. Miki Esposito, Associate Director of Public Works, Los Angeles County
• The Honorable Sarah Fox, Councilmember, Vancouver, WA
• The Honorable Jacob Frey, Mayor, Minneapolis, MN
• The Honorable Jonathan Grieder, Councilmember, City of Waterloo, IA
• The Honorable Brenda Howerton, County Commissioner, Durham County, NC
• The Honorable Deana Holiday Ingraham, Mayor, East Point, GA*
• The Honorable Heather Kimball, Councilmember, Hawai’i County
• The Honorable Ann Mallek, Supervisor, Albemarle County, VA
• The Honorable Rachel May, State Senator, Syracuse, NY*
• The Honorable Christian Menefee, County Attorney, Harris County, TX
• The Honorable Douglas Nicholls, Mayor, Yuma, AZ*
• The Honorable Ron Nirenberg, Mayor, San Antonio, TX*
• The Honorable David Painter, County Commissioner, Clermont County, OH
• The Honorable Mary Lou Pauly, Mayor, Issaquah, WA
• Mr. Whitford Remer, Sustainability and Resilience Officer, Tampa, FL
• The Honorable Satya Rhodes-Conway, Mayor, Madison, WI*

The new and returning (denoted with *) SCAS members and their affiliations are:

• The Honorable Vincent DeSantis, Mayor, Gloversville, NY *
• Mr. Kevin Dumas, Town Manager, Mansfield, MA
• Mr. Dave Glatt, Director, Environmental Quality, ND*
• The Honorable Jonathan Godes, Mayor, Glenwood Springs, CO
• The Honorable Daniel Guzman, Tribal Councilman, Oneida Nation, WI*
• The Honorable Velma Jenkins, Mayor, Shuqualak, MS
• Ms. Meleesa Johnson, Director-Solid Waste Department, Wausau, WI
• Ms. Denis Koch, Deputy Director of Public Works and Engineering, Juneau, AK
• The Honorable Rey Leon, Mayor, Huron, CA
• The Honorable Ann Mallek, Commissioner, Albemarle County, VA*
• Mr. Tyler Palmer, Deputy City Supervisor, Moscow, ID
• The Honorable James Perkins, Mayor, Selma, AL
• The Honorable Hattie Portis-Jones, Mayor Pro Tem, Fairburn, GA*
• The Honorable Greg Puckett, County Commissioner, Mercer County, VA
• The Honorable Kimberly Rich, Alderman and Mayor Pro Tem, Willow Springs, MO
• Mr. Kevin Shropshire, Department Director, Rockledge, FL
• The Honorable Sophie Swope, City Council Member, Bethel, AK
• Ms. Michele Zolezi, Town Vice President, Manchester Township, NJ

Background

Chartered in 1993 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Local Government Advisory Committee provides independent policy advice to the EPA Administrator on a broad range of issues affecting local governments. The Small Community Advisory Subcommittee was established by EPA in 1996 to advise the Administrator on environmental issues of concern to the residents of smaller communities.



For more information about the LGAC, please visit https://www.epa.gov/ocir/local-government-advisory-committee-lgac. />


For more information about the SCAS, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/ocir/small-community-advisory-subcommittee-scas. />
 

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its preferred cleanup plan for the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund site and is inviting the public to review and comment on the plan. The plan proposes cleaning up significant portions of the site in Clearlake Oaks, Calif., specifically the mine area, the sovereign territory of the Elem Indian Colony Tribe, and contaminated soils in the residential area to the southwest of the site.

“This proposed plan is the first step needed to reduce mercury levels in Clear Lake and address contaminated soil. These efforts will enhance public health and environmental safeguards, and advance environmental justice in the area,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “EPA is committed to continuing to work with the Elem Indian Colony, the greater Clear Lake community and the Tribal nations as we develop a plan to clean up the Sulphur Bank site. We look forward to hearing the community’s feedback on our proposed plan.”

An extended public comment period is being provided to ensure that all impacted Tribes, communities, and stakeholders have adequate time to review the proposed plan before forming and submitting their comments. The plan is open for public comment until April 10, 2023, and the EPA Sulphur Bank team will meet with residents in the coming months and host virtual question-and-answer sessions, in-person open houses, and in-person final meetings.

Since 2021, EPA has offered monthly meetings for representatives from six of the Tribal nations that surround the lake and provided independent technical support through the Technical Assistance Serving Communities Program. Following the release of this proposed plan, EPA can continue close coordination with these tribal governments to ensure awareness of and involvement in cleanup efforts moving forward.

The 160-acre Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund site sits on the shore of Clear Lake in Lake County, Calif. Historic mining contaminated the property with unhealthy levels of mercury, arsenic and antimony. Contamination from the site also impacts the wetland area north of the mine and Clear Lake itself. Since the site was added to the Superfund cleanup program in August 1990, EPA has completed eight early cleanups to protect human health and the environment and reduce contamination in soil, lake water and sediments, fish and wildlife, and Tribal and residential properties near the mine.

The cleanup set out in the new proposed plan will protect the community and environment from the 2.5 million tons of mine waste and contaminated soil on the site, and also prevent that contaminated material from entering Clear Lake. EPA continues to study options for directly cleaning up mercury contamination in Clear Lake and wetlands near the mine site.

The goals for the proposed cleanup are:

• Combining smaller waste piles with larger piles to reduce the area of contamination.
• Putting a liner, clean earth, and clean soil over the contaminated waste and soil to: make residential areas safe for a lifetime of use; make on-mine areas safe for use by Elem Indian Colony residents (hunting, fishing, foraging, transit to nearby lands); and prevent contamination from leaving the site with stormwater or wind.
• Limiting mercury entering Clear Lake to allow mercury levels in sediments and fish to decrease over time, and help EPA determine the cleanup needed for the lake.

This project and progress towards a final cleanup decision is being supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests an additional $3.5 billion in environmental remediation at Superfund sites, making it one of the largest investments in American history to address the legacy pollution that harms the public health of communities and neighborhoods.

The public can submit comments to EPA on the proposed plan until April 10, 2023, in the following ways:

• Email comments to EPA’s Gavin Pauley and Carter Jessop
• Printed comments can be mailed to Gavin Pauley - EPA Community Involvement Coordinator, 75 Hawthorne Street (Mail Code: OPA-2) San Francisco, CA 94105. Mailed comments must be postmarked by April 10^th.
• Oral comments can be left on EPA’s voicemail box at: (800) 231-3075.

Once EPA has considered public comments on the proposed cleanup plan, it will respond to them in a “responsiveness summary” and make a formal decision on the cleanup in the “record of decision” that will guide the cleanup of the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine site. EPA aims to make the final cleanup decision within a year of the close of public comment period. The proposed plan cleanup could begin as soon as 2025.

Learn more about the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine site.

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SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a proposed enforcement action related to violations of the Clean Water Act on the Sacramento River in Red Bluff, Calif. EPA is proposing an administrative settlement with Justin Jenson, the owner of a residential property in Red Bluff, for his failure to obtain a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before conducting work in approximately 90 linear feet of the Sacramento River. This work by Jenson was found to have the potential to harm critical habitat for several endangered or threatened fish species.

“This action demonstrates EPA’s commitment to ensure that development in waterways happens with proper permitting, to protect fish, wildlife and the environment,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman.

The Clean Water Act requires landowners and developers to obtain a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers before making alterations to waterbodies like the Sacramento River that are considered “waters of the United States.”

EPA’s proposal, a consent agreement and final order, is subject to a 30-day public comment period. Members of the public can read EPA’s proposal and submit comments on EPA’s website. EPA is proposing Mr. Jenson pay a $33,000 penalty to settle the violations.

The proposed settlement states that, in November 2021, Jenson conducted bank stabilization activities along the Sacramento River that disturbed 90 linear feet of the river. Jenson’s activities included the use of heavy equipment and replacement of native soil and vegetation with rock. This portion of the Sacramento River is considered critical habitat of at least four endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, including the Sacramento River Winter-run Chinook Salmon, Central Valley Spring-run Chinook Salmon, California Central Valley Steelhead, and the Southern Distinct Population Segment of North American Green Sturgeon. Jenson’s unauthorized bank stabilization activities were found to have the potential to impact this critical habitat by failing to incorporate mitigation measures. 

Learn more about EPA’s wetlands protections programs.

Report a violation on EPA’s website.

Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.