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Federal Advisory Committee Act Facts
How the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Uses the
Federal Advisory Committee Act to Achieve Collaboration
Throughout the years, EPA has used Federal advisory committees, established and managed under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) of 1972, to solicit expert participation and citizen involvement in developing and implementing a wide variety of environmental policies and programs. The advisory committee process has proven to be an effective tool to achieve collaboration and build consensus among the Agency’s diverse customers and stakeholders.
The Federal advisory committee process should generally be used when the Agency wants to get advice or recommendations from a group of people who are not solely federal employees and who have an expertise or perspective which can provide value to the decision making process. A Federal advisory committee is:
- any group which is established by statute or established or utilized by the President or a Federal agency,
- to obtain group advice or recommendations,
- and is composed of at least one member who is not a Federal employee.
FACA Committees operate “in the sunshine” which means that their meetings, deliberations and reports are open and available to the public. EPA’s Federal advisory committees range from those with a science focus (Board of Scientific Counselors, Science Advisory Board), to a geographic focus (Good Neighbor Environmental Board), to a functional focus (Environmental Financial Advisory Board, Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee), among others.
EPA has 26 FACA committees and 19 Subcommittees managed by virtually every major EPA program office. Last year, the Agency held 153 committee meetings which included 738 scientists, public health officials, business people, academics, citizens, and representatives of all levels of government. These meetings were open to the public, and many citizens had an opportunity to have their voices heard by the experts sitting at the table.
The Office of Cooperative Environmental Management is the FACA committee management office for EPA. If you’re interested in learning more about the FACA program at EPA, take a look at our website or give us a call. We’re here to help you!
| www.epa.gov/ocem | Office of Cooperative Environmental Management 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., MC 1601E Washington D.C. 20460 202-564-2294 |