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About OCEM Operations
Where Citizens Create Environmental Solutions
As a staff office of the EPA Administrator, the Office of Cooperative Environmental Management (OCEM) serves as the secretariat for all of EPA's federal advisory committees.
EPA currently has 24 committees that advise the Administrator and other senior officials on a range of topics relevant to the work of the Agency. OCEM's goal is to enable each of these committees to provide expert, timely recommendations from a diverse range of stakeholders.
Office Of Cooperative Environemental Management 2008 Annual Review and Accomplishments (PDF) (40pp, 3.85MB, About PDF) The 2008 Annual Review and Accomplishments document is intended for anyone that would like more information about the federal advisory committee (FAC) process at EPA, and how OCEM can be your partner in the FAC process. It will also demonstrate the importance of committees' transparency and diverse advice to the Agency.
Mission Statement | OCEM Responsibilities | OCEM Organization Chart
OCEM has three business operation teams:
- The Committee Policy and Oversight (CPO) Staff is responsible for the compliance
of EPA's advisory committees to the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (FACA). This involves providing policy,
coordination, oversight, consultation, advice and technical assistance
to committee managers and EPA senior officials.
- The Committee Management Operations (CMO) Staff is responsible for managing committee issues, projects, analytical and facilitation services required to perform designated federal officer (DFO) duties. The 5 OCEM managed Committees operated by the CMO Staff are:
- National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT)
- Good Neighbor Environmental Board (GNEB), and
- National Advisory Committee (NAC) and Governmental
Advisory Committee (GAC) to the U.S. Representative to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation
(CEC)
which
address issues of the NAFTA environmental
side agreements, and
- Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee (FRRCC)
- The Planning, Technology and Outreach (PTO) Staff is responsible for OCEM's strategic planning, communications and outreach, information management, records management, program evaluation, resources management and budget, contracts and grant support, customer service, and administrative and logistical support.
OCEM works to ensure that all of the Agency's advisory committees are operated in full compliance of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). It also provides support to each committee manager, who has the title "Designated Federal Officer (DFO)", by convening regular working sessions during which information and expertise is shared across committees.
Encouraging a Balanced Public Participation Process
In recent years, the government and EPA have emphasized and increased the public's right-to-know about their environment. We also recognize the need for, and have increased, greater stakeholder involvement in environmental decision-making. The ongoing exchange of information between scientists, public health officials, businesses, citizens, communities, and all levels of government fosters greater knowledge about the environment and what can be done to protect it. Advisory committees have become an important tool for building consensus among the Agency's diverse customers and stakeholders. It is OCEM's privilege to be assigned the important role of ensuring quality management and a strategic approach to the use of FACA committees in EPA.
For more information about OCEM contact us:
Office of Cooperative Environmental Management
Office of the Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
USEPA, MC - 1601M
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20460
(202) 564-2294