Nov 28 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites nominations of qualified candidates to be considered for appointment to the Environmental Financial Advisory Board (the Board or EFAB). The Board provides advice to EPA on ways to lower the costs of, and increase investments in, environmental and public health protection. Appointments will be made by the Administrator and will be announced in June 2024. Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than December 31, 2023.
The EFAB is an EPA advisory committee chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C., app. 2, to provide advice and recommendations to EPA on innovative approaches to financing environmental programs, projects, and activities. The Board was established in 1989 to provide advice and recommendations to EPA. Since inception, the Board has advised the EPA on a wide-ranging set of issues including but not limited to the following:
• Creating incentives to increase private investment in the provision of environmental services and removing or reducing constraints on private involvement wherever possible;
• Developing new and innovative environmental financing approaches and supporting and encouraging the use of cost-effective existing approaches;
• Identifying approaches specifically targeted to small community financing;
• Assessing government strategies for implementing public-private partnerships, including privatization, operations and maintenance issues, and other alternative financing mechanisms;
• Improving governmental principles of accounting and disclosure standards to help improve the sustainability of environmental programs;
• Increasing the capacity of state and local governments to carry out their respective environmental programs under current Federal laws;
• Increasing the total investment in environmental protection and stewardship of public and private environmental resources to help ease the environmental financing challenge facing our nation; and
• Developing innovative investment models and market-based approaches that increase the long-term resiliency of infrastructure.
The Board's recent work has included:
• Options for the development of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act; and
• Recommendations for catalyzing pollution prevention finance, enhancing the agency's approach to encourage increased Opportunity Zone funds investment alongside existing EPA funding tools, and improving the availability of public and private sources of funding for stormwater infrastructure.
The Board meets either in-person or virtually two times each calendar year (two days per meeting) at different locations within the continental United States. In addition to the bi-annual meetings, additional virtual meetings may be held during the year to ensure timely completion of the Board's work. Board members typically contribute approximately 3 to 8 hours per month to the activities of the Board. This includes participation on one or more of the Board's active workgroups. Members serve on the Board without compensation; however, Board members may receive travel and per diem allowances where appropriate and in accordance with Federal travel regulations.
Members are appointed to represent the perspective of specific organizations, associations, or groups of persons (Representative members), or to provide their individual expertise (Special Government Employee, or SGE, members).
The Board seeks to maintain diverse representation across all workforce sectors (state/local/tribal government, business (industry and finance), and nonprofit organizations) and geographic regions of the United States. Nominees should demonstrate experience in environmental finance and/or reducing the cost of financing environmental protection in various environmental media (e.g., air, energy, land, and water). Experience and expertise sought include, but are not limited to, the following areas: commercial banking; environmental and financial resiliency; environmental financing including sector-specific experience; environmental justice; environmental, social, and corporate governance; environmental equity financing; Federal investments in environmental financing; green banking; infrastructure financing; insurance markets; local utility management and finance; public-public and public-private partnerships; regulators; resource conservation; sustainable community partnerships; and sustainable economies.
EFAB:
https://www.epa.gov/waterfinancecenter/efab
EFAB on FACA website:
https://www.facadatabase.gov/FACA/s/FACACommittee/a10t0000001gzrUAAQ/com000503
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-26096