UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

·WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460 

Brian Houseal 

Chair, U.S. National Advisory Committee 

Adirondack Council 

103 Hand Avenue, Suite 3 

Elizabethtown, NY 12932 

Dear lvir. Houseal: 

FEB 2 7 2013 

Office of 

International and 

Tribal Affairs 

On behalf of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, I would like to thank you for the National 

Advisory Committee's (NAC) advice of December 1, 2012 reporting on its October 25-26,2012 

meeting in Washington D.C. Your letter provides valuable recommendations to the United 

States regarding the Commission on Enviroinnental Cooperation (CEC) and the importance of 

the new operational plan, communications, water resources and other issues. I was sorry that I 

could not join you in person, but was very happy that the Acting Assistant Administrator 

Michael Stahl. was able to participate· fully in your meeting along with others of my staff. 

Thank you for your sound advice regarding a greater emphasis on greening the North 

American (NA) economy and the consideration of specific initiatives such as electronic waste, 

tri-lateral clean energy, and other economic integrated sectors in North America. The -

Administrator and I agree wholeheartedly that preference should be given this year to projects 

related to the Greening the Economy and Climate Change-Low Carbon Economies. We will be 

looking to you early in the process to help us "identify those projects that 'you think best fulfill the 

criteria identified. 

We also appreciate your advice and comments on the need to develop fewer, more 

strategic projects that will lead to concrete environmental results. The Parties are of one mind to 

make the annual CEC work plan more concrete and results oriented, and more relevant to the 

needs of our communities. We will work with you to make sure that this transition is done in a 

thoughtful and effective manner. Our response to the Committee's individual recommendations 

· is attached. 

As always, your guidance is highly valued and respected. Finally, I would like to 

personally congratulate you on yqur appointment as Chair of the National Advisory Committee. 

I look forward to discussing these ideas with you in more detail and look forward to seeing you 

at the next Committee meeting in the Spring. 

Sincerely, 

/1/JJ~ Michelle DePass 

US Alternate Representative 

Internet Address (URL} • http://www.epa.gov 

Recycled/Recyclable • Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Postconsumer, Process Chlorine Free Recycled Paper 
Summary Recommendations: 

The NAC recommends that consideration of electronic waste include the life cycle 

of specific electronic devices to incorporate environmentally friendly advances in 

their manufacturing, distribution and disposal. 

We agree with the recommendation that projects focused on electronic waste should 

consider the life cycle of electronic devices and incorporate environmentally friendly advances in 

manufacturing, distribution, and disposal. However, there are a number of organizations in the 

world more specialized than the CEC which are successfully studying the life cycle of 

electronics. These include the University of California, Berkeley, the Sustainability Consortium 

and MIT to name a few. The US believes these organizations are better suited than the CEC to 

perform life cycle assessments of electronics. Perhaps there is an opportunity to partner with 

some of these agencies to stay current on advances being made in the manufacturing, distribution 

and disposal of e-waste products. 

With regards to the design of electronic products, an international design for the 

environment (DfE) effort is attempting to improve the n1anufacturing of electronics. This work, 

in part, is aimed at enhancing the recycling/ disposal phase in the life cycle through 

improvements in the design of electronic products. This effort is focused on those countries in 

which a significant amount of design work on electronics occurs. These countries include the 

US, Japan, South Korea, etc. Of the North American countries, only the US does a significant 

amount of design work on electronics. Thus, while the CEC is not really an appropriate forum 

for work on electronics design/manufacturing, the US remains an active force in design for the 

environment. 

With regards to the export of electronics and electronic waste, the CEC is working with 

academia to develop a study on the exports of used electronics and e-waste among the North 

American countries as well as outside ofNmih America. This study is expected to be completed 

in the second half of 2013. 

The CEC is currently implementing a project to increase the environmentally sound 

recycling of electronics waste. The CEC will provide training in Mexico and Canada on sound 

electronics recycling which will help our partner countries make significant progress in 

addressing issues withe-waste. 

The NAC requests clarity in the terminology, criteria, assessment and performance 

indicators for 'tri-lateral clean energy initiatives. ' 
The idea of a trilateral clean energy initiative has been raised by Mexico at different 

times and it is our understanding that the program involves assistance in the implementation of 

large-scale renewable energy replication programs by building the technical and operational 

capacity in Mexico to allow them to canyout renewable energy-based projects. In looking into 

this activity further, we learned from our colleagues at the Department of Energy that such a 

program already exists and is related to and integrated with the US/Mexico Bilateral Agreement 

for Energy Cooperation. Under that agreement, Mexico's Renewable Energy Program is 

sponsored by DOE and USAID and is managed by Sandia National Lab. On the Mexican side, 

the main program sectors includes the Natural Resources side ofSEMARNAT, that is, the 

Comisi6n Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP). The fact that a bilateral 

agreen1ent is already in place, that the activities undertaken are within the purview of our 

Departments of Energy and Interior, and thus outside of EPA expertise, this may preclude the 

possible involvement of the CEC in this matter. 

The NAC recommends that the Secretariat prepare an Article 13 report on 

Distributed Energy systems. 

In 2002, the CEC Secretariat produced two Secretariat Reports to Council under Article 

13 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) with both 

reports containing sections assessing distributed energy systems. These reports, entitled 

Environmental Challenges and Opportunities of the Evolving North American Electricity 

Market and Environmental Challenges and Assessing Barriers and Opportunities for 

Renewable Energy in North America are early assessments of the landscape for investment, 

research and development, feasibility, and scalability of a variety of energy systems, including 

distributed energy systen1s. A thorough review of those two previous reports may be advisable 

before making a determination that additional information is needed on this issue and we will 

request that the Secretariat provide these reports to your Committee. 

The NAC recommends an assessment of trade flows in the agriculture, forestry, 

farming and fisheries sectors from a production and supply chain perspective to 

better integrate these economic sectors. 

With regard to an assess1nent of trade flows in the agriculture, forestry, farming and 

fisheries sectors, we can suggest to our counterparts in Canada and Mexico that attention be 

given to these trade flows in environmentally sensitive natural resource sectors. We agree that 

the automotive industry can provide illustrative examples of how the supply chain has improved 

since the ratification of the NAFTA, and how the lessons learned might be applied to other 

economic sectors. We continue to have a constructive relationship with the North American 

automobile industry through our liaison role with the Suppliers' Partnership for the Environment 

(SP) organization and will discuss the points you raised with that organization, along with a 

request to share lessons learned to other sectors. We have brought this to the attention of the 

EPA project lead on the SP and will work with him to ensure that best practices are shared with 

other projects. 
The NAC recommends that future projects approved in the CEC Operational Plan 

demonstrate a clear connection between the CEC 's mission, vision, strategic 

objectives, goals and tactics. 

The U.S. agrees with your recommendation about the need for the projects included in 

the annual Operational Plan to clearly reflect the CEC's strategic plan, goals, etc and we will 

continue to support efforts to strengthen those linkages. Since 2009 the Council has repeatedly 

called for the establishment of clear performance goals to assess progress in the implementation 

of the 2010-2015 Strategic Plan. The Parties are of one mind on the need to ensure that the 

projects reflect the CEC's vision and strategic goals, and making the clear connections that you 

suggest with well-defined performance indicators is an effective way to achieve that end. 

The NAC recommends additional expansion in the use of Face-book, Twitter and 

other social media to attract more people to the CEC 's website and to raise 

awareness regarding tri-national trade and environment issues 

We agree with the NAC about the utility and importance of social media in raising 

awareness on trade and environmental issues. CEC has taken a more aggressive approach to 

communicating the activities of each project in the current operational cycle. We have 

encouraging news that the communication efforts made at the 2012 CEC Council Session had a 

significant impact and greatly improved organizational outreach. At the 2012 Council Session, 

there were double the number of individuals logged ·in following the public portions than in 

2011, Twitter activity was at an all-time high for CEC, and in-person attendance at both the 

JP AC and the public council sessions were marked improvements over previous years. 

Furthermore, separate blasts, posts and tweets are developed and sent out for Secretarial reports, 

administrative/leadership changes, and mention of other bi-lateral and tri-lateral activity . EPA 

will continue to work the CEC communications team to broaden the stakeholder lists and 

outreach, develop targeted messages specific to each project, and seek appropriate means to 

encourage further use of social media tools. 

The NAC respectfully requests that the CEC and partner nations both ratify and 

incorporate the guidance from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of 

Indigenous Peoples into their policies and practices. 

On Friday, February 15 Octaviana Trujillo (GAC) and Brian Houseal( NAC) hosted a 

conference call with U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples James 

Anaya. Mr. Anaya provided a very thorough and detailed presentation on the UN Declaration on 

the Rights of Indigenous People and the positions taken by Mexico, Canada and the US vis-a-vis 

ratification of that important document. We have asked Mr. Anaya for a copy of his power point 

presentation in the hope that it can be used as reference for further discussions on this topic. 
The NAC urges the CEC to go beyond a geographic focus on water resources to 

consider the impacts on water quality and quantity from increased manufacturing 

and trade, effects of climate change, vulnerability of human communities, and 

effects on natural ecosystems and species. 

Thank you for your recommendations with respect to water issues in North America. 

There has been consensus among the Parties since 1994 that the bilateral and binational nature of 

international water issues makes it unsuitable for an organization with a trilateral mandate. In 

addition, the plethora of agencies at the private, community, State, provincial and local 

governments and federal government levels that deal directly with water issues represents a 

sizeable commitment to water-related issues by the Parties. 

Just at the federal level we have over 10 agreements related to water: on our northern 

border with Canada our bilateral commitments include the Great Lakes Water Quality 

Agreement (which was just recently updated), the International Joint Cmmnission, the Boundary 

Waters Treaty, the Colun1bia River Treaty, and the agreetnents related to the Red River Water 

Supply Project and Devil 'sLake, to name just a few. On our southern border with Mexico, we 

have the 1983 La Paz Agreement, the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) 

and the North An1erican Developtnent Bank (NADBank), (which support the planning, 

development and financing of projects, including drinking water supply and wastewater 

treatn1ent), and the International Boundary and Water Comtnission. Moreover, water is a key 

element in the U.S.-Mexico Border 2020 program and additional work related to water is 

undertaken annually by EPA's Office of Water through our offices in Regions 6 and 9. 

We understand that your advice proposes a much broader approach: both geographical, 

that is from a North American perspective, and substantively; from an environmental and trade 

perspective, which of course goes beyond the boundary waters of each Party. The issues that 

you raise are an integral pmi of our bilateral agreements with Canada and Mexico and integrated 

i11to our domestic laws. 

The NAC respectfully requests that the members of the Council and JPAC urge 

Canada and Mexico to appoint National Advisory Committees and Government 

Advisory Committees to provide advice to their respective environmental agencies 

and the JP A C. 

The NAAEC requires that the Parties convene a Joint Public Advisory Committee, but 

merely suggests the convening of national and/or governmental committees. In the US, the 

Executive Order signed by then President Clinton in 1994 (EO 12915 on federal implementation 

of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation) requires that the 

Administrator establish a governmental advisory committee under Atiicle 18 and a national 

advisory committee under Article 17. At different times in the last 20 years both Canada and 

Mexico have had don1estic advisory committees, but they have not reached the level of 

significance that the US committees enjoy, and consequently have not lasted. 

.. 
Moreover, the Federal Advisory Committee Act (F ACA) governs the operation of federal 

advisory committees in the U.S. and defines the applicability, restrictions, responsibilities and 

make-up of such committees. Canada and Mexico do not have a F ACA-type legislation and thus, 

any committees that they may appoint could be very different from the F ACA-mandated US 

model, which in fact is what has happened in the past. 

Nevertheless, I can commit to raising the issue with my counterparts, as we agree with 

your advice that such appointments would only broaden our outreach efforts.