UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ·WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460



### Brian Houseal Chair, U.S. NationalAdvisory Committee Adirondack Council 103 Hand Avenue, Suite 3 Elizabethtown, NY 12932

Dearlvir. Houseal: 

## FEB 27

## 2013

Office of International and

Tribal Affairs



### On behalfofAdministrator Lisa P. Jackson, I would like to thank you for the National Advisory Committee's (NAC) advice ofDecember 1, 2012 reporting on its October 25-26,2012 meeting in Washington D.C. Yourletterprovides valuable recommendations tothe United States regarding the Commission on Enviroinnental Cooperation (CEC) and the importance of the new operational plan, communications, waterresources and otherissues. I was sorry that I could notjoin you inperson, but was very happy that the Acting AssistantAdministrator Michael Stahl.was able to participate·fully in your meeting along with others ofmy staff.

Thank you for your sound advice regarding a greateremphasis on greening the North American (NA) economy and the considerationofspecific initiatives such as electronic waste, tri-lateral clean energy, and othereconomic integrated sectors inNorth America. The

- Administrator and I 

### agree wholeheartedly thatpreference should be given this yearto projects related to the Greening the Economy and Climate Change-LowCarbonEconomies. 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 strategicprojects that will lead to concrete environmental results. The Parties are ofone mind to make the annual CEC workplan more concrete and results oriented, and more relevant to the needs ofour communities. We will work with you to make sure thatthis transition is done in a thoughtful and effective manner. Ourresponse 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 ofthe National Advisory Committee. Ilook forward to discussingthese ideas with you in more detail and look forward to seeing you atthe next Committee meeting inthe 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

### SummaryRecommendations: 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 anddisposal.

We agree with the recommendation that projects focused on electronic waste should considerthe life cycle ofelectronic devices and incorporate environmentally friendly advances in manufacturing, distribution, and disposal. However, there are a number oforganizations in the world more specialized than the CEC which are successfully studying the life cycle of electronics. These include the University ofCalifornia, 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 ofthese agencies to stay current on advances being made in the manufacturing, distribution and disposal ofe-waste products.

With regards to the design of electronic products, an international design for the environment (DfE) effort is attempting to improve the n1anufacturing ofelectronics. This work, in part, is aimed at enhancing the recycling/disposal phase in the life cycle through improvements in the design ofelectronic products. This effort is focused on those countries in which a significant amount ofdesign work on electronics occurs. These countries include the US, Japan, South Korea, etc. Ofthe North American countries, only the US does a significant amount ofdesign 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 ofelectronics and electronic waste, the CEC is working with academia to develop a study on the exports ofused electronics and e-waste among the North American countries as well as outside ofNmihAmerica. This study is expected to be completed in the second halfof2013.

The CEC is currently implementing a project to increase the environmentally sound recycling ofelectronics 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, assessmentand performance indicatorsfor 'tri-lateral clean energy initiatives. 'The ideaofa trilateral clean energy initiative has been raised by Mexico at different times and it is ourunderstanding that the program involves assistance in the implementation of large-scale renewable energy replicationprograms by building the technical and operational capacity inMexico to allowthem to canyoutrenewable energy-based projects. In looking into this activity further, we learned from our colleagues at the Department ofEnergy that such a program already exists and is related to and integrated with the US/Mexico Bilateral Agreement for Energy Cooperation. Underthat agreement, Mexico's Renewable Energy Program is sponsored by DOE and USAID and is managed by SandiaNational Lab. Onthe Mexican side, the mainprogram 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 inplace, that the activities undertaken are withinthe purview ofour Departments ofEnergy and Interior, and thus outside ofEPA expertise, this may preclude the possible involvement ofthe CEC in this matter.



### The NAC recommends that the Secretariatprepare anArticle 13 report on DistributedEnergysystems.

In 2002, the CEC Secretariatproduced two Secretariat Reports to Council under Article 13 ofthe North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) withboth reports containing sections assessing distributed energy systems. These reports, entitled 

### Environmental Challenges and Opportunities ofthe Evolving North American Electricity Market and 

### Environmental Challenges and Assessing Barriers and Opportunities for Renewable Energy in North America are early assessments ofthe landscape for investment, research and development, feasibility, and scalability ofa variety ofenergy systems, including distributed energy systen1s. A thorough review ofthose two previous reports may be advisable before making a determination that additional information is needed on this issue and we will request that the Secretariatprovide these reports to your Committee.



### The NAC recommends an assessment of tradeflows in the agriculture,forestry, farming and fisheries sectors from aproduction andsupply chainperspective to better integrate these economic sectors.

With regard to an assess1nent oftrade 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 canprovide illustrative examples ofhowthe supply chain has improved since the ratification ofthe NAFTA, and how the lessons learned might be applied to other economic sectors. We continue to have a constructive relationship withthe North American automobile industry through ourliaison role with the Suppliers' Partnership for the Environment (SP) organization and will discuss the points you raised withthat organization, along with a request to share lessons learned to other sectors. We have brought this to the attention ofthe EPA project lead on the SP and will work with him to ensure that best practices are shared with otherprojects.

### The NAC recommends that futureprojects approvedin the CEC OperationalPlan demonstrate a clear connection between the CEC 's mission, vision, strategic objectives, goals andtactics.

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 strengthenthose linkages. Since 2009 the Council has repeatedly called for the establishment ofclearperformance goals to assess progress in the implementation ofthe 2010-2015 Strategic Plan. The Parties are ofone 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 othersocialmedia to attractmorepeople to the CEC 's website andto raise

awareness regarding tri-national trade andenvironment 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 JPAC 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 ofsocial mediatools.



### The NAC respectfully requests that the CEC and partnernations both ratify and incorporate theguidance from the UnitedNations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into theirpolicies 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 ofIndigenous Peoples James Anaya. Mr. Anaya provided a very thorough and detailed presentation onthe UN Declaration on the Rights ofIndigenous People and the positions taken by Mexico, Canada and the US vis-a-vis ratification ofthat important document. We have asked Mr. Anaya for a copy ofhis powerpoint presentation in the hope that it can be used as reference for further discussions on this topic.

### The NAC urges the CEC to go beyonda geographic focus on water resources to consider the impacts on water quality andquantity from increasedmanufacturing andtrade, effects of climate change, vulnerability of human communities, and effects on natural ecosystems andspecies.

Thankyoufor your recommendations withrespect to water issues inNorthAmerica. There has been consensus among the Parties since 1994 that thebilateral and binational nature of international water issues makes it unsuitable for an organization with a trilateral mandate. In addition, the plethora ofagencies at the private, community, State, provincial and local governments and federal government levels that deal directly with water issues represents a sizeable commitmentto water-related issues bythe Parties.

Just at the federal level we have over 10 agreements related to water: on ournorthern border with Canadaourbilateral commitments include the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (which wasjustrecently updated), the International Joint Cmmnission, the Boundary Waters Treaty, the Colun1bia River Treaty, andthe agreetnents relatedto the Red River Water Supply Project and Devil'sLake, to namejust a few. On our southern borderwith Mexico, we have the 1983 La Paz Agreement, the BorderEnvironment Cooperation Commission (BECC) and the North An1erican DeveloptnentBank (NADBank), (which supportthe planning, development and financing ofprojects, including drinking water supply and wastewater treatn1ent), and the International Boundary and Water Comtnission. Moreover, water is a key element inthe U.S.-Mexico Border 2020 program and additional workrelated to water is undertaken annually by EPA's Office ofWaterthrough 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 andtrade perspective, which ofcourse goes beyond the boundary waters ofeachParty. The issues that youraise are an integral pmi ofour bilateral agreements with Canada and Mexico and integrated i11to our domestic laws.



### The NAC respectfully requests that the members of the Council andJPAC urge Canada andMexico to appointNationalAdvisory Committees andGovernment Advisory Committees toprovide advice to their respective environmental agencies and the JP AC.

The NAAEC requires that the Parties convene a Joint Public Advisory Committee, but merely suggests the convening ofnational and/or governmental committees. Inthe US, the Executive Order signed by then President Clinton in 1994 (EO 12915 onfederal implementation ofthe North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation) requires that the Administrator establish a governmental advisory committee under Atiicle 18 and a national advisory committee underArticle 17. At differenttimes inthe last 20 years both Canada and Mexico have had don1estic advisory committees, butthey have notreached the level of significance that the US committees enjoy, and consequently have not lasted.



# ..Moreover, the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) governs the operation offederal advisory committees in the U.S. and defines the applicability, restrictions, responsibilities and make-up ofsuch committees. Canada and Mexico do not have a FACA-type legislation andthus, any committees that they may appoint could be very different from the FACA-mandatedUS model, which infact is what has happened in the past.

Nevertheless, I can committo raising the issue with my counterparts, as we agree with your advice that such appointments would onlybroaden our outreach efforts.