Obama Administration Convenes Environmental Leaders at Historic White House Environmental Justice Forum Featuring Five Cabinet Secretaries

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                             

December 15, 201

Obama Administration Convenes Environmental Leaders at Historic White House Environmental Justice Forum Featuring Five Cabinet Secretaries

WASHINGTON, DC – Five Cabinet Secretaries and senior officials from a wide range of Federal agencies and offices participated in the first White House Forum on Environmental Justice today, illustrating the Obama Administration’s commitment to ensuring all Americans have strong Federal protection from environmental and health hazards. 

More than 100 environmental justice leaders from across the country attended the day-long event, which featured White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. 

"Low-income and minority communities often shoulder an unacceptable amount of pollution in this country, diminishing their economic potential and threatening the health of millions of American families," said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. "The White House Forum underlines the commitment across the Administration to integrating environmental justice into the missions of Federal agencies, and ensuring this really is a country of equal opportunity for all."

"This administration has taken unprecedented steps to ensure that environmental protection reaches every community.  We want to put an end to the days when public health and economic potential are harmed by disproportionate exposure to pollution," EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said.  "Our continued success relies on close collaboration with our federal partners and strong input from the groups and individuals engaged at the community level.  This meeting is an important way to advance all of those goals."

"For decades, our nation’s environmental problems and threats have been heaped disproportionately on America’s most vulnerable communities. This is unacceptable, and it is unconscionable. But through the aggressive enforcement of federal environmental laws in every community, I believe we can and must change the status quo and ensure environmental justice for all Americans," said Attorney General Eric Holder.

"The Obama administration is committed to making environmental justice a central part of our everyday decision-making process," Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said. "Today’s forum speaks to our high-level engagement in strengthening communities that are too often left out and left behind.”

"The Administration’s focus on environmental justice includes the opening of substantive opportunities to the 21st century green economy for our minority and low-income communities," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.  "Fostering and leveraging the tremendous untapped human resources that exist across the nation is the smart and right thing to do.  After all, it is possible to do well while doing good.  Together, we can ensure the U.S. economy is both more reflective of our diversity and more robust in the face of global competitiveness."

"We understand that people's health is determined not just by what happens in their doctor's office but also by their environment -- where you live, work, go to school, and play, what you eat and drink, the air you breathe, and how you get around. We are committed to collaborating across the government to put the environment at the center of our health agenda," said Secretary Sebelius.

"The Department of Energy is committed to environmental justice and to promoting healthy communities for all Americans," said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "The Obama Administration is investing in clean energy to not only improve the environment, but to strengthen the economy, save families money and create jobs in all communities."

The Forum highlighted initiatives underway across the Federal Government that affect environmental justice communities.  Discussions centered on the Obama Administration’s commitment to ensuring that communities overburdened by pollution – particularly minority, low-income and indigenous communities – have the opportunity to enjoy the health and economic benefits of a clean environment.  The Forum also provided an opportunity for environmental justice and community leaders and officials from state, local and tribal governments to engage in a conversation with Administration officials about environmental justice.   These leaders offered their vision for healthier and more sustainable communities during panel discussions throughout the day. 

Panels focused on:

• How investments in the clean energy economy are expanding green job opportunities in environmental justice communities and beyond.
• How existing legal authorities are being used to more fully engage communities that have been left out and left behind.
• How the Federal Government is addressing environmental and health disparities in communities throughout the country.
• How low-income communities can work with Federal, state and local governments to prepare for the environmental and health impacts of climate change.

On September 22, 2010, Administrator Jackson and Chair Sutley reconvened the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice for the first time in more than a decade.  At a White House meeting attended by five Cabinet members, the Administration recommitted to advancing the mandate of Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations," which states that each agency, with the law as its guide, should make environmental justice part of its mission.

For more information on the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice, visit:  http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/interagency/index.html

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Obama Administration Releases 2011 Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                             

December 16, 201

Obama Administration Releases 2011 Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework

WASHINGTON – The Obama Administration today announced a series of new measures to protect the Great Lakes from Asian carp, building on the unprecedented proactive plan to prevent this invasive species from developing self-sustaining populations in the Great Lakes that the Administration established in February 2010.

The 2011 Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework adds 13 new initiatives to the comprehensive effort to combat Asian carp, including expanding eDNA testing capacity and developing cutting-edge biological controls and monitoring technology, among other measures. 

The original Framework, created in February 2010 and updated in May, established the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC), consisting of state and municipal agencies, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Coast Guard to synchronize the  response to Asian carp. 

 
"The Obama Administration has taken an aggressive, unprecedented approach to protect our Great Lakes and the communities and economies that depend on them from the threat of Asian carp," said John Goss, Asian Carp Director for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. "This Framework builds on the successes we accomplished in 2010 by leveraging our cross-government, regional coordination on immediate preventative actions and multi-tiered strategies for the longer term."

"Thanks to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative established by President Obama and strongly supported by Congress, we can take important steps to protect these vital waters," said Cameron Davis, Senior Advisor to the Administrator (Great Lakes), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency . "We are working to maintain this ecosystem, which represents the nation’s largest source of fresh surface water and is the cornerstone of local jobs and the regional economy."

“The Army Corps of Engineers continues its commitment to protect the Great Lakes from Asian carp.  Our achievements in 2010 demonstrate the success of this integrated framework, of working together to keep the carp out of this treasured ecosystem. Our success further motivates us to accomplish new initiatives in 2011," said Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.

"From a biological standpoint we face a great challenge protecting the Great Lakes ecosystems and fisheries from invasion by the Asian carp," said Tom Strickland, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the Department of the Interior."The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey are working on the ground as part of an Administration-wide intensive comprehensive strategy to stop the spread of Asian carp. This effort is unprecedented and is a major priority for the Department of the Interior."

The original Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework included 32 Federally-funded initiatives, all of which have been completed or are underway.  The 2011 Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework now includes 45 short- and long-term initiatives in an aggressive, multi-tiered strategy to combat Asian carp.

Key accomplishments in 2010 in response to the Asian Carp threat include:

• Enhanced the fish barrier system to include strengthened electric barriers, physical barricades to stop carp migration during floods, and closed off smaller waterway connections to the Great Lakes.
• Constructed a third electric fish barrier in the Chicago Waterway for extra protection in the primary path of concern for carp migration into Lake Michigan.
• Established Asiancarp.org to provide up-to-date information about Asian Carp efforts. 
• Utilized emergency authority provided through Section 126 of Energy and Water Development Act of 2010 to block flood waters from the Des Plaines River with a 13-mile fish barrier and a permanent block in the Illinois and Michigan Canal to keep Asian carp from crossing into the Chicago Waterway.
• Installed a 1,500 foot fish barrier fence at Eagle Marsh, near Fort Wayne, IN, once considered an alternate pathway of greatest concern, to block advancement of Asian carp from the Wabash to the Maumee and Lake Erie. 
• Identified 18 other potential pathways at risk across all the Great Lakes states for the potential transfer of aquatic invasive species between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins.
• Began implementing the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act following the President’s signing of the bill on December 14, 2010.  This legislation prohibits live bighead carp from being shipped or imported into the United States.
• Coordinated Federal agencies to deploy larger field crews to conduct electro shock and netting operations, and increased eDNA testing capacity to 220 samples a week.
• Increased collaboration across all levels of government by integrating the Great Lakes states into the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee and our Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework actions.

New projects in the 2011 Framework include:

• Validation of eDNA as an effective tool for monitoring and tracking Asian Carp through analysis and refinement of the eDNA processes to determine the number and distribution of positive detections of Asian carp. 
• Development of eDNA genetic markers to more accurately and efficiently detect Asian carp concentrations.
• Expansion the USFWS lab in LaCrosse, WI to increase capacity of eDNA testing in all of the Great Lakes.
• Development of alternate trap and net designs for Asian carp.
• Development of rapid genetic-based methods to detect Asian carp to allow for faster results than eDNA.
• Evaluation of the affect of removing Asian carp food sources by reducing phosphorus and nitrogen from waste water treatment plant discharges into the CAWS/Upper Illinois Watershed.
• Assessment of the impact of steel hulled barges on the electric barriers.
• Evaluation of a permanent separation between the Wabash-Maumee watersheds.

Key ongoing projects include:

• Continuation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS), including study of aquatic nuisance species controls and hydrologic separation of the basins.
• Development of permanent blockages for aquatic invasive species pathways throughout the Great Lakes states.
• Evaluation of electric barrier effectiveness through fish tagging and by utilizing Didson cameras.
• Deployment of an enhanced, more efficient system to monitor, sample and capture Asian carp. 
• Enforcement of carp inspections at bait shops, fish processors, fish markets and retail food establishments.
• Enabling American commercial fisherman to develop markets for Asian carp, reducing Asian carp population in the Illinois River and creating jobs.
• Public engagement through outreach and enforcement.
• Collaboration with stakeholders groups, commercial fishermen, industry and recreational boaters to mitigate the damage Asian carp inflict upon waterway users.
• Investment of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds in research and development of long term fish management strategies for Asian carp, eDNA sampling, and habitability assessments.
• Improvement of hydro gun techniques to herd or eradicate and test as a barrier when locks are opened.
• Development of biological interference to reduce Asian carp breeding.
• Establishment and continual updating of www.asiancarp.org as a comprehensive source for information about Asian carp activities. 

For more information or to read the 2011 Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework, visit: www.asiancarp.org.

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White House CEQ Chair to Lead U.S. Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainability Side Events at COP-16 in Cancun

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                             

December 6, 2010

White House CEQ Chair to Lead U.S. Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainability Side Events at COP-16 in Cancun

WASHINGTON, DC – White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley will travel to Cancun, Mexico this week to represent the United States and lead side events at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s 16th Conference of the Parties (COP-16).  On December 8, 2010, she will lead a side event on "Moving Forward with Climate Change Adaptation in the United States," focusing on the Obama Administration's actions to expand and strengthen the United States’ capacity to prepare for and respond to the risks associated with climate change.  On December 9, 2010, Chair Sutley will lead a side event on "GreenGov: The Role of the U.S. Federal Government Operations in Reducing GHG Pollution," where she will discuss President Obama's Executive Order on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance. 

WHO:              Nancy Sutley, Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality

WHAT:            "Moving Forward with Climate Change Adaptation in the United States" Side Event
Remarks and Panel Discussion at COP-16

WHEN:            Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 1:30 PM (CST)

WHERE:          Cancun, Mexico

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WHO:              Nancy Sutley, Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality

WHAT:            "GreenGov: The Role of the U.S. Federal Government Operations in Reducing GHG
Pollution" Side Event Remarks and Panel Discussion at COP-16

WHEN:            Thursday, December 9, 2010 at 11:45 AM (CST)

WHERE:          Cancun, Mexico
 

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White House CEQ Chair Sutley to Headline Discussion at Harvard University's EPA at 40 Conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                             

December 1, 201

White House CEQ Chair Sutley to Headline Discussion at Harvard University's EPA at 40 Conference

WASHINGTON, DC – White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley will headline a panel entitled, "Global Problems, Local Solutions" this Friday, December 3, 2010 at Harvard University's conference celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Environmental Protection Agency.  The day-long conference, "The EPA @ 40: Protecting the Environment & Our Communities," will focus on EPA's environmental legacy.  Chair Sutley will lead off a dialogue with co-panelists including current and former officials from all levels of government, highlighting EPA’s achievements in working with state and local governments and communities.

WHO:           Nancy Sutley, Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality

WHAT:        "Global Problems, Local Solutions" Remarks and Panel Discussion at Harvard University's "The EPA @ 40: Protecting the Environment & Our Communities" Conference

WHEN:        Friday, December 3, 2010 at 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM (EST)

WHERE:     Ames Courtroom, Austin Hall
                     Harvard Law School
                     1515 Massachusetts Avenue
                     Cambridge, MA 02138

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