Sen. Brubaker

Sen. Mike Brubaker (R-Lancaster) announced this week that he is one of 30 citizens to be appointed to serve on a newly-formed Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Advisory Committee through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Last month Brubaker was elected as Vice Chair of the Pennsylvania delegation to the Chesapeake Bay Commission at a recent Commission meeting.

“I commend the EPA for recognizing the important link between the environmental and agricultural communities, and I am very honored to be selected for this opportunity,” Sen. Brubaker said. “This will be an excellent chance to consider policy decisions from both perspectives and to work with some very talented and knowledgeable individuals.”

The Committee is an important part of the EPA’s ongoing effort to strengthen relations with the agriculture industry and other interested parties, and was developed as part of a comprehensive National Agriculture Strategy adopted by the EPA in May 2006. That strategy seeks to engage agriculture in cooperative, collaborative, and innovative ways, in addition to the traditional regulatory programs the agency administers.

The Committee will advise the Administrator on environmental policy issues impacting farms, ranches, and rural communities, and will operate under the rules of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

Initially, it will focus on three issues:

· How EPA’s policies and regulations on climate change and renewable energy will affect the agriculture community, and, conversely, how the agricultural industry – through the development of renewable energy sources – can play a significant role in the nation’s ability to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and its dependence on oil imports.

· An environmental strategy for managing waste from livestock operations that considers regulatory and voluntary approaches, and provides tools for producers to attain superior environmental performance.

· Development of a constructive approach to advancing sustainable agriculture, protecting the environment, and addressing communication between environmental and agricultural interests.

Members were selected from a pool of more than 200 applicants representing large and small farmers, ranchers, and rural communities; rural suppliers, marketers, and processors; academics and researchers who study environmental issues impacting agriculture; and environmental and conservation groups.

“I look forward to working with the other Committee members to develop solutions that benefit agriculture, the environment and the economy,” Sen. Brubaker said.

The Chesapeake Bay Commission is a tri-state legislative commission which advises the General Assemblies of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia in cooperatively managing the Chesapeake Bay.

Sen. Brubaker was elected to his one-year term by the members of the Pennsylvania delegation, including state Senator Mike Waugh (R-York), state Representatives Art Hershey (R-Chester), Russ Fairchild (R-Mifflin) and Mike Sturla (D-Lancaster), DEP Deputy Secretary Cathy Myers and citizen representative George Wolff. Hershey is chair of the delegation as well as of the full Commission.

“I am very honored to have been selected for this position by my peers,” Sen. Brubaker said. “The Chesapeake Bay Commission is a wonderful opportunity for us to address the mutual concerns of the Bay states, and I am pleased that I will have a more active role over the coming year.”

Representatives of each state’s legislature, executive agencies and citizens comprise the Commission and work together to provide information and advice on Bay issues. In addition, the Commission is a signatory to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement with the governors of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, the mayor of the District of Columbia, and the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As such, it serves as the legislative arm of the Chesapeake Bay Program and is fully involved in all Bay Program policy and implementation decisions.

“Pennsylvanians play an important role in maintaining the water quality of the Susquehanna River, and ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay,” Sen. Brubaker said. “We have already made great strides to improving the watershed, and I am looking forward to working with my colleagues on the Commission to continue this progress in the future.”

2/29/2008