About the Office of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OARA)
What We Do
The Office of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OARA) serves as the primary liaison between rural and agricultural stakeholders and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). OARA maintains close contact with EPA’s program offices and regions to forge practical, science-based solutions that protect the environment while ensuring a vibrant and productive agricultural system.
Roles and Responsibilities:
- Increase coordination with a network of existing agriculture policy advisors located in all 10 EPA regional offices across the country.
- OARA houses EPA’s existing Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Federal Advisory Committee (FRRCC), which provides independent policy recommendations to the Agency on environmental issues important to agriculture and rural communities. The FRRCC’s charter was renewed in January 2024 and the committee will continue consideration of how EPA’s programs can best advance the U.S. agriculture sector’s climate mitigation and adaptation goals.
- OARA, along with the Office of Water (OW), oversees the newly created Animal Agriculture and Water quality (AAWQ) FRRCC Subcommittee that will inform the Agency’s decisions on EPA’s permitting program to reduce nutrients and water pollutants from Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs).
- This office works with relevant federal and state partners, in addition to the Rural Partners Network, to collaborate with small, underserved towns and rural communities seeking federal investments in infrastructure upgrades and other community improvement opportunities.
OARA Organization
Venus Welch-White, Acting Director
- Phone: 202-503-5749
- Email: welchwhite.venus@epa.gov
- Mail code: 1101A | EPA mailing addresses
- Location: EPA Headquarters at Washington, D.C. Federal Triangle campus
For scheduling meetings and other inquiries, please email Linda Brown at Brown.Linda@epa.gov and Felipe Afanador Beltran at AfanadorBeltran.Felipe@epa.gov.