EPA Announces Appointments from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina to Local Government Advisory Committee
ATLANTA (Jan. 10, 2024) – In a historic moment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the appointment of 16 new members to the Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC), as well as 13 reappointments of members. For the first time in the Agency’s history an advisory committee’s membership will be predominately female, including all members of the committee’s leadership.
The 37-member LGAC will have 24 females and 13 males, including 13 people of color, and representation from 27 different states. The Administrator also appointed 6 new and 15 returning members to the LGAC’s Small Communities Advisory Subcommittee (SCAS). The LGAC and SCAS appointments include nine new, reappointed or continuing members from across the Southeast.
Newly appointed members from Region 4 states include: Chandra Farley, Chief Sustainability Officer of the City of Atlanta; La’Meshia Whittington, of North Carolina’s Water Treatment Facility Operator Certification Board; and Kyle Shipp, the Mayor of Pittsboro, North Carolina.
“We are very pleased to have such excellent representation from the Southeast on these influential committees,” said Region 4 Administrator Jeaneanne Gettle. “These appointments reflect EPA’s commitment to foster better relations with local governments and small communities, including the many areas across Region 4 with environmental justice concerns.”
In 2024 the Committee will provide input on the proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, the draft Strategy for Reducing Plastic Pollution, developing a cumulative impact framework, and improving community-level communication and engagement on climate change issues.
Members were chosen from a pool of more than 60 highly qualified candidates. Selections for the one- and two-year terms were made based on the applicant pool and in accordance with the LGAC charter to achieve balance and diversity in terms of geographic location, gender, ethnicity, and stakeholder perspective. Read more about the members and the communities they represent here.
The new, reappointed (denoted with *), and continuing (denoted with ^) LGAC members representing Region 4 and their affiliations are:
Ms. Chandra Farley, Chief Sustainability Officer, Atlanta, GA
The Honorable Deana Holiday Ingraham, Mayor, East Point, GA^
Mr. Whitford Remer, Sustainability and Resilience Officer, Tampa, FL*
Ms. La’Meshia Whittington, Water Treatment Facility Operator Certification Board, NC
The new, reappointed (denoted with *), and continuing (denoted with ^) SCAS members representing Region 4 and their affiliations are:
The Honorable Velma Jenkins, Mayor, Shuqualak, MS*
The Honorable James Perkins, Mayor, Selma, AL*
The Honorable Hattie Portis-Jones, Mayor Pro Tem, Fairburn, GA*
The Honorable Kyle Shipp, Mayor, Pittsboro, NC
Mr. Kevin Shropshire, Pretreatment Coordinator, Rockledge, FL*
Background Chartered in 1993 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Local Government Advisory Committee is comprised of elected and appointed officials at local, state, tribal and territorial governments within the U.S., who provide independent policy advice to the EPA Administrator on a broad range of issues affecting local governments. The Small Community Advisory Subcommittee was established by EPA in 1996 to advise the Administrator on environmental issues of concern to the residents of smaller communities. New members are recruited every fall.
For more information about the LGAC, please visit https://www.epa.gov/ocir/local-government-advisory-committee-lgac.
For more information about the SCAS, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/ocir/small-community-advisory-subcommittee-scas