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Environmental Technology Subcommittee
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT) in 1988 to provide independent advice to the EPA Administrator on a broad range of environmental policy, technology and management issues.The Council is a balanced panel of outside experts who represent diverse interests from academia, industry, non-governmental organizations, and state, local, and tribal governments.
EPA recognizes that a vast array of environmental policy expertise exists outside the Agency in the public, private and non-profit sectors. NACEPT helps EPA tap into the knowledge, expertise, and experience that would otherwise be unavailable to the Agency. NACEPT provides a cost-effective and flexible forum that can quickly respond to continually evolving policy challenges.
The NACEPT Council is comprised of a Chair and Vice Chair, the NACEPT Designated Federal Officer (DFO), and committee members as identified by the Administrator or Deputy Administrator.
Council members may serve on at least one NACEPT committee and often serve as members of other ad hoc work groups. Committees formed under NACEPT auspices operate by the rules of NACEPT, and may not function or report recommendations independently of the Council.
The recently established NACEPT Environmental Technology Subcommittee is asked to assist the Agency in evaluating its current and potential role in technology facilitation, bearing in mind two overarching questions as it formulates its recommendations:
How can EPA better optimize its existing environmental technology programs to make them as effective as possible in promoting the research, development, commercialization, and implementation of sustainable private sector technologies; and
What other environmental technology programs and activities should EPA initiate to take advantage of opportunities it may be missing to further the effectiveness of its technology facilitation objectives? (Although EPA is not likely to receive significant additional funding for any new technology activities, the Subcommittee should not feel constrained in its thinking.)