Jerry Griffin Named to National Advisory Committee

Release date: 06/17/2004

Contact Information: Laura Niles, (404) 562-8353, niles.laura@epa.gov

Mr. Jerry Griffin, Executive Director of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG), has been named to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Local Government Advisory Committee. The Committee provides EPA Administrator Michael Leavitt with advice and recommendations to help build partnerships with local governments to better protect the nation's environment.Mr. Griffin will be one of 31 representatives from different regions of the country who will meet on a regular basis with EPA. Mr. Griffin is a member of the Economic Development Academy Board of Directors, the Metro Chamber of Commerce Quality Growth Committee as well as the Georgia Cities Foundation, the Advisory Council of the University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environment. He previously served on the Supreme Court Indigent Defense Commission and the Indigent Defense Council having been appointed by the Georgia Supreme Court. A substantial part of EPA's mission involves developing and enforcing Federal regulations to protect and improve the environment. Local governments are essential partners in this mission. Serving as both regulators and regulated entities, they implement major environmental regulations and provide community services such as drinking water treatment, waste water treatment and solid waste management. Local governments also play a key role in addressing environmental issues such as clean air, clean water, and sustainable development. The Local Government Advisory Committee was formed in 1993. The group has provided recommendations to the Agency on a broad range of topics including communications, flexibility, strategic planning, regulatory innovation and reform, environmental protection tools, pollution prevention, new technologies, and roles of various levels of government.