EPA Round Table on Climate Change July 26

[NaepcA1]

Dear Tribal Directors and Staff,
I am writing to invite you to participate in an Environmental Protection Agency hosted Round Table Discussion Session on Climate Change Adaptation Planning, on Tuesday, July 26th, from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm (Central Time), to provide an opportunity for you to share information, experiences and insights for integrating adaptation to climate change into Agency policies and programs (Please see the background description, below, and the accompanying attachments for more details about the round table call and EPA's involvement in climate change adaptation.) The call in number to participate in this discussion is 866-299-3188. When prompted, you will need to enter the following access code: 2146658339#

Your experience in areas such as low impact development, green infrastructure, water conservation and efficiency, climate change and other sustainability related topics make you an invaluable participant in these discussions. If you believe someone else in your organization is better suited to participate in the round table discussion with EPA, please forward this message to them.

If you plan to participate in this call, please R.S.V.P. to me, James R. Brown at brown.jamesr@epa.gov before July 22, 2011.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

James R. Brown, P.G.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6
Associate Director of Strategic Planning
Planning and Analysis Branch, (6WQ-N)
Water Quality Protection Division
1445 Ross Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75202-2733
Phone: (214) 665-3175
Fax: (214) 665-2733



Background:
On October 14, 2010, the Climate Change Adaptation Task Force, co-chaired by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), released it's interagency report outlining recommendations to President Obama for how Federal Agency policies and programs can better prepare the United States to respond to the impacts of climate change. The Progress Report of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force recommends that the Federal Government implement actions to expand and strengthen the Nation’s capacity to better understand, prepare for, and respond to climate change. Among several recommendations, the CEQ requested that Federal Agencies develop adaptation plans to ensure that resources are invested wisely and services and operations remain effective in a changing climate.

Adaptation: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines adaptation as the "adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities" (IPCC, 2007). In short, it can be summarized as the actions taken to reduce the vulnerability of human and natural systems to climate change effects. You can read more about adaptation on EPA's web site at: http://epa.gov/climatechange/effects/adaptation.html

Approach: Engage state and tribal environmental program managers and staff in focused discussions on key topical areas such as:
• Identifying current practices by States and Tribes addressing climate change adaptation and helping to build more resilient communities, and identify examples of their application and results.

• Identifying internal and external barriers to climate change adaptation initiatives experienced by States and Tribes.

• Identifying State and Tribal needs that could be addressed as part of our strategic response (i.e., policy innovation, training, program-specific guidance, data and information, analytical tools) to advance integration of adaptation into EPA, State, and Tribal action;

• Identifying potential targets and approaches for pilot testing, evaluating and mainstreaming innovative approaches to adaptation.