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Considerations Before Establishing a FAC
Before determining whether you can establish a new discretionary advisory committee, you should answer several key questions. Specifically, you should be able to answer “yes” to all of the following questions before you move forward with the committee establishment process:
- Can any more discretionary committees be established within the Agency based on the total number of FACs allowed by GSA?
- Will your committee be the only EPA advisory committee providing advice on the issues or topics you have identified? (That is, the advice you are providing is not readily available from another source in the federal government). If a group is only going to provide information to EPA, that group is not subject to the requirements of FACA.
- Will the committee provide an important and unique perspective or viewpoint on EPA programs or operations?
- Will committee deliberations result in recommendations about the creation, change, or elimination of regulations, guidelines, or rules that govern EPA business? Will the deliberations result in recommendations for significant improvements in the services provided by EPA or generate any cost reductions?
Note: The program office should consider the possibility of establishing a subcommittee under an existing federal advisory committee, rather than chartering a new committee.