Center for State and Local Governance: Resources and Media
Model Governance Tools
ELI and NRDC have developed model food waste reduction policies. These models, based on extensive best practices research, provide legal language as well as background information and alternative approaches to make it easier for local governments to adopt solutions. Localities can use the models as templates and tailor them to their specific circumstances.
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Food Waste
- Model Ordinance Establishing a Pay-As-You-Throw Program for Residential Municipal Solid Waste (November 2023)
- Model Executive Order on Municipal Leadership on Food Waste Reduction (July 2023)
- Model Ordinance on Mandatory Reporting for Large Food Waste Generators With Commentaries (July 2022)
- Model Compost Procurement Policy With Commentaries (July 2021)
- Requires the use of compost where appropriate to realize economic and environmental benefits and foster the development of robust food scrap recycling infrastructure.
- Model Compost Procurement Policy Without Commentaries
Toolkits and Additional Resources
These are toolkits, research briefs, resource guides, and slide decks.
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Presentations and Convenings
These are presentations.
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- Defending Our Infrastructure: Creating a Cybersecurity Culture in Small Community Water and Wastewater systems (January 2023)
- Youth Climate Action: How Local Governments Can Learn from Generation Z (November 2022)
- Equity-Centered Local Climate Action Planning (May 2022)
- Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) 101 for Local and Tribal Governments (May 2021)
- Restoring Land: Fee-to-Trust and Native Sovereignty (April 2021)
(Recording) - FYI Naturalist: Save Food Waste Less in Nashville (February 2021)
- Clean Air Act Regulations for Natural Disaster Management
- How to Set Up a Pilot Community Composting Project to Receive Community Food Scraps - Community Composting for Nashville: Webinar Workshop Series, Part 3 (November 2020)
- Sacred Sites: Balancing Scientific Progress and Native Hawaiian Sovereignty (October 2020)
- What's for Dinner? Achieving Municipal Climate Mitigation Targets through Alternative Proteins (October 2020)
- Swept Away: Safeguarding Tribal Cultural Heritage from the Impacts of Climate Change (October 2020)
- How to Set Up a Community Compost Demonstration and Education Site - Community Composting for Nashville: Webinar Workshop Series, Part 2 (October 2020)
- What, Why & How to Compost - An Introduction to the Basics & How to Engage - Community Composting for Nashville: Webinar Workshop Series, Part 1 (September 2020)
- Fighting Fire With Fire: Restoring Traditional Indigenous Practices for Ecological Stewardship (May 2020)
- Food Waste Co-Digestion at Water Resource Recovery Facilities: Business Case Analysis (May 2020)
- Jumping Through Hoopa: Complicating the Clean Water Act for the States (March 2020)
- Cool Cities (September 2019)
- Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Environmental Decision-making (October 2018)
- Tribal Fishing Rights and Environmental Regulation: An Emerging Nexus? (November 2017)
- Emerging Environmental Issues in Native Communities (Part 1 and Part 2) (September 2017)
- Environmental Law in Indian Country 101 (July 2017)
- Arctic Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning and the Role of the Arctic People (March 2010)
Digital Media
These are podcasts and other digital media.
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Podcasts
Check out Today’s Local Environment—the Compliance Podcast. Hosted by ELI’s LGEAN Team, this series features experts from EPA and beyond sharing their insights and resources for local governments looking to improve their compliance with federal environmental laws.
- Sensing a Change in the Air: How Local Governments Can Respond and Adapt to Shifts in Air Quality Monitoring Technology (July 2023)
- Building the Water Workforce: Recruiting and Retaining the Next Generation of Utility Workers (February 2023)
- Climate and the Community: Centering Equity in Climate Vulnerability Assessments (October 2022)
- Meeting Stormwater Compliance Objectives with Green Infrastructure (August 2022)
- Compliance Assistance on the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP) (May 2022)
- Taking on Trash: The National Recycling Strategy (April 2022)
- EPA, States, and Permittees Take on Significant Non-Compliance (October 2021)
- The 4-1-1 on Financing: Strategies and Support for Small Water and Wastewater Systems (June 2021)
- Meet EPA's Ombuds (March 2021)
ELI's People, Places and Planet Podcast has also released episodes with insights for local governments looking to improve their compliance with federal environmental laws. Check these out as well!
- Water Justice and the Constituent Empowerment Model (September 2022)
- Is the U.S. Government Ready for the Climate Crisis? Examining Federal, State, and Local Climate Adaptation (September 2021)
- Groundtruth: State Stories – Passing Environmental Justice Legislation (June 2021)
- The Enforcement Angle: TCEQ’s Toby Baker (April 2021)
- Groundtruth: New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Law (April 2021)
- Remarkable Cities and the Fight Against Climate Change (June 2020)
- Turning a Blind Eye to Small Drinking Water Systems (April 2020)
- Cool Cities: A/C Ordinances—The Hot New Trend in Fighting Extreme Heat? (January 2020)
- Energy Exactions: A New Idea for Local Governments (December 2019)
- Carbon Taxation by Regulation (August 2019)
- Trailblazing Tribes: Agriculture (July 2019)
Blogs
- New Resource Locator Provides Climate Tools for States (August 2022)
- Analytical Technologies for Climate Resiliency (March 2022)
- Best Practices in Local Climate Action Planning. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 (January 2022)
- Financing Solutions for Small Community Water Systems (August 2021)
- Adaptation to Climate Change: Tribes Are Leading the Way (Part 2) (August 2021)
- Heating Up: Climate Change Impacts on Tribal Communities (Part 1) (August 2021)
- Reasserting Tribal Forest Management Under Good Neighbor Authority (December 2020)
- Disparity, Disease, and Drinking Water: COVID-19 and Safe Drinking Water Access in Indian Country (June 2020)
- Turning a Blind Eye to Drinking Water Risks (April 2020)
- Water Act Rule Poses Challenges for States (January 2020)
- Tribal Regulation of Single-Use Plastics (April 2019)
- Macbeth Report: Cooperative Federalism Reimagined (March 2019)
- WOTUS Proposal Poses Challenges for States (February 2019)
- Traditional Ecological Knowledge and the Law: The Canadian Case (December 2018)
- Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the United States: Contributions to Climate Adaptation and Natural Resource Management (December 2018)