PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Nov 18, 2010
Sustainable States Act of 2010 - Establishes a program under which the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shall provide grants to sustainable state consortia (partnerships consisting of local governments, states, public universities, and other municipal organizations, businesses, or nonprofit organizations) to establish and carry out municipal sustainability certification programs. Defines "municipal sustainability certification program" as a program that: (1) determines a set of state-specific benchmarks for use in evaluating sustainability; and (2) certifies a municipality as sustainable based on achievement of those benchmarks.
Directs the Administrator to: (1) establish flexible guidelines that reflect regional differences for use by such consortia in establishing such programs; (2) annually compile data from such consortia and report to Congress on municipal actions undertaken to obtain municipal sustainability certification; (3) encourage such consortia to establish certification standards beyond the guidelines established by the Administrator, adapt the administration of the program to meet regional or local needs, and plan for public-private partnership agreements that will sustain the operation of the certification program of a state beyond the term of the grant; (4) establish a national leaders program under which certified municipalities may seek additional recognition for demonstrated performance in meeting sustainability challenges; and (5) establish a website that permits interactive dialogue and collaboration among community leaders and citizens engaged in municipal sustainability certification.
People & committees
Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ] · D–NJ
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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