x>EPA
190B13009
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
ross-Cutting Fundamental Strat
2013 Action Plan Annual Progress Re
Strategy 1: Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism
Engage and empower communities and partners, including those who have been historically under-represented, in
order to support and advance environmental protection and human health nationwide.
Executive Summary
In FY 2013, the Agency continued efforts to include a broader range of people and communities in our work and engage
with communities that have been historically under-represented in our decision-making processes. These actions
expanded access to information and provided communities and the public increased opportunities to understand and
engage with the Agency. Most strides were made in the area of limited English proficiency and environmental
information. However, some of the environmental education targets were not met.
Accomplishments:
S To support community and citizen involvement in environmental decision making, EPA published 74 data sets
and nine applications from the Agency's national programs in Data.gov. Since FY 2011, EPA has published 296
raw data sets and 44 applications in Data.gov.
S EPA's Region 2 has engaged extensively with the culturally and demographically diverse Brooklyn, New York
neighborhoods that border the Gowanus Canal, a federal Superfund site considered one of the nation's most
contaminated water bodies. During FY 2013, the region worked closely with a broad and diverse range of
stakeholders and members of the 55-member Gowanus Community Advisory Group (CAG), established to
increase community engagement on the planned cleanup. EPA provided technical assistance, coordinated
monthly CAG meetings, held several public meetings on the proposed cleanup plan, provided opportunities for
community input in English and Spanish, allowed for a lengthy public comment period, and ultimately received
1400 public comments that were considered before the cleanup plan was finalized. In addition, the region uses
its Gowanus Canal website, a Facebook group, regular Twitter feeds and community updates to continually
expand the conversation about environmentalism in the Gowanus Canal community.
Challenges:
S Due to resource constraints, EPA did not complete some of the planned FY 2013 environmental education
initiatives. Moving forward, EPA needs to partner with major environmental organizations to leverage resources
for campus environmental education programs.
FY 2013 Annual Progress Report: Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism
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FY 2013 Performance Summary
Strategy 1: Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism
-•
FY 2013 Action Plan Activity
Status/Explanation
' = Activity Complete
Expand interactions with historically under-represented
groups (Supports Principles 4, 5, 6, and 7).
• National Program Managers and Regions will
implement their Limited English Proficiency (LEP)
Review Plans and certify implementation to the
Office of Civil Rights (OCR) by the end of FY 2013.
All National Program Managers and Regions certified and
implemented LEP Review Plans by the end of FY 2013.
• By the end of FY 2013, OCR will establish an Agency-
wide Language Access Group to ensure the
implementation of EPA's LEP Order 1000.32.
The Agency-wide Language Access Group was
established by the end of FY 2013.
• OCR will coordinate with the Office of External
Affairs and Environmental Education (OEAEE) to
revise EPA's Translation Protocol and finalize by the
end of FY 2013.
The target date has been moved to the fourth quarter of
FY 2014.
2. Improve environmental awareness and stewardship
through implementation of the One EPA Environmental
Education initiatives (Supports Principles 3 and 6).
• Launch the ecoAmbassadors program in 30
historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs),
minority-serving academic institutions (MSAIs),
colleges for women, and faith-based colleges and
universities during the September 2012 - May 2013
academic year.
EPA did not pursue this activity this year due to resource
constraints.
Launch the ecoAmbassadors Environmental Science
and Technology Engineering and Math (eSTEM)
program with five national youth-serving
organizations during the September 2012 - May
2013 academic year.
EPA did not pursue this activity this year due to resource
constraints.
FY 2013 Annual Progress Report: Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism
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FY 2013 Performance Summary
Strategy 1: Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism
FY 2013 Action Plan Activity
Status/Explanation
= Activity Complete
• Increase the integration of environmental education
(EE) activities into Agency programs and expand the
creation and distribution of educational resources
for a range of target audiences.
o EPA National Program Managers (NPMs) and the
Office of Environmental Education (OEE) (and
Regions, as appropriate) will collaborate to
complete development of educational resources
or info-graphics for at least five of the most
significant environmental and public health
programmatic areas or regulatory actions by
September 30, 2013. The Administrator's office
will select issues with input from the NPMs and
the intra-Agency EE workgroup.
o OEE and the Office of Public Engagement (OPE),
in collaboration with the NPMs, will cultivate
and establish two national and two
regional/local partnerships to leverage both new
and established distribution and outreach
channels during FY 2013 to expand the reach of
EE resources.
EPA did not pursue this activity this year due to resource
constraints.
• Integrate eSTEM EE activities into the work of the
intra-Agency EE workgroup to enhance activities that
encourage people to pursue environmental careers.
o OEE and the Office of Research and
Development (ORD), the Office of the Science
Advisor, and the Office of Diversity, Outreach,
and Collaboration (ODOC) will develop an e-
mentoring strategy during FY 2013 to expand the
number of EPA staff members participating in
mentoring activities. The strategy includes
developing a monthly online webinar or other
series highlighting EPA employees who serve as
professional eSTEM role models.
o OEE, OPE, ODOC, and the Office of Regional
Operations will collaborate to develop and
conduct ten regional eSTEM roundtables with
college and university students and faculty to
discuss trends in environmental protection and
environmental careers in FY 2013.
EPA did not pursue this activity this year due to resource
constraints.
FY 2013 Annual Progress Report: Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism
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FY 2013 Performance Summary
Strategy 1: Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism
FY 2013 Action Plan Activity
Status/Explanation
= Activity Complete
Improve access to and transparency of EPA's
environmental data to support community and citizen
involvement in decision making (Supports Principles 1,
2, 3, 5, and 7).
• By the end of FY 2013, publish an additional 70 data
sets and 10 applications from the EPA's national
programs in Data.gov to improve access to the EPA's
data in support of community and citizen
involvement in environmental decision making. At
the end of FY 2012, EPA had published 162 new data
sets and 28 data tools.
In 2011, the Office of Environmental Information (OEI)
added 74 raw data sets and nine applications. Since
then, EPA has published 296 raw data sets and 44
applications.
4. Expand public awareness and opportunities for
involvement in advance of and throughout the
development of rules and regulations through social
media tools, including Regulations.gov, the rulemaking
gateway, Greenversations, webinars, and other tools
(Supports Principles 3, 4, 6 and 7).
By the end of FY 2013, the Toxics Release Inventory
(TRI) University Initiative will establish partnerships
with at least 2 academic institutions to increase the
awareness of TRI data in academic communities;
expose students to TRI data, tools, and analyses; and
generate innovative programs, activity
recommendations, or research that improve the
accessibility, awareness, understanding, and
application of TRI data.
All selected projects have commenced. The eight
universities selected to participate in the TRI University
Challenge are working on their projects with the support
of OEI, as well as regional staff.
FY 2013 Annual Progress Report: Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism
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