&EPA
              United States
              Environmental Protection
              Agency
               Office Of
               The Administrator
               (1101)
EPA 200-B-94-002
July 1994
The New Generation Of
Environmental Protection

EPA's Five-Year Strategic Plan
                                S Envlrer
                        ntai Pfocc-clion Agency
                        -"(PL-12J)
                 TT'west Jackson Boulevard, 12th
                 Chicago, IL 60604-3590

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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                      Message from the Administrator
            MESSAGE FROM  THE ADMINISTRATOR
       I am proud to present EPA's five-year strategic plan, The New Generation of
Environmental Protection. This plan represents the combined insight, energy, and forward
thinking of EPA's senior leadership, employees, and its stakeholders as they define the Agency's
role and direction into the next century. This plan lays out the guiding principles that EPA will
emphasize as it works to achieve the goal of a sustainable environment and economy:  ecosystem
protection; environmental justice; pollution prevention; strong science and data; partnerships;
reinventing EPA management; and environmental accountability. I believe that we can achieve the
goals we have set for ourselves by working with our partners and following these guiding
principles. If we achieve what is detailed in this plan, we surely will pass on to our children a
better world than we inherited.
       The New Generation of Environmental Protection is the first step in a planning process
that will continue to involve EPA's partners  in environmental protection. A critical part of this
process will be the availability of sound environmental, programmatic, and fiscal information that
will guide our future management and resource decisions. EPA will revisit its strategic plan and
update it, where appropriate, to ensure that the Agency is focusing its efforts and resources most
productively.
       This is an exciting time for EPA as it charts new directions in environmental protection.
This plan provides us with a shared vision of our future and points us towards greater
opportunities to harmonize environmental protection and economic growth. In the spirit of
partnership embodied in this plan, I encourage your comments, participation, and continued
assessment of the plan and its implementation.
                                                     Carol M. Browner
 July, 1994                                                    Message from the Administrator

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          Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                          Table of Contents
                                TABLE OF CONTENTS
          INTRODUCTION
            >• INTRODUCTION 	Page — 1
          CHAPTER ONE
            +• EPA's VISION, MISSION, AND GOALS  	Page — 5
          CHAPTER TWO
            *• EPA's GUIDING PRINCIPLES 	Page — 7
               •  Ecosystem Protection 	9
               •  Environmental Justice 	  13
               •  Pollution Prevention 	  18
               •  Strong Science and Data  	  23
               •  Partnerships  	  28
               •  Reinventing EPA Management 	  37
               •  Environmental Accountability 	  40
          CHAPTER THREE
            +- LINKING THE PLAN TO OTHER EPA INITIATIVES 	Page — 43
          CHAPTER FOUR
            *• PROGRAM AND REGIONAL PLANS 	Page — 49
               •  Office of Air and Radiation  	 50
               •  Office of Administration and Resources Management 	 56
               •  Office of Civil Rights (AO)  	 61
               •  Office of Communication, Education, and Public Affairs (AO) 	 63
               •  Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs (AO)  	 66
               •  Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance  	 68
               •  Office of General Counsel 	 73

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Table of Contents 	                         Agency-wide Strategic Plan

     •  Office of International Activities  	 78
     •  Office of Inspector General  	 82
     •  Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation  	 86
     •  Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances 	 91
     •  Office of Research and Development 	 96
     •  Office of Regional Operations and State/Local Relations (AO) 	  103
     •  Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (AO) 	  107
     •  Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response  	  110
     •  Office of Water  	  116
     •  Region I (Boston, MA) 	  123
     •  Region II (New York, NY)  	  126
     •  Region III (Philadelphia, PA) 	  131
     •  Region IV (Atlanta, GA) 	  135
     •  Region V (Chicago, IL) 	  138
     •  Region VI (Dallas, TX) 	  141
     •  Region VII (Kansas City, KS) 	  144
     •  Region VIII (Denver, CO)  	  147
     •  Region IX (San Francisco, CA)  	  150
     •  Region X (Seattle, WA)  	  154
APPENDIX A
   >• Acknowledgments 	Page — 157
APPENDIX B
   >• Glossary of Abbreviations 	Page — 159
Table of Contents                                                              July, 1994

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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                                      Introduction
                             INTRODUCTION
EPA'S CHALLENGE

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established in 1970 to guide the nation's
efforts to protect and preserve public health and the vitality of natural ecosystems. EPA is
committed to achieving these goals by reducing risks to human health and the environment,
preventing pollution, and fostering environmentally sound, sustainable economic development in
the most cost-effective, efficient ways.

In the more than 20 years that have passed since its founding, EPA has helped improve the
national and global environment. Because of EPA's efforts to implement and enforce national
laws, many of this nation's most visible environmental problems have been alleviated. Emissions
of air pollutants from cars and large industrial facilities have been reduced and, in some cases, like
lead emissions from cars, virtually eliminated. Over 5,000 wastewater treatment facilities have
been constructed in the United States. Ocean-dumping of wastes has been prohibited. Hundreds
of waste disposal sites are in compliance with regulations or closed, and many more are being
cleaned up. More than 200 abandoned sites contaminated with hazardous waste have been
cleaned up, and hundreds more are in process. The production and use of substances such as
asbestos, DDT, PCBs, and CFCs and other ozone-depleting chemicals have been banned or are
being phased out. The bald eagle is no longer threatened with extinction from persistent
pesticides. Rivers no longer catch fire.
These accomplishments aside, many of the nation's environmental goals have yet to be achieved.
Thirty years after Rachel Carson warned the nation in her book, Silent Spring, to reduce
dependence on pesticides, the use of pesticides has doubled. Twenty-five years after the
garbage-filled Cuyahoga River caught on fire, forty percent of our rivers and lakes still are not
suitable for fishing or swimming. Twenty years after passage of the Clean Air Act, one in five
Americans live in areas where the air does not meet federal air quality standards. Fourteen years
after Love Canal, one  in four Americans lives within four miles of a toxic waste dumpsite. Many
long-recognized environmental problems have not been solved, and new ones, like global
warming, are emerging.
The media-specific (i.e.,  air, water, land) nature of environmental  laws and EPA's resulting
administrative structure have fragmented EPA's response to environmental protection. Too often,
our piecemeal approach to pollution has ended up simply moving  contaminants around — from
air, to water, to land — rather than reducing and preventing pollution. "Command-and-control"
approaches to mitigating pollution have proven sometimes to be blunt instruments —
overregulating in some areas, undercontrolling in  others. The process through which
environmental policy is set has become polarized and adversarial — at any given time, hundreds
of lawsuits are pending against EPA. Businesses and local officials alike complain about the costs
of environmental protection — and environmentalists and others want better results.
 July, 1994

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Introduction	Agency-wide Strategic Plan

There also has been little progress in setting priorities across the spectrum of environmental
problems, which is critical in a period of tight resources and growing responsibilities. Moreover,
EPA today is being asked to address a more highly diverse and complex set of environmental
problems than  ever before.  Population growth and industrial expansion worldwide are straining
ecosystems, while human activities and the unprecedented release of chemicals into the
atmosphere are changing the global climate.

EPA is at a crossroads. To  continue leading national efforts to preserve the earth's environment,
the Agency must pursue a new generation of environmental protection — one founded on
renewed commitment to broad environmental goals  combined with common sense, innovation,
and flexibility.  The foundation of this effort must be vigorous, effective, and timely
implementation and enforcement of existing laws and responsibilities — actions that forcefully
motivate innovation, prevention, and voluntary compliance within the regulated community.
Building on this firm foundation, EPA must move beyond strategies that react to today's
environmental  problems to  strategies that anticipate and prevent pollution. In particular, EPA
must:

   + Embrace the recommendations of the Vice President's National Performance
     Revietv. EPA must work toward an integrated approach to environmental protection that
     involves  and protects all segments of society — in this country and others, young and
     old, poor and rich.

   * Work with its partners to make environmental protection a commonly held value and
     priority.  These partners include Congress, agencies of federal, state,  tribal, and local
     governments, tribes, other countries, private business, public interest groups, and
     individuals. EPA must listen to them, respond to them, and assist them in taking their
     own environmentally  sustainable actions.
   * Develop  and implement more innovative, effective, and efficient approaches to
     environmental protection and sustainable development. Working with its partners,
     EPA must focus its efforts on those issues that pose the greatest harm to human health
     and the environment,  being mindful of the burdens that environmental controls can
     impose on individuals and society at large.
   * Collect, process, and analyze the information needed to ensure that it is managing for
     and achieving real environmental results. This information also must provide insight
     into future developments, e.g., technology and demographic patterns that may  affect
     Agency strategies for achieving this country's  environmental and economic goals.

   * Shift toward a more comprehensive approach to environmental protection. This
     approach must take into account the relative seriousness of different environmental
     problems and the costs and benefits of addressing them, and use geographic targeting,
     ecosystem-wide planning, and integrated multi-media strategies for key economic
     sectors. The strategies must recognize the importance and interconnectedness of both
     human and ecological health.

   +  Continuously re-earn its reputation as the premier environmental agency in the
     world. EPA's leadership in this respect is vital  to many others at home and abroad. To
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan	Introduction

     meet these challenges, EPA must recruit and retain a highly talented, diverse staff who
     view themselves as broadly focused and empowered environmental leaders.
   * Ensure integrity and effective management of its programs and resources. EPA will
     carry out its work in a way that best serves the American people and reassures the public
     of the integrity of all EPA programs, activities, and information.

In sum, EPA's challenge is to ensure that the world this generation passes on to its children is
better than the one it inherited.
THE NEED FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING
This long-term strategic plan is a blueprint for change at EPA. The New Generation of
Environmental Protection will guide the Agency's planning, resource allocation, and
decisionmaking processes over the next five years (1995 — 1999). The plan sets the vision and
direction for the changes that will shape EPA's environmental agenda into the next century. It
identifies some of the broad environmental goals this country must define and work to achieve if it
is to attain a sustainable environmental future. It also lays out the guiding principles that EPA will
emphasize as it works toward these goals.

EPA's strategic plan, like the process that produced it, will not be static. EPA sees strategic
planning as an evolving process that will continue internally and externally in cooperation with its
partners in environmental protection. EPA will revisit its strategic plan each year and update it,
where appropriate, to ensure that the Agency is focusing its efforts and resources productively.

This is an exciting time for EPA as it charts its new direction in environmental protection. EPA's
strategic plan represents the combined insight, energy, and forward thinking of EPA's senior
leadership, employees, and stakeholders. It provides a shared vision of the future and points the
nation toward greater opportunities to harmonize economic growth and environmental protection.
 ORGANIZATION OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN

 As the cornerstone of EPA's overall planning process, this agency-wide strategic plan is a critical
 link integrating EPA's planning and budgeting activities. The plan is divided into four chapters:
    + CHAPTER ONE — "EPA's Vision, Mission, and Goals" summarizes EPA's vision and
      mission statements. It also provides an overview of the process underway to develop
      broad environmental goals that EPA will strive to achieve in the next five years.
    + CHAPTER Two — "EPA's Guiding Principles and Implementation Strategies"
      discusses the seven key principles that will guide EPA's work, and it describes strategies
      for implementing these principles over the next five years.
    * CHAPTER THREE — "Linking the Plan to Other EPA Initiatives" discusses how the
      plan and its strategic directions relate to other planning, budgeting, and
      management-related efforts underway at EPA.
    * CHAPTER FOUR — "Program and Regional Plans"  provides an overview of how each
      of the major organizational units in EPA will support the strategic directions of this plan.

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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                                      Chapter 1


                                  CHAPTER ONE

        EPA's  VISION,  MISSION,   AND  GOALS
ERA'S VISION

Looking into the next century, EPA has a vision of the state of the environment we hope to
achieve, as well as the Agency we will work to become.
   *• EPA envisions a world in which:
     •  All individuals and institutions value the environment and choose to act in a manner
        that ensures achievement of sustainable environmental and economic goals.
     •  The natural balance of all living things is no longer threatened, and all individuals —
        rich and poor, young and old — share in the benefits of a healthy environment.
   >• EPA will strive to become an Agency recognized for:
     •  Leadership in environmental protection and environmental science—domestically and
        worldwide.
     •  Strong and effective working relationships with its partners in environmental
        protection.
     •  Integrity in the stewardship of its resources and the management of its programs.
EPA'S MISSION

The people who work at the Environmental Protection Agency are dedicated to improving and
preserving the environment—in this country and around the globe. Highly skilled and culturally
diverse, we work with our partners to protect human health, ecosystems, and the beauty of our
environment using the best available science. We value and promote innovative and effective
solutions to environmental problems. We strive to achieve the productive and sustainable use of
natural resources on which all life and human activity depend.
EPA'S ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS

Over the past 24 years, EPA has focused on developing programs that effectively implement the
statutes enacted by Congress. The most important measure of the success of these programs is
not the amount of activity underway — e.g., the number of regulations promulgated or permits
issued — but rather the degree to which human health and ecological vitality are protected and
preserved. To ensure we focus on these critical objectives and accomplish the broad purposes that
Congress has articulated, EPA is developing measurable environmental goals that will define the
environmental results we seek and our timing for achieving them.
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Chapter 1                                                         Agency-wide Strategic Plan

Environmental goals that can be used to measure success are an important part of EPA's
long-term planning, budgeting, and program-evaluation process. They will enable EPA and others
to measure the success of their environmental strategies. Setting environmental goals will not
constrain the selection of methods to achieve them; EPA will emphasize flexibility and
effectiveness in all its programs.
Some of the statutes and programs that EPA administers set explicit environmental goals, while
others do not. To develop a full set of measurable goals, EPA recently launched the National
Environmental Goals Project. EPA expects to develop a set of measurable environmental goals by
Earth Day (April 22), 1995. Because EPA shares responsibility for protecting environmental
quality with many other public and private parties, the Agency is working closely with
representatives of these groups to develop goals and welcomes additional assistance.
As a first step, the National Environmental Goals Project has developed a preliminary list of broad
environmental goal areas for which measurable goals need to be set. The current preliminary list
of goal areas (presented below in alphabetical order) encompasses a range of environmental
concerns  critical to EPA and the country:
                   NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL GOAL AREAS
                                      Clean Air
                                Clean Surface Water
                           Cleanup of Contaminated Sites
                                  Climate Change
                                Ecological Protection
                     Improved Understanding of the Environment
                   Prevention of Oil Spills and Chemical Accidents
                Prevention of Wastes and Harmful Chemical Releases
                                 Safe Drinking Water
                                     Safe Food
                              Safe Indoor Environments
                        Stratospheric Ozone Layer Protection
                                   Worker Safety
As a next step, EPA has scheduled a series of public meetings across the country during 1994 to
discuss the draft goal areas and to get the public input needed to define more explicit goals. A
final list of goals will be published by Earth Day 1995. Future EPA strategic plans will be targeted
on this complete set of measurable goals.
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                                         Chapter 2


                                    CHAPTER Two

                   EPA's  GUIDING  PRINCIPLES
INTRODUCTION

EPA sees a new and challenging vision for itself and the environment over the next five years. To
bring this vision to life, EPA must move beyond reacting to today's environmental problems and
work more with its partners to anticipate and prevent pollution. The Agency's approach must
evolve from piecemeal solutions to a more comprehensive response that utilizes the best available
science. For all its programs and activities, EPA must ensure equal environmental protection for
everyone, and become known as a well-managed agency with efficient and effective programs and
activities.

EPA has identified the following principles' for guiding how it will achieve its goals:
   1) Ecosystem Protection — EPA will encourage ecosystem management and economic
     development that promotes the health and productivity of natural systems. The long-term
     mutual interdependence of human and ecosystem health, as well as economic prosperity,
     will be a major premise of EPA's commitment in this area.
   2) Environmental Justice — EPA will work to ensure that individuals and communities
     are treated equitably under environmental laws, policies, and regulations, and that the
     benefits of environmental protection are shared by everyone.
   3) Pollution Prevention — EPA will work to prevent pollution by: incorporating
     prevention into the Agency's mainstream environmental programs; strengthening
     partnerships with state, tribal, and local governments, the private sector, and other
     federal agencies; providing information to the public; encouraging technology innovation
     and diffusion; and, where necessary, working to change existing environmental
     legislation. The Agency will anticipate and address future environmental issues before
     they become problems.
   4) Strong Science and Data — EPA will employ the best possible science, invest
     strategically in research and development for the future, foster a productive dialogue
     with the public about science and risk, and ensure that data are integrated and
     information is available to support comprehensive environmental protection. To be
     credible and effective, EPA policies, programs, and actions will be based on sound data
     and research from physical, biological, and social sciences.
   5) Partnerships — EPA will work in partnership with its stakeholders — federal, tribal,
     state, and local agencies, Congress, private industry, public interest groups, and citizens
     — to develop the technology and capacity for carrying out environmental programs and
     policies that are sensible, innovative, and flexible.

1 This ordering of the principles  is not meant to convey any sense of relative priority, i.e., Principle 7 is as high a
 priority as Principle 1.

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Chapter 2                                                         Agency-wide Strategic Plan

   6) Reinventing EPA Management — EPA will strive to make itself known as one of the
     best-managed agencies in the federal government. In an era of rapid technological
     change and tight budgets, the public expects EPA to manage its resources, infrastructure,
     and processes with integrity and maximum effectiveness. EPA will seek to manage for
     better results, streamline its programs, and use savings to strengthen existing programs
     and invest resources in emerging high-risk issues. EPA will emphasize employee
     development, empowerment, and diversity.
   7) Environmental Accountability — EPA will stress that everyone in society is
     accountable for protecting  and enhancing the environment. The cornerstone of EPA's
     effort will be a strong compliance and enforcement program. The Agency will promote
     responsible environmental behavior by: setting out clear compliance requirements for
     the regulated community and communicating them through comprehensive guidelines
     and technical assistance; aggressively responding to noncompliance so violators are
     penalized; and encouraging others in the regulated community to meet their obligations.
     In addition, the Agency will provide information, education, and environmental data that
     inform the public, and  thereby the regulated community, and promote the kind of
     responsible behavior that leads to and beyond compliance with the nation's
     environmental laws.
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                                         Chapter 2

1. ECOSYSTEM  PROTECTION
THE IMPORTANCE OF ECOSYSTEM PROTECTION

The United States and other parts of the world are experiencing a serious loss of essential natural
resources. If this trend continues, this loss will result in a long-term threat to the nation's
economic prosperity, security, and the sustainability of remaining ecological systems.

The value of ecosystems can be measured in many different ways. Living things and the
ecosystems2 upon which they depend provide communities with food, clean air, clean water, and a
multitude of other goods and services. Native American tribes believe that all life is
inter-connected — that the health of one is directly dependent on the health of the another.
Consequently, the high rates of species endangerment, loss of natural resources (e.g., timber),
habitat fragmentation, and losses of recreational opportunities pose a potential threat to the
health, cultural values, lifestyle, and economic future of virtually every American.

Many of EPA's activities to date have helped protect ecosystems. The Agency has implemented
laws to control many of the major sources that pollute the nation's air, water, and  land. Yet, even
as the more obvious problems are resolved, scientists discover other environmental stresses that
threaten ecological resources and general well-being. Evidence of these problems can be seen in
the decline of the salmon populations  in the Pacific Northwest and the oyster stock in the
Chesapeake Bay, the decline in migratory bird populations,  and  degraded coral reef systems.

The causes of these problems are as varied as human activity itself:  the ways Americans farm,
work, build, travel, and  spend their leisure hours. Although many federal, state, tribal, and local
regulations address these problems, past efforts have been as fragmented as the laws enacted to
solve the problems. Because EPA has concentrated on issuing permits, establishing pollutant
limits, and setting national standards, as required by environmental laws, the Agency has not paid
enough attention to the  overall environmental health of specific  ecosystems. In short, EPA has
been "program-driven" rather than  "place-driven."

As the Agency moves increasingly to a place-driven approach, existing barriers to  progress must
be identified and addressed. These barriers include a lack of information on specific ecosystems;
inadequate ecological goals for specific places; historical single-medium focus within EPA
programs; the Agency's lack of a central system for planning, budgeting, and accountability; and
staff without appropriate skills.

Nationwide compliance with all federal environmental laws would not necessarily  assure the
reversal of disturbing  ecological trends. EPA must collaborate with other federal, tribal, state, and
local agencies, as well as private partners, to reverse those trends and achieve the ultimate goal of
healthy, sustainable ecosystems. The Agency therefore will  act to solve integrated environmental
problems through a framework of ecosystem protection and in close partnership with others. This
approach will integrate environmental management with human needs, consider long-term
ecosystem health, and highlight the positive correlation between economic prosperity and
2 As defined in The Biodiversity Convention,  an ecosystem is "a dynamic complex of plant, animal and
  micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting in a functional unit."
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Chapter 2                                                          Agency-wide Strategic Plan

environmental well-being. An ecosystem protection approach also will provide a framework
within which to address other issues facing the Agency and the country, such as environmental
justice, unfunded mandates, flexibility, state and tribal capacity, sustainable development, use of
science and data, and the measurement of environmental results.
OBJECTIVES

Within five years, the Agency will upgrade its ability to protect, maintain, and restore the
ecological integrity of the nation's lands and waters, including human health, urban areas, and
plant and animal species, by adopting a place-driven focus.
STRATEGIES

EPA's Ecosystem Protection Workgroup's strategy for protecting ecosystems included
reorienting the Agency toward a "place-driven" approach; that is, the work of the Agency would
be driven by the environmental needs of communities and ecosystems. For any given "place,"
EPA will establish a process for determining long-term ecological, economic, and social needs and
will reorient its work to meet those needs. Although this approach is being demonstrated  in a
number of places now, the workgroup envisioned that, over time, the entire country would benefit
from this approach. To move toward an encompassing, place-driven approach, the workgroup
determined that EPA, working with appropriate partners, must:
   1)  Identify stressed or threatened ecosystems;
   2)  Define environmental goals and indicators;
   3)  Develop and implement an action plan based on sound science;
   4)  Measure progress and adapt management to new information over time; and
   5)  Identify tools and support that could be provided at a national level.

Three critical factors will determine EPA's success in making ecosystem protection a reality.
First, government activities must be driven by the issues faced by particular ecosystems and the
economies they support. EPA must implement its statutory mandates by devising programs that
respond to the needs of specific geographic areas. Success will be achieved with greater
integration and teamwork among environmental and natural resource agencies, and among
commerce, trade, and economic development programs.

Second, the ecosystem approach requires coordinated, integrated action by federal, state,  tribal,
and local agencies; between government and private  enterprise; and, most importantly, between
government and the people for whom services are being provided. EPA will enlist the support of a
spectrum of participants in the priority-setting and decisionmaking processes, and especially the
increasingly active states, tribes, and local agencies.

Third, information is a key to motivating communities to action. The availability of quality
information on the resources to be protected is essential and, in many cases, available primarily  at
the local level.  EPA must work to make this information broadly accessible.
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                                           Chapter 2
MEASURES OF PROGRESS

The effective use of an ecosystem approach requires an understanding of the status and trends in
ecosystems and, more specifically, of indicators and environmental goals at specific places.
Ecosystem protection requires an understanding of how the components of the ecosystems within
the region respond to different levels of stress.  In addition, monitoring programs need to be
designed not only to indicate the status and trends of ecosystems within regions, but also to
predict how ecosystems respond to different kinds of stress.

To measure progress toward protecting ecosystems, the Agency must examine both
programmatic improvements and environmental results. EPA envisions a process by which places
are delineated and then, for each place, a series of steps are taken, including: characterization of
problems and solutions, determination of environmental objectives and indicators, establishment
of cross-media teams, action plan implementation, evaluation of results, and plan revisions as
necessary.

Measures of progress for ecosystem protection efforts will reflect these steps.  The measures are:
   >• Percentage of the area of the United States addressed by multi-organizational,
     multi-disciplinary teams;
   ** Percentage of these teams that have characterized problems, their causes and sources;
   *• Percentage of teams that have determined environmental objectives and  indicators;
   >• Percentage of teams with action plans and the percentage being implemented; and
   >• Percentage of the places achieving stated environmental objectives.
KEY ACTIVITIES

To address the critical success factors and barriers discussed above, the Agency will align its
policy, regulatory, institutional, and administrative infrastructure to support ecosystem protection.
EPA will develop information and tools to facilitate the approach. The Agency's culture will be
reoriented to facilitate a place-driven approach.

Leadership
   *•  EPA will work with Cabinet officials to ensure that the federal government as a whole
      supports ecosystem protection and collaborative efforts by their departments and
      agencies.
   *•  The EPA Administrator will convene a meeting of EPA senior managers to obtain their
      commitment to a place-driven approach to ecosystem protection.

Partnerships and Support
   >•  EPA regions will work with other federal, state, tribal, and local agencies, private
      organizations, and citizen groups to:
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Chapter 2                                                           Agency-wide Strategic Plan

      •  Catalogue ecosystem projects already underway, and identify the support needed for
        these projects; and
      •  Develop a process to identify priority places, set environmental objectives, and
        implement actions to protect ecosystems.

Scientific Information and Technical Support
   *•  EPA will review research, assessment, monitoring, data-gathering, and information
      collection and dissemination activities to determine their capability to support a
      place-driven approach to ecosystem protection.
   *-  EPA will establish a Center for Excellence in Ecosystem Protection dedicated to
      improving science, education, and training in ecosystem approaches. The Agency also
      will explore possible collaborative efforts with the National Science Foundation,
      Smithsonian Institution, National Biological Survey, other federal agencies, tribes, states,
      academic institutions, and private organizations.

EPA Organization and Culture
   >-  EPA will establish a training program on ecosystem approaches and techniques, and
      provide opportunities for staff to work with other government and non-profit
      organizations. EPA also will encourage  specialists inside and outside the Agency to
      collaborate on issues related to ecosystem protection.
   >•  EPA will incorporate the ecosystem approach into its strategic planning, budget
      development, streamlining, and reinventing government reforms.
   >  EPA will develop flexible financial and programmatic processes to carry out the
      ecosystem approach.
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan	Chapter 2

2. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
THE IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

The remedies EPA adopted to upgrade environmental quality during the past two  decades did not
always benefit all communities or all populations within a community. Many minority,
low-income, and Native American communities have raised concerns that they suffer a
disproportionate burden of health consequences due to the siting of industrial plants and waste
dumps, and from exposures to pesticides or other toxic chemicals at  home and on the job and that
environmental programs do not adequately address these disproportionate exposures.

EPA is committed to address these concerns and is assuming a leadership role in environmental
justice initiatives to enhance environmental quality for all residents of the United States.
Incorporating environmental justice into "everyday" Agency activities and decisions will be a
major undertaking. Fundamental reform will be needed in Agency operations.

Five critical issues must be addressed to make environmental justice  a reality:
   *- Environmental justice must be integrated fully and consistently into the Agency's
     policies, programs,  and activities.
   ** Additional research is needed to address human health and environmental risk to
     minority populations, low-income populations, and Native American populations,
     including the identification of multiple and cumulative exposures or synergistic effects.
   +• Environmental health data must be collected, analyzed, and disseminated routinely. This
     is particularly true for data comparing environmental and human health risks to
     populations identified by national origin, income, and race. Interagency cooperation is
     vital to ensure effective data collection and research.
   *•  Compliance monitoring inspections and enforcement actions must have a multi-media
     focus to address exposures by minority populations, low-income populations, and Native
      American populations.
   >•  There must be early involvement in the Agency's activities by  all stakeholders, including
      affected communities, community and other non-profit organizations, federal agencies,
      states, tribes, and local governments, academic institutions, industries, and business.
      Information on human health and environment should be clear and readily accessible to
      all stakeholders.
 OBJECTIVES

 The Agency looks ahead to the time when:
   >•  No segment of the population, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, as a
      result of the EPA's policies, programs, and activities bears disproportionately high and
      adverse human health and environmental effects, and all people live in clean and
      sustainable communities.


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   *• Stakeholders are educated and empowered to ensure improved public participation in
      and access to information on environmental and human health issues.
 STRATEGIES

 To achieve its environmental justice objectives, the Agency intends to:
   1) Make sure environmental justice is part of all the Agency's programs, policies, and
      activities;

   2) Identify methodologies, research, and data needed to identify and evaluate populations at
      disproportionately high environmental or human health risks, and ensure that these needs
      are considered in developing the overall federal research program;
   3) Use currently available data systems to identify and prioritize how the Agency can most
      effectively support the needs of affected communities and populations;
   4) Target compliance monitoring, inspections, and enforcement in cooperation with
      stakeholders; and

   5) Promote outreach, communication,  and partnerships with stakeholders, and ensure
      sufficient access for stakeholders to training, information, and education.
MEASURES OF PROGRESS
   *• By February 1995, begin full implementation of EPA's Environmental Justice Action
      Document

   *• Show quantitative risk reductions through measures based on risk assessment
      methodologies that reflect the cumulative and synergistic effects of exposure, or multiple
      and different pathways of exposure.
   > By February 1996, develop data systems that analyze information assessing and
      comparing environmental and human health risks borne by populations identified by race,
      national origin, and income.

   >• Intensify enforcement actions, including inspections, and improve compliance rates in
      minority communities, low-income communities, and Native American communities
      (especially in accordance with the EPA Indian Policy).
   *• Reduce environmental justice impacts from major federal actions by performing analysis
      under the National Environmental Policy Act and EPA's review process under  Section
      309 of the Clean Air Act.

   +- Use the National Environmental Justice Advisory Committee and subcommittees to
      assist the Agency in its environmental justice initiatives and to perform an annual
      evaluation of implementation of EPA's Environmental Justice Action Document.
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                                           Chapter 2
KEY ACTIVITIES3

Integrate Environmental Justice: EPA will make environmental justice a part of all its policies,
policies, and activities.
   >•  Environmental Justice Strategy:  EPA will review all its programs and policies and
      revise them, as necessary to address environmental justice concerns. EPA will develop
      and implement its environmental justice strategy in accordance with the mandates and
      milestones laid out under President Clinton's Executive Order 12898 of February 11,
      1994, Federal Actions To Address EnvironmentalJustice in Minority Populations and
      Low-Income Populations.
   >•  Evaluation of Progress:  EPA will develop a system for evaluation and management
      accountability to monitor improvements and changes in the Agency's  programs resulting
      from the integration of environmental justice.
   >•  Education: EPA will develop internal communication and training to  sensitize and
      educate Agency employees about environmental justice.
   >•  Tribal Operations Committee: EPA will review the implementation of laws, regulations,
      policies, and programs delegated by law to Native American tribal governments,  so as to
      identify barriers to and develop recommendations for improving environmental
      protection.

Environmental and Health Data Needs: In coordination with other federal agencies, EPA will
design the environmental and human health research needed to support its environmental justice
programs.
   >•  Urban and Rural Initiatives: EPA will conduct urban studies that identify risks to
      minority populations and low-income populations from aggregate exposures to toxic
      emissions.
   >•  Human Exposure:  EPA will develop national human exposure databases to address
      geographic and demographic environmental justice issues.
   >•  Interagency Workgroup: EPA will lead the interagency workgroup under Executive
      Order 12898 to facilitate federal  coordination of environmental justice activities,
      particularly research,  data collection,  outreach,  and interagency model projects.

Data Collection and Analysis: EPA will use currently available data systems to collect and
analyze information that can immediately support the needs of affected communities.
   >•  Identification of Communities:  EPA regions, working with key outside organizations
      and other federal agencies, will identify affected communities or populations using
      general guidance developed by EPA.  These criteria may include, but are not limited to:
      demographic, racial, and national origin makeup of a community; income levels;
      environmental health sensitivity;  environmental exposures; past regulatory practices; and
      previous or ongoing interactions with the community.

3 Please refer to the Environmental Justice Action Document (working draft), April 1994,  and Environmental Justice
  initiatives 1993, USEPA200-R-93-001, for additional activities currently underway.


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   *•  Consumption Patterns:  EPA will recalculate human health criteria using more
      appropriate patterns for fish and wildlife subsistence consumption rates.
   >•  Risk Assessments: EPA will evaluate current risk assessment methodologies, including
      multiple and cumulative exposures or synergistic effects, as they relate to affected
      communities.
   >  Information Resource Management Strategy: EPA will develop an information resource
      management strategy that sets out Agency policy on facility/location data,
      standardization of shared databases, and identification of data needs/gaps, especially with
      regard to baseline data for health, demographic, and socio-economic data.

Enforcement, Inspections, and Compliance Monitoring: EPA will give prominent attention to
environmental justice issues through compliance analysis and targeted data analysis of
communities exposed to multiple environmental risks, enforcement initiatives, Title VI
implementation, and review and enforcement of other federal agencies' proposals under the
National Environmental Policy Act and Section  309 of the Clean Air Act.
   *-  Targeted Enforcement:  EPA will target affected communities and populations for
      enforcement and compliance assurance activities, and utilize multi-media enforcement
      and  supplemental environmental projects,  where appropriate.
   **  Enforcement Initiatives: EPA will develop a range of enforcement initiatives, affecting
      minority populations, low-income rural and urban populations, and Native American
      populations (especially in accordance with the EPA Indian Policy).
   +*  Title VI: EPA will develop a strategy to improve its management of the
      non-discrimination provisions of Title VI.

Partnerships, Outreach, and Communication with Stakeholders:  EPA will enhance
partnerships, outreach, and communication with affected communities, community organizations,
other non-profit organizations, federal, tribal,  state, and local governments, academic institutions,
businesses, and industry .
   >  National Advisory Committee: EPA will work through the National Environmental
      Justice Advisory Committee and subcommittees to identify the needs of particular
      populations and facilitate communication and outreach among affected stakeholders.
   >•  Corporation for National and Community Service  (CNCS): EPA will actively pursue
      opportunities to create a meaningful partnership with the new CNCS to achieve all
      environmental justice goals. Specifically EPA will make every effort to utilize CNCS
      resources, employees, participants, and volunteers to facilitate EPA's environmental
      justice programs,  policies, and projects.

Ensure Training and Access to Information and Education:  Environmental information must
be readily  available and  understandable by the public.
   >•  Minority Academic Institutions:  EPA will continue and expand its ongoing efforts to
      promote environmental education programs with historically black colleges and
      universities, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, and tribal colleges.
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan	      Chapter 2

   >•  Community-based Access to Information: EPA will target minority, low-income, and
      Native American communities to provide the educational tools they need to assist them
      in:
      •  Understanding environmental and human health risks;
      •  Understanding their public participation rights;
      •  Reducing environmental risks in their communities; and
      •  Making informed decisions about environmental programs in their communities.
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 3.  POLLUTION PREVENTION


 THE IMPORTANCE OF POLLUTION PREVENTION

 The Agency, and the nation as a whole, focus most of their efforts on solving environmental
 problems long after they have been created — when solutions are more likely to be costly and less
 likely to be effective. Yet pollution prevention — anticipating problems and stopping them before
 they occur — is far more cost-effective and protective of the environment. Consequently,
 pollution prevention should be the strategy of choice in all that the Agency does.
 OBJECTIVES

 During the next five years, EPA will lead the nation in reorienting efforts to reduce and eliminate
 pollution at the source. Pollution prevention will be the first strategy considered for all programs
 at EPA.
STRATEGIES

The Agency will work to prevent pollution by:

   1) Incorporating multi-media prevention principles into the Agency's mainstream
     environmental programs;

   2) Strengthening partnerships with state, tribal, and local governments;
   3) Developing new cooperative efforts with the private sector;
   4) Promoting prevention with other federal agencies;
   5) Providing information to the public;
   6) Encouraging technological innovation and diffusion; and

   7) Working to change existing environmental legislation, where necessary.
MEASURES OF PROGRESS

There are four complementary ways to measure progress in pollution prevention:  measures of
Agency activity, measures of state activity, measures of activity undertaken by the regulated
community and the public, and measures of environmental improvements that result from
pollution prevention.

Agency Activity: As the Agency reorients its efforts toward prevention, it will move beyond
measuring resource commitments and identify specific activity measures, for example:

   *• The number and environmental value of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs),
     permits, and regulations that include prevention approaches; and
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan	Chapter 2

   *• More qualitative measures of progress, such as the identification of pollution prevention
     options in the development of all major program and regional strategies, and changes in
     requirements governing state programs.

State Activity: The states have been at the forefront of pollution prevention outreach and
experimentation. Possible measures of progress by states will include:
   >- The amount of grant funds redirected through flexibility agreements to pollution
     prevention efforts;
   >• Changes in base operations such as permitting, inspections, and enforcement settlements
     that encourage pollution prevention; and
   *- Direct outreach to the regulated community and the public through workshops and
     facility visits that promote pollution prevention.

Activity of the Regulated Community and Public: Progress will be measured by assessing the
adoption of pollution prevention approaches in the private sector, including:
   *• The number of facilities that enroll in Agency-sponsored voluntary programs;
   >• Voluntary changes in industry and consumer behavior, such as the development of
     prevention plans, the development of prevention technologies, and the marketing of
     environmentally preferable products; and
   ^ Pollution prevention planning and implementation among federal and state agencies.

Toward Environmental Results: Reductions in the volume and toxicity of pollutants generated
will be measured across the entire  range of programs that the Agency administers. While the
Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is EPA's most visible measure, TRI can be complemented with
information from other environmental programs to create a more complete picture of releases
from facilities.
The Agency also will develop better methods for evaluating the effectiveness of particular
prevention approaches and better methods for showing how prevention contributes to
environmental results.
 KEY ACTIVITIES
 The Agency is pursuing innovative pollution prevention approaches throughout the regions and
 programs in support of its objectives.
 Mainstream Programs:  EPA will expand all its compliance tools — regulations, permitting,
 inspections, and enforcement — to explicitly promote prevention.
    >• Common Sense Initiative:  Focusing on selected industry sectors, EPA will create
      cross-Agency teams to identify and implement environmental management solutions that
      provide greater environmental benefits at reduced compliance cost.
    >• Regulations and Permitting: EPA will incorporate pollution prevention into ongoing
      activities,  including effluent guidelines, Most Available Control Technology (MACT)
      standards, and permitting under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.

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    >• Compliance and Enforcement:  EPA will develop auditing policies that encourage
      consideration of pollution prevention by private parties conducting environmental audits
      and exploring facility-wide pollution prevention options during the settlement process,
      both as injunctive relief and as Supplemental Environmental Projects.

 State, Tribal, and Local Partnerships:  EPA will support state, tribal, and local efforts to
 reorient ongoing activities to promote prevention, consistent with the goal of building prevention
 into mainstream environmental protection programs.
    >• Resources: EPA will provide states and tribes with more flexibility in administering
      federal programs. For example, Region 10 is working with the Alaska Department of
      Environmental Conservation to direct state grant funds to multi-media pollution
      prevention projects. The State Pollution Prevention Office received three percent of the
      program grant resources in the first year, and four percent in the second year. The goal
      for the third year is five percent.

    *• Innovation:  EPA will support innovation at all levels. The Agency will strengthen its
      support for compliance assistance and other forms of technical assistance at the state,
      tribal, and local level, and not simply channel resources into support of traditional
      regulatory programs.

    >• Flexibility: EPA will reassess the required state commitments to federal programs if
      these commitments interfere with pollution prevention.

 Private Partnerships: EPA is initiating voluntary programs in all environmental media to
 complement its traditional regulatory programs. In implementing these programs, EPA will work
 to better integrate delivery systems, avoid multi-media tradeoffs, and focus on customer needs.
    >• Common Sense Initiative: EPA will work with industry, environmental groups, states,
      tribes, and local governments to identify and encourage regulatory flexibility and
      innovative nonregulatory approaches that enhance environmental protection while
      reducing compliance costs for selected industries. EPA plans to expand the program
      beyond the pilot industries in the future.
   *• Coordinated Voluntary Progi-ams:  EPA will explore the feasibility of concurrently
      marketing its various voluntary programs to particular businesses and facilities.
   >• MERIT Partnership:  Region 9, for example, will continue to support the MERIT
      (Mutual Efforts to Reduce Industrial Toxics) partnership,  involving industry, federal,
      state, and local governments, with the goal of reducing toxic emissions in southwest Los
      Angeles County.

 Federal Partnerships: Federal partnerships extend across a wide range of federal activities — in
 management of government facilities, in acquisition, and in developing new cooperative
 arrangements for working with the private sector.
   *• Facilities: Executive Order 12856 establishes a framework for federal management of
      its own facilities; it requires TRI reporting, goals for reducing releases and off-site
      transfers,  and pollution prevention plans. Source reduction is the preferred approach for
      attaining these reductions.
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                                          Chapter 2

   +- Acquisition:  Executive Order 12856 requires plans and goals for eliminating or reducing
     the unnecessary acquisition of products containing extremely hazardous substances or
     toxic chemicals, and Executive Order 12873 mandates EPA to develop guidance for
     other federal agencies to use in acquiring environmentally preferable products.
   >• Cooperative  Ventures: The President's Climate Change Action Plan establishes energy
     efficiency programs that are implemented jointly by the Department of Energy and EPA.
     EPA has signed cooperative agreements with the National Institute of Standards and
     Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and with the Small Business
     Administration (SBA). The NIST agreement will increase its capacity for bringing
     innovative pollution prevention technologies and technical assistance to small and
     medium-sized manufacturers, and the SBA partnership will help SBA provide technical
     assistance and assess various financial mechanisms that support prevention technology.
     The Agency for International Development-funded Environmental Pollution Prevention
     Project helps EPA foster pollution prevention through specific projects all over the
     world.

Public Information and the Right to Know: Information is a tool for both the public and
industry. It fosters more knowledgeable advocacy by the public, better understanding of
opportunities to reduce waste and improve efficiency,  and advances in professional expertise that
can inform consumer, citizen, and corporate decisionmaking.
   +- Facility Data Base:  EPA will support the development of a facility database that will
     consolidate all the information developed under EPA, state, and tribal programs
     concerning pollutants and  releases from a particular facility.
   *• Environmental Justice: EPA will embark on a new effort to provide grants to
     strengthen the capacity of minority and low-income communities to use environmental
     information to advance pollution prevention.
   >• Education: Region 1, for example, will support the Pollution Prevention Consortium of
     New England Universities, which includes  11 member universities with a mission of
     facilitating joint pollution prevention research, education, and training projects.

Technological Innovation and Diffusion: In addition to promoting technology as an adjunct to
specific regulatory or response activity, EPA will promote good design and clean technology to
reduce pollution overall.
   >• Environmental Technology Initiative (ETI):  ETI funds research and demonstration
     projects, technology diffusion activities, and the assessment of regulatory barriers to the
     adoption of prevention technologies. Through ETI, Office Research Development is
     focusing nearly $5 million in research and technical assistance on the metal fabrication
     industry, which is dominated by small businesses. Future funding will be focused on
     industries participating in EPA's Common Sense Initiative.
   ** Regulatory Barriers: EPA will work to eliminate barriers to the adoption of prevention
     technologies that are caused by the regulatory process, and it will investigate
     opportunities to allow industry to coordinate regulatory compliance with capital
     development cycles.
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   ^ Green chemistry: The Design for the Environment program will continue to foster a
      "green chemistry" ethic that encourages industry to avoid the generation of toxic waste
      when synthesizing chemicals.

Legislation: EPA will work to reorient fundamental statutory mandates toward prevention,
particularly in the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, food safety and pesticide
legislation, and environmental technology legislation.
   >• Coordination: Potential changes include both substantive provisions that can advance
      prevention, and efforts to help align specific federal, state, and tribal activities under
      these statutes. Better coordination of activities under different environmental statutes can
      encourage prevention, rather than shifting waste from one environmental medium to the
      next, and provide industry with opportunities to identify, implement, and finance
      prevention alternatives to end-of-pipe treatment. For example, EPA will promote the
      coordination of permitting activities under different environmental statutes.
   *• Superfund:  The Agency will work to promote settlements and preserve liability through
      the Superfund reauthorization process. Liability has been a major incentive for pollution
      prevention, since industry realizes that the surest way to avoid future liability is to avoid
      generating wastes in the first place.
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                                       Chapter 2

4. STRONG SCIENCE AND  DATA
THE IMPORTANCE OF SCIENCE AND DATA

Sound science and data provide the foundation for EPA's environmental protection programs.
Science helps the Agency understand the processes and practices that cause pollution, evaluate
the risks that pollution poses to humans and ecosystems, and develop technologies and policies to
prevent or mitigate risks. What are the best ways to protect and restore the necessary functions of
whole ecosystems? What harmful pollutants are people exposed to, and how can they be
reduced? What technologies and other tools can be used to prevent pollution? How can people
receive information and be motivated to adopt environmentally sound practices? These and other
questions must be answered in order to develop and implement effective environmental policies.

Through the turn of the century, strong science and data will continue to be critical to the
environmental community. Without the ability to access and integrate data and information from a
variety of sources, advances in scientific understanding would be limited.
OBJECTIVES

EPA will seek to:
   >• Ensure that the Nation's environmental policies are based on the best science and
     information available, drawing on expertise in EPA, other federal agencies, and the larger
     scientific community;
   >• Expand its scientific capability to study environmental problems, evaluate trends in
     environmental quality, and identify and analyze emerging environmental issues. EPA is
     targeting 50% of its research resources toward long-term research efforts;
   >• Improve the environmental information infrastructure to ensure that people both inside
     and outside EPA have access to timely, meaningful information; and
   >• Lead in the development of environmental technologies, methods for environmental
     monitoring, methodologies for assessing risks to human health and ecosystems, and
     innovative policy tools to enhance environmental quality.
STRATEGIES

EPA will strengthen science and data by:
   1) Promoting scientific excellence — in the physical, biological, engineering, and social
     sciences — to assure sound EPA decisions;
   2) Ensuring that environmental data are accessible and useful to policy-makers, scientists,
     and the public;
   3) Measuring environmental progress, and using the results to improve environmental
     protection programs;


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   4) Guiding creation of a national and international environmental research agenda;
   5) Emphasizing research that reduces uncertainties associated with risk assessment and
      improves the tools for managing environmental problems.
   6) Expanding partnerships with the scientific community, other agencies, and the public,
      including expansion of funding for competitive research grants; and
   7) Creating opportunities for scientific and technical achievement at EPA.
MEASURES OF PROGRESS

EPA demonstrates clear reliance on established scientific and technical data and analyses, with
clear distinctions between science and policy components in risk management decisions and in
documenting improved environmental quality.

Interaction with the scientific community improves, as evidenced by open and participatory
research agenda-setting, peer review, interagency research coordination, and wide-spread
acceptance of science-based decisions.

There is enhanced peer recognition of EPA scientists from all disciplines by the external scientific
and technical community.

EPA increases the percentage of its research budget dedicated to long-term research, including a
significant expansion of competitive, extramural research grants.
KEY ACTIVITIES

Scientific Excellence to Assure Sound EPA Decisions: Environmental policy relies on
informed and responsible interpretation and use of data from the physical, biological, engineering,
and social sciences. EPA's analyses will be consistent with standard scientific principles and with
established Agency guidance. EPA will strengthen the guidelines and policies that govern how
scientific, economic, and other technical information are presented and incorporated into the
decisionmaking process. In both scientific research and regulatory development, EPA will strive
for consistent implementation of Agency policies for quality assurance and peer review, and
provide information and analyses for use in environmental policy decisions across the federal
government.
   >- Peer Review Program: To ensure that rigorous analyses underlie policies and
     regulations, EPA will expand the peer review process throughout the Agency to include
     independent, expert review of: EPA's major scientific and technical products; proposals
     to EPA for extramural funds; and the  research programs in EPA laboratories.
   >• Risk Assessments and Guidelines: EPA will work with the scientific community to
     improve health and ecological risk assessments and develop guidelines to promote
     consistency within EPA and among federal agencies.  EPA will focus on improving risk
     characterization — how we present the results of risk assessments — by discussing in
     full the predictions, limitations, and uncertainties of the assessments. EPA will begin
     developing methods and guidance for assessing cumulative risks from multiple sources

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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                                          Chapter 2

     and through multiple pathways. Also, EPA will refine its techniques for conducting
     comparative risk analyses to rank environmental problems by their relative risks.
   *• Risk Assessment Information: EPA will improve its effects and exposure information
     (e.g., the Integrated Risk Information System) by setting priorities for data development,
     enhancing quality control and other operating procedures, and conducting peer review.

Environmental Data:  EPA will spearhead efforts to share environmental data more widely
among federal agencies and other organizations. The Agency will improve its own information
infrastructure, so that EPA personnel, EPA's partners, and the public will have access to timely,
meaningful scientific information for decisions.
   >• Access to Environmental Data:  EPA's partners will have access to all types of
     information to strengthen their critical efforts to protect the environment. All types of
     information will be distributed in multiple formats.
   +• Information Highway:  EPA will complete its internal data pike and establish links to
     external sources to ensure that staff and partners have access to needed information.
   *• Data Quality: EPA will implement data standards so that information from various
     sources can be integrated easily to support comprehensive assessment and
     decisionmaking. In making databases available to users, EPA will include descriptive
     elements, such as the original purpose, source, and limitations of the information.
   >• Measurement Methods:  Recognizing the need of its clients for cost-effective and reliable
     methods for environmental monitoring, EPA will establish a unified process among its
     laboratories for developing and validating analytical  methods.

Measure Environmental Progress: EPA will work with other agencies to establish the
databases that will permit us to measure improvements in environmental quality, and use the
results to improve environmental decisionmaking.
   *• Environmental Goals:  EPA will set environmental goals against which progress will be
     measured. EPA will work with agencies across the federal government to develop
     indicators for measuring progress towards these goals.
   >• Monitoring and Assessment of Ecosystems:  EPA will develop ecological indicators and
     a statistical sampling approach that can be used to monitor and assess trends in the health
     of the  nation's ecosystems.  EPA will use the trend information to gauge the effectiveness
     of environmental  protection programs.
   *• Assessing Human Exposure: EPA will develop reliable data on the exposure of the U.S.
     population to pollutants so that EPA can more accurately describe actual environmental
     health risks. To test methodologies, EPA will conduct pilot studies on the general
     population and special studies on sub-populations that may be more exposed.
   >• Geographic Information Systems: EPA will expand the use of geographic information
     systems (GIS) to  integrate environmental information in a form useful for "place-based"
     decisionmaking.

National and International Environmental Research Agenda:  EPA alone cannot identify
emerging issues and generate the knowledge needed to solve domestic and international

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environmental problems. But, as the primary U.S. environmental agency, EPA will form
partnerships with other federal agencies, organizations, universities, and countries that conduct
research, monitor the environment, assess environmental problems, and reduce risks. Within the
large constellation of federal research, EPA must define its role by identifying what research and
data collection it does best. In other areas, the Agency must take a leadership role to ensure that
research conducted by others addresses environmental policy needs.
   >• Environmental Research Agenda: EPA will work with other federal agencies to develop
     a coordinated environmental research agenda that will address both current and emerging
     environmental issues through the President's Science and Technology Council.

EPA's Research Program:  Faced with increasingly complex environmental problems, EPA
needs a research program that will increase substantially our understanding of current
environmental problems and provide early warning of tomorrow's problems. We will achieve this
by:
   >• Setting Research Priorities:  EPA will institute a new planning process that will allow
     for strategic decision making on research priorities at the senior management level. The
     Agency also will target research to areas that will reduce uncertainty in risk assessment
     and facilitate risk management.
   >• Balancing Long-Term and Short-Term Research:  EPA  will commit 50 percent of its
     research resources to support a stable, long-term research program, while committing
     the other 50 percent to support regulation and policy development and implementation
     by program and regional offices.
   >• Streamlining Organizational Structures: EPA will reorganize its research laboratories
     to maximize the effectiveness of research and technical support programs.
Important areas for research include:
   *• Ecosystems research to understand, prevent and remediate damage to ecosystems
     occurring at local, regional, and global levels;
   *• Risk assessment research to improve methods for understanding and predicting the
     effects of pollutants, particularly how humans are exposed to pollutants and the impacts
     of cumulative exposures, and for assessing ecological risks.
   *• New,  more cost-effective technologies to both prevent and control pollution; and
   >• Social sciences research to provide a better understanding of how humans are motivated
     and make decisions that affect the environment, and to develop methodologies
     integrating scientific assessments and economic analyses to better estimate the real costs
     and benefits of environmental protection. As a first step, EPA will update and implement
     the Social Science Research  Agenda, issued in draft in 1991.

Expand Partnerships with the Scientific Community, Other Agencies, and the Public: EPA
will involve the nation's scientific experts in solving environmental problems. The Agency will
pursue opportunities to exchange scientific personnel with other scientific and technical
organizations in order to broaden perspectives and experience. EPA also will expand efforts to
improve environmental literacy by  working with the educational community on programs for
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                                           Chapter 2

grades K-12. The agency will seek to support undergraduate and graduate programs at colleges
and universities to train the next generation of environmental scientists and engineers.
   *•  Research Grants: EPA will expand its program for competitive, peer-reviewed,
      investigator-initiated research grants for the academic and not-for-profit scientific
      community, with a target of $100 million annually.
   >  Environmental Science Careers:  The Agency will establish a graduate fellowship
      program to train young scientists and engineers. EPA also will expand its assistance to
      minorities pursuing environmental science careers by sponsoring programs at
      undergraduate and graduate levels at historically black colleges and universities and
      other minority institutions.
   >•  Outreach Programs: EPA will begin new outreach programs to build science capabilities
      at the state, tribal, and regional level.
   *•  Partnerships: EPA will initiate cost-shared partnerships with public and private sector
      organizations to enlarge the knowledge base.

Opportunities for Scientific and Technical Achievement: The strength of EPA science and
data depends on the quality of its scientists and their supporting infrastructure. EPA will strive to
ensure that scientists stay current in their fields of expertise by providing opportunities for
advanced training, rotational assignments, and active participation in scientific conferences. EPA
will work to provide scientists with resources for state-of-the-art facilities (including laboratories,
information systems, and equipment) needed to improve the scientific knowledge base.  Scientific
achievements within the Agency will be recognized and rewarded.
   >  Internal Research Awards:  EPA will institute a program to award Agency scientists
      with research grants through a competitive, peer-reviewed process, similar to the
      external grants program.
   >•  Science Career Tracks:  Building on the experience of the Office of Research and
      Development, EPA will  establish science career tracks throughout the Agency to provide
      all scientists with promotional opportunities based on their scientific achievements.
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5.  PARTNERSHIPS
 THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTNERSHIPS

 Since the inception of EPA over 20 years ago, the nature of environmental protection has become
 increasingly complex. It has become clear that all stakeholders must work together better to
 further the nation's environmental goals. EPA's partners in this task include Congress, other
 federal agencies, state governments, tribal governments,, local governments international partners,
 the private sector, and the general public.

 One of EPA's principal tasks over the next five years will be to help its partners carry out their
 responsibilities, working together to define respective roles. EPA will listen and be responsive,
 and it will work with its partners to develop and implement more innovative, effective, and
 efficient approaches to environmental protection and sustainable development. It also will weigh
 carefully the burdens environmental controls can impose on the economy and society at large.

 The partnerships section will begin by laying out objectives and strategies common to relations
 with all of EPA's partners; these will be followed by specific sections for each group of partners
 that has been identified.
COMMON OBJECTIVES

Over the next five years, EPA expects to:
   >• Focus partnerships on environmental results.
   *• Ensure that the goals and efforts of the different members of the environmental
     community are consistent and compatible.
   ^ Enhance the capacity of partners, especially tribes and small and medium-sized
     businesses or governments, so they better define and meet their environmental goals.
COMMON STRATEGIES
   1) Implement EPA's National Performance Review recommendations to "reinvent" the way
     EPA does business with its partners (i. e., promote risk-based priority setting, develop
     alternative management approaches, establish a new spirit of collaboration, simplify
     environmental rules and regulations, and build an infrastructure for the future).
   2) Foster independent partnerships between other entities.
   3) Improve grants policy,  process, and flexibility.
   4) Reduce transactional costs between EPA and its partners.
   5) Ensure EPA regulatory and policy activities involve partners early on in the process.
   6) Improve communications and data  sharing among all partners (e.g., computer bulletin
     boards, network data transfer).


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•  FEDERAL PARTNERSHIPS

THE IMPORTANCE OF FEDERAL PARTNERSHIPS
Many of the best opportunities to protect the environment come from partnerships with other
federal agencies. Over the next five years, EPA expects to work closely with other agencies, in
particular the Departments of Energy, Transportation, and Agriculture. In addition, EPA will
work with other federal agencies to support EPA's own mission, such as environmental data
collection and enforcement. EPA will work with Congress to develop and improve the body of
statutes and regulations that define the nation's environmental responsibilities.
OBJECTIVES
Establish a shared federal commitment to environmental protection and pollution prevention.
Build science partnerships to enhance the quality of science and leverage resources.
Promote innovative, comprehensive approaches to environmental compliance at federal facilities.
STRATEGIES
   1) Implement Executive Orders on "Pollution Prevention and Right-To-Know in the
     Government" and "Federal Acquisition, Recycling, and Waste Prevention. "
   2) Enhance efficiency by coordinating environmental management on Indian lands.
   3) Increase awareness within EPA of the social and environmental impacts of other
     agencies.
   4) Promote innovative, comprehensive approaches to environmental compliance across the
     federal government.
MEASURES OF PROGRESS
Agencies routinely consider the environment in setting policies.
Increased communication/information sharing with other agencies.
Reduced environmental risk from federal facility activities.
KEY ACTIVITIES
Increase joint grant programs and interagency personnel exchange opportunities.
Implement environmental training for other agencies, and train EPA staff about other agencies.
Involve other agencies in implementing the Environmental Technology Initiative.

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 Implement the Federal Technology Transfer Act agreements.
 Assist federal agencies to develop and maintain a federal recycling program.
 Expand work with other agencies on common activities, such as facility permitting, emergency
 response to accidents, and waste and spill cleanups.

 • STATE GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIPS

 THE IMPORTANCE OF STATE GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIPS
 The concept that states should hold primary responsibility for the implementation of regulatory
 and enforcement programs is inherent in most federal environmental statutes. EPA recognizes the
 co-management role of the states, as reflected in the Joint Policy Statement on EPA/State
 Relations, and the recommendations of the National Performance Review and the State/EPA
 Task Force Report on Strengthening Environmental Management in the United States.
 OBJECTIVES
 Realign EPA/state relationships, recognizing that states are co-managers with shared but
 differentiated responsibilities.
 Strengthen state involvement in national environmental management decisions.
 Increase the flexibility of funding available to the states, both within and across media.
 Reform the EPA/state oversight relationship with increased emphasis on environmental results,
 compliance, and capacity building.
STRATEGIES
   1) Establish new mechanisms for involving states in EPA's planning, priority-setting,
     legislative reauthorization, and regulatory development processes.
   2) Promote the exchange of information and experience among states.
   3) Promote understanding and use of alternative finance mechanisms for funding state
     environmental programs.
MEASURES OF PROGRESS
State issues and concerns are addressed effectively in the regulatory and policy development
processes.
Results of program implementation pilots are evaluated and translated into routine program
design and  implementation.
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All senior environmental officials (state and EPA) have access to key environmental information
and communication systems (databases, email).
KEY ACTIVITIES
Enhance the consideration of state/local/tribal issues in the regulatory development process
(described under Executive Orders 12866 and 12875).
Promote state-to-state exchange of information and experience through conferences, roundtable
discussions, newsletters, and other mechanisms.
Establish and encourage use of an electronic mail link between state and EPA senior managers to
promote improved communications.
Develop and implement a joint strategy to improve state grant flexibility.

Implement the recommendations of the National Performance Review, such as promoting and
evaluating alternative program management pilots in several states.

Revitalize training and technical assistance to improve program performance continually.


•  LOCAL GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIPS

THE IMPORTANCE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIPS

Local governments are the "front line" of environmental protection, the level of government
where federal and state laws and regulations are implemented.
OBJECTIVES
Clarify and strengthen the role and involvement of local governments in environmental policy and
regulatory activities.
Involve local government in equitable, effective partnerships with their state and federal
counterparts.
STRATEGIES
   1) Develop new and improved methods of communication with local governments and with
     their various associations and related interest groups.
   2) Create opportunities to establish working partnerships among local, state, and federal
     levels of government.
   3) Provide enhanced flexibility to local governments to improve their capacity for
     environmental protection responsibilities.
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MEASURES OF PROGRESS

Local governments have the necessary resources and capacity to carry our their environmental
protection responsibilities.

An improved communication structure results in better cooperation and understanding among
governmental partners.
KEY ACTIVITIES

Establish a local government advisory group to provide advice to the Agency on local government
issues.

Establish a Small Town Task Force to carry out the mandates of the Small Town Environmental
Planning Act.

Establish an intra-agency Local Government Coordinating Team.

Define and improve as necessary the Agency's local government database.

Identify  and share successful innovative local government efforts.

Identify  the proper role and involvement of local governments in EPA policy and regulatory
activities.


•  TRIBAL  GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIPS


THE IMPORTANCE OF TRIBAL GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIPS

Since 1984, EPA has had a formal Indian Policy that recognizes the government-to-government
relationship between tribes and EPA, and endorses the full participation of tribes as co-managers
and co-implementers of environmental programs. The Administrator reaffirmed this policy in early
1994. Since then, President Clinton has directed all federal agencies to work on a
government-to-government basis with tribes and to remove any barriers to a successful
relationship on these terms. As tribes move toward greater self-determination, environmental
management and regulation can be among the most important governmental functions to be
assumed by tribes.

Many tribes are assuming responsibility for implementing environmental programs over the
coming years but EPA's financial and technical support will be needed to assure success. For
tribes that are not ready to accept program authorization, EPA has a continuing responsibility to
implement its programs in partnership with the tribes on tribal lands. This responsibility is based
on provisions of environmental statutes as well as the federal trust responsibility derived from the
U.S. Constitution, treaties, and historical interaction with the tribes.
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OBJECTIVES
Assure that tribes are primary managers of their environmental resources to the maximum extent
possible.
Strengthen tribal involvement in national environmental policy decisions.
Assure adequate protection of health and the environment on tribal lands through full and
effective direct implementation of programs by EPA where needed.
STRATEGIES
   1) Increase funding for tribal capacity and infrastructure development.
   2) Increase EPA program office and regional office emphasis on support to tribal
     environmental programs.
   3) Direct implementation of federal environmental programs on tribal lands when tribes are
     not able to assume program authorizations.
MEASURES OF PROGRESS
More program authorizations to tribal governments.
Positive feedback from the tribes regarding their involvement in the Agency's policy and planning
decisions.
More programs implemented by EPA to provide for unmet needs on tribal lands.
 KEY ACTIVITIES
 Meet with tribes to discuss their specific environmental needs and how best to address them.
 Help build tribal capacity by providing needed technical expertise, increased funding and grant
 flexibility, and general administrative support.
 Consult with the tribes, as co-managers, at the start of national and regional policy and planning
 processes.

 • INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

 THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
 The Administration recognizes the interrelationship between the nation's environmental foreign
 policy and international economic and social goals, and it is committed to a more active U.S. role
 in protecting the global environment. EPA will foster partnerships among other nations and
 multilateral institutions with a particular emphasis on joint problem solving and capacity building.

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 OBJECTIVES

 EPA plays a leadership role both within the U.S. government and internationally in achieving the
 President's vision for the global environment.

 International considerations permeate EPA's programs and objectives.
 STRATEGIES

   1) Form effective partnerships with foreign governments and international organizations to
      address common environmental problems.

   2) Reach out to non-government organizations and other stakeholders to promote the goals
      of sustainable development.

   3) Ensure close policy and programmatic coordination among EPA programs and regions.
   4) Build environmental management, monitoring, and enforcement capabilities throughout
      the world.

   5) Promote enforcement cooperation and technical assistance in North America and other
      selected areas in support of Administration priorities to integrate trade and
      environmental protection. Seek new opportunities for additional efforts.
   6) Enhance EPA technical assistance and capacity building programs for the most
      ecologically fragile and economically disadvantaged regions of the world.
MEASURES OF PROGRESS

Reduction in global and transboundary environmental problems affecting the United States.

Environmental activities promote broader national objectives on foreign policy, competitiveness
and trade, and international economic and social development.

International cooperation widely recognized as an integral component of EPA's ability to fulfill its
domestic environmental mandate.
KEY ACTIVITIES

Use bilateral and multilateral programs to foster international coordination of policy and exchange
of information on legislation, science, management, etc.

Review and influence lending policies and practices of multilateral development banks and others,
in relation to environmental concerns and projects.

Work with other agencies and Congress to develop and implement international agreements on
climate change, ozone depletion, marine and polar contamination, the loss of forests and
biological diversity, and the transboundary movement of hazardous waste.

Support access to international electronic communication.


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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                        	 Chapter 2

Promote international partnerships that promote the safe handling of toxic chemicals through
research and in cooperation with United Nations organizations.

•  PRIVATE  SECTOR AND GENERAL PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRIVATE SECTOR AND GENERAL PUBLIC
PARTNERSHIPS
Among EPA's most important partners are the private sector and members of the general public,
because their actions most directly affect the environment. The nation can achieve the
environmental goals only when all levels of society understand how decisions by individuals and
businesses can affect the environment, especially at the local level. When developing and
implementing regulations, EPA must be especially aware of the needs of small and medium-sized
businesses, since many of them are affected disproportionately by compliance costs that may
discourage innovation (see the Pollution Prevention section).
OBJECTIVES
Informed public awareness of their impacts on the environment, and informed involvement in
environmental decisionmaking.
Informed regulated private sector and public community increasingly leads environmental
protection effort.
Lower societal costs for compliance.
 STRATEGIES
   1) Use "Common Sense Initiative" sector programs to bring stakeholders together to
     develop integrated multi-media strategies that improve environmental performance and
     reduce compliance costs through "cleaner, cheaper, smarter" solutions.
   2) Increase environmental education efforts.
   3) Improve public access to and understanding of environmental information and progress.
     Take advantage of growing public access to "Information Highway" networks.
   4) Work with regulated community on regulatory and permitting options and flexibility.
   5) Work with industry on environmental technology initiatives to promote development and
     marketing of cheaper, cleaner, and smarter new or alternative technologies.
   6) Encourage top-level communication between government leaders and industry, the
     public, and key stakeholder groups, especially in early stages of environmental
     decisionmaking in localities.
   7) Increase emphasis on nontraditional programs such as the Common Sense Initiative and
     the "33/50" program, and find and expand new approaches to build upon success.


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   8) Look for appropriate opportunities to use regulation negotiation and other
      consensus-building activities with the private sector.
 MEASURES OF PROGRESS
 Improved citizen or industry poll results; broader agreement about EPA priorities.
 Environmental decisions are made faster, more smoothly, and with greater public understanding.
 Businesses increase their involvement in voluntary pollution prevention programs and activities.
 More innovative environmental technologies available in the marketplace and in use by industry.
 Common Sense Initiative approach increases beyond pilot industries.
 KEY ACTIVITIES
 Promote cooperative ventures such as Design for the Environment, the Common Sense Initiative
 programs, the Water Alliances for Voluntary Efficiency (WAVE), and "WasteWi$e."
 Make environmental data more accessible to states and citizens.
 Augment education and outreach to professional groups.
 Expand widely accessible pollution prevention information.
 Form research consortia with industry for key areas.
 Improve local preparedness for accidents and develop voluntary underground storage tank
 standards.
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                                      Chapter 2

6. REINVENTING EPA MANAGEMENT
THE IMPORTANCE OF REINVENTING EPA MANAGEMENT

During few times in the history of the federal government has the climate been as receptive to
change as it is now. EPA has embraced this opportunity to explore the way it does business and to
make changes for the better. The Agency realizes that to achieve its goals,  it must be totally
committed to reinventing its management systems and processes so that there is renewed and
continual emphasis on quality, efficiency, and integrity.
OBJECTIVES

EPA is striving to become one of the best managed agencies in the federal government. The
Agency is reinventing its management culture to ensure the most effective use of its people,
programs, and resources in achieving the nation's environmental goals. EPA will carry out its
work in a way that best serves the American people and retains the public trust in its stewardship
responsibilities. At the same time, the Agency will invest in its people to help them understand
their new roles and to equip them with the tools they need to do their jobs well. EPA seeks to
promote and achieve:
   *• Organizational changes that support customer oriented, results-driven approaches that
     allow the Agency to work more quickly, more flexibly, and more responsively;
   >- More effective stewardship and resource management to reassure the public of the
     integrity of all of EPA's programs, activities, and information;
   *• Empowered employees who have the decisionmaking authority, accountability,
     knowledge, and ability to achieve quality results, thus enabling EPA to boost its
     employee-supervisor ratio while accomplishing its work effectively and efficiently;
   *- Streamlined and re-aligned services, systems, and processes to better support EPA's
     environmental mission and meet customer needs;
   *" Greater involvement of state, tribal, and local governments in development of
     management strategies early in the process;
   *• Partnerships among EPA staff, unions, and external customers and stakeholders to
     ensure open, collegia!, and participatory interaction; and
   ^r Increased cultural diversity of EPA's workforce with development opportunities for
     future career growth potential.
STRATEGIES
EPA's senior leadership will set a clear direction for the Agency by establishing policies to bring
about this cultural change. They will articulate how the many elements of reinvention — such as
corporate decisionmaking; focus on results; streamlining; employee empowerment and
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accountability; management and financial integrity; improved customer service;
labor-management cooperation; and cultural diversity in all levels of the workforce — fit
together in their respective programs and functions. In employing this guiding principle as they
carry out the goals for their programs and functions, EPA managers will:

   1) Implement National Program Review (NPR) recommendations and streamline their
     processes to realize management improvements and resource savings, and reinvest these
     savings within the Agency;

   2) Make full use of advanced technologies to cut costs, boost productivity, enhance
     communications, and speed the flow of information;

   3) Integrate processes for planning, budgeting, financial management, management
     controls, and program evaluation so that they are useful tools in managing environmental
     programs to achieve results;
   4) Measure performance to assess whether EPA programs and activities are achieving their
     intended results, and to comply with the Government Performance and Results Act of
     1993 and the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990;

   5) Identify EPA's primary customers and their needs,  define and set customer service
     standards, evaluate Agency performance, and achieve greater customer satisfaction; and
   6) Increase mentoring, rotational, training/re-training, and team-participation opportunities,
     and Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignments and other tools to foster
     employee learning and growth.
MEASURES OF PROGRESS
   ** Employee-supervisor ratio at EPA raised from 5:1 to 11:1.
   ^ Speedier and better services to be more responsive to Agency customers.
   *• More positive commentary from Congress and the media about EPA's management
     practices, and indications of greater trust in the Agency's management of its programs
     and resources.
   >• Increased interactions among EPA staff, unions and stakeholders and greater reliance on
     their feedback in Agency planning and decisionmaking activities.
   >• Increased number of hirings and promotions of culturally diverse employees in the
     Agency, especially in management positions.
KEY ACTIVITIES
   ** Form an EPA management committee to condense and refine EPA's management
     priorities and oversee their implementation.
   *• Implement the Executive Order on streamlining and the EPA streamlining plan; finalize
     and implement headquarters and regional office plans.
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                  	Chapter 2

   *• Implement EPA's FY 1993-97 Financial Management Status Report and Five-Year Plan
     and carry out long-term planned actions described in the Agency's Integrity Act Report.
   > Follow through on commitments to improve extramural resource management.
   >• Implement EPA's FY 1993-97 Information Resources Management Strategic Plan,
     Managing Our Information Resources: the "Common Currency" of EPA's Approach to
     Environmental Management.
   >• Implement the EPA Indian policy, adopted on November 8, 1984, and formally
     reaffirmed by the Administrator on March 14, 1994;
   *• Implement the Executive Orders on customer satisfaction, regulatory development, and
     elimination of internal regulations.
   > Implement the Executive Order on labor-management partnerships and form an EPA
     partnership council to cultivate better labor-management relations,  involving employees
     and their union representatives as full partners in managing the Agency.
   *• Implement the Agency's affirmative employment plan for increasing diversity in the
     workforce.
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 7.  ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY


 THE IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY

 Effective compliance and accountability are cornerstones of environmental protection. Real public
 health and safety, and a clean environment, cannot be achieved without compliance with the
 nation's environmental laws. Enforcement is a key tool for producing compliance. It engenders
 responsible behavior in the regulated community, provides a level, competitive playing field,
 ensures that goods and services reflect their true costs, and establishes a baseline of integrity for
 EPA's programs. Protection and enhancement of the environment are dependent on public
 awareness and accountability.

 During the nearly 25 years of EPA's existence, the enforcement program received a wide range of
 administrative, civil, and criminal enforcement authorities. However, EPA's authorities are not
 keeping pace with the increasingly diverse and complex nature of the regulated community. More
 sophisticated approaches to compliance are needed to obtain maximum programmatic impact.

 If EPA is to achieve broad compliance, it must move beyond traditional approaches to monitoring
 and responding to noncompliance. To cope with its increased responsibilities, the Agency must
 begin to target its activities, placing more emphasis on high-risk sectors, geographic areas,
 ecosystems, and populations, and must leverage enforcement to achieve the maximum
 environmental benefit.
OBJECTIVES

During the next five years, EPA will utilize a combination of sector-based, multi-media, and
media-specific approaches to gain compliance with the nation's environmental statutes. In doing
so, the compliance assurance program will endeavor to ensure equal protection from
environmental violations for all citizens.

EPA will develop integrated enforcement and compliance strategies for targeting noncomplying
sectors of the regulated community, sensitive ecosystems, and sensitive populations, and for
fostering risked-based, multi-media, whole-facility approaches that emphasize pollution
prevention and innovative compliance techniques.

In addition, EPA will reach out to its partners in states, tribes, local governments, and the
environmental community to amplify their capacity for obtaining and moving beyond compliance.

Compliance assistance approaches will  be geared to those in the regulated community with the
will to comply but whose efforts are handicapped by a lack of information or sophistication. This
assistance,  coupled with a strong deterrence-based enforcement program, will establish the type of
climate that motivates compliance, encourages innovation, and promotes prevention. By
providing the information, education, and environmental data necessary to inform the public and
the regulated community of their environmental responsibilities, the Agency will increase
everyone's accountability for the protection and enhancement of the environment.
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                                        Chapter 2
STRATEGIES

The Agency will assure the environment is protected by:
   1) Promoting Compliance;
   2) Ensuring Effective Enforcement; and,
   3) Promoting Environmental Restoration.


MEASURES OF PROGRESS
To measure progress under the principle of environmental accountability, the Agency will use a
number of indicators to demonstrate:  1) the implementation of the foregoing strategies; and 2)
the success of those strategies in environmental terms. The measures of progress are:
   >• Higher rates of compliance — The Agency will measure compliance rates within
     traditional program areas and within targeted geographic or industrial sectors.
   *• Greater public involvement in the enforcement program — The Agency will
     measure improved interaction with the public, as evidenced by increased data-sharing,
     better understanding of compliance requirements, and increased citizen involvement in
     compliance monitoring.
   *• Improved partnership with states, tribes, and local governments — EPA will
     measure the increased emphasis on state, tribal, and local government concerns in
     compliance assurance strategies, and improved communications resulting in cooperation
     and understanding among government partners.
   >• Enhanced Federal  Facility Compliance — EPA will measure progress through federal
     facilities enforcement measures, increased communication and information sharing, and
     more comprehensive approaches to environmental compliance.
   *• Prioritized Site Clean-ups — The Agency will measure progress through increases in
     timely and protective cleanups at the worst sites.
   ^ Risk-Reduction — The Agency will measure progress by increased compliance
     assurance activities and targeted enforcement actions in high-risk areas.
   *• Deterrence/Enforcement Presence — EPA will track the number of enforcement
     activities undertaken by federal  and state regulators as a measure of the message of
     deterrence and enforcement presence projected in the regulated community.
 KEY ACTIVITIES
 The Agency will actively promote compliance by:
   >•  Building regional, state, tribal, and local government capacity for whole-facility
      compliance assistance and assurance;
   ^  Concentrating activities in targeted high-risk sectors, ecosystems, and populations;


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   ^ Measuring compliance by sectors of the regulated community;
   > Enhancing and streamlining data collection, management, and utilization;
   *• Making compliance information available to consumers and communities;
   +- Providing information and assistance to those in the regulated community who lack the
      means or information to comply;
   *• Promoting within EPA those policies and regulations that facilitate compliance;
   *- Providing leadership that fosters international compliance improvements; and
   *• Establishing the federal government as an environmental steward.
 The Agency will work to ensure effective enforcement by:
   >• Building partnerships and expanding the program capacity of regional, state, tribal, and
      local governments;
   ** Developing comprehensive, multi-media enforcement approaches;
   *• Aggressively addressing violators and responsible parties;
   >• Publicizing enforcement to deter future violators;
   *• Ensuring that environmental justice considerations are factored into all aspects of
      program implementation;
   ** Ensuring data integrity;
   +• Promoting within EPA those policies and regulations that facilitate enforcement and
      promote accountability; and
   >• Selecting the most appropriate enforcement response (i.e., administrative, civil judicial,
      or criminal enforcement) to  address any given violation.
EPA will foster environmental restoration by:
   *• Compelling site cleanups and supporting innovative technology;
   >• Increasing enforcement in targeted ecosystems, high-risk sectors, and geographic areas;
   >• Conducting timely and protective cleanups at the worst sites first;
   *- Making liable parties pay;
   >• Driving pollution prevention; and
   *• Promoting voluntary cleanups.
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                                      Chapter 3

                                 CHAPTER THREE

           LINKING THE  PLAN  TO  OTHER EPA
                  MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES
INTRODUCTION

Linking the strategic plan to the Agency's management and resource decisions is critical to move
EPA towards the new generation of environmental protection — a new generation that combines
common sense, innovation, and flexibility to achieve environmental goals. Establishing the specific
program and funding priorities for environmental protection that result from this strategic plan
will not be an easy task, however. In this period of tight resources and growing responsibilities,
EPA must focus its efforts on those issues that pose the greatest risk to human health and the
environment, and on those programs that have the greatest chance of success and highest
potential for significant impact. Making these management and investment decisions will require
the availability of sound environmental, programmatic, and fiscal information about the operations
and results of EPA's programs.

EPA already has several efforts underway to strengthen the management, effectiveness and
efficiency of its programs and operations, in response to particular laws, Executive Orders, or
Agency initiatives. EPA is integrating these efforts, however, to provide better information about
the management of the Agency's resources and the results of its programs. The availability of
such information will:
   >• Enable managers and policymakers to make more informed decisions about the
     investment of EPA's resources and the mission of its programs, thus ensuring that
     limited tax dollars are used wisely;
   >- Provide EPA and its partners with better information about the effectiveness and
     efficiency of the Agency's programs for improving the quality of the nation's
     environment; and
   *• Strengthen and maintain the public's trust in EPA's ability to manage its programs and
     resources effectively.

The key management initiatives include:
LEGISLATIVE MANDATES
   *• Implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993:
     The GPRA holds federal agencies accountable for what they do with their tax dollars by
     requiring them to establish: strategic plans containing long-range goals and objectives
     for all programs; annual budgets, performance plans, and indicators for each of their
     programs; and annual program performance reports of their success in achieving annual
     and strategic goals.


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      Full implementation of the GPRA begins in FY 1999, but strategic and program plans and
      budgets for FY 1999 will be due in FY 1997. EPA's implementation of GPRA began in FY
      1994 when the Agency's Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) program was
      selected by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as a GPRA pilot program. Each
      year, EPA will expand the programs covered under GPRA until it achieves full
      implementation.

      This strategic plan, and subsequent updates, will meet the Agency's strategic planning
      requirements under GPRA. Beginning with EPA's FY 1996 budget request, EPA will move
      to goals-based budgeting, using the national environmental goal areas in this strategic plan.
      This new approach to resource allocation will be the Agency's foundation for meeting
      future annual budget and performance plan requirements under GPRA.

      Establishing long-range and annual goals linked directly to the Agency's budget is a critical
      step in being able to make investment decisions based on the Agency's progress in achieving
      its annual  and  long-term goals. Beginning with the FY 1994 LUST program, EPA will
      develop annual performance reports that review the progress of the programs covered
      under GPRA.

   +-  Implementation of the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990: The CFO Act
      was enacted to bring about more effective general and financial management practices in
      government. While GPRA focuses on the results of programs and the success of agencies
      in achieving their goals, the CFO Act focuses on the financial accountability of federal
      managers  in carrying out and evaluating their programs. The Act establishes CFOs in
      each of the major federal agencies and charges the CFOs with overseeing the financial
      management aspects of each agency's programs and operations, and providing complete,
      reliable, timely, and consistent information for the executive branch and Congress to use
      in financing, managing, and evaluating federal programs. The Act also holds the CFO
      accountable for:  monitoring the execution of the budget, preparing annual financial
      statements, and working with agency program managers to develop and report on
      program performance measures for those funds and activities covered under the CFO
      Act. EPA's Inspector General  is responsible for annual audits of the financial statements.

      Combining accountability with program results helps to address the public's concern that
      their tax dollars are spent appropriately and wisely.  It also helps federal managers to ensure
      that their programs are operated effectively and efficiently.

      EPA's Annual Financial  Statements and program performance measures, required under the
      CFO Act,  only cover the Agency's revolving funds,  trust funds, and commercial activities.
      As EPA expands the programs included under GPRA, it will consolidate the CFO Financial
      Statements and GPRA Performance Reports to provide managers and policymakers with
      more integrated and useful information on the Agency's programs and success in achieving
      its environmental goals.

   >  Implementation of the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act of 1982: The
      Integrity Act requires all federal managers to put into place appropriate checks and
      balances, such as guidance and procedures,  to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse of
      government resources, and to protect the integrity of government programs. Similar to


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     the financial accountability provisions of the CFO Act, the Integrity Act focuses attention
     on the methods by which federal managers operate their programs to achieve their
     program, administrative, and financial goals and meet their statutory mandates.

     Manager awareness of existing and emerging Integrity Act vulnerabilities, and of the
     resources needed to eliminate those vulnerabilities, is critical for effective program
     planning and budgeting. EPA currently is revamping its implementation of the
     Integrity Act to eliminate burdensome paperwork and to reinforce the use of the
     core integrity principles in the Agency's routine management practices.
GOVERNMENT REFORM
   +•  Implementation of National Performance Review (NPR> recommendations: In
      March 1993, President Clinton requested that Vice President Gore lead a review to
      identify ways to make the federal government "both less expensive and more efficient..."
      and "to redesign, to reinvent, to reinvigorate" it. As a result of the NPR, the Vice
      President made many recommendations that apply government-wide. (The NPR also
      made 11 recommendations specific to EPA, covering areas such as streamlined
      permitting, pollution prevention, quality science, improved contracting, and enforcement
      consolidation.) To implement those recommendations, the President issued directives on
      streamlining, customer satisfaction, labor-management partnerships,  regulatory
      development, and elimination of internal regulations.
      In tandem with the Vice President's review, EPA conducted its own NPR, which
      yielded more than 400 recommendations, seventy-five of which were chosen for
      priority implementation because they held the greatest potential for substantial
      improvement. In many cases, the recommendations align directly with the guiding
      principles outlined in this strategic plan.
      •  Administrative Improvements:  These recommendations focus on resource flexibility,
        improved information management, communication, and workforce management and
        development.
      •  Programmatic Improvements:  These changes reinforce ongoing  initiatives, such as
        pursuit of a cross-media orientation, especially for ecosystems protection,
        environmental justice, and pollution prevention. They include  developing new and
        better environmental technologies; decisionmaking based on sound science; involving
        state, local, and tribal governments in determining EPA priorities and policies; and
        communicating early and clearly with the regulated community on EPA's
        expectations for compliance with environmental laws.

      EPA is committed to the implementation of the NPR recommendations and is
      developing a prioritized plan for implementing both the government-wide and
      EPA-specific recommendations. As they strive to attain their programmatic goals,
      EPA managers will implement appropriate NPR recommendations, streamline their
      processes to realize management improvements and  resource savings, and reinvest
      these savings toward other Agency priorities.
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 EPA INITIATIVES

   >• The National Environmental Goals Project: EPA is working in collaboration with the
      President's Council on Sustainable Development and other federal, state, tribal, and local
      governments to produce by Earth Day 1995 a set of national environmental goals to be
      achieved early in the next century. As of April 1994, the Goals Project had developed 13
      goal areas (listed in Chapter 1).

      Although the  Goals Project is not expected to complete its work until April 1995,
      the goal areas are included in this strategic plan to identify the range of
      environmental concerns critical to EPA and its partners, and to establish a
      commitment to develop measurable environmental goals. This plan will be revised in
      FY 1995 to reflect the final national goals as determined by the Goals Project.

      The Agency will develop a goal-based budget for FY 1996 using the current goal
      areas as a first step toward full implementation of the GPRA. In addition, EPA will
      establish multi-disciplinary teams to review the Agency's programmatic and process
      goals to determine how they can be used to develop the Agency's annual
      performance plans under GPRA, and  document the Agency's intermediate progress
      in attaining the longer-range national  goals.

   >• National Environmental Indicators:  To manage for environmental results, the
      Agency needs meaningful, credible, and understandable indicators to measure the quality
      of the environment, nationally and internationally. These indicators will allow EPA to
      measure progress towards the national environmental goals. The Agency, in partnership
      with other federal agencies, is working to develop a set of indicators that are useful
      across government for measuring various aspects of the environment.  These include:
      environmental pressures, such as pollution loadings; the state of the environment, such as
      ambient levels of pollution, ecological conditions,  and human health effects; and societal
      responses or activities, such as establishment of regulatory programs.

      EPA plans to make these indicators available for a number of its national activities,
      including: the  National Environmental Goals Project; the Interagency Sustainable
      Development Indicators initiative; the upcoming Organization for Economic
      Cooperation and Development Country Review of the United States; and EPA's
      implementation of the GPRA, the CFO Act, and the Integrity Act. By using the same
      indicators in these related activities, EPA will facilitate communication and
      coordination throughout the Agency and across government.

   ** Integrated Information Resources Planning: The availability of timely and useful
      information is  integral to everything EPA does, and is critical to environmental  science.
      As EPA moves to more comprehensive  strategies for protecting human health and the
      environment, the Agency's management of its information must keep pace with these
      efforts. Recognizing that access to information is critical to its work, EPA is
      strengthening the strategic planning of information resources management (IRM)
      activities on an Agency-wide basis.
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      By linking integrated IRM with this strategic plan, the Agency ultimately will have the
      information needed to set environmental goals, measure its progress using environmental
      indicators, and determine its costs in achieving those goals. In addition, EPA will ensure
      data are integrated to support comprehensive environmental protection and provide its
      partners and the public timely and useful environmental information.
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan	Chapter 4


                                   CHAPTER FOUR

             PROGRAM AND REGIONAL  PLANS
EPA program and regional offices already have begun many activities, using the guiding principles
outlined in Chapter 2, that bring the Agency closer to achieving its environmental goals, but there
is much more to be done before we can truly reach environmental goals, such as clean water and
food safety. The activities described in this chapter should not be viewed as separate from
on-going program-specific work. Rather, they are examples of how the Agency is working to
upgrade the way it already does its business to obtain measurable environmental results.

This chapter will provide details on how the program and regional offices will further implement
the strategies outlined in Chapter 2. Each program plan has the following elements:
   *- Introduction — Referencing Chapter 1 of the strategic plan, existing office-wide
      strategic plans, and other long-range program planning documents, program and regional
      offices provide their vision or mission statement along with a discussion of the main
      priorities of their respective offices.
   >• Supporting the Guiding Principles — In this section, programs explain  how they will
      support the  Agency-wide strategic plan and changes they anticipate over the next five
      years. They may include a discussion of relevant goals, indicators, statutory mandates
      (existing and desired), and broad resource shifts necessary to implement the seven
      guiding principles outlined in Chapter 2 that were appropriate for their office. Regional
      office descriptions focus on unique regional initiatives and describe participation in
      cross-media efforts that support the seven guiding principles. Included in this discussion
      are changes in direction needed to further the principles over the next five years.
   >• Other Mandates and Obligations — The Agency-wide strategic plan is  not intended to
      be comprehensive or encompass all Agency programs, operations, and activities.
      Therefore, this section provides an opportunity, where appropriate, to describe program
      strategies other than those included in this plan that are necessary to meet statutory and
      other important obligations.
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 OFFICE  OF AIR  AND  RADIATION
 INTRODUCTION

 Looking out over the next five years, the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) embraces the
 Agency's strategic vision of protecting human health and the environment, and minimizing
 adverse ecological and aesthetic effects, both from airborne pollutants and radiation.

 OAR's highest priority in pursuit of this vision — and the greatest continuing challenge for FY
 1995 and beyond — is the implementation of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA).
 During the early implementation years OAR has made significant strides towards completing the
 regulatory agenda called for by the CAAA, and the results are found in cleaner cars, trucks, and
 buses; cleaner fuels; innovative acid rain controls; reduction of ozone depleting substances;'and
 strong, workable air toxics controls. A large number of regulatory actions still are necessary to
 complete the CAAA regulatory agenda, and that effort is being coupled with a gradual shift in
 focus and resources away from regulation development into state and regionally based
 implementation activities. This focus and resource shift away from the traditional approaches will
 be accompanied by the redefining of roles among all the players working for cleaner air.

 For the next five years, OAR also will place continued emphasis in areas outside of the framework
 of the CAAA as EPA seeks dramatic reductions in greenhouse gases through voluntary climate
 change programs; more radon-resistant homes and schools; increased focus on indoor air issues,
 including environmental tobacco smoke; and an increased role in management standards for
 radioactive sites. Support for these areas likely will require additional resource shifts, especially
 where legislative mandates are increased.

 Taken as a whole, both within and without the CAAA framework, the scope of OAR's efforts can
 be seen as having three related focal points, each of which includes a distinct set of actions:

 Global

   *-  Collaborate with other government agencies and nations, the private sector, and public
      interest groups to  conserve energy, promote technology transfer, and attack climate
      change, ozone depletion, and trans-boundary air pollution problems.
   >•  Advise and coordinate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and other
      international groups on radon, indoor air, and radioactive waste issues.
   >•  Provide assistance in the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement
      (NAFTA).

National

   *•  Attain air quality standards throughout the country.
   ** Introduce cleaner motor vehicles and fuels.
   *• Reduce emissions from new and existing sources of toxic air pollution.
   *• Combat acid rain with market-based approaches and innovative strategies.


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Agency-wide Strategic Plan	      Chapter 4

   >• Reduce the public health threat that indoor radon, Environmental Tobacco Smoke
     (ETS), and other indoor air pollutants pose in homes, schools, and other buildings.
   >• Promote integration of programs during development and implementation to improve
     compliance and increase environmental gains.
   > Ensure public health is protected in the cleanup and permanent disposal of high-level and
     low-level radioactive wastes.

Regional and State
   >• Build partnerships and alliances with state and local governments to bring urban air
     quality into line with national standards and to form a cohesive team to reduce toxic air
     pollution.
   *- Foster communication and improve information transfer among all entities involved in
     implementing the CAAA.
   >• Ensure well-run permit programs that provide for full implementation of CAAA
     requirements, including collection of fees to support state and local permit programs.
   *• Continue partnerships with states and key non-profit groups to increase the percent of
     the population that is aware and has tested for or mitigated radon and to address indoor
     air issues.
 SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

 The OAR strategic plan recognizes the protection of human health and the environment as the
 principal goal that links the air and radiation programs to the Agency's strategic plan. In addition,
 the plan incorporates the Assistant Administrator's overarching goal to restore the confidence of
 key constituencies in EPA's commitment and competence to carry out the mandates of the
 CAAA. The following operating principles will guide OAR efforts toward the implementation of
 air and radiation program priorities in FY 1995 and future years.
    >• Improve performance in meeting deadlines for regulations, reports, and State
      Implementation Plan (SIP) approvals.
    >• Demonstrate the benefits of applying innovative economic strategies to air pollution
      control.
    >- Incorporate sustainable development strategies into clean air attainment and maintenance
      programs.
    ** Establish ecosystem protection as a clean air priority.
    >- Ensure that all citizens receive full and equal protection under environmental laws and
      regulations.

 These principles provide the framework for how EPA will manage and implement core programs.
 OAR is committed to implementing the CAAA in a cost-effective manner, while ensuring
 consistency with national energy and economic policies. The implementation of the amendments
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 not only will employ traditional approaches for controlling air pollution, but also will use the
 power of the marketplace, encourage local initiatives, and emphasize pollution prevention.

 OAR program priorities are fully supportive of the Administrator's guiding principles and are
 incorporated into air and radiation programs as follows:

 1.  Ecosystem Protection

 OAR will establish a task force to identify the most effective mechanisms for considering impacts
 of EPA air program actions on ecosystems and endangered species. For example, specific actions
 likely will be called for as a result of the ongoing "Great Waters" study. OAR's goal is, wherever
 possible, to incorporate species/habitat concerns into the development of programs and standards,
 as well as into individual permitting decisions. The task force also will consult with the Fish and
 Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service regarding the impact of air programs on
 endangered species. EPA continues to use the tools provided by the Prevention of Significant
 Deterioration (PSD) requirements to protect visibility and ecosystems.

 2. Environmental Justice

 In addition to the tools already afforded by the CAAA for reducing the exposure of populations
 suffering from disproportionate impacts, EPA is incorporating environmental justice concerns into
 its regulations as a common practice. The Clean Air Act Advisory Committee likely will be used
 to aid in that effort. In addition, as a result of recommendations made by the Agency's
 Environmental Equity Workgroup, and as part of the Agency-wide strategic plan, OAR is
 implementing four categories of environmental justice initiatives.
   1) Improving the methodology for assessing exposures to air pollution (including multiple
      exposures), specifically targeted to populations suffering disproportionate impacts. The
      radon program seeks to reduce the disparity between high-income Caucasian and other
      populations on radon awareness, testing, and mitigation. The indoor air program is
      working to target minority and low-income populations in its Environmental Tobacco
      Smoke (ETS) outreach activities. The 1990 census data now are linked to OAR's
      Human Exposure Model system. When EPA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) is linked
      to the system, OAR will have the ability to run equity analyses for source categories and
      characterize the potential exposure of specific populations. OAR also has a pilot
      underway to develop computer-based maps of nonattainment areas.
   2) Expanding OAR's outreach/communication and consensus building efforts to
      low-income and minority communities.  OAR will look for opportunities to hold
      regulatory hearings in affected areas, broaden the membership of the Clean Air Act
      Advisory Committee to reflect environmental justice experience, and incorporate
      environmental justice perspectives early in program development. OAR also will
      continue to build on the extensive experience of the radon program in delivering the
      radon, indoor air, and ETS messages to minority and low-income populations.
   3) Supporting and enhancing existing and future regional equity initiatives. EPA will
      provide support and funding for external programs targeted at low-income and minority
      populations. Examples are the initial funding of the Mickey Leland Center for the Study
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     of Urban Air Toxics, and indoor radon grants to support projects that encourage radon
     risk reduction.
   4) Enhancing the relationship between OAR and its adopted institutions in the Academic
     Relations Program. Memoranda of Understanding already have been signed with North
     Carolina A&T, Northern Arizona University, and Alabama A&M. The latter is designed
     to strengthen research, training, and public service programs focused on Native
     American people and their lands. In the near future, OAR anticipates the creation of
     similar partnerships with Texas Southern University and Florida International University.

3. Pollution Prevention

OAR will emphasize pollution prevention throughout its programs as the first choice in
environmental protection, taking into account impacts on human health and the environment. The
CAAA provides opportunities for making pollution prevention a routine consideration in carrying
out air programs and reinforcing the major efforts already underway. For example, using a
strategy of flexible permits will enable permitted sources to commit to pollution prevention as part
of their compliance strategy; under the source reduction review project (SRRP), EPA will
encourage an innovative, source-specific approach to pollution prevention. In addition, OAR will
carry out initiatives for recycling CFCs under the ozone depletion program, encouraging energy
conservation under the Climate Change Programs (which includes Green Lights, Golden Carrot,
Energy Star, etc.), and promoting model building codes that reduce radon  intrusion into the
home.

4. Strong Science and Data

OAR will elicit the support of the Office of Research and Development to  assess:  health and
ecological effects data, monitoring  methods and support, models, risk assessments, emissions
reduction technologies, quality assurance in support of OAR's regulatory agenda, and public
information needs. This includes the "Coordinated North American Research Strategy for
Tropospheric Ozone;" air toxics research on source test methods, control technology, and Great
Waters; the Environmental Technology Initiative; and other research methodologies to address
the human health and environmental risks posed by criteria air pollutants. OAR also will continue
work on several fronts to better characterize vehicular emissions and indoor air pollution, and
apply that knowledge to ongoing policy implementation.

5. Partnerships

The evolving nature of CAAA implementation has put a premium on the development of effective
working partnerships among all concerned with clean air. Specifically, OAR envisions more
delegation to state/local partners and tribal governments, coupled with a strengthening of
technical advice and support as implementation moves away from Washington. Strong working
relationships will be essential to achievement of CAAA standards. In addition, OAR expects to
build on other successful partnership approaches across its programs. For example, previous
regulatory negotiations have produced a number of positive results: rules to prevent toxic
emissions from equipment leaks, requirements for cleaner "reformulated" and "oxygenated"
gasolines, and reduced toxic emissions from steel industry coke ovens. OAR has established
successful partnerships to work on climate change, ozone depletion, and trans-boundary air

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pollution, all of which seek to utilize and leverage both national and international resources.
Finally, the radon program is centered on a highly effective network of cooperative partners that
works to encourage radon testing and mitigation. The indoor air program has initiated the
Building Air Quality Alliance (BAQA) to address indoor air quality in large buildings through an
innovative partnership arrangement with indoor air quality community leaders. Building owners
and managers who become partners will be recognized for their efforts. OAR expects to continue
the development and use of all of these strategic and tactical partnerships as a basic part of how it
does business.

6. Reinventing EPA Management

OAR's Streamlining Plan: Making OAR Work Better integrates the Administration's goals of
increasing effectiveness and efficiency of government with the Agency's and OAR's ongoing
programs. OAR's streamlining strategy is to carefully examine internal processes and use the
results to enhance the utilization of staff. For example, an innovative approach to reinventing
OAR is the current effort to work with state and local agencies and other partners in developing
MACT and other rules. OAR expects this approach to effectively maximize our ability to meet the
air toxics standards of the CAAA, even with significant reductions in resources. Overall, OAR
believes that to effectively achieve the goals of reinvention, OAR must:  create a vision of both
the mission and work practices of the organization; pursue the immediate opportunities  for
streamlining; prioritize the  other processes identified for streamlining and begin working on them
with vigor and a commitment to providing services in the most efficient manner; make structural
modifications where needed; and target reinvestment opportunities that utilize the savings
associated with streamlining. The plan includes several immediate steps that will improve the
effectiveness of OAR and make progress towards the quantitative goals, particularly the 11:1
staff/supervisory ratio.

7. Environmental Accountability

OAR will work closely with the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) to
ensure that its programs and activities address compliance and enforcement concerns as they
relate to its regulation development process, training programs, and other related activities.

OAR's Office of Radiation and Indoor Air Program (ORIA) will carry out its responsibilities
under the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Land Withdrawal Act. ORIA's responsibilities
include issuing radioactive waste disposal standards which that apply to the WIPP as well as to all
spent  nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive waste, and transuranic waste disposal facilities; certifying
compliance with radioactive waste disposal standards; and ensuring compliance with all  other
applicable laws and regulations.

OAR's Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) Program will work with OECA to
incorporate environmental accountability in its policy, regulatory, and outreach activities.
Specifically, OAQPS will coordinate with OECA to ensure that compliance requirements in air
regulations are clear and enforceable. Through its training and outreach activities OAQPS will
ensure that partners in states, tribes, local governments, and the environmental and regulated
communities clearly understand their environmental responsibilities. OAQPS also will work to
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increase their partners' respective capacity to move beyond compliance by soliciting their
involvement in MACT, pollution prevention, and innovative technology activities.
REFERENCES
    1. "OAR FY1995 - 1998 Strategic Plan, " USEPA, Washington, DC, July 1993.
    2. "Blue Skies Update: Long-Range Planning 1994, " John Seitz, Director, Office of Air
      Quality Planning and Standards.
    3. "OAR's Streamlining Plan: Making OAR Work Better, " USEPA, Washington, DC,
      February 1994.
    4. "OAR's Budget Ovennew and Strategy," USEPA, Washington, DC, February 1994.
    5. New OAR Management Process. USEPA, Washington, DC, May 1991.
    6. Implementation Strategy for the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 — Update. 1993,
      EPA410-K-93-001, Washington, DC, November 1993.
    7. The Clean Air Marketplace. USEPA, Washington, DC, December 1993.
    8. FY 1994 Program Specific Guidance. USEPA, Washington, DC, June 1993.
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 OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION AND  RESOURCES
 MANAGEMENT
 INTRODUCTION

 The Office of Administration and Resources Management (OARM) provides the management
 services, infrastructure and operations that enable EPA to achieve its mission. As the office of the
 Agency's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), OARM also serves as the chief steward of the Agency's
 resources. OARM's ultimate goal is to ensure that EPA's resource decisions enable the Agency to
 achieve its environmental mission and meet its fiduciary and workforce responsibilities.

 OARM's primary responsibility is to enable EPA and its partners to deliver on their shared
 commitment to the environment. To fulfill this role, OARM will: take a fresh look at the service,
 information, and infrastructure needs of its customers; realign its services, systems, and processes
 to better support the Agency's mission and programs; strengthen stewardship and management of
 the Agency's resources; and engage the diverse talents of EPA's workforce to meet new
 challenges. This approach represents a fundamental shift in management philosophy and a culture
 shift in how EPA conducts its work.

 The next stage of OARM's strategic planning will be a three-part process that includes the
 development of:  (1) a more detailed and long-term implementation plan; (2) short-term operating
 plans; and (3) mechanisms for consistently monitoring and measuring the success of (1) and (2).
 These plans will provide the overall approach OARM will take in achieving its mission and
 objectives, and will provide the basis for OARM's operations in fiscal years 1995 through 1999.
SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

OARM's first and foremost priority is to provide management services, infrastructure, operations,
and workforce support for the new generation of environmental programs and priorities. OARM
has identified the following key actions in support of the Agency's strategic plan during the next
five years.

1. Ecosystem Protection and 3. Pollution Prevention

OARM will provide the tools and infrastructure required by the Agency to implement the
ecosystem and pollution prevention  approaches to environmental protection. OARM also will
facilitate removing institutional barriers to ecosystem protection in the budget, information
systems and data, organizational structures, and assistance programs.

For example,  EPA currently is designing the Bay City facility as a center for ecological research
and ecosystems management. Home to the Agency's supercomputer and to its Great Lakes
research vessel, the Lake Guardian,  Bay City will have state-of-the-art research and information
management facilities. OARM's aim is to create a center that brings together the nation's best
minds and talent in research,  information management, and other disciplines in order to support
ecosystem management efforts nationwide. Bay City's training facilities will provide on-site and


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remote hookup training in the latest research and technology to EPA's workforce and its partners
throughout the country. Working with others in EPA, OARM will:
   >•  Coordinate the acquisition and management of spatial information (land use/census, soils
      data) to support ecological and related environmental analyses;
   +•  Provide the technical information infrastructure that will facilitate inter- and intra-agency
      ecosystem protection efforts, such as telecommunications, scientific information
      (Envirofacts), spatial data, and taxonomic information;
   >•  Implement, support and showcase new approaches that integrate environmental
      protection and natural resource management to meet the needs of ecosystems such as
      prairies, savannas, the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico; and
   >  Support the Agency's efforts to building a national information infrastructure, and
      represent the Agency's interest on the Federal Geographic Data Committee.

2. Environmental Justice
OARM will lead the Agency in the adoption and integration of environmental justice principles
into all EPA activities. The goal of the environmental justice program is to ensure that no segment
of the population bears a disproportionate burden of the consequences of environmental pollution,
and that all peoples benefit from clean and sustainable communities. We are committed to the
education and empowerment of affected communities, community organizations, federal agencies,
tribal, state and local governments, academic institutions, businesses, and industries, and to the
creation of partnerships to achieve environmental justice. Working with others in EPA, OARM
will:
   >•  Develop a strategy for integrating environmental justice into every Agency activity (e.g.,
      policies, rulemaking, enforcement, research, planning, and budgeting);
   ^  Implement the President's Executive Order on Environmental Justice which require
      integration of environmental justice principles in all relevant federal activities;
   >-  Foster environmental justice by awarding demonstration grants, issuing advisory studies,
      and creating public-private partnerships with disadvantaged communities and
   >•  Empower  EPA's environmental justice partners by supporting and enabling meaningful
      public access to EPA's information.

4. Strong Science and Data

Top flight research facilities are required to support the Agency's mission. As new facilities come
on line, OARM will work with the Office of Research and Development and the program offices
to use those facilities as testing grounds for innovative energy conservation, state-of-the-art
information technology, and pollution prevention technologies. We are designing the  new
Research Triangle Park (RTP) facility, in concert with its future tenants, to be a center for
scientific excellence.

Sound management of our information assets also is needed for strong science and data. To
advance the Agency's scientific capabilities OARM  is investing in the ability to perform
multi-pollutant and multi-media pollutant assessments with high performance computing tools,

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 and will work with the Agency's partners to develop standards and practices for sound
 management of scientific information.

 5. Partnerships

 OARM will work with EPA's workforce, unions, governmental partners (federal, state, tribal and
 local), and the public to develop a shared vision and strategic approach that leverages combined
 resources for maximum environmental results. With Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation
 (OPPE), OARM will open the Agency's planning and budgeting processes to actively involve its
 partners in goal- and priority-setting. OARM also will work with EPA's program offices to create
 funding mechanisms that provide state and local governments with flexibility to fund priority
 environmental problems and develop alternative financing mechanisms (e.g., the network of
 Environmental Finance Centers at Syracuse University,  and the Universities of Maryland and New
 Mexico) to help state and local governments fund vital environmental infrastructure. Working
 with others, OARM will:

   >• Build  State capacity in learning tools, information management, and technology, and
      improve access to EPA data and analytical capability;
   >• Foster public-private partnerships to address resource shortfalls at the national level and
      unfunded federal mandates at the state and local level;

   >• Lead the development throughout EPA of a labor-management partnership — e.g.,
      establishing councils and other mechanisms to include unions in pre-decision phases, and
      to train management and union representatives on techniques, such as alternative dispute
      resolution, that helps the partnership succeed;

   *- Forge collegial alliance with the General Accounting Office in providing Congressional
      oversight on program implementation goals and results, program effectiveness and
      efficiencies, and program resource requirements.

 6. Reinventing EPA

 OARM manages the systems and processes that provide the people, money, data, and
 infrastructure needed by the Agency and, in many cases, its federal, state, tribal, and local
 partners. We are committed to revitalizing OARM so that we deliver services in a more effective
 and efficient manner at lower cost, while strengthening its stewardship for the Agency's
 resources. Toward that end, OARM will re-examine its  processes across the board and test
 alternative ways of doing business. EPA will measure our ultimate success by improved
 performance and customer satisfaction.

 OARM is committed to the implementation of the National Performance Review (NPR)
 initiatives. We want  to ensure that OARM services and  processes help managers and employees
 reach their objectives instead of serving as barriers. Working with OPPE and others in EPA
 OARM will:

   **  Develop and put into place an integrated approach to Agency-wide strategic planning,
      budgeting, financial management, and program evaluation that will guide the Agency's
      program and investment decisions and meets the mandates of the Chief Financial Officers
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     (CFO) Act, the Integrity Act, and the Government Performance and Results Act,
     (GPRA), an effort that OARM and OPPE co-lead;
   ^ Develop an Agency-wide Information Resources Management Strategic Plan. This plan
     will guide the Agency's investment in and management of its hardware, systems, and
     technical infrastructure to facilitate the work and decisionmaking of all EPA employees
     and their colleagues in the environmental community (e.g., government, academia, and
     private industry);
   ^ Further develop and implement a comprehensive resources-management training
     program — covering acquisition, assistance, budget, financial management, and
     management integrity — to ensure that EPA employees have the knowledge and skills to
     effectively manage resources;
   >• Establish a Working Capital Fund to provide more appropriate and efficient
     administrative services, better identify the cost of running programs, and logically plan
     for and purchase capital equipment;
   >• Carry out the CFO's Financial Management Five-Year Plan to strengthen accountability,
     financial management practices, and decisionmaking throughout EPA;
   *• Create the framework to improve organizational and workforce performance by pursuing
     NPR and Labor-Management Partnership initiatives;
   >• Reinvent the Agency's administrative processes, beginning with personnel and contracts
     management;
   >• Re-engineer EPA's implementation of the Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act,
     building core integrity principles into the primary functions of planning, budgeting, fiscal
     management, and program evaluation; and
   >• Provide all employees with a quality work environment that is safe, healthy and secure
     (e.g., completing the move from Waterside Mall into EPA's new complex). OARM also
     is committed to designing workplaces that provide state-of-the-art communications,
     learning and energy conservation technologies, plus improved access for the
     handicapped.

7. Environmental Accountability

To support the Agency's effort to assess compliance by type of industry,  specific facility and
geographic location, OARM will make it possible to combine information from the Agency's
many data sources. OARM will develop the information  policies,  standards, and tools which will
allow the Agency to analyze such issues as the distribution of risk and environmental justice and
to display the results in easily understood maps and charts. This will allow EPA to target
enforcement actions by ecosystem, geographic area, and affected  population.

The sharing of the Agency's information will empower greater public involvement. It will support
their efforts to make informed choices as consumers, to comply with EPA's requirements, and to
advocate sound environmental policies in their communities. OARM will promote policies, tools,
and technologies that improve the public's access to EPA's information. As part of this effort,
OARM will plan and develop the communication  and computing tools to support this expanding


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access. OARM also will develop information partnerships with states, localities, and others to
improve their compliance assessment and enforcement capacity.

Another key OARM program which promotes environmental accountability is the Environmental
Justice outreach program. Through this program, minority and low income citizens will be
educated and empowered to advocate for environmental fairness within their own communities.

OARM's aggressive suspension and debarment program will continue to ensure that EPA does
business only with responsible contractors and grantees. Through this program, EPA will take
action against contractors and grantees who commit waste, fraud, or abuse, or who perform
poorly on projects funded by EPA. OARM will also continue its work with state and local
agencies in establishing partnerships which will enhance information and document exchange in
suspension and debarment matters. This partnership will improve our joint capacity to protect the
integrity of our contracts and grants investments.
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OFFICE  OF  CIVIL RIGHTS
INTRODUCTION
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) serves as the principal advisor to the Administrator with respect
to the Agency's civil rights responsibilities. OCR provides Agency-wide direction, coordination,
monitoring, and evaluation of equal employment opportunity, affirmative employment, and
external compliance programs.  The programs' OCR administrators in one way or another have an
impact on every employee and  every program in the Agency.
SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The Office of Civil Rights has responsibilities that support the strategic vision in three principal
areas. The goals of these overarching guiding principles, when fully realized, will fundamentally
change the way the Agency does business into the 21st century.

2. Environmental Justice
The Office of Civil Rights is responsible for enforcing a number of crosscutting civil rights
statutes prohibiting discrimination by recipients of EPA assistance. The principal statute for
addressing environmental justice issues is Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1963, as amended.
Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in federally
assisted programs and activities. State and local governments are the largest recipients of EPA
grants. The states carry out delegated environmental programs using EPA funds, and they play a
major role in the siting and permitting of facilities. These activities affect minority communities,
and they are at the crux of many environmental justice issues.

During the next five years, OCR will focus its external compliance program activities on state and
local governments. In cooperation with the Office of Grants and Debarment, OCR is developing a
comprehensive compliance review reporting form for state agencies that will yield a variety of
information enabling OCR to determine their compliance with the applicable civil rights statutes.
OCR will use this information to identify environmental justice problems and target states for
in-depth compliance reviews to correct these problems. OCR is processing complaints filed by or
on  behalf of minority communities raising environmental justice issues. These complaints are
precedent-setting, and OCR will be developing the procedures, guidance, and analytical
framework for processing and resolving these complaints. OCR will provide technical assistance
to recipient state agencies in compliance with Title VI, and to communities  and individuals on
utilizing Title VI to address environmental justice issues.

5. Partnerships
OCR will  develop partnerships that enable the Agency to achieve its diversity and environmental
justice goals. To enhance the Agency's ability to recruit minorities in the scientific and  engineering
fields, OCR is developing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Hispanic Association
of Colleges and Universities that will lay the foundation for other MOUs with Hispanic
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 institutions to provide for a variety of educational, developmental, and employment opportunities
 with the Agency. OCR also will expand its relationships with Historically Black Colleges and
 Universities. In the environmental justice area, OCR will develop working relationships with state
 environmental agencies to foster compliance with Title VI. OCR also will work with communities
 to educate them on their rights under Title VI. Finally, OCR will work to improve its partnerships
 with EPA program offices, regions, and field offices. These partnerships are essential to achieving
 the Agency's goals.

 6. Reinventing EPA Management

 One of the most controversial and critical issues facing the federal government in the next five
 years is the need to streamline the federal workforce, particularly at the supervisory and
 managerial levels, while at the same time increasing the representation of minorities, women, and
 people with disabilities. The Agency's Affirmative Employment Plan is the Agency's strategic
 plan for accomplishing increased diversity in the workforce. The plan provides a detailed analysis
 of the Agency's workforce and specific numerical and percentage goals to correct
 underrepresentation. The objectives outlined in the plan serve as a road map for how the Agency
 will achieve its diversity goals.

 In broad categories, the Affirmative Employment Plan's objectives include:  eliminating
 underrepresentation of minorities, women, and people with disabilities; reducing discrimination
 complaints and expediting the process leading to complaint resolution; placing targeted group
 members at the GS-13 through 15 and SES levels through a recruitment and hiring program that
 produces qualified candidates; establishing and maintaining contact with minority academic
 institutions; providing employee development opportunities to increase the selection of minorities
 and women in supervisory and managerial positions; assessing the effectiveness of the affirmative
 employment program by reviewing results; developing manager accountability for achieving
 affirmative employment goals; implementing a program for prevention of sexual harassment; and
 making the hiring of severely disabled individuals one of EPA's top priorities. Achievement of
 these objectives will make EPA a model employer in the years to come and will bring the richness
 of diversity to the nation's environmental policies and programs.
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OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS,  EDUCATION
AND  PUBLIC AFFAIRS
INTRODUCTION

Communicating with the public about evolving and complex issues is not easy for any
organization. Such efforts have been especially difficult at EPA over the years, because officials
did not always consider public knowledge to be a priority, because of limited staffing and funding
for public outreach, and because outreach efforts were dispersed throughout the Agency and not
always coordinated.

Today EPA is addressing new policies and goals beyond the old "command and control"
approach. Advances in protection of the environment will be a public that is educated, supportive,
and involved. Thus, the Agency needs to reach out to people in new and better ways.

Polls shows that people often are confused about environmental issues and that they want more
information. They also expect to partake personally in finding solutions to environmental
problems. That desire for more knowledge and participation matches well this Administration's
support for greater public discourse ranging from town meetings to  use of the electronic
highways.
Over the next five years, the Office of Communications, Education and Public Affairs (OCEPA)
intends to ensure and augment the public's understanding of the environment and gain support for
Agency actions by:
   >•  Integrating public communications planning earlier in the formation and implementation
      of significant Agency proposals and regulations.
   >•  Improving public understanding of multi-media efforts by increasing cross-program and
      headquarters-regional planning and execution.
   >-  Making communications "work smarter" by consolidating and streamlining outreach
      efforts across the Agency, thereby improving planning and execution to maximize results
      at less cost.
   >•  Adapting polling techniques to better understand the public's level of environmental
      knowledge and areas of interest and concern.
   >•  Introducing electronic technologies beyond those now available at EPA, including
      sophisticated videos and television public service announcements, cooperative contacts
      with entertainment television, environmental shorts in movie houses, CD-ROMs,
      interactive videos, and regular feeds to computer networks.
   >•  Broadening the span of environmental education beyond K-12, with changes in the
      enabling legislation to reach college campuses, adult education programs, and
      nontraditional or informal education systems, thus helping EPA reach and teach the
      public.
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   *- Helping train EPA personnel to communicate better with the public by using words and
      images that fit audience levels of knowledge and areas of interest.
 SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

 In the future, public communications are more likely to vary according to audience needs and
 characteristics than by Agency program or project lines.

 1. Ecosystem Protection and 3. Pollution Prevention

 Modern environmental programs require more public understanding and support than the early
 end-of-pipe, command-and-control systems, and they often involve multi-media approaches. So
 OCEPA intends to increase inter-program and headquarters-regional cooperative outreach efforts,
 forming communicators' networks to provide mutual support and ensure that the Agency speaks
 to the public with a clear, unified voice.

 OCEPA intends to work with programs and regions to develop language materials that will
 explain clearly to the public that subjects such as "ecosystems" can be understood as they pertain
 to their own neighborhoods and backyards.

 OCEPA will help train Agency officials to improve the delivery of messages on programs such as
 ecosystem protection and pollution prevention so that members of the public understand their
 own, personal role in the process and the personal value of their contributions.

 2. Environmental Justice

 OCEPA intends to work more with EPA regional offices and community groups to improve the
 quality as well as the quantity of two-way communication with local communities. Headquarters-
 supported polling research and focus groups will support regional staff on-site to determine the
 informational wants and needs of inner-city, low-income, and minority communities.  Related
 efforts will include use of focus groups so the Agency can sharpen its outreach methods.

 4. Strong Science and Data

 The public should be aware of the depth and breadth of technical knowledge and information at
EPA. OCEPA will help provide communication training for Agency technical and scientific staff
 so they can offer to the public, directly and through the news media, a better understanding of
relative risks and solutions. OCEPA foresees EPA technical staff being widely recognized as
experts for news interviews, public service announcements, and educational forums. OCEPA also
intends to work with EPA program staff to help disseminate technical data to educators, students,
and outside researchers.

5. Partnerships

OCEPA, though its Public Liaison and Environmental Education divisions, will further expand its
dealings with educators, civic organizations, environmental groups,  business and industry
associations, individual firms,  labor unions, public health organizations, and environmental justice
groups by expanding databases, introducing computer fax systems, engaging in outreach very
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early in the Agency's decisionmaking processes, and seeking partnerships with non-traditional
education sources. OCEPA also will reach out to other headquarters and regional staff that
engage outside groups in order to improve Agency-wide coordination of such efforts.

6. Reinventing EPA Management
Streamlining will be assisted by intensifying cooperative communication among headquarters and
regional offices. Duplication will be avoided and the quantity and quality of work will improve
without adding staff.

7. Environmental Accountability
In its role as the Agency's primary communicator to educators, constituents, news media, and the
general public, OCEPA will promote responsible environmental behavior that leads to and beyond
compliance with the nation's environmental laws. This effort will grow out of existing activities
within this office,  which already promotes personal activism on behalf of the environment and
innovation by constituent groups.
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 OFFICE  OF  CONGRESSIONAL AND  LEGISLATIVE
 AFFAIRS
 INTRODUCTION

 The Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs (OCLA) coordinates the Agency's
 Congressional and legislative strategies and activities, and serves as the Agency's principal point
 of contact for Congress. OCLA advises the Administrator on all Congressional and legislative
 matters and is responsible for:
   *-  Legislative drafting and liaison activities;

   *•  Coordination with the White House and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to
      ensure consistency with Administration positions;
   *•  The Agency's Congressional correspondence; and
   *•  The Legislative Reference Library.

 OCLA's main statutory priorities include:

   *•  Reauthorizing key environmental laws such as Superfund, the Clean Water Act, the Safe
      Drinking Water Act, and legislation to reform food safety.

 OCLA's non-statutory priorities in turn include:
   *•  Obtaining Cabinet status for the Agency; and
   *•  Supporting the Agency, its policies, and programs on Capitol Hill.

 OCLA also is developing new tools and processes to facilitate effective working relationships
 between the Agency and Congress. A long-term internal goal of OCLA, consistent with the
 Agency's streamlining plan and desire to do more with less, is a new process for outreach; i.e.,
 reorganizing the  Congressional Liaison and Legislative Analysis Divisions into media-based teams
 to promote coordination of issues expertise and political intelligence. These media teams will be
 expanded to include representatives from all EPA offices performing external communications
 functions.

 One such new tool is a working geographic database, shared at headquarters and in the regions,
 that will document EPA's interactions with individual members of Congress, record Senators' and
 Representatives'  environmental interests, and allow cross-referencing of environmental issues and
 EPA activities in districts and states. This database will improve EPA's responsiveness to
 Congressional concerns, while underscoring the Agency's mission.
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SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Guiding Principles 1 through 4
OCLA will support the Administrator's strategic vision through all forms of interaction with
Congress,  including affirmative statements in testimony, responses to questions, and advocacy of
supportive legislation. OCLA's work revolves around statutory mandates and thus by nature
includes ecosystem protection, environmental justice, pollution prevention, and strong science and
data. OCLA's role within the Agency is to weave together and emphasize Agency priorities,
including the strategic vision, in written and oral communications with Congress, regardless of the
program office of origin. In this way, the Agency is assured of delivering a consistent and
cohesive message to Congress about goals, priorities,  and commitments.

Significant long-term changes in OCLA will be supplemented through increased emphasis on
internal and external partnerships and on reinventing EPA through improved teamwork,
technological advances such as the above-mentioned database, and improving employee diversity.

5. Partnerships
The partnership principle has particular meaning for OCLA as an operational matter apart from a
substantive policy principle. The success of the Agency's legislative calendar directly depends to a
large degree on the strength of EPA's working relationship with partners such as state and local
governments, regional entities, and tribes.  OCLA is working to improve these relationships in its
Congressional outreach and briefing efforts, and by responsiveness to constituent concerns. The
Congressional database is a developing tool that will provide both headquarters and regional
offices with improved informational assets to support EPA's partners at all levels.

6. Reinventing EPA Management
Creation of the media teams will increase efficiency and improve communication. The teams also
will provide a structure through which personnel will  learn about work done by the team
members.  This will promote integration of the duties currently divided between divisions. In
addition, this structure allows more flexibility for staff movement between issues and more
opportunities for support staff to be part of a team and acquire substantive knowledge about their
team's issues. EPA will be considering creative and innovative ways of allowing support staff to
develop and gain expertise in substantive issue areas and in support techniques, thus empowering
them and  boosting their career potential. Over the past years, several positions have been created
to develop and upgrade support staff to the professional level. Other improvements still can be
made, however,  and diversity must be a major factor in recruitment and advancement.
 OTHER MANDATES AND OBLIGATIONS
 Through its work with Congressional oversight committees, OCLA helps the Agency meet its
 statutory obligations. In terms of internal obligations, the Office of the Administrator and program
 offices expect OCLA to serve as their early warning mechanism to anticipate Congressional
 action, identify areas of concern and respond to them.
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 OFFICE  OF  ENFORCEMENT AND COMPLIANCE
 ASSURANCE
 INTRODUCTION

 EPA's mandate to protect public health and safety depends upon effective enforcement. The costs
 of violating environmental laws — both direct litigation costs as well as costs resulting from
 remediation and the assessment of civil penalties or criminal fines and incarceration — are great.
 Strong, deterrence-based enforcement — as reflected, for example, in the rapid growth of EPA's
 criminal enforcement program — creates a climate which forcefully motivates innovation,
 prevention and compliance by the regulated community.

 The newly organized Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) will provide,
 through its consolidated multi-media structure, a single voice for national enforcement policy and
 direction. For the first time, OECA's national strategic plan will provide an integrated
 enforcement and compliance assurance strategy for targeting noncomplying sectors of the
 regulated community, sensitive ecosystems, and populations, and for  fostering risk-based,
 multi-media, whole-facility approaches that emphasize pollution prevention and innovative
 compliance techniques.

 Principally through its Offices of Regulatory Enforcement (ORE), Criminal Enforcement (OCE),
 and Site Remediation Enforcement (OSRE), OECA will maintain a bedrock commitment to
 enforcement in order to deter noncompliance. At the same time, OECA's past success will enable
 the development of innovative ways to reach greater segments of the  regulated community.
 OECA will develop additional strategies to assure  overall compliance, using both formal
 enforcement tools to correct violations and industry-based and facility-specific assistance
 programs to prevent violations from occurring in the first place. OECA considers "compliance
 assurance" as an integrated set of activities — including inspections, compliance monitoring, civil
 enforcement, criminal prosecutions, compliance assistance and promotion, deterrence-oriented
 publicity regarding enforcement actions, and environmental review of proposed federal actions —
 all designed to accomplish consistent widespread compliance and maximize environmental
 protection. OECA will invest  heavily in enforcement in order to improve  compliance.
SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. Ecosystem Protection

During the past several years, the Agency has conducted "pilot" multi-media initiatives involving
sensitive geographic zones, including the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. The experience
gained in conducting these initiatives, as well as recent advances in geographic targeting, will help
shape OECA's new, more focused efforts to protect sensitive ecosystems.

One of the primary functions of the Office of Compliance's (OC) Agriculture and Ecosystems
Division will be to work with the regions and other EPA offices to identify and target
environmental impacts and activities in critical ecosystems, e.g., watersheds, and fashion

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compliance strategies. In addition, the Office of Federal Activities (OF A), acting pursuant to the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and section 309 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), will
conduct reviews of other federal agencies' actions, proposed regulations, and legislative proposals
that emphasize effective  mitigation of adverse impacts, and refer to the President's Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) those federal actions that may impact sensitive ecosystems.

2. Environmental Justice
OECA will give prominent attention to environmental justice issues through compliance analysis
and targeted data analyses of high-risk population areas and enforcement initiatives affecting
specific groups, e.g., urban populations, farmworkers, and subsistence fishermen, as well as
through review of other  agencies' proposals under NEPA and CAA.

In order to facilitate cooperative efforts in the enforcement arena among federal, state, tribal, and
local governments to realize equal protection for all citizens, OECA has created an Environmental
Justice Coordinator position. The coordinator will develop an OECA strategic vision for
environmental justice and ensure that these concerns are integrated within all of the OECA
component offices. The National  Enforcement Training Institute (NETI), working in conjunction
with minority institutions, will develop and deliver expanded environmental justice training.

3. Pollution Prevention
OECA has developed multi-media settlement policies to advance the incorporation of pollution
prevention (source reduction) and innovative pollution control technologies in enforcement
settlements. The OC and the Federal Facilities Enforcement Office (FFEO) will assure that
auditing policies identify methodologies and opportunities for considering process changes that
will result in pollution prevention; multi-media investigations and inspections undertaken by the
National Enforcement Investigations Center (NEIC) and the regions will consider pollution
prevention and waste minimization opportunities; and ORE's Multi-Media Enforcement Division
will ensure that facility-wide pollution prevention options are explored during the settlement
process, both as injunctive relief and as Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs). NETI will
provide enforcement-oriented pollution prevention training and material to federal and state
personnel.
Working in conjunction with the  Agency's pollution prevention division, OECA will develop a
systematic understanding of pollution prevention technologies that can be applied to specific
industries and sectors of the economy. While OECA will not have the resources to develop
"particularized" pollution prevention expertise in all areas, OC's Manufacturing, Energy and
Transportation and Chemical, Commercial Services, and Municipal Divisions will integrate
pollution prevention into the full  spectrum of compliance and enforcement activities.

4. Strong Science and  Data
By reorganizing, OECA has pulled together in one office all headquarters legal, technical
enforcement, and compliance assurance personnel, and most of the Agency's compliance data
systems. This reorganization should promote improved science-based enforcement
decisionmaking as well  as consistent, well-integrated enforcement data that the Agency needs for
carry out its regulatory  responsibilities.
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 OECA will standardize compliance and enforcement information and provide sector, pollutant and
 geographic reports and analyses to identify problems, promote compliance, and target national
 initiatives. The use of data quality/data integrity compliance initiatives, such as the TSCA 8e CAP
 program (submission of data regarding potentially adverse chemical health effects), Good
 Laboratory Practices (GLP) data audits, and Section 313 Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data are
 effective tools for improving the quality of environmental data. Other initiatives will ensure that
 the regulated community is operating within the regulatory system and enhance the quality of
 compliance data (e.g., RCRA's "Second Illegal Operators Initiative," which began July 1993).

 OECA will rely on "good science" and "good data" to assess  the impact of compliance and
 enforcement efforts.  Traditional enforcement activity measures will be supplemented and
 strengthened by efforts to develop improved measures of success that will better gauge the
 environmental and public health benefits of compliance and enforcement efforts. Examples include
 measuring reductions in pollution  emissions or discharge loadings achieved in consent orders and
 decrees, measuring the investment value of improvement projects secured through enforcement,
 as well as measuring increases in national compliance rates achieved through the enforcement and
 compliance program as a whole.

 OECA will expand its data integration efforts to allow EPA and state managers and  staff to easily
 access consistent, useful compliance and enforcement information for facilities across the country
 and across media programs. OECA also will pursue more efficient  data entry and management
 techniques such as electronic data interchange to reduce generation of paper and improve data
 quality.

 5. Partnerships

 An effective national enforcement  and compliance assurance program must  involve federal, state,
 tribal, and local cooperation, as well as communications with, and the participation of, the public.
 The Office of Enforcement Capacity and Outreach (OECO), OF A, and OC will work with states,
 tribes, localities, and  environmental justice organizations to ensure  their involvement in program
 planning and implementation. OFFE and OFA will work with other federal agencies to promote
 multi-media, innovative, and holistic approaches to environmental compliance, while the OSRE
 will ensure citizen input at Superfund sites. OECA also will make compliance  data more
 assessable to states and citizens. OECA also will develop strategies to work out roles and
 responsibilities with states in the implementation of the new comprehensive enforcement
 approach. Some states with delegated or approved enforcement programs may want to adopt
 EPA's targeted, multi-media focus, while others may prefer to emphasize the more traditional
 single-media focus. OECA's liaison efforts must consider the different authorities, capabilities and
 environmental priorities of individual states and  tribes, and develop effective differential oversight,
 grant assistance, and  cooperative agreement procedures to ensure the most effective overall
 national enforcement response.

 OCE will expand coordination and communications among federal, state, tribal, and local law
 enforcement units by designating state contacts to serve as focal points for exchanging
 information regarding the status of criminal investigations  and cases, engaging in cross referral of
 cases, technical support and training, and coordinating state/federal civil and criminal proceedings.
 State, local, and tribal civil and criminal law enforcement capability will be enhanced through the


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NETI-sponsored training delivered by the state association networks and the National Association
of Attorneys General (NAAG).
OFA will establish, improve, and expand coordination and communications with federal agencies
and with EPA program offices to assure agency compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and
executive orders relating to the protection and conservation of special and natural resources (e.g.,
the Endangered Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, NEPA, the Floodplains
Executive Order, etc.).
OECA will build environmental enforcement capabilities internationally and cooperate with
Mexico and Canada to protect shared environmental resources. This includes NAFTA
implementation and the work of the Trilateral North American Commission on Environmental
Cooperation to improve environmental  enforcement, as well as Mexican and Canadian
cooperation in implementing the multi-media enforcement initiatives for the Gulf of Mexico and
the Great Lakes. OECA will provide technical assistance on environmental compliance and
enforcement to Eastern Europe, Russia, the former Soviet states, Central and  South America,
Africa, and the Middle East.

6. Reinventing EPA Management
The decision to reorganize the Agency's compliance and enforcement program is itself a
recognition of the need to allocate scarce resources more effective and more efficiently among
priority areas. The integration of technical and legal enforcement personnel will enable OECA to
develop a comprehensive strategic plan, thus providing a single, authoritative  enforcement "voice"
for the entire Agency. It also will enhance EPA's goal of assuring that rules, permits, and
compliance strategies are clearly enforceable.
As reflected by OECA's significant advances in streamlining its management structure (1:11
management to staff ratio for 90 percent of OECA's Washington, D.C., operation), OECA will be
very much committed to empowerment of its personnel. Moreover, OECA is  committed to
making the regional/headquarter decisionmaking process as efficient as possible.  It will assess
existing delegations of authority and concurrence procedures  to eliminate unnecessary or
duplicative layers of review.

7. Environmental Accountability
The Agency's cornerstone for implementing this principle is a strong compliance and enforcement
program. In the coming years, OECA will intensify its efforts to promote compliance through
improved targeting and deployment of available tools. Areas of emphasis will include compliance
 assistance, motivating compliance by improving access to compliance data for consumers and
 communities, and regulatory development.
 OECA will select the most appropriate enforcement response for any given violation to achieve
 the maximum environmental benefit. OECA will target its activities in noncomplying sectors of
 the regulated community and sensitive ecosystems and populations. A strong deterrence-based
 enforcement program will establish the type of climate that motivates compliance, encourages
 innovation, and promotes prevention.
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 OECA will undertake a range of activities that will build capacity for compliance. It will continue
 partnerships with other federal agencies, states, and tribes in implementing our field programs
 (including compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)) and sharing
 information collected under OECA programs. OECA will work with the program offices in
 developing compliance assistance strategies for the various sectors, geographic areas, ecosystems,
 and populations. These strategies will be geared to those  in the regulated community that the
 information or means to comply.

 OECA will build on the successes realized under the Emergency Planning and Community
 Right-to-Know Act by improving public access to compliance information, thereby empowering
 consumers and communities to make informed choices and to participate more effectively in the
 regulatory process. OECA also will work to ensure that the implementing regulations for the
 Agency's statutes are more understandable to the regulated community and the public. In
 addition, OECA will work closely with the program offices and general counsel to ensure that
 regulations are more enforceable.
 OTHER MANDATES AND OBLIGATIONS

 While OECA proceeds to implement its multi-media, sector-based strategy, it also recognizes that
 most of its current mandates and legislative authorities are media-specific. A large portion of
 OECA's short-term activity will continue to support media program priorities by addressing
 single-media violations, and it must be careful not to lose its media-specific expertise and
 experience during the transition to an integrative, multi-media approach. ORE will include Air,
 Water, RCRA, and Toxics and Pesticides Divisions, in addition to the Multi-Media Division.
 These media divisions will work with the regions and states on media-specific case development
 and prosecution, including national initiatives to promote media-specific enforcement priorities.
REFERENCES

    1.  "Revised Office of Enforcement Four-Year Strategic Plan: 1994-1997,"July 1992.
    2.  "Revised Policy Framework for EPA/Stale Enforcement Agreements, " August 25,
       1986. Subsequent revisions to the Revised Policy Framework include the Criminal
      Enforcement Addendum (February 1, 1993), the Multi-Media Addendum (May 13,
       1992), and the Oversight of State and Local Penalty Assessments (July 20, 1993).
    3.  "Policy on the Use of Supplemental Environmental Projects in EPA Enforcement
      Settlements, " February 12, 1991, and the Interim Policy on the Use of Pollution
      Prevention Conditions in Enforcement Settlements, February 26, 1991.
    4.  "New Strategic Enforcement Organization, " Memorandum from Administrator
      Browner, October 12, 1993.
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OFFICE  OF  GENERAL COUNSEL
INTRODUCTION
The General Counsel is the chief legal officer for EPA, supervising staff in the Office of General
Counsel (OGC) and the counseling activities of the Offices of Regional Counsel (ORCs). OGC
will strive to foster the independent critical analysis and cross-cutting vantage point that are the
hallmark and strength of its approach, and that can serve as key resources for moving EPA in a
new direction.

OGC's key goals revolve around several themes:
   *•  Providing sound and creative legal advice. OGC will need to anticipate problems that
      arise under the Administrator's initiatives to position the Agency to deal successfully
      with them. Central to these efforts will be assisting the Agency in retaining control, to
      the maximum extent possible, of its own policy agenda. By using advance planning and
      thinking to anticipate or avert legal challenges that can impose outside priorities on the
      Agency, OGC can assist in keeping the Administrator's new initiatives on target.
      Furthermore, the emphasis on decentralization of decisionmaking processes in the
      Agency will require that the Agency's attorneys deliver legal services to more
      decisionmakers;
   >  Participating in new Agency partnerships. The formation of new or additional
      partnerships with states, local governments, tribes, businesses, other agencies, and other
      countries will likely involve cross-cutting issues and new combinations of expertise, as
      well as the need to service a new range of stakeholders; and
   *•  Supporting and facilitating new organizational and management approaches. The
      replacement of some of EPA's more rigid ways of carrying out its own business in such
      areas as personnel and procurement, while avoiding the pitfalls which some of these
      procedures were written to protect against, will require increased training, better
      efficiency, and the improved use of new information technologies. OGC can become  a
      model for these innovations in its effort to  anticipate future trends in  legal services.

 In working toward achieving the Administrator's strategic vision, OGC and ORCs will rely upon
 their  current counseling functions — whereby they serve as the government's environmental law
 experts — and  their ability to provide forward thinking and creative problem solving for the
 Agency. The General Counsel will use a combination of:  careful priority setting to eliminate those
 functions that can be carried out in other parts of the Agency;  accomplishing current functions
 more efficiently; and requesting the addition of new  resources where necessary.

 The ability of the Agency to perform its mission  effectively is tied directly to the ability of OGC
 and ORCs to provide timely and effective legal advice and review. OGC  and ORCs are generally
 depended upon to find creative legal solutions to complex and difficult problems. The capacity of
 OGC and ORCs to provide sound but creative legal support for the Administrator's new
 strategies is at a critical point that will require hard choices on how resources will be allocated
 within and for the legal counseling function.


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 SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

 1. Ecosystem Protection

 OGC and ORCs have started to build their capacity to advise EPA programs on ecosystem
 management protection, including the development of ecological approaches to implementing
 EPA's existing authorities and new, integrated approaches that focus on particular ecosystems.
 The Agency's recognition over the past year that EPA needed to improve its management of
 Endangered Species Act (ESA) requirements has been a critical component of the Agency's
 foundation for ecosystem management protection, including the promotion of biodiversity, within
 EPA programs. OGC has provided initial guidance and organized a workshop in conjunction with
 other EPA offices and the Interior and Commerce Departments to provide a better understanding
 of the ESA requirements. There is, however, a definite need for OGC and ORCs to increase their
 capacities to address ESA issues and a wide variety of issues concerning implementation of
 ecosystem approaches under the Agency's organic statutes. OGC also has provided substantial
 participation in the Convention on Biological Diversity,  which takes an ecosystem management
 approach. OGC has made a large contribution to ecosystem-related geographic initiatives such as
 the Great Lakes. OGC has a demonstrated expertise in trade and environment issues directly
 relevant to sustainable development and ecosystem protection.

 OGC will target its recruiting requirements for new attorneys to build capacity in these areas as
 well as in the other areas discussed below. OGC also will create training opportunities both within
 and outside the Agency for its staff. OGC also will establish pilot programs using cross-media or
 cross-cutting teams to address individual ecosystem protection issues and broader Agency-wide
 initiatives. With its experience over the past year, OGC is well positioned to work with program
 offices in developing an understanding of ecosystem management protection and in advising on
 ways to conserve biodiversity and to protect endangered and threatened species under the ESA
 consistent with other authorities. OGC will need to increase its expertise and capacity so that
 OGC can advise on ways to combine protecting the health of ecosystems and promoting
 economic development to enhance integrated ecosystem management.

 2. Environmental Justice

 OGC and ORCs are uniquely situated to contribute to the early, understandable, and workable
 articulation of principles by which the Agency can  incorporate environmental justice
 considerations as it carries out its mission. The early commitment of resources to this effort,
 including coordination with the regions and the development of national guidance,  should serve
 EPA its customers, and the public well.

 OGC has started to develop a core expertise on environmental justice. OGC played a substantial
 role in shaping the recently issued Executive Order on this subject. OGC is also participating in all
 of the Agency's environmental justice initiatives. An internal OGC workgroup has  started to
 assess the flexibility within EPA's statutory and regulatory authority to address environmental
justice issues, highly complex areas of law in which OGC will have to refine its expertise. For
 example,  OGC will assist the Agency in using Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to help implement
 its environmental justice principle.
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It is crucial to have OGC increase its capacity on environmental justice — in part, by increased
training — to assist, for example, in examining statutory and regulatory barriers, authorities
related to siting of facilities, financial assistance options, opportunities for increased public
participation, and risk and exposure issues. It is also important that OGC have the capacity to
assist the Administrator in implementing the President's Executive Order within the Agency and
within the Executive Branch. It is also crucial to have ORCs increase their capacity to deal
effectively with environmental justice implementation issues.

3. Pollution Prevention

OGC has played an important role over the last few years as the Agency has steered toward
explicit emphasis on pollution prevention, including a strong role in drafting the Executive Order
on Pollution Prevention and Community-Right-to-Know. OGC continues to provide a critical role
in identifying the flexibility within EPA's statutory authorities to adopt pollution prevention
opportunities in EPA regulations, policies, permits, guidance documents, and compliance
activities and in implementing the new Executive Order.

OGC still needs to increase its capacity to promote new pollution prevention opportunities. For
example, the Administrator's Pollution Prevention Policy Statement will encourage new
approaches in all of EPA's activities. EPA's new sector initiative will offer enhanced opportunities
for pollution prevention.  In addition, pollution prevention guiding principles will need to be built
into EPA's partnership relationships and international agreements. The success of these
opportunities in large measure will depend upon the flexibility that OGC can define within EPA's
statutory authorities. It is equally important that ORCs increase their capacity to address pollution
prevention opportunities at the regional  level.

4. Strong Science and Data
OGC has a core expertise in science and risk issues. OGC has been an active participant on these
issues in the context of rulemaking and has been asked by the Administrator in limited instances to
lead initiatives such as the current dioxin regulatory review. Historically, OGC has not created or
designated an organizational unit to provide continuous legal services on media-related issues to
the Office of Research and Development (ORD) as a client office. As a result, OGC has not had a
recognized role in any of the Agency's ORD-led science and data initiatives. Rather, OGC
provides legal services on an ad hoc basis.

OGC will explore with ORD whether the current relationship  should be expanded and, if so, in
what ways. OGC can provide a vital role in analyzing the place of risk in EPA's statutes as a
decision criterion. OGC  also can assess  the amount of data and research that is legally required to
defend the Agency's science. OGC also can continue to provide assistance  to Agency scientists in
obtaining patents or licensing them to the private sector. If OGC is to provide legal services to
ORD on a regular basis or increased legal  services on science issues in the program offices, OGC
will have to increase its capacity. To do so may result in a net saving to the Agency's resources by
having OGC participate  early in the development of the Agency's science and data initiatives
rather than later when the research and data are used to make regulatory decisions.
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 5. Partnerships

 OGC currently has expertise to address partnership issues that are raised by state, tribal, and local
 governments, other nations, and other stakeholders. With the strong priority placed by the
 Administrator on more effective, frequent, and extensive relations with these stakeholders, OGC
 can play an even stronger and more important role in bringing these groups together. OGC can
 work toward depolarization of environmental regulation by undertaking exploratory discussions
 with all litigants against the Agency. As the role that stakeholders play in rulemaking activities
 increases, OGC's role may have to increase to ensure that Administrative Procedure Act and
 Federal Advisory Committee Act requirements are met, just as OGC will be a critical advisor in
 finding more flexible financial assistance arrangements for stakeholders. Furthermore, with the
 Administrator's clear commitment to delegate processes to state and local government authorities
 where appropriate — including under extensive Clean Air Act provisions, such as the operating
 permits program — OGC may play a critical role in facilitating these efforts and ensuring a
 coordinated, legally defensible national approach. OGC can also assist in devising creative and
 effective new means for cooperating with other countries on  common environmental issues.

 OGC will likely need to educate members of the public on the legal requirements of EPA's
 mission as the public participates on a greater basis in cooperative regulatory approaches. OGC
 also may sponsor training opportunities for OGC's counterparts in state environmental agencies
 or state attorneys general. There are sufficient issues of mutual concern that an annual conference,
 for example, may facilitate communication and understanding between OGC and state legal
 offices on how those issues should be resolved. OGC also has developed the lead core expertise
 regarding the unique legal status of Indian tribes. OGC needs to increase its capacity to work
 more closely with program offices to develop and implement regulations addressing EPA
 authorization of tribal regulatory programs and tribal eligibility for EPA grant funding. Such
 increased capacity also would be used to anticipate Indian law issues so  that they could be
 addressed with increased dialogue with the interested stakeholders. OGC also would develop an
 Agency-wide Indian law training course to provide better understanding of Indian issues. Working
 directly with OGC, ORCs also need to increase their capacity to ensure more effective legal
 analysis and review of Indian law issues and greater consistency within the Agency on significant
 matters of Indian law.

 OGC has led the Agency-wide effort to draft a strategy for innovative technology, putting
 emphasis on creating effective new partnerships with the private sector and other federal agencies
 to substantially increase the number of technological innovations available to solve environmental
 problems. An equally important thrust of the draft strategy is the adaptation of the EPA policy
 and regulatory framework to provide incentives for innovation and to impose fewer barriers. It is
 this latter area where continued OGC involvement will be especially important, as the Agency
 seeks to provide flexibility for technological innovations within its existing statutory and
 regulatory requirements.

 6. Reinventing EPA Management

 OGC will actively contribute to the Agency's efforts on streamlining. Many of the new initiatives
will require careful legal analysis to identify the best ways to structure increased flexibility for
Agency managers and staff within the statutory requirements. The legal counseling resources


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within OGC and ORCs are not exercised in a vacuum, but in support of other Agency functions.
For this reason, OGC's strategy will be revised as OGC works with other EPA components while
they implement their guiding principles.

Internally, OGC is committed to examining its processes and looking for opportunities to
re-engineer the way OGC operates to emphasize employee development, empowerment, and
diversity. OGC will develop a strategy to use its existing resources, both  attorneys and support
staff, in the most efficient manner. OGC will strive over the next five years to become the "Law
Office of the Future". Critical to this effort will be the use of new information technologies for
providing more efficient legal services. OGC will visit some private-sector legal offices that are
recognized leaders in new technology. OGC will eliminate duplication between OGC and ORCs
and program attorneys. OGC will provide training to share its expertise with other EPA legal
staffs.  OGC also will improve its records management to ensure that the office's institutional
memory is preserved. Agency-wide, OGC will work to minimize the possibility that streamlining
— fewer employees, more flexible grants, changes in procurement and contracting procedures —
will not result in unanticipated legal consequences.

7. Environmental Accountability
The Office of General  Counsel will remove, to the extent legally permitted, legal barriers that may
have hindered  implementation of this principle in the past. This will require construing its
authorizing statutes and the appropriation laws that govern the expenditure of funds in ways to
further environmental accountability. OGC will assist in encouraging responsible environmental
behavior by construing information law requirements, to the extent legally permitted, to allow
EPA to provide information, education, and environmental  data to the public and  the regulated
community in support of environmental accountability.
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 OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES
 INTRODUCTION

 In his Earth Day address of April 1993, President Clinton laid out a comprehensive strategy and
 vision for protecting the global environment. The President noted the inter-relationship between
 the nation's environmental, foreign policy, and economic and social goals, and called for a more
 active U.S. role in addressing such global environmental problems as climate change, ozone
 depletion, marine and polar contamination, and the loss of forests and biological diversity. The
 President also stressed the importance of developing and disseminating innovative environmental
 technologies internationally.

 The Office of International Activities (OIA) envisions a role for EPA in which the Agency leads
 both within the U.S. government and internationally in achieving the President's vision for the
 global environment. This vision includes partnerships with foreign governments and international
 organizations in solving environmental problems at the global, regional, and national levels; with
 other federal agencies in promoting broader U.S. objectives on foreign policy, international
 competitiveness and trade, and international economic and social development; and with
 international and domestic non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders in promoting
 the goals of sustainable development.

 Within EPA, OIA envisions an integrated and strategic approach in which international
 considerations permeate the programs and objectives of every single office, division or branch
 within the Agency.  According to this vision, the Agency speaks with one voice and acts as an
 effective advocate for international environmental policy and technical objectives. International
 initiatives are carefully coordinated and managed throughout the Agency, ensuring incorporation
 of a wide range of different issues and perspectives. Budgetary decisions are linked to priorities,
 and resource needs and constraints are identified at the earliest stage possible.

 The vision includes increased recognition throughout the Agency of the important domestic
 environmental benefits of international cooperation. Beyond purely altruistic considerations, such
 cooperation will be an integral component of EPA's ability to fulfill its domestic environmental
 mandate. OIA envisions its own role within EPA as the primary focal point and catalyst for the
 Agency's international activities, working closely with other offices and regions in providing
 overall policy and programmatic coordination and facilitation.

 All these components will further a broader vision of a world in which natural resources are
 properly valued and preserved and in which, at the most basic level, individuals and local
 communities have access to safe food and drinking water supplies, are protected from health and
 environmental threats, and are able to make informed choices and participate in government
 decisions affecting them.
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SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. Ecosystem Protection

The Great Lakes, the Rio Grande, and other water bodies and airsheds spanning U.S. borders
with Mexico and Canada demonstrate that many ecosystems cross national as well as state and
local boundaries. Other sensitive ecosystems, such as polar and marine environments and other
parts of the global commons, fall outside the jurisdiction of individual nations; they can only be
protected through joint action with others. OIA's cross-media perspective helps ensure that all
environmental dimensions are incorporated into the Agency's approach for protecting fragile
ecosystems, that, because they cross national borders, that may fall outside EPA's domestic
environmental mandate. One example is the effort currently underway to develop a Coral Reef
Initiative that will include integrated domestic and international programs aimed at the protection
of coral reefs, mangroves, sea grasses, and other critical marine ecosystems.

2. Environmental Justice

 EPA's international programs will play an important role in extending the principle of
environmental justice beyond U.S. borders. EPA's draft Environmental Justice Principle proposes
the creation of international partnerships, particularly among the most ecologically fragile and
politically and economically disadvantaged regions of the world, to strengthen the internal
capacity of governments and local communities to participate in environmental protection. The
Agency's experience in enhancing environmental education and in promoting
community-right-to-know and public participation principles also have important applications
internationally.

OIA will play a central role in establishing an interagency International Environmental Justice
Coordinating Council,  if approved, and in expanding cooperation with foreign governments and
international organizations. OIA's participation in the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP) Capacity 21 and the United Nations Conference on Women for example, will foster
greater and more equitable distribution of environmental protection. EPA's environmental
activities in connection with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) also will boost
environmental protection for disadvantaged communities along the U.S.-Mexico border.

3. Pollution Prevention

International cooperation enables EPA to promote the principles of pollution prevention
throughout the international community. The Agency played a major role in incorporating
pollution prevention principles into Agenda 21 and other documents of the Earth Summit, as well
as into other global and regional environmental treaties and conventions. EPA has also promoted
their adoption through bilateral programs, both government-to-government and  project-specific.
EPA's technical assistance programs under the Support for Eastern European Democracy
(SEED) Act and Freedom Support Act (FSA), for example, focus on the  demonstration of
pollution prevention and waste minimization technologies and cost-effective pollution control
options. Another example would be the AID-funded Environmental Pollution Prevention (EP-3)
operating project-by-project throughout the world.
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4. Strong Science and Data

EPA can learn much from the experience of other nations, both industrialized and developing. The
Agency can strengthen its scientific and technical base through bilateral programs with Germany,
Japan, Russia, Canada, Mexico, and other nations. Through the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development, the World Health Organization, and other scientific and technical
organizations, EPA also promotes the adoption of common data collection and testing procedures
that have widespread benefits for domestic programs.

5. Partnerships

International cooperation with foreign governments and international organizations enables EPA
to influence and benefit from the experience of others in addressing common environmental
objectives. Within the United States, partnership with other federal agencies and with other
stakeholders enables EPA to influence the international practices of these organizations  affecting
the environment and to contribute to broader Administration objectives on foreign policy,
international competitiveness and trade, and international economic and social development.
Helping other countries adopt and enforce environmental regulations and standards protects
ecosystems and creates a more level playing field for international trade. Finally, greater outreach
to non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders throughout the world permits EPA to
promote the goals of sustainable development as  widely as  possible. For example, the exchange of
scientists and technical experts, environmental training, and institution-building programs under
SEED, the FSA, and the US-Asia Environmental Partnership enables the Agency to work with
the Agency for International Development and other federal agencies in achieving U.S.
environmental and other objectives in many other parts of the world. In addition, the Agency's
review of the environmental lending policies and practices of the World Bank and other
multilateral development banks enables EPA to influence the lending of almost $40 billion a year.

6. Reinventing EPA Management

International cooperation greatly leverages U.S. resources, thereby economizing on the  use of
limited resources for greater environmental results domestically. Vast expenditures in the United
States on non-ozone depleting chemicals, processes, and technologies can be completely nullified
by unabated emissions of chlorine-containing chemicals in other nations. Provision for "joint
implementation" within the  framework convention on climate change is another example of the
potential for achieving a nation's environmental objectives more cost-effectively through action in
another country. OIA's role within EPA enables the Agency to coordinate and integrate
international programs and activities and avoid wasteful duplication and overlap. OIA also
coordinates and co-funds assistance programs with all EPA regional offices and many state
environmental offices, thereby leveraging their support.

7. Environmental Accountability

International programs of cooperation  and technical assistance are strengthening environmental
accountability in countries that are U.S. neighbors and trading partners. Pursuant to bilateral
programs and the new trilateral Commission on Environmental Cooperation, EPA is working
actively with Mexico and Canada to promote compliance and to address vigorously violations of
environmental requirements. EPA are also is encouraging cooperative targeting of enforcement

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resources on industry sectors and ecological resources that cross national borders. Strong
compliance and enforcement programs are vital to protect the U.S. environment from pollution
crossing international borders and to create a level playing field for trade with these new partners
in the North American Free Trade Agreement. Outside of North America, EPA is supporting
programs of technical assistance to strengthen enforcement and compliance institutions in selected
countries around the world. EPA efforts leverage resources available from foreign assistance
appropriations and international institutions to develop the critical capacity in other countries to
translate the words of laws and treaties into actual environmental protection. With expanding
world trade, U.S. competitiveness will be enhanced by encouraging strong environmental
enforcement programs with trading partners.
OTHER MANDATES AND OBLIGATIONS

Many of EPA's international programs, including those related to acid rain, climate change, and
ozone depletion, are specifically provided for in EPA's statutory mandates. In addition, the
Agency has assumed a number of other obligations for which OIA is now responsible. Cutting
across all six guiding principles described above, these obligations include management,
implementation, and/or coordination in the following areas:
   >• Technical assistance programs under SEED, FSA, and the US-Asia Environmental
     Partnership.
   *• Integrated Environmental Plan for the U.S.-Mexico Border and, on behalf of the Deputy
     Administrator, post-NAFTA activities, including those related to the North American
     Commission on Environmental Cooperation and the Border Environmental Cooperation
     Commission.
   *• International agreements on marine pollution and land-based sources of pollution,
     biodiversity, forests, desertification, and the Global Environment Facility.
   +• U.S. Technology for International Environmental Solutions (U.S. TIES) program under
     the President's Environmental Technology Initiative (ETI).
   >•  GATT/World Trade Organization and other trade-related organizations.
   >•  Agency follow-up to the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro
   >•  Gore-Chernomyrdin Environment Commission.
   >-  Government-to-government and agency-to-agency bilateral agreements with Germany,
      Japan, Canada, China, Russia, and others.
   >•  Formal agreements and Agency participation in the OECD, UNDP, the NATO
      Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society, and numerous other multilateral
      organizations.
   >•  Review of the environmental lending practices and policies of the World Bank and other
      multilateral development banks.
   >•  Review and tracking of EPA's international travel and the International Visitors
      program.


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OFFICE OF  INSPECTOR GENERAL
INTRODUCTION
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) supports the Agency's strategic plan by seeking to
enhance its role in assisting the Agency deliver its programs to EPA's diverse customers.
The Inspectors General, as a community, recently adopted the following vision statement:
        "We are agents of positive change striving for continuous improvement in our
        agencies' management and program operations, and in our own offices."
This statement reflects the commitment of the Inspectors General to be a positive factor in
improving management and program operations within their respective agencies, while at the
same time fully carrying out the Inspector General's responsibilities under the Inspector General
Act.
The mission of the Inspector General stated in the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, is
to:
   >• Conduct and supervise independent and objective audits and investigations relating to
     Agency programs and operations.
   *• Promote economy, effectiveness, and efficiency within the Agency.
   > Prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse in Agency programs.
   *• Review and make recommendations regarding existing and proposed legislation and
     regulations relating to Agency programs and operations.
   ^ Keep the Agency head and the Congress fully informed of problems in agency programs.
To ensure objectivity, the Act provides the IGs:
   *• Independence to determine what reviews to perform.
   ** Access to all information necessary for the reviews.
   *• Authority to publish findings and recommendations based on the reviews.
In carrying out this mission, EPA's Inspector General will strive to:
   > Work with management and the Congress to improve program management.
   >• Use investigative and program compliance reviews to improve the effectiveness of
     program operations, elevate government integrity, and recommend better systems to
     prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.
   >• Be innovative and question existing procedures; suggest improvements.
   *• Build relationships with program managers based on a shared commitment to improving
     program operations.
   > Continue to improve the quality and usefulness of EPA products.
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   >- Work to identify and address government-wide issues.

The main priorities of the OIG for 1995-1999 will be:
   *• Identifying major areas of agency-wide concern and vulnerability that significantly impact
     the economic,  efficient, and effective fulfillment of the environmental mission, including
     acquisition management, financial and  management integrity, and data/information
     management.
   >• Monitoring the Agency's implementation of the reauthorization of Superfund and the
     clean water legislation.
   ** Engineering a culture change within OIG so that our employees more clearly understand
     that one of then major roles is to assist EPA managers (customers) to achieve their
     program objectives.

To improve assistance to EPA managers, OIG is striving to:
   >• Obtain more extensive Agency involvement in the annual and strategic planning
     processes and for individual audits to ensure EPA addresses its most critical needs.
   >• Establish early and continuing communication with Agency personnel during audits to
     minimize non-productive adversarial situations.
   >- Survey  customers to determine their specific concerns and needs.
   >• Expand all audits, and especially audits of EPA's programs,  to include more thorough
     evaluations of management control systems.
   *• Use risk-based assessments to focus OIG work where it will have the most impact and
     be most helpful to the Agency.

The principal  changes EPA anticipates are:
   >• Development of a set of commonly understood measurements to evaluate OIG success
     and relate it to Agency success in meeting customer needs. EPA is working
     cooperatively with other IGs to develop such measurements.
   *" A stronger partnership between OIG employees  and other EPA employees, with
     interaction at all levels.
SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Guiding Principles 1 through 3
The OIG is committed to working cooperatively with the Agency in ensuring that these guiding
principles are fulfilled. The OIG will solicit and consult with program management and employees
to get more of their input on strategic and annual work plans to ensure that the OIG focuses on
these critical areas of the Agency's operations.
The OIG reports will expand on examples of successful program management practices, when
possible, that can be adapted for use in other and emerging Agency programs.
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The OIG seeks opportunities for up-front consultation, in order to utilize its experience and
knowledge, to help Agency personnel avoid pitfalls when developing new programs or innovative
approaches in current programs. The OIG consistently will stress the need for strong controls in
the development of Agency initiatives to ensure the integrity of the mission and the use of
resources.

As a member of EPA's National Environmental Goals Project, the OIG will continue working
with the Agency  to establish measurable environmental goals to be achieved by early in the 21st
century. These goals will be instrumental in EPA's planning, management, and budgeting.

4. Strong Science and Data

The OIG is continuing audits/investigations of the contract laboratory program, as well as the
ORD labs. The OIG is concerned that the Agency gets the results it pays for, and that important
decisions are based on accurate data. The OIG will promote appropriate controls that protect the
integrity of scientific research and results.

In response to  Congressional requests for broad, top-level reviews of EPA's financial
management and information resources management program, the OIG is working with Agency
personnel to catalog all significant causes of EPA's problems in these areas and to make joint
recommendations to the Administrator for effective solutions.

5. Partnerships  and 6. Reinventing EPA Management

The OIG always  has taken a cooperative approach with EPA management in resolving and
implementing results of its audits and investigations. In this regard, the OIG has begun to place
even greater emphasis on building partnerships with Agency program managers based on a shared
commitment to improving operations.  The OIG has taken or planned a number of other initiatives
to enhance this cooperation. More OIG resources are being directed to conducting performance
audits to analyze how well programs are meeting their program goals, and the OIG is
recommending changes in program design and management techniques to increase efficiency and
improve program results. The OIG will focus more on causation and provide more balanced
reporting by identifying effective corrective actions taken by Agency management and examples
of good management practices, when possible.

The OIG has begun a streamlining process with three themes:
   1)  Increased Delegation and Decentralization of Authority — The OIG plans to delegate
      to the lowest practical level the responsibility and authority to make managerial decisions
      and increase autonomy over its audits, investigations, and administrative support
      activities.
   2)  Increased Empowerment of Employees with Appropriate Accountability — The OIG
      will review present requirements for periodic reports from field divisions to headquarters
      to streamline or eliminate unproductive or overly burdensome requirements. The OIG
      will continue to seek ways to increase the use of electronic data exchange to facilitate
      reporting between field and headquarters offices. The OIG will seek to streamline the
      number of specific measurements and the narrative justification for employee ratings,
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     while meeting EPA requirements. The OIG will examine the feasibility of empowering
     the field divisions with more authority and autonomy in personnel matters.
   3) Improvement of Work Processes and Systems — The OIG has devoted considerable
     time soliciting ideas from staff at all levels to improve work processes. Several major
     theme areas have emerged from these discussions. First, as stated above, the OIG will
     focus more attention on assisting EPA managers to achieve their program objectives.
     While the OIG continues to conduct compliance reviews as part of its audits, it will work
     more cooperatively with customers to ensure that OIG products meet their needs.
     Internally, the OIG will undertake a comprehensive review of OIG policies and
     procedures to ensure that each requirement in the audit process adds value to final
     products.

7. Environmental Accountability
The Office of Inspector General will work cooperatively to build partnerships with Agency
compliance and enforcement personnel in order to ensure that taxpayers' funds are properly and
effectively spent in this important effort. The work of the OIG especially focuses on the adequacy
of controls over environmental and administrative programs  and operations, identifying risks and
vulnerabilities,  and recommending appropriate actions to ensure accountability over EPA's
resources and delivery of its environmental mission. In audit reports of all  Agency programs, the
OIG will highlight "best practices" to encourage their application in other  areas. The OIG will
continue to stress the importance of sound data to compliance decisions.
OTHER MANDATES AND OBLIGATIONS
The OIG has other statutory requirements, such as auditing the Agency's annual Superfund report
(required by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act) and the Agency's annual
financial statement (required by the Chief Financial Officers Act). In addition, the OIG operates
EPA's personnel security program, under delegation from the Administrator. The OIG  does not
anticipate these objectives to require any significant reallocation of resources except shifting some
resources from Superfund to the General IG account.
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OFFICE OF POLICY, PLANNING AND
EVALUATION
INTRODUCTION

The new generation of multi-media, place-based, and service-oriented environmental programs
will be implemented through partnerships within and outside the government. By providing
unique services and working with others in teams, Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation
(OPPE) will be a catalyst for this new generation of programs.

As part of EPA's strategic plan, OPPE will have three main priorities:  strengthening the
relationship between the economy and the environment; integrating environmental
decisionmaking; and improving Agency and OPPE management.

1) Strengthening the relationship between the economy and the environment

In the past, the public has been presented with false choices between economic well-being and
environmental protection. By developing more accurate measures of economic well-being and
innovative policy instruments, OPPE will demonstrate that economic well-being and
environmental goals are mutually reinforcing, and that sound environmental policy reinforces
environmental and  economic sustainability. Specifically, OPPE will:
   > Promote policies that improve the functioning of markets through legal and institutional
     structures, thus encouraging the more efficient deployment of production capital. OPPE
     will coordinate implementation of the President's Environmental Technology Initiative
     (ETI). It will accomplish widespread use of innovative technologies by 1) adapting
     EPA's policy framework to promote innovation; 2)  strengthening the capacity of
     technology developers; 3)  accelerating the diffusion of innovative technologies; and 4)
     strategically investing EPA funds in the development and commercialization of promising
     new technologies.
   ^ Develop regulatory and non-regulatory policies, such as market incentives, to promote
     environmental protection and economic growth. Specifically, OPPE will work with
     program offices and other federal agencies to develop innovative policies in the
     agriculture, transportation, and energy sectors that will achieve goals efficiently in those
     sectors and decrease their impact on the environment. OPPE also will develop measures
     of economic progress that account for environmental quality.
   >• Bring environmental considerations into economic decisions. In partnership with other
     EPA offices and federal agencies, OPPE will help incorporate environmental
     considerations into the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and help
     develop eco-labeling schemes. OPPE will help EPA provide services to empowerment
     zones being established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. OPPE
     also will suggest ways to restructure tax and expenditure policies to protect the
     environment through greater economic efficiency.
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2) Integrating Environmental Decisionmaking
The new generation of environmental programs will integrate environmental protection across
media and will focus on specific places. OPPE will catalyze this change by working with many
programs simultaneously to achieve environmental goals. Specifically, OPPE will:
   > Lead cross-program development in several sectors in EPA's Sector Initiative. Focusing
     on the photography, metals plating, and organic chemicals sectors, OPPE will help firms
     use pollution prevention to improve management and reduce emissions to all media.
   >• Serve as a catalyst for refocusing the Agency's work from programs to places. OPPE
     will work in partnership with OW and OARM to implement the Agency's ecosystem
     guiding principle,  which will emphasize using EPA programs to protect specific
     ecosystems. OPPE is developing training and analytical tools and demonstration projects
     that will help the Agency's Regional offices solve environmental problems in particular
     places. OPPE will work with stakeholders to identify a specific place to demonstrate
     environmental justice precepts and mitigation methods.
   >• Promote climate change policies that extend national and international commitments to
     reduce greenhouse gas  emissions and reduce risks to ecosystems and the economy
     beyond the year 2000.

3. Improving Agency and OPPE management
Building on Vice President Gore's National Performance Review, OPPE will act as a catalyst to
alter EPA resource allocation procedures so that, by the turn of the century, budget decisions will
be based on strategic plans formulated to achieve national environmental goals. OPPE also will
implement changes to the Agency's policy development process so that rules are developed more
efficiently. OPPE will be a catalyst for improved management at EPA by demonstrating
innovative management techniques and becoming a model of human resources management.
Specifically, OPPE will:
   >• Catalyze a public  discussion of national goals for the environment. OPPE also will lead
      the development of Agency-wide strategic planning to direct EPA's work and shape
      budget decisions.  OPPE also will develop ways to measure our progress  toward
      environmental goals, and those measurements and program evaluations will act as
      feedback mechanisms for the strategic planning process.
   ** Continue working with the rest of the Agency to implement the new policy development
      system. By operating a system that identifies and raises issues to management attention
      early and focuses management attention and analytical resources on the most important
      rules, OPPE will help streamline EPA's policy development system to produce high
      quality rules and policies  more efficiently. OPPE will collaborate with the rest of the
      Agency to support policy and regulation development.
   >• Work with the Innovative Technology Council to make matrix management successful in
      implementing the Environmental Technology initiative.
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   > Streamline its operations by Devaluating organizational structure to determine the most
      effective use of its experienced leaders and developing new career paths for technical and
      support staff.
 SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

 1. Ecosystem Protection

 OPPE will support the Agency's ecosystem protection principle by reorienting its work to
 develop tools to support environmental management at specific places. Among other things,
 OPPE will develop an integrated ecological and economic model of the Patuxent Watershed and
 will use the data and methodology developed through that project to apply the model in other
 areas. OPPE already is developing models of wildlife risk from exposure to toxic chemicals that
 will help local ecosystem managers evaluate ecosystem health. OPPE will develop contingent
 valuation data to help regions evaluate ecosystem impacts. OPPE will develop a bulletin board of
 environmental economic literature and data that will be available to the regions. OPPE will
 develop and conduct an ecosystem risk and decisionmaking workshop to help carry out the
 education component of the ecosystem protection guiding principle. OPPE will complete and
 distribute ECOVIEW, an easy to use mapping software that will assist ecosystem managers in
 decisionmaking. Finally, OPPE will asses the global and national effects of climate change on
 forests, agriculture, wetlands, and water resources.

 2. Environmental Justice

 OPPE will support the environmental justice principle by conducting a major demonstration
 project and by incorporating environmental justice issues into its analyses of major environmental
 policies. OPPE has begun what promises to be a fruitful working relationship with two
 historically African American colleges. Over the next three years, OPPE will work extensively
 with local stakeholders to identify a specific place to demonstrate environmental justice analytical
 techniques and mitigation methods. The results of that demonstration project will be used to
 develop a model that will help other communities use environmental management techniques that
 involve all members of the community. OPPE will incorporate environmental justice concerns into
 its analyses of major environmental policies and rules by developing models to compare risks
 across populations and by developing innovative policy tools to address those risks.

 3. Pollution Prevention

 OPPE will support the pollution prevention principle by helping to combat global climate change
 and focusing on economic sectors. Over the next five years, the Agency will face  challenges and
 opportunities in the area of global climate change. As a major implementor of the Climate Change
 Action Plan, OPPE will design and implement, in partnership with other federal agencies and the
 states, several programs that will help the United States slash greenhouse gas emissions to 1990
 levels by the year 2000. OPPE's climate change initiatives on source reduction and recycling,
transportation planning, industry incentives to reduce emissions, and state and local outreach
 serve to further the Agency's broader goal of pollution prevention. OPPE also will focus on broad
economic sectors that affect the environment across all media and will help prevent pollution
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through innovative policy mechanisms. OPPE's transportation planning program will help prevent
air pollution and wetlands destruction by encouraging alternatives to highway construction
through pricing policies and by developing planning tools for state and local transportation
planners . OPPE will implement innovative policy ideas in agricultural pollution prevention.
OPPE's sustainable industry program will work with a set of industries over the next five years to
help them satisfy their customer demand through non-polluting or less-polluting production
processes. OPPE's energy program will develop innovative policies to help provide clean energy
and cut energy demand.

4. Strong Science and Data
As a repository of economic, statistical, and science policy expertise within the Agency, OPPE
will support the strong science and data principle by innovating in the social sciences and laying
the foundation for the prospective Department of Environmental Protection's Bureau of
Environmental Statistics. OPPE will help strengthen the relationship between the environment and
the economy by improving benefits analysis, supporting the use of contingent valuation by
developing innovative methods, helping to develop measures of economic progress that take
environmental quality into consideration, and enhancing the Agency's ability to consider
intergenerational equity in decisionmaking. OPPE also will  work with the rest of the Agency to
update and implement the December 30, 1991, draft EPA "Social Science Research Agenda".
OPPE's environmental data group will form the core of the Bureau of Environmental Statistics in
a new cabinet-level environmental department. OPPE will help the Agency plan to assume those
new responsibilities by creating partnerships with other federal statistical agencies and developing
appropriate data-gathering and analytical capabilities.

5. Partnerships
In the new generation of environmental programs, EPA will be the center of partnership building
within the federal government, and OPPE will be the center of partnership building within EPA.
OPPE will foster  mutual relations with other federal agencies to  strengthen the relationship
between the environment and the economy and to incorporate pollution prevention into  key
economic sectors. OPPE also will develop partnerships with the  Department of Commerce, the
Department of Energy, other federal agencies, and technology development and production firms
to implement the  ETI. OPPE will implement its climate change program by forming partnerships
with other federal agencies and state and local governments. As  the Agency moves to a  place -
based approach to environmental policymaking, OPPE will provide  policy services to regional,
 state, local, and tribal customers, specifically in the areas of ecosystem management and
 environmental justice. OPPE will develop partnerships with private industry to provide pollution
 prevention services through the Common Sense Initiative, and it will involve industry in the
 Agency's strategic planning process.

 6. Reinventing EPA Management
 OPPE will support the Agency's streamlining principle by acting as a catalyst for effective
 environmental management. OPPE will reach out to all parties affected by EPA programs to
 develop national  environmental goals. These goals will help focus EPA's efforts on the highest
 priority environmental problems. OPPE will help the Agency develop strategic plans in 1994 and
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 succeeding years that will allow the Agency to use its resources as efficiently as possible. OPPE
 will develop indicators of environmental progress to determine whether EPA's actions are helping
 to achieve national environmental goals. This information will be used to adjust the Agency's
 strategic plan to ensure that the Agency is focusing resources on activities that are having the
 greatest effect.

 OPPE will work in partnership with EPA's media offices, cross-program offices, and regions to
 implement the new policy development process, which will increase the efficiency of EPA policy
 and rule development by focusing senior management attention on the most important Agency
 actions. The system also will increase efficiency by reducing the time staff in cross- Agency offices
 spend developing rules and policies that do not apply outside of particular programs or do not
 address major policy issues within programs. This system will require the  development of an
 analytic blueprint for each significant rule or policy, so that resources are used as efficiently as
 possible. OPPE will help make this system successful by ensuring that important issues are raised
 to upper management as early in the process as possible, and less important issues are decided at
 the lowest possible level.

 OPPE is dedicated to being a stimulating and satisfying place to work. OPPE will improve
 communications and empower its workers. OPPE will continue to develop and implement
 innovative management support approaches through the Administrative Support and Career
 Management System. To realize the Agency's streamlining objectives, OPPE will explore
 re-engineering administrative processes, restructuring management systems, and developing
 potential new career paths for EPA's uniquely talented work force. OPPE will work with OARM
 and other parts of the Agency to reduce, to the greatest extent possible, unnecessary delay and
 redundancy in  the Agency's procurement and personnel systems.

 7. Environmental Accountability

 OPPE will support the principle of environmental accountability by working with the rest of the
 Agency to identify high priority industrial sectors and ecosystems on which to focus Agency
 efforts, including compliance assistance. OPPE also will develop a new generation of measures of
 environmental  accountability. Through its Climate Wise program, OPPE will help a broad
 spectrum of firms be good corporate citizens by assisting them in reducing green-house gas
 emissions. OPPE will work with the rest of EPA to develop technologies through the ETI that
 will allow firms to comply with environmental mandates at less cost.
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OFFICE OF PREVENTION, PESTICIDES AND
TOXIC SUBSTANCES
INTRODUCTION

The Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) is experiencing dynamic
change as it considers its agenda for the next five years. While basic chemical and pesticide
regulatory programs and information reporting requirements continue as mandated by existing
legislation, in the future OPPTS will devote increased attention to a new and expanded mission.
The new mission for OPPTS is (1) to promote safer designs, wiser use of materials, products,
processes, practices and technologies, and disposal methods using pollution prevention as the
guiding principle of first choice; and (2) to provide information, education, and technical
assistance to empower the public to make informed decisions on the risks associated with
pesticides and toxic substances.

To obtain these ends, OPPTS plans to make greater use of the scientific data and information
used for long-standing regulatory programs for pesticides and industrial chemicals. These new risk
reduction and pollution prevention opportunities fall into eight major categories:
   1) Reducing the use of pesticides by removing higher-risk pesticides from the market, and
     accelerating regulatory decisions on safer pesticides and promoting increased use of
     integrated pest management techniques.
   2) Improving the safety of the nation's food supply by implementing health-based
     tolerances for pesticide residues.
   3) Identifying sectors of the general population that are at greater risk from pesticides —
     for example, children and farmworkers and taking action to reduce exposures to these
     groups.
   4) Expanding the use of pollution prevention guiding principles in the Agency, the federal
     government, the states, and the private sector, including the development of safer
     chemicals, products, and technologies in the industrial sector.
   5) Empowering the public with information about chemicals that will help identify
     significant risks and define pollution prevention opportunities for reducing those risks.
   6) Reducing exposure to chemicals of national interest such as lead, other heavy metals,
     PCBs, and other complex organic compounds.
   7) Providing expertise in chemical risk assessment, using tools such as structure activity
     relationship assessments to provide highly accurate predictions about the toxicity of
     chemicals and making information  available both within and outside the Agency.
   8) Meeting statutory responsibilities to register pesticides and ensure that chemicals in
     commerce do not pose unacceptable risks to the public or the environment.

 This agenda for OPPTS is clearly related to the Agency's vision and strongly supports several of
 the guiding principles.


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 OPPTS has declared activities under the guiding principles that are the most appropriate.
 However, many of the specific activities OPPTS undertakes to carry out this agenda make very
 substantial contributions to several of the guiding principles.
 SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

 1. Ecosystem Protection

 OPPTS' primary activities supporting ecosystem protection are the programs for protecting
 endangered species and groundwater. Financial and technical assistance provided to the states,
 territories, and tribes has laid a firm foundation of cooperation with the Agency in implementing
 these guiding principles.

 In the near future, this foundation will be expanded to develop ecosystem-based pilot projects
 designed to reduce aggregate pesticide risks. These pilot projects will contribute to a goal for
 development of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs and implementation guiding
 principles for 75 percent of U.S. total crop acreage within seven years.

 2. Environmental Justice

 The EPA lead guiding principle, including Title X implementation, is one of the Agency's
 preeminent environmental justice initiatives, aimed at reducing the prevalence of lead poisoning
 among inner-city children. Incidents of lead poisoning in children, particularly children living in
 inner-cities, have received considerable notoriety and Congressional interest. As more is learned
 about the extent of lead exposures, pressures for positive corrective actions will rise.

 The Agency will have to expand technical and financial assistance to address lead exposures.
 While initial steps have been taken to work with the states on abating hazards from lead-based
 paint, especially to children living in older buildings in disrepair, other sources of lead exposures
 need attention. For example, low-income residential neighborhoods adjacent to abandoned metal
 smelters are contaminated by lead in dust and soil in many urban areas.

 The Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) empowers communities by providing information on chemical
 releases from facilities in their locales. TRI-related tools, such as Geographic Information System
 (GIS) mapping, can help identify communities that face disproportionate environmental effects
 and assist those communities in addressing the problem.

 In addition to continuing implementation of these programs over the next five years, OPPTS will
 focus on new initiatives that will reduce risks to specific segments of the population that are at
 disproportionate risk from environmental pollutants. Of particular concern are exposure to lead
 and chemical releases  from industrial facilities.

 The evolving farm worker protection  program also makes significant contributions to
 environmental justice.  The farm worker protection standards are designed to protect agricultural
workers on farms land in forests, nurseries, and greenhouses from pesticide exposures. The
 standards  set requirements for training, notification, posting of treated fields, restrictions on entry
into treated areas, and access to protective equipment and decontamination facilities.
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3. Pollution Prevention
OPPTS is the leading advocate for promoting pollution prevention as the guiding principle of first
choice to achieve environmental stewardship. This advocacy applies within the Agency to other
programs and outside the Agency to the states, the general public, and constituent groups.

OPPTS now has reoriented its chemical programs to support the emphasis on source reduction in
the Pollution Prevention Act. The new chemicals program, the Agency's first opportunity to
practice pollution prevention guiding principles, keeps dangerous chemicals from entering
commerce. It also is being used to instill a "green chemistry" ethic in industry, aimed at selecting
chemical synthesis pathways that avoid the generation of toxic waste. OPPTS will continue to
reform the existing chemicals program to promote the use of safer chemicals, materials and
technologies in the industrial sector. The Design for the Environment (Dffi) program, which is an
outgrowth of the existing chemical program, will become a key component in the Agency's
Environmental Technology Initiative.
The pesticides program's pollution prevention priorities will focus on promoting sustainable
agriculture. Increased emphasis will be given to promoting the wider application of alternative
agricultural practices including IPM, education and outreach to growers and other pesticide users,
and recycling of pesticide containers to encourage pollution prevention. Initiatives to reduce the
use of high-risk pesticides are also an important on-going part of OPPTS pollution prevention
activities.
The TRI program will take a more prominent role as one of the cornerstones of the Agency's
pollution prevention activities. The program will be expanded to include federal facilities,
additional chemicals, and new categories of reporting facilities. Providing usable information from
the TRI to many diverse groups of customers is essential to assist and enhance participation in
environmental decisionmaking.

4. Strong Science and Data
The regulatory programs for chemicals and pesticides in TSCA and FIFRA,  respectively, require
that decisions to permit the production or use of the chemical or pesticide be based on scientific
test data on health and environmental effects, risk assessments, and risk management. Advances in
EPA's understanding of health and environmental effects of chemicals and pesticides, improved
testing protocols, and new measurement systems constantly expand the Agency's knowledge
base.
For example, the recent National Academy of Science (NAS) report, "Pesticides in the Diets of
Infants and Children, " made a variety of recommendations concerning how the Agency evaluates
pesticide toxicity, residue levels, and food consumption, and how this information  should be used
in risk assessment. The NAS recommendations cite the need for higher  standards for the quality,
quantity,  sensitivity, and scope of data used in evaluating the risks from pesticides. In response,
OPPTS will develop new types of testing to support the establishment of tolerances for pesticide
residues,  multiple tolerances for residues in food at different points in the food  production and
distribution chain,  and the unique aspects of infants' and children's diets. This represents a major
change for OPPTS's tolerance activities.
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 New pesticides are submitted regularly to the Agency for review and registration. More and more,
 these pesticides are biologicals, transgenic plants, and other "safer" pesticides. These new types of
 pesticides will expand the scope and complexity of scientific analyses and review.

 Considerable progress has been made in developing a process for evaluating the risks of the
 70,000 existing chemicals and enhancing pollution prevention. Sharpening the focus to the
 approximately 14,000 non-polymer chemicals produced in quantities above 10,000 pounds  per
 year still represents a tremendous work load involving complicated risk assessments, structure
 activity relationship assessments, and other analytic tools. The use of these tools, however,  relies
 on chemical, lexicological, and other scientific data.

 In addition to  making the required regulatory decisions, these scientific data constitute a vast
 information base on chemicals. The challenge before the Agency is to use and apply this scientific
 information in innovative ways to advance risk reduction and pollution prevention opportunities.

 5. Partnerships

 Partnerships with other federal agencies, the states and tribes, and internationally are important
 components of OPPTS programs. Activities such as food safety and lead risk reduction require
 coordination with other federal agencies including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA),  the
 Untied States Department of Agriculture (USD A), the Department of Housing and Urban
 Development (HUD), and the Department of Labor (DOL). State assistance in implementing
 OPPTS field programs (i.e., groundwater protection, endangered species protection, farmworker
 protection, lead-in-ecosystems protection, and environmental justice) is invaluable, and OPPTS
 will continue to encourage and support state efforts in these areas.

 The lead program includes joint grant programs with HUD and training and demonstration
 programs with state and local authorities. The pollution prevention program helps build a national
 network of prevention programs among state and local governments. State grant programs and
 technology transfer/technical assistance help develop state prevention programs and provide
 prevention information to industry and the public.

 OPPTS will continue to build international partnerships through activities related to test guideline
 harmonization; chemical testing through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development Screening Information Data Set (OECD SIDS) program; and the notification  of
 foreign countries receiving pesticides that are banned for use in the United States, through EPA's
 prior informed consent program.

 6. Reinventing EPA Management

 Over the next few years, OPPTS intends to continue its efforts to make its programs more
effective, efficient, and responsive to the  public. In the toxics area, OPPTS will continue efforts to
 streamline the new chemical review process, emphasizing the identification of chemical categories
that do not need to be reviewed. The existing chemicals and chemical testing programs will
accelerate efforts to achieve practical environmental improvements through the use of consent
agreements and voluntary actions. Within the pesticides program, OPPTS will continue to explore
new ways to streamline the registration, reregistration, and special review processes. OPPTS also
will begin implementation of a new strategic planning process.
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7. Environmental Accountability
In the coming years, OPPTS will continue its efforts to promote compliance. These efforts will be
in the areas of regulatory development, compliance/technical assistance, and support to the
OECA. OPPTS will ensure that the implementing regulations for its programs are more
understandable to the regulated community and the public. In addition, OPPTS will work closely
with OECA to ensure that regulations are more enforceable.

OPPTS undertakes many activities that relate to compliance and technical assistance. OPPTS will
continue its partnerships with other federal agencies, states, and tribes in implementing EPA
programs. OPPTS will continue to operate its various program hotlines and sponsor and
participate in workshops and conferences that deal with complying with OPPTS's program
requirements. OPPTS will work with OECA in developing compliance assistance strategies for
various high-risk sectors, geographic areas, and ecosystems.

The regulatory programs for chemicals and pesticides in TSCA, EPCRA, and FIFRA collect a
vast information base on chemicals and pesticides. Over the last few years considerable progress
has been made in developing processes for evaluating the risks of chemicals and pesticides. The
risk assessment analytical tools coupled with the vast information bases on chemicals and
pesticides will allow OPPTS to assist in determining the areas of highest risk, where compliance
assistance and enforcement activities should concentrate.  In addition, OPPTS will continue its
technical and regulatory assistance in support of traditional enforcement actions undertaken by
OECA and EPA regional offices.
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 OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND  DEVELOPMENT
 INTRODUCTION

 The Office of Research and Development (ORD) strives to improve the scientific and
 technological bases for EPA's environmental protection actions; to exert national leadership in
 environmental science and engineering; and to provide expert scientific and technical advice and
 problem solving for the Agency.

 In response to two reports1 of the EPA's Science Advisory Board and the report of an expert
 panel2, ORD has undertaken several new directions:
   >• Build the scientific knowledge base needed for managing the nation's ecosystems.
   >• Conduct research to improve the ability to do human health risk assessment with special
     emphasis on human exposure.
   *- Shift the emphasis in research and development from pollution control to preventing
     pollution, and become a catalyst for innovations in environmental technology.
   *• Conduct long-term research programs to address current and future environmental
     problems as well as continue short-term research and technical support to support EPA
     regulatory, compliance, and enforcement programs.

 While revamping its research program places ORD in a good position to support the Agency's
 strategic vision over the next five years, several decisions have to be made by the Agency about
 the scope of its research and development program. The competing objectives of short-term
 program support research, technical support activities, and long-term fundamental research
 exceeds ORD's ability to maintain high-quality programs in every area. Only through a clear and
 open agency-wide process for deciding how best to balance these objectives can ORD's
 contribution to the Agency's strategic vision be realized.
SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. Ecosystem Protection

Strategic Direction:

   >• Move toward an integrated ecosystem research program that provides the science and
     the tools to support ecosystem management efforts.
   >• Continue to develop an interagency capability to provide national and regional
     assessments of ecosystem status and trends.
   *• Through Agency authorities and cooperative programs, engage industry to provide
     ecotoxicology and transport and fate data on xenobiotics.

Historically, a large portion of ORD's ecological research program has been devoted to providing
methods for assessing the risk of specific chemicals to individual species. These methods have


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made a major contribution to the risk assessments that the program offices have used to set
standards for reducing the ecological impacts of regulated pollutants. However, as controls have
become more widespread and our scientific understanding has increased, ORD has recognized a
need to  develop a comprehensive understanding of ecosystems and how they are affected by
multiple, interacting chemicals and many other non-chemical stresses.

During FY 1994, ORD is implementing a major transition of its ecological research program that
will provide  the Agency with the science and tools necessary for ecosystem management. ORD is
reorganizing its ecological research program into three major components:  monitoring, risk
assessment,  and geographically focused research and modeling. The program will address
questions related to ecosystem status and trends; understanding and predicting how ecosystems
respond to multiple stressors and how this response translates into ecological conditions; and
assessing risks and predicting how an ecosystem would respond to various management  scenarios.
The research focused in geographic regions will produce scientific knowledge and tools (e.g.,
models  and  methods) that will be tested and developed in an integrated fashion in selected
geographical areas and then transferred for use in other areas with similar characteristics.

In FY 1995  and FY 1996, ORD will consolidate its ecological  research program to reflect the
design and transition work completed in FY 1994. Over the next five years, the new focus will
move the program to the leading edge of ecological research where ORD's expertise can be
applied most productively and leveraged with other research organizations. Consistent with this
effort, ORD phased out its separate Arctic research program in FY 1995 and will participate in
Agency Arctic activities through a project under the Regional Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment Program (REMAP). Under this project, ORD will work with the state of Alaska,
EPA's Region 10, and the Office of International Activities to  train U.S. and Russian scientists in
monitoring methods developed by the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program
(EMAP) that can be applied in the Arctic region.
While the focus and design of the program is fairly well defined, ORD needs to resolve how fast
to move towards an integrated program and how to distribute  resources among the three
components of the program. Two  major issues that must be addressed are how to meet the
continuing short-term ecological research needs of the program offices, and whether the ORD
should  accelerate implementation of the EMAP in FY  1996.

2. Environmental Justice

Strategic Direction:
    *• Maintain a strong health research and risk assessment program.
    >• Improve risk assessment capabilities by addressing data  gaps in human exposure.
    *• Address weaknesses in risk assessment capabilities identified in the National Academy of
      Sciences report on hazardous air pollutants.
    >• Ensure that all data collection and assessments consider environmental justice.

 ORD's most important contribution to the environmental justice issue is to improve  the Agency's
 ability to conduct human health risk assessments by focusing on a major weakness in risk
 assessments, i. e., human exposure. Many are concerned that minorities and low-income groups


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 experience higher-than-average exposure to selected pollutants. However, with the exception of
 lead, there is a significant lack of data that provide a reliable indication of environmental
 exposures and health effects for different minority and income groups.

 ORD is addressing the exposure issue in three main  areas; methods development, monitoring data,
 and model development. Significant advances are needed in all these areas to address widely
 recognized gasps in EPA's risk assessment capability. To address the monitoring component,
 ORD is developing the National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS). Full
 Implementation of NHEXAS will provide an exposure profile for the U.S.  population that may
 serve as the baseline to which minority and low income group exposures can be compared. In
 addition, ORD is considering approaches to NHEXAS that will allow early consideration of the
 equity issue at least on a limited basis. ORD also plays a significant role in  supporting the
 Agency's environmental justice activities through several research projects that will help answer
 specific scientific questions directly related to the environmental justice issue. These research
 projects range from the development of methods to measure exposure to aromatic hydrocarbons
 among inner city and rural children to determining the fish ingestion rates and adverse exposures
 to contaminants for Native Americans.

 The recent report issued by the National Academy of Sciences3 (NAS) found the Agency's risk
 assessment practices to be basically sound but provided 70 recommendations necessary for
 improvement.  Although the report was specifically on air toxic risk concerns, the
 recommendations in the NAS report are generic and cut across the Agency. Because  Agency's
 risk assessment practices are a focus of major science controversy, it is important to adopt quickly
 all the recommendations in the report.

 During FY 1994 and FY 1995, ORD will complete pilot NHEXAS programs and also work to
 structure multi-agency support and participation in NHEXAS implementation. The Agency must
 decide whether to adopt a national NHEXAS program or some other approach that would
 improve human exposure data and ensure that environmental justice concerns are dealt with in all
 data collection efforts. Deliberations are currently underway to address the research planning and
 resource implications of the NAS report. The Agency must determine if a special research effort
 will be necessary.

 3. Pollution Prevention

 Strategic Direction:

   +• Build partnerships between innovators, sources of capital, and users of technology.
   *- Sponsor limited in-house technology development/evaluation when partnerships are not
      appropriate.

   *• Solicit investigator-initiated grants focused  on  specific innovative technology needs.

 ORD's pollution prevention and technology development programs are moving in a new direction
that will harness expertise and resources outside of the Agency to bring about innovative
technology development. ORD's shift  from an internal research focus to promoting and
facilitating outside activities is one that will be pursued wherever possible to meet the technology
needs of Agency programs. With the Agency, ORD is expanding from a narrow focus on
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developing control technologies for a few EPA-administered programs to promoting innovations
and fostering pollution prevention across all sectors of the economy.
ORD will use the ETI model to refocus its engineering and demonstration program in areas where
there are opportunities to build partnerships. These partnerships would be sought with parties that
could use innovative technologies or have sources of capital to develop and commercialize them.
In addition, ORD will build into its program the concept of "fast finish", a strategy by industry to
assess a project's potential for success or failure as early as possible in the project.

ORD believes that properly focused investigator-initiated grants  could be a valuable tool for
furthering the development of innovative technologies and should be pursued as part of this effort.

ORD believes it is very important to have an adequate number of senior scientists and program
managers to manage the great deal of money associated with these programs. While both ETI and
pollution prevention are based on partnerships with the public and private sectors, there is a need
to provide considerable coordination, oversight, and direction to ensure that these programs
produce. This new approach also requires a different skill mix than has been traditionally fostered
for the in-house research program.

4. Strong Science and  Data

Strategic Direction:
    +• Build EPA's reputation as a strong science agency by redefining ORD's research
      program to ensure continuous improvement in the quality  of science in all EPA's
      endeavors.
    *• Build an awareness among EPA's scientists and engineers that their scientific reputations
      require continual  attention in all Agency activities.
    *• Strengthen the interaction of Agency scientists and engineers with academia and
      professional scientific societies.
    >• Use evaluative techniques such as benchmarking against the best in research to measure
      continual improvement.
    *- Reinvent the Agency's regulatory,  compliance, and enforcement processes by improving
      the science policy interface, and use peer review, quality assurance, and risk assessment
      to ensure science quality in decisionmaking.
 Improving the quality of the  science and  data for the Agency's decision-making requires effort in
 a number of areas outlined in chapter two. ORD's contributions to these efforts in the past have
 been significant; in the future, ORD will be expected to continue to provide leadership for these
 efforts. However, ORD's mission is much broader than the resources that are available to carry it
 out. Consequently ORD will clarify and focus its mission, and develop an operation plan that
 explains how ORD resources (people, facilities, and extramural funds) are allocated and managed.

 ORD's greatest resource is its scientists and engineers, who in many cases are world leaders in
 their disciplines. Their contributions to the Agency's mission and the credibility of its decisions
 can be improved only by their continual attention to and participation in all Agency activities. In
 addition, their active involvement in professional scientific organizations will promote the


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  cross-fertilization of ideas, initiate research partnerships, and enhance the Agency's scientific
  reputation. ORD will encourage and support its scientists and engineers to participate in Agency
  decisionmaking and to interact with peers in academia and the private sector.

  As a possible way to improve the use of science by the regulatory programs, ORD proposes to
  divide its program into four components:  strategic research, program support, national
  assessment and evaluation programs, and programmatic assessments. This approach of distinctly
  separating program support from the rest of the research will strengthen the links between the
  program and regional offices' science needs and ORD's research. Changes in allocations among
  these categories would be made through an explicit Agency-wide decisionmaking process. In
  addition to redefining ORD's program, the Agency laboratory study will develop a baseline
  description of all EPA's laboratories and assess options to enhance the quality, effectiveness, and
  efficiency of all the Agency's laboratory operations. While it is uncertain what actions will be
  taken, all results will be benchmarked against other research organizations with similar mission
  and staffs.

  5. Partnerships

  Strategic Direction:

    *• Based on experience gained from successful partnerships forged to date, strive for
       continued growth in public/private research activities that address the broad
       environmental research agenda.

    *• Build partnerships with other federal agencies to help focus their research activities on
       EPA science policy issues.

    *• Encourage industry to support high quality research through the Federal Technology
       Transfer Act (FTTA), joint research planning and other cooperative arrangements.
    *•  Build science capacity at the state level  and ensure the transfer of the latest science and
       technology into state programs.

 In its 1990 strategic plan,  ORD recognized the need to build science partnerships to enhance the
 quality of its science and leverage its resources. From its stated goal to "Collaborate with other
 federal agencies, industry, academia, and other countries to enhance . .  . national  and international
 research efforts," ORD has developed a variety of partnerships. In addition  to FTTA agreements
 and the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation program, ORD has formed research
 consortia with industry to plan and carry out research in areas such as ozone transport, fuel
 additives, and disinfectant byproducts. The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program
.(EMAP) is an example of a broad partnership with other federal agencies such as the Forest
 Service, which conducts all forest sampling for the program. To promote interaction with
 academia, ORD has increased the use of competitive cooperative agreements for  research
 conducted by universities. Because of its extensive experience in building research partnerships
 and the technology expertise in its laboratories, ORD is well prepared to contribute significantly
 to the ETI.

 Successful partnership building requires a highly trained staff in science and technology that has
 the credibility to focus and direct public and private activities in this area. While ETI provides an
 excellent opportunity for ORD to extend further the impact of its research program, there will

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continue to be a significant strain on ORD's resources through FY 1996. Finally, the Agency
needs to focus on building the capacity of state and local governments to independently address
the scientific aspects of environmental problems.

6. Reinventing EPA Management

Strategic Direction:
   >•  In the next five years, create an ORD to meet the challenges of the 21st century through
      implementation of an operational plan drawn around streamlining, the NPR action plans,
      measurable environmental goals, and the EPA laboratory study.

As stated above, ORD's streamlining plan is based on an examination of fundamental guiding
principles related to mission, organization, and customers.  Over the years, different views about
the role of ORD in EPA have resulted in conflicts regarding the needs for long-term research,
program support, and assessments. ORD proposes the following four criteria to guide
development of its operational plan:
   1)  Establish and maintain a high-quality, strategic research program focused on key
      long-term environmental issues, an extramural research program that harnesses the
      resources and creativity of the academic and private sector, and an in-house staff able to
      build effective partnerships.
   2)  Support the scientific and  technical community while ensuring effective stewardship and
      adequate controls of these resources.
   3)  Focus resources on responding to the explicit needs of the Agency and its regulatory,
      prevention and enforcement agenda, and be explicit about resources that are available for
      these activities and the results expected.
   4)  Recognize that high quality research and development requires sustained research and
      development support.

To implement the operational plan, ORD is undertaking the following actions:
   >•  Reorganizing and streamlining the headquarters and laboratory hierarchy.
   **  Simplifying internal administrative requirements into a true accountability system while
      ensuring effective stewardship of resources.
   >•  Making strategic decisions about future staffing needs to guide a large potential turnover
      of staff during the next five years.
   *•  Instilling a new spirit in ORD that values diversity.
   *-  Empowering its workforce through enhanced communication, delegation, and
      teamwork.
   >  Establishing four Committees for Change made up of members of the ORD Streamlining
      Task Force and other ORD staff to participate in the implementation of the overall plan.

7. Environmental Accountability

Strategic  Direction:


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   *• Provide data to support and justify Agency decisions.
   *• Provide data on status and trends of ecological and human exposures and effects.
   ** Support environmental accountability through technology transfer, technical assistance
      and environmental science education.

 ORD's program of research, technology transfer, education, and technical assistance supports the
 Agency's compliance and monitoring efforts by:
   >• Providing the scientific foundations for regulatory and policy decisions;
   +- Providing a scientifically valid baseline for measuring changes in ecological resources and
      human exposures to environmental stressors; and
   >• Supporting the Agency throughout numerous technology and information transfer
      activities that assist in the  achievement of compliance with  environmental goals.

 During the next five years, ORD's EPA ecosystem research program will provide the science and
 tools that will enable us to better understand ecosystems and their stressors — the first step for
 developing enforcement strategies to protect sensitive ecosystems. Of equal importance will be
 the ecological status and trends information provided by EMAP,  which will permit decision
 makers at all levels to observe the impacts of their decisions and to monitor changes in the quality
 of this country's ecosystems. Similarly, NHEXAS will provide information about the trends of
 human exposures to toxic chemicals in the environment and will help to identify groups in the
 population who may be more heavily exposed than the  norm. ORD's program of technology
 transfer and technical assistance  provides information to states, local governments, the regulated
 community, and the public that enables them to most effectively and efficiently meet their
 environmental goals. Seminars such as Comprehensive Environmental Planning: A Guide for
 Small Communities build the capacity of small communities to identify environmental priorities
 and to assess their compliance across a range of regulations and environmental responsibilities.
 ORD's environmental education program, from the primary to the postgraduate level, expands the
 core of citizens and scientists who are better educated about the environment, and for whom
 environmental accountability has become a matter of daily concern and action rather than an
 occasional afterthought.
REFERENCES
    1 Future Risk: Research Strategies for the 1990s and Reducing Risk:  Setting Priorities
      and Strategies for Environmental Protection.
    2. Safeguarding the Future:  Credible Science. Credible Decisions. March 1992.
    3. Science and Judgment in Risk Assessment. National Academy Press, 1994.
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OFFICE OF REGIONAL OPERATIONS  AND
STATE/LOCAL RELATIONS
INTRODUCTION
A large and significant component of how the EPA does business involves relations with states,
localities, and tribes. Their perspectives are all necessary components of reinventing EPA,
because intergovernmental relationships, communication, and interaction with states, localities,
and tribes are critical to achieving improved environmental protection.
In building a network of strong environmental management, EPA must maximize utilization of all
of the available resources. To achieve this, EPA will emphasize building and strengthening
regional, state, and local capacity to manage environmental programs. EPA also must provide
flexibility to address unique problems, or to address old problems in new ways. Working with the
regions and state and local partners, EPA must identify, correct and remove barriers to achieving
maximum environmental benefits in a way that makes sense and encourages innovation.
SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. Ecosystem Protection
As EPA moves toward a more holistic approach for key economic and geographic areas, the
Office of Regional Operations and State/ Relations (OROSLR) intends to work with the regions
and states to showcase new integrated approaches to environmental management. A new
program, begun in FY 1994, will provide funding for each region, working with its state and local
governments as appropriate, to begin assessing and addressing high-risk and high-priority
environmental problems that are unique to each region. Some of these projects are ecosystem
studies/assessments, and most of them are geographically based. The office will be directing an
effort to institutionalize successful approaches demonstrated by the projects; develop criteria for
selection of future projects; work out appropriate measures to evaluate progress of the projects;
and develop effective mechanisms to communicate successes and difficulties encountered with
these unique projects to the rest of the Agency. Another important function that OROSLR will
provide is linkage with other Agency efforts such as the ecosystem management guiding principle,
sustainable development, and particularly EMAP/REMAP. In the future, additional geographic
problem areas will be chosen to highlight new and innovative environmental approaches.

2. Environmental Justice, and 3. Pollution Prevention

In addition to showcasing ecosystem management approaches via regional geographic initiatives,
a number of ongoing initiatives will use pollution prevention tools and environmental justice
guiding principles to address existing environmental problems. OROSLR intends to document all
results of these regional initiatives and convey lessons learned to the rest of the Agency. Of the
additional regional initiatives selected in the out-years, some will be encouraged to demonstrate
environmental justice guiding principles and the use of pollution prevention tools. OROSLR also
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will work with local governments and especially small towns to address their environmental
justice concerns as well as highlight their environmental justice approaches and successes. Finally,
OROSLR will work closely with the regional leadership to encourage states to apply and promote
pollution prevention and environmental justice approaches throughout their operating programs.

4. Strong Science and Data

Although much data has been collected by the media programs, EPA continues to suffer from a
lack of reliable,  integrated, and accessible data nationally. Identifying unmet needs and linking
data systems will be an important challenge over the next five years. OROSLR will pursue the
following activities to address this challenge:

   *•  Build a database containing an extensive list of characteristics of small governments
      including  their governmental forms, budgeting systems, environmental protection
      responsibilities, and environmental  infrastructure.
   *•  Ensure widespread availability of the database for the purposes of Agency
      decision-making, planning, budgeting, and rule-making.
   *•  Identify and establish mechanisms to improve electronic communication and data
      exchange  among the states, EPA headquarters, and the regions (i.e., E-mail, Internet,
      bulletin boards, early warning systems, etc.). Pursue the same goals for local and tribal
      governments as well.
   ^  Work with the national programs to ensure that state monitoring and tracking
      information is as useful and accessible to the states themselves as it is to EPA.
   >•  Continue  to fund and improve the responsiveness of Regional Analytical Environmental
      Services.
   *•  Ensure that the technical support activities performed by the Environmental Services
      Divisions  meet the applied scientific investigation, inspection, monitoring, and  sampling
      needs of the region's media programs.
   >•  Work with ORD, the regions, and states to develop and implement a state lab
      certification program.

   *•  Work with Agency staff to share scientific and technical findings more effectively with
      state, local, and tribal co-regulators and implementers.

5. Partnerships

OROSLR, working in tandem with the regions, is the catalyst to drive an agency-wide, ongoing
effort  to ensure  the most effective working partnership between EPA and its governmental
partners.  OROSLR's role as catalyst will  involve the following set of activities:
   *•  Build partnership with states and localities.
   ^  Increase opportunities for exchange of information between the headquarters program
      staff, the regions, states, local governments, and decision makers in the regulatory
      development process, to ensure more effective implementation of environmental
      protection objectives.
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   >• Encourage and assist regular meetings between EPA officials (especially in the regions)
     and state and local environmental officials to promote, discuss, and resolve issues of
     concern such as state capacity building through training, technical assistance, and
     cross-state learning; multi-media and cross-program activities; and priority setting.
     Encourage state-to-state exchanges and meetings on these issues as well.
   >- Facilitate, within the Agency and among states and localities, dissemination of successful
     environmental management models.
   >• Build a customer feedback mechanism from state and local governments to inform EPA
     regional management.
   >• Support the media programs and regions in developing the least cost, most effective way
     of communicating with the states, and serve as a repository of in-house expertise for the
     rest of the Agency in conducting outreach to the states, localities, and tribes.
   >• Implement the Small Town Environmental Planning Act of 1992 (STEP), including the
     establishment of a Small Town Ombudsman network throughout headquarters and the
     regions, and a Small Town Notification Program.
   *• Explore the feasibility of a notification program for small communities,  including an
     experimental on-line bulletin board.
   > Support the Administrator's Task Force on Tribal Relations and facilitate the
     implementation of their findings and recommendations.
   >• Continue to facilitate headquarters/regional communication, as needed, to ensure a
     coherent Agency approach to environmental partnerships.

6. Reinventing EPA Management
OROSLR will seek to promote changes at EPA and among the states and localities that will
promote streamlined environmental management for improved environmental results. Activities to
support this goal include:
   >• Test the hypothesis that EPA can offer states and localities increased flexibility with
     accountability to improve overall environmental performance. Working with the regions,
     sponsor and facilitate state flexibility pilot projects, disseminate lessons learned from
     these projects, and make recommendations for Agency-wide change.
   >• Work with regional programs to redefine the EPA/state oversight relationship, so that
     we moves toward measuring real environmental accomplishments, reducing paperwork
     associated with oversight, and rewarding states with high-performing programs.
   ** Facilitate the regular provision of cross-regional information in a format that facilitates
     management decisions in the regions and EPA national programs.
   *• Use information from the state and local customer feedback mechanisms to further
     EPA's reinvention efforts.
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 7. Compliance Assurance

 In supporting this principle, OROSLR, working with OECA, the regions, and others throughout
 the Agency, will attempt to identify ways in which the state/EPA compliance assurance
 relationship can be improved for better environmental outcomes. Activities under consideration to
 support this principle are:
   >• A study to identify how the EPA can better assess the quality of state/EPA compliance
      assurance and enforcement programs. There are many ways to gauge the quality and
      effectiveness of enforcement programs that go beyond activity measures. This study will
      attempt to identify which such alternative measures would present a more robust
      assessment of the effectiveness of state and federal compliance and enforcement
      programs.

   >• An assessment of and recommendations on ways in which the EPA/state oversight
      relationship  can be changed to foster better EPA/state relations and more effective
      environmental management. The compliance assurance and enforcement relationship will
      be a component of this assessment.
   *• As part of a larger National Performance Review initiative, OROSLR will evaluate and
      disseminate  information on several state pilots in which states are trying new and
      innovative approaches to environmental management, including compliance
      measurement and assessment. For example, the states of New York and Massachusetts
      will launch pilot projects that will showcase targeted multi-media inspections coupled
      with pollution prevention compliance assistance.
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OFFICE OF  SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED
BUSINESS UTILIZATION
INTRODUCTION

The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) was established in 1978 to
develop and administer Agency policies, procedures, and guidelines that not only will assist small,
disadvantaged (minority and women) businesses in securing opportunities in EPA's direct and
indirect procurement, but also increase the participation of Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)
and Women Business Enterprise (WBE) firms in the Agency's procurement processes. Assistance
is provided through conferences and seminars, environmental training in the cleanup and
abatement of various environmental hazards, workshops, networking sessions, and consultations
with prime contracting and socioeconomic contracting consultants. Policies include procurements
subcontracting goals for small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses and women-owned
businesses, as well as "fair share" goals for subcontracts obtained through grants and other
procurements under assistance. In addition to these responsibilities, OSDBU maintains the
Asbestos and Small Business Ombudsman, also serves as the Administrator's internal advocate on
economic issues affecting the small business community, provides information and technical
assistance to the small businesses required to comply with Agency regulations, serves on
regulatory workgroups to convey small business concerns speaks on behalf of small businesses
works with national and state trade associations to disseminate and exchange information that will
promote voluntary compliance and operates a  toll-free Small Business Ombudsman "Hotline" for
small business questions and concerns.
SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

2. Environmental Justice
OSDBU was part of EPA's original working group in the development of the Agency's
environmental equity program. In FY 1992, OSDBU provided $115,000 to the Office of
Environmental Equity for the study of the clean air issues affecting small businesses in small/rural
communities. This study was conducted by Xavier University, a Historically Black College,
located in New Orleans, Louisiana. In the first quarter of FY 1993, OSDBU provided funds and
initiated a working agreement with the environmental equity office to benefit the District of
Columbia by providing technical training to low-income residents living in public housing where
lead paint was a known hazard. OSDBU was joined in this effort by the Department of Commerce
and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ten low-income residents not only were
trained in asbestos removal and lead abatement, but they also were guaranteed employment with
the District of Columbia. In the first quarter of FY 1994, ten more low-income in the District of
Columbia were trained through OSDBU's support of the environmental equity initiative and they
all were placed by the District of Columbia government in private sector jobs. These residents
now earn an average of $10.50 per hour.
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For FY 1995, OSDBU proposes to implement two initiatives. The first initiative will focus on
enhancement of the environmental training for minority and women contractors and entrepreneurs
in support of the environmental justice initiative. Specifically, OSDBU will develop a cadre of
qualified and trained minority and women contractors to perform work and provide services to
minority communities at risk. OSDBU in FY 1995 will add more course material to the training
programs so that more minority and women contractors are qualified to work at environmental
justice-designated  sites. OSDBU plans to conduct a demonstration program in FY 1995 in at least
one environmental justice-designated site where the minority and/or women contractors will serve
as contractors as well as the subcontractors; bonding requirements, if any, waived by EPA. In FY
1996, OSDBU, as part of a two-year pilot program, will require all EPA prime contractors to give
preference to OSDBU-trained minority and women contractors and to 8(a), women-owned, and
small disadvantaged business firms registered with OSDBU.

5. Partnerships

In FY 1995 through 1997, OSDBU will promote a pilot program that will focus on the
participation of minority academic institutions (especially historically black colleges and
universities) in partnerships with minority and women businesses seeking greater involvement in
the Agency's Environmental Technology Initiative. Joined by the Department of Commerce's
Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA),
OSDBU's pilot program will identify private sector funding to  supplement a special public sector
funding mechanism designed to assist in technology transfer, innovation, and commercialization.
This demonstration project will adhere to the four guiding principles established by  EPA in the
administration of the Environmental Technology Initiative.

A second partnership envisioned by OSDBU focuses on greater outreach efforts to  minority- and
women-owned businesses interested in doing environmental work either directly for EPA or
indirectly for a grantee such as a state or municipality. This partnership involves a shared
responsibility with the SBA,  MBDA, and EPA's proposed overall coordinator, the National
Association of Minority Contractors, Inc. OSDBU envisions a  complete overhaul of its state
conferences to increase the amount of business information disseminated to minority and women
contractors in order to enhance their marketing skills.

6. Reinventing EPA Management

The re-inventing of EPA's OSDBU will be conducted in four phases beginning in FY 1995 and
completed by the end of FY  1997.
  *• Phase One:  A disinvestment of the Small Business Ombudsman function an operation
     currently administered by two FTEs with four American Association of Retired Persons
     (AARP) employees to  be transferred to OPPE because of the role it  plays in the
     regulatory process. An investment of one professional FTE and one clerk typist to assist
     in the expansion of the procurement and business opportunities initiatives of OSDBU.
     The disinvestment will be accomplished by the end of FY 1995. The investment will be
     accomplished by the end of FY 1996.
  *• Phase Two:  Establishment of a Quality Action Team (OSDBU, OARM, SBA, MBDA)
     to increase coordination, information, and accomplishments in support of small and
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     disadvantaged businesses. This Quality Action Team will meet quarterly beginning in FY
      1995 to review progress made toward the goals negotiated with SB A and the 8 percent
     goal incorporated in EPA's appropriations language.
   *• Phase Three: Establishment of regional staff fully dedicated to OSDBU's mission (one
     person per region) serving as associate directors, OSDBU. Phase Three will be
     implemented in FY 1996. In FY 1995, OSDBU will pilot this program in Regions 4, 5,
     and 8, using the existing staff and resources.
   >• Phase Four:  Creation of a workgroup with specified staff from grants administration, the
     Cincinnati and Research Triangle Park, NC buying facilities to meet with headquarters
     staff to promote the utilization of disadvantaged businesses. Phase Four will be
     implemented in FY 1995.
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 OFFICE OF SOLID WASTE  AND EMERGENCY
 RESPONSE
 INTRODUCTION
 The Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) has four long-term strategic
 planning goals:
   1) Minimize the quantity and toxicity of waste created by residential, commercial, industrial,
     and government activities.
   2) Ensure the environmentally sound management of solid and hazardous wastes.
   3) Prevent harmful releases of oil and hazardous substances into the environment.
   4) Prepare for and respond in a timely and effective manner to releases of hazardous
     substances into the environment.
 These four goals apply across OSWER's programs and provide a common thread to its statutory
 mandates of protecting public health and the environment from the effects of waste management
 and the release of harmful substances. While OSWER's programs (Superfund, Underground
 Storage Tanks, Solid and Hazardous Waste Management, and Chemical Emergency Preparedness
 and Prevention) were established by six different laws, these goals distill the essence of OSWER's
 mission, reflect underlying values and provide criteria for making operational decisions.
 Each OSWER program has developed program-specific priorities and guiding principles for
 meeting the four goals.
 In Superfund, OSWER just completed an extensive outreach process to build consensus on
 statutory reforms to make site cleanups faster, fairer, and more efficient. Superfund's goals
 anticipate statutory changes but also work within the current legal framework.
   *• Speed the pace of cleanups,
   *• Rely on "enforcement first",
   *~ Meet annual numerical goals for site completion,
   *• Ensure a fair enforcement process,
   >• Enhance environmental justice and community involvement,
   +• Increase the role of the states and tribes,
   ** Speed military base closures,
   *" Improve contracts management,
   >• Encourage innovative technologies,
   *- Work on the worst sites first,  and
   *• Reduce administrative costs.
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The Oil Spills Program goals are to respond to spills quickly and effectively minimize the extent
and frequency of spills.
The goals of the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program are to:
   >• Build stronger state/tribal/local partnerships,
   >- Speed up corrective actions through streamlining and new technologies,
   +- Promote full compliance with leak detection requirements, and
   *• Prevent leaks by promoting early compliance with the 1998 UST upgrading deadline.
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Solid and Hazardous Waste Program
aims to:
   ^ Increase source reduction and recycling,
   >• Tighten safeguards on waste management, including combustion facilities,
   *• Remediate worst sites first,
   *> Build stronger state and tribal partnerships,
   >• Enhance environmental justice,
   *- Ensure  environmental protection at federal facilities, and
   >• Enhance safeguards on waste exports and imports.
The goals of the Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Program (CEPP) are to:
   *• Reduce risks from accidental releases of hazardous materials,
   +* Improve the hazardous materials emergency infrastructure, and
   *• Enhance the preparedness, prevention,  and response capabilities of private and public
      sectors.
 SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES
 Even a cursory review of OSWER's strategic planning goals and program-specific priorities
 reveals strong links to the EPA strategic vision. Pollution prevention and ecosystem protection
 (along with public health) are an inherent part of OSWER's mission and goals. The other
 elements of the strategic vision — environmental justice, strong science and data, partnership
 building, and streamlining — play key roles in OSWER programs. The following are some
 examples of how OSWER supports the new approach.
 1. Ecosystem Protection
 OSWER targets funding to states to address waste management's contribution to environmental
 protection in a range of sensitive ecosystems. These include the Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico,
 Mexican border, Chesapeake Bay, and the Caribbean.
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 2. Environmental Justice

 OSWER was the first EPA office to establish an Environmental Justice Task Force. The task
 force is developing a strategy to address public health and environmental risk concerns across all
 our programs.

 OSWER has a cooperative agreement with the NAACP to address environmental justice concerns
 at Superfund sites.

 To assist in graphically depicting geographic areas of concern for environmental equity and justice
 issues, CEPP has developed LandView, a tool for combining maps and demographic data.

 3. Pollution Prevention

 OSWER's Solid and Hazardous Waste, CEPP, and Oil Pollution Programs are true pollution
 prevention programs.

 The Office of Solid Waste reaches out to business, industry,  government, and individuals to
 demonstrate that waste reduction and use of recycled material can stimulate economic growth,
 corporate competitiveness, and job creation.  The Combustion Strategy puts waste reduction
 efforts ahead of new combustion capacity. In addition, pollution prevention guiding principles are
 written into enforcement settlements with responsible parties, making OSWER's approach one of
 the most proactive in the Agency.

 The CEPP Program encourages pollution prevention by helping states, local governments,  and
 industry with risk management planning, chemical safety audits, and community right to-know
 activities.

 The oil program prevents harmful releases of oil into the environment by ensuring that facilities
 have response plans in place to handle spills.

 The UST program is achieving pollution prevention by making steady progress toward a 1998
 deadline for equipping all USTs with corrosion protection and spill prevention.

 4. Strong Science and Data

 OSWER is the only EPA office with a Technology Innovation Office (TIO) that promotes
 development and technology transfer of new  cleanup and remediation methods.

 5. Partnerships

 The UST program has empowered state and local programs to  a greater degree than any other
 EPA-delegated program. The Office of Solid Waste continues to seek new ways to address state
 funding and priority needs and to enhance state and tribal capabilities. The Office of Solid Waste
 works with government at all levels, business, industry, and institutions.

Efforts to increase state involvement in Superfund and Oil programs will continue through
partnerships with the National Governors Association (NGA), National Conference of State
Legislatures (NCSL), and Association of State &  Territorial Solid Waste Management Officers
(ASTSWMO).
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CEPP leverages industry resources to improve local preparedness and response effectiveness.

TIO has developed an extensive partnership with federal facilities, industry, and others to
demonstrate and verify the performance of remediation technology.

OSWER contributes to EPA's international partnerships through participation in international
agreements, standard-setting, international emergency response planning, and technical assistance.

6. Reinventing EPA Management
OSWER's Office of UST  is a leader in working with states and industry as customers to improve
program implementation. The UST program pioneered the use of field citations as a streamlined
enforcement tool and has helped the states  streamline their corrective action processes to cut
cleanup costs and time.
Superfund has a number of administrative improvements underway to accelerate  site cleanup and
reduce costs.

7. Environmental Accountability
OSWER reaches out to the public and regulated community using technical guidance,  the
RCRA/Superfund industry hotline, and training seminars on regulations and their enforcement.

OSWER manages varied and complex information systems to ensure that the enforcement data
needs of headquarters, the regions and the  states are met.
OSWER will strive to enhance public involvement in all aspects of the cleanup programs.
 OTHER MANDATES AND OBLIGATION

 As EPA's basic "command-and-control" regulatory structure was put in place, the Agency shifted
 its attention toward the methods outlined in the strategic vision. These hold the promise of
 allowing the Agency to leverage the resources of all sectors, to obviate problems, to accomplish
 its mission more scientifically and less expensively, and to ensure that EPA considers the impact
 of its actions on the community as a whole. OSWER expect to place even greater emphasis on the
 strategic vision approaches in the future.
 OSWER foresees both opportunities and barriers in moving toward the strategic vision.
 Opportunities include the upcoming reauthorizations of CERCLA (Superfund) and RCRA.  The
 Administration's proposals for Superfund will foster a much stronger partnership with the states
 and tribes, allow EPA to consider the cumulative and multiple source risks to minority
 communities, will provide economic redevelopment in distressed communities, and streamline
 remedy selection. While revisions to RCRA are not developed at this point, OSWER anticipates a
 movement toward a more flexible, innovative, and delegated program that emphasizes locally
 tailored solid and hazardous waste programs, promotes pollution prevention and recycling as a
 central strategy, and advocates effective use of data and information.

 OSWER expects to maintain or increase its support for risk assessment and for innovative
 technologies such as bioremediation and alternative in-situ treatment technologies. OSWER will


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 take advantage of these successes to spur public and private sector efforts to improve scientific
 knowledge in waste remediation and risk assessment.

 OSWER anticipates important payoffs in the areas of environmental data. Local Emergency
 Planning Committees are the recipients and users of sound environmental data. They provide
 OSWER an opportunity to track success in effective response and ecosystem protection.

 Science and data areas that could benefit particularly from increased investment include efforts to
 put practical information about science in the hands of people (such as site and facility cleanup
 managers) who really need it and  can apply it. Also, OSWER's programs suffer from an inability
 to develop and track environmental indicators that allow it to measure its impact on ecosystem
 protection; increased funding for data gathering and analysis, and increased sharing of existing
 data, would enhance OSWER's ability to protect ecosystems.

 There are numerous opportunities for increased partnerships to achieve OSWER's mission.
 OSWER would like to expand efforts such as joint projects with industry to develop voluntary
 underground storage tank standards as an alternative to prescriptive rule making. Regarding state
 and tribal partners, in five years OSWER anticipates that states and tribes will run a large share of
 the Superfund program. The RCRA and UST programs are recognized as Agency leaders in state
 delegation and in flexibility in administering grant programs. The Office of Solid Waste (OSW)
 has pioneered the "co-regulator" concept with states to  effect a true partnership in hazardous
 waste protection. OSWER will  continue to look for ways to provide increased flexibility to states
 to achieve national goals as well as state priorities.
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OFFICE  OF  WATER
INTRODUCTION
The Office of Water (OW) envision a nation that has clean, safe, and sufficient water resources to
sustain living things and societal needs.1 Over the past several years, water programs have shifted
to innovative, risk-targeted approaches to assuring safe drinking water and a watershed-based
approach to environmental improvement. OW's work on the President's Safe Drinking Water Act
(SOWA) and Clean Water Act (CWA) Reauthorization Initiative,2'3 as well as its FY 1994 and
FY 1995 budget investments and redirections, 4 reflect our commitment. The watershed approach
mobilizes "traditional" programs (permitting,  enforcement, and standards setting), orients them to
geographic areas, and supplements them with new tools to address drinking water supply or
quality problems, nonpoint sources, habitat loss, and other ecological stresses through
partnerships with other federal agencies, state and local governments, industry, landowners, and
the public. Both approaches are consistent with the objectives of the President's "Vision of
Change for America", mandates in the National Performance Review, the Reinvention Initiative,
new Executive Orders on streamlining, recommendations in EPA's Science Advisory Board
report, "Reducing Risk", Congressional interest, and OW's stakeholders' belief that current
programs must be supplemented with, and to a degree replaced by, local/regional efforts that
focus on priority areas.
OW's goal is to integrate programs on a watershed basis and empower water quality agencies and
others to do the same. The OW program will transform from a focus on specific point sources of
pollution in stream segments to one that emphasizes the watershed as the functional unit
necessary to meet both human and ecosystem health. Over the next five years, watershed activities
will cut across virtually all water programs. To  accomplish this goal, OW is implementing a major
reprogramming of personnel and resources.
 SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

 1. Ecosystem Protection
 OW is committed to a watershed-based program using ecosystem management guiding principles.
 In 1994, geographic initiatives in all ten regions and 130 state, and local watershed projects used
 ecosystem management techniques. By 1999, the number of federal, state and local organizations
 managing water resources on a watershed/ecosystem basis will increase exponentially. The
 Agency's Ecosystem Task Force, co-chaired by the Assistant Administrator for Water, is critical
 to policy and institutional changes necessary for this transition. Current watershed projects will
 demonstrate the effectiveness of ecosystem management techniques and will allow continuous
 evaluation and refinement.
 Several efforts highlight this priority on developing and implementing national, state, and tribal
 strategies to transition water and aquatic habitat protection programs to a watershed-based
 approach. In FY 1995, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit
 program will refocus 50 percent of its resources to integrate permitting functions into a broader


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 watershed context and to support development of state-wide basin management approaches. In
 February 1994, OW completed a draft NPDES Watershed Strategy.5 The document outlines key
 activities to be taken by regional offices in FY 1994 to ensure that the watershed approach is
 incorporated into FY 1995 regional and state programs. In 1995, OW will launch the Source
 Water Protection Program as a tool for states and localities to protect drinking water supplies on
 a watershed basis. Also starting in FY 1995, a significant portion of CWA Section 319 funds will
 be targeted to specific state-designated local restoration projects for riparian, wetland, stream
 channel, and shoreline habitats. OW will be implementing President Clinton's recent Wetland
 Protection Plan over the next five years and have requested a $5.0 million increase in funds for FY
 1995 wetlands grants.

 Over the next several years, OW will strengthen the institutional framework for the watershed
 management approach in other areas by integrating grant, planning, standard setting, and
 assessment and reporting processes per watershed.6 Some examples include;
    > Combining/linking 15 separate surface water, ground water, and drinking water planning
      processes into a coordinated watershed process,
    ^ Using the Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative as a model for developing consistent,
      watershed-wide water quality standards to protect human health, aquatic life, and
      wildlife,

    +• Coordinating the issuance of storm water permits with watershed plans,
    ^ Establishing Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLS) ahead of permits,
    *• Standardizing monitoring and information management practices across federal
      organizations through efforts, and

    *• Encouraging the use of state revolving funds to support projects in priority watersheds.

 Additional activities are planned to incorporate ecosystem management practices into water
 programs. In FY 1995, OW will consolidate several water quality research issues into an
 ecosystem protection research cluster. Projects conducted under a multi-media approach will
 provide the scientific basis for sustainable management and protection of ecological systems in
 specific watershed areas.  OW is expanding the coverage of water criteria beyond human health
 and aquatic life by considering sediment, wildlife, and biological criteria, and augmenting the
 assessment methodology with tools besides whole effluent toxicity testing. By FY 1999, many
 tools (e.g., revised human health and aquatic life methodologies) will be in place for the'watershed
 protection approach. Biological assessment measures linked to eco-regions and indigenous
 species, which help states incorporate bioassesment into their ambient monitoring programs, will
be complete for rivers, streams, lakes,  and estuaries by FY 1999 and in progress for wetlands.

In FY 1995, OW will begin reporting on some environmental indicators that measure the
effectiveness of water quality programs in protecting and improving ecosystem health. All these
tools are the basis for the ecological risk assessment (ERA) methodologies that will enable OW to
more directly measure the overall state of a watershed/ecosystem. By evaluating effects from all
stressors in the watershed and analyzing their impacts on the physical, chemical, and biological
components, OW will be better able to identify and rank those watersheds at greatest risk,
particular stressors in a watershed with the greatest impacts, and target resources appropriately.


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2. Environmental Justice
Both the CWA and SDWA Reauthorization Initiatives recognize the needs of small, economically
disadvantaged and rural communities. These communities often are impacted disproportionally by
pollution and need innovative solutions for their water-related problems. The CWA initiative
allows states to use the State Revolving Fund (SRF) for disadvantaged community needs; permits
zero and negative interest loans with extended repayment periods; places priority on urban
watersheds whose residents often rely on subsistence fishing; and encourages states to restore and
protect urban watersheds. The  SDWA proposals address the higher costs per household that small
community water systems face  in meeting regulatory requirements, allowing "Best Available
Technology" (BAT) alternatives for small systems.

Native Americans as well as minority groups consume larger amounts offish than the average
U.S. citizen. The Criteria and Standards Program is evaluating whether water quality criteria
should be based on risk to recreational and subsistence fishermen instead of the national average
consumer. OW leads an Agency-wide task force, monitoring fish contamination in the Columbia
River Basin to evaluate the health risks to Native Americans from fish consumption. In FY 1995,
OW, together with key local organizations, will identify and address environmental justice issues
in selected minority communities. Region 10 and OW are leading an effort to coordinate federal
programs to help Alaskan Native American village officials address severe sanitation problems.
The Indian and Alaskan Native American set aside for wastewater treatment facilities, the FY
1995 budget request of $50 million in grants to support wastewater treatment for the Hispanic
residents in Texas colonials, and the FY 1995 request for $100 million for wastewater
infrastructure for US/Mexico border cities also support EPA's environmental justice goals.7

3. Pollution Prevention

Pollution prevention is a significant component of both the CWA and  SDWA Reauthorization
Initiatives. CWA pollution prevention proposals include:  allowing permit and pretreatment
programs to require industrial dischargers to consider pollution prevention,  including recycling
and pollutant reduction,  expanding the SRF to programs promoting water conservation and
pollution prevention; and encouraging pollution prevention to be considered in the development
of effluent guidelines and best management practices.
Similarly, the SDWA proposals have a strong emphasis on pollution prevention. The Source
Water Protection Programs for both ground water and drinking water allow states to protect
drinking water supplies by addressing pollution from all sources, looking beyond jurisdictional
borders, and building local efforts to prevent and control source contamination. Ultimately,
preventing contamination of drinking water sources will reduce the burdens of treatment required
of water systems.

OW is integrating pollution prevention into its operations including: the development of national
water discharge standards (effluent guidelines); conditions in NPDES  permits;  comprehensive,
site-specific pollution prevention plans under storm water general permits in 29 industrial sectors;
conditions in enforcement settlements; and encouraging Municipal Water Pollution Prevention
Programs for municipal waste treatment plants. OW also initiated the Water Alliances for
Voluntary Efficiency (WAVE)  to promote water use efficiency with the hotel industry. Preventing
pollution is the aim of the Wellhead Protection Program and the national Comprehensive State

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Ground Water Protection Program (CSGWPP). OW is working with other EPA offices and the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop an interagency agricultural pollution
prevention guiding principle. This guiding principle will establish goals for pollution prevention
through direct and indirect (technical/financial assistance) Agency actions, and public and private
partnerships with agricultural trade organizations. OW's efforts to incorporate pollution
prevention into all its program activities will increase over the next five years.

4. Strong Science and Data

OW's scientific focus has been strongly influenced by two Science Advisory Board (SAB)
reports8'9 that emphasized the importance of: sound science in decision making; Agency programs
working together to reduce risk to the environment and to human health; and giving ecological
risk reduction the same emphasis as human health risk reduction. Providing access to quality data
from a variety of sources for cross-program and multi-media analysis is critical to the success of
the watershed and ecosystem management approaches. Over the next five years, OW will
incorporate these guiding principles into its program by:
   *• Developing science, methods, models, criteria, and other tools to better identify,  assess,
     and quantify risks for both human health and ecosystems.
   *• Advancing science and technology to reduce risks from unaddressed sources or
     unregulated pollutants.
   > Co-chairing the National Science and Technology Council's Committee on Environment
     and Natural Resources Research. The Committee will develop a national environmental
     and natural resources research and development (R&D) Strategy to address the
     Administration's goals of improving linkages between science and policy and enhancing
     federal coordination.
   >• Participating in the President's Environmental Technology Initiative.
   >• Incorporating social sciences into OW's decision-making process to  demonstrate the
     relationships between the environment and the economy.
   ** Implementing action plans (1-5 years) for the environmental indicators recommended by
     the OW Indicators Workgroup10 and working with several states to pilot the use  of
     selected indicators. This effort also will support the requirements of the Government
     Performance Review Act.
   >- Improving  nationwide11 and EPA monitoring12 and data management practices, including
     improving quality assurance practices,13 and complying with agency-wide data
     administration standards to facilitate the sharing of data across organizations.
   >• Modernizing and  upgrading data systems14'15 so they better meet new program needs
     associated with risk and watershed-based programs.
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5. Partnerships
A key OW strategic guiding principle is to strengthen the capacity of non-federal partners,
primarily states and municipalities, to meet shared environmental goals. The success of newer
programs will depend heavily on local involvement and competency.

The CWA and SDWA Reauthorization Initiatives recommend "designer partnerships" among
federal, state, and local governments, private landowners, industry, and the public so they can
collaborate on flexible,  innovative, efficient solutions to water quality problems, increasingly
making watersheds the basis of analysis and  action.  A key EPA role, as indicated in the FY 1995
budget, will be to provide local governments, the agricultural community, citizens, and industry
with technical and financial and evaluation tools as they explore alternative approaches to solving
significant water quality problems.

Partnerships must include strategies to help  state and local governments meet the financial and
other challenges they face in achieving CWA and SDWA goals. EPA recognizes the burden faced
by states and localities, and OW intends to respond through increased technical assistance,
site-specific assistance, training, and tailored innovative approaches to program funding and
implementation. In FY  1993, OW pursued new partnerships  with the regulated community and
environmental groups. For example, rather than taking the traditional rulemaking approach, OW
expended significant time and resources on two highly  successful rulemaking processes involving
external stakeholders:  (1) a negotiated rule on disinfectants  and disinfection by products, and (2)
the pulp and paper industry integrated rule for water and air. It is OW's goal to involve states in
all OW rulemaking. OW also initiated the Water Alliances for Voluntary Efficiency (WAVE).
WAVE is designed to promote water use efficiency, with the hotel industry as partners in
educating the general public. In FY 1992- FY 1993, OW used consensus-building among a
diverse group of stakeholders to develop a comprehensive strategy to address problems from
combined sewer overflows (CSOs).

OW plays an important leadership role in international  activities, because so many basic
environmental needs are linked to water supply, wastewater  treatment, watershed protection, and
regulatory development. OW's highest geographic priority has been to work closely with this
country's nearest neighbors, Mexico and Canada. The  new North American Commission on
Environmental Cooperation should foster EPA's work on the Mexican Border and the Great
Lakes. Other significant near-by activities include developing protocols for addressing land-based
pollution impacting the Caribbean,  as well as the ongoing work on the London Dumping
Convention that impacts the U.S. marine environment. Other OW geographic initiatives include
extensive work on Middle East water issues; water scarcity and security are growing areas in
importance and impact the United States. Future geographic initiatives will be undertaken when
they have continental or global environmental consequences.

6. Reinventing EPA Management

President Clinton's CWA Initiative provides new flexibility to meet CWA goals more efficiently
while reducing base program cost.  It proposes grant consolidation, multi-year workplans,
streamlined administrative requirements for states electing to use the watershed approach, and
simplified revolving fund requirements to assist local communities. These measures will reduce
substantially  State and EPA paperwork. Substantially OW already has begun efforts to streamline

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 CWA Section 319 and 106 grants. In response to the National Performance Review (NPR), OW
 is working with the states and OMB to allow the use of a computerized grants system.

 OW's Office of Science and Technology is working with the Effluent Guidelines Task Force to
 identify ways to expedite the promulgation of effluent guidelines. OW will continue to coordinate
 rule development with the air, toxics, and waste programs, and the public for early issue
 resolution of all rules and to ensure that regulations minimize industrial investments. A regional
 workgroup currently is evaluating the NPDES permit program and will provide suggestions for
 streamlining to OW. Recommendations may include eliminating evidentiary hearings by having
 permit appeals go directly to the permit appeal board and expanding the use of general permits or
 permits-by-rule for certain classes of dischargers.

 Employee development, empowerment, and diversity are key components of the January 1994
 OW Streamlining Plan.16 The plan calls for: individual development plans for all OW employees;
 establishing mentoring and Position Exchange Shadow Assignment programs; multi-media
 training opportunities, specific slots for career growth, and rotations on a regular basis to broaden
 management experience and provide opportunities for growth. OW intends to increase the use of
 the team approach and matrix management. These teams will focus on multi-media, cross-cutting
 projects vital to OW mission. They will provide OW employees with more flexibility to develop
 innovative approaches.

 Recruitment of diverse candidates for middle and upper level positions will be expanded.
 Management will work with the OW Minority Focus Group to address issues surrounding the
 hiring, training, recruiting, and promoting of minorities. Efforts also will continue with Virginia
 State  University and a consortium of 34 historically  black colleges and universities to amplify
 training and career opportunities for minorities. Progress toward achieving a diversified work
 force  will be documented for staff in an annual report.

 7. Environmental Accountability

 Over the next five years, the Office of Water (OW) compliance assurance activities will continue
 to support and promote a strong compliance and enforcement program.  OW will target high-risk
 ecosystems, geographic areas, waterbodies, populations, and sectors. This approach will be
 integrated into the watershed management and source water protection strategies now being
 emphasized in water programs. The OW  compliance assurance activities will focus on regulatory
 development, outreach, and enhanced citizen participation, capacity building,
 compliance/technical assistance, supporting the new Office of Enforcement and Compliance
Assurance (OECA) with its compliance and enforcement activities, and jointly developing
 compliance assistance strategies with OECA for targeted areas.

The Office of Water will continue efforts to assure that its regulations are clear to the public, its
regulatory partners, and the regulated community, and that scope and regulatory responsibilities
are  defined clearly. OW also will develop regulations for which compliance can be measured
easily. Staff will conduct training on new regulations shortly after they are promulgated. Working
closely with OECA early in the regulation development process to ensure that regulations and
regulatory programs are enforceable will  be a priority.
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Compliance assistance, including outreach and technical assistance, will continue to be a key
component of water programs. The Office of Water will continue and strengthen its partnerships
with federal agencies, states, tribes and local governments in developing their capacity to manage
programs that achieve and go beyond the requirements of environmental law. This includes
continuing efforts to ensure compliance data are fully and accurately reported and to share
information widely using new communication technologies.

The Office of Water will continue to  sponsor and participate in workshops and conferences
pertaining to compliance with OW program requirements. For example, OW will continue to
work on interagency wetlands enforcement workgroups to identify ways to improve federal
wetlands enforcement through better processing of cases, training, communications and outreach,
and setting of priorities.  OW will coordinate these programmatic meetings (e.g., national
meetings of regions and states) with OECA to ensure mutual objectives and common interests are
served. Publications, training, and seminars will be provided to increase public awareness and
accountability regarding protection of the nation's wetlands, surface waters, and ground water
resources. This includes: publication  of annual reports on compliance of public water systems,
promoting National Drinking Water Week, continuing efforts with the National Training
Coalition, implementing the Safe Drinking Water Hotline, conducting training and outreach on
storm water program requirements, and working with the regulated community to develop a
national control program for combined sewer overflows.
OTHER MANDATES AND OBLIGATIONS

Public Health — Protecting and enhancing public health is an OW strategic goal.1  The
Administration's September 1993 package often recommendations for SDWA Reauthorization2
addresses fundamental issues that will better safeguard public health and provide safe drinking
water to all Americans. The SDWA reauthorization and its implementation is a top priority over
the next five years. The Administration's proposal includes:  a Source Water Protection Program,
flexibility for states with enhanced source-water protection programs, a drinking water state
revolving fund, a program to ensure the viability of small systems, an improved process for
selecting contaminants for regulation, and optional SDWA-authorized user fees.

Wet Weather Sources of Pollution and Persistent Toxics — The greatest sources of water
pollution are agricultural and urban nonpoint sources. In response to the Administrator's review
of Agency base activities, OW is shifting its emphasis to managing nonpoint source  pollutants.
OW requested $20 million dollars in FY 1995 for controlling nonpoint sources of pollution. This
will be directed toward controlling both urban/suburban and agricultural runoff produced by wet
weather conditions and restoring watersheds impacted by nonpoint source pollutants.

Another key priority is to address persistent toxics. The President's CWA Initiative strengthens
authorities to restrict or prohibit discharge of highly toxic and bioaccumulative pollutants,
includes authority to address loadings from all media, and establishes a more risk-based approach
to developing water quality criteria for toxics.

Base Programs — OW is committed to preserving its base programs as it moves toward solving
the remaining pollution problems. OW has tried to maintain the level of resources for national
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baseline programs. This is critical so that water quality progress made to date is not significantly
compromised and becomes the foundation upon which to build watershed and risk-based
approaches.
REFERENCES

    1. 'Water Planet IV; The Water Program's Strategic Plan, " Draft, USEPA, Washington
      B.C., July 1993.

    2. Administration Recommendation for Safe Drinking Water Act Reauthorization,
      USEPA, Washington B.C., September 8, 1993.

    3. President Clinton's Clean Water Initiative. EPA 800-R-94-001, Washington B.C.,
      February 1994.

    4. Summary of the 1995 Budget, USEPA, Washington B.C., February 1994.

    5. Draft NPDES Watershed Strategy, USEPA, Washington B.C., February 15, 1994.

    6. Office of Water Directors Meeting on Watershed Protection: Programmatic
      Opportunities to Promote the Watershed Protection Approach, Washington B.C.
      Becember 1992.

    7- U.S.- Mexico Integrated Border Environmental Plan (IBEP), USEPA, Washington
      B.C., February 1992.

    8. Framework For Ecological Risk Assessment. USEPA/630/R-92/001,  Washington B.C.,
      February 1992.

    9. Reducing Risk: Setting Priorities and Strategies for Environmental Protection. USEPA,
      Washington B.C., 1991.

   10. Briefing on Office of Water Environmental Indicators; Measuring Progress to Reach
      National Goals, USEPA, Washington B.C. January 1994.
   11. Ambient Water-Quality Monitoring In the United States:  First year Review,
      Evaluation, and Recommendations; Report to the Office of Management and Budget,
      Intergovernmental Task Force on Monitoring Water Quality, Interagency Advisory
      Committee on Water Bata, Water Information Coordination Program, Washington
      B.C., Becember 1992.

   12. Water Monitoring Strategy, USEPA, Washington B.C., November 1993.

   13. Office of Water Quality Management Plan, Braft, USEPA, Washington B.C.,
      Becember 1994

   14. Information Strategic Plan for the Public Water Supply System, USEPA, Washington
      B.C., 1993.

   15. STORETModernization Project Work Plan:  Findings, Conclusions,  and
      Recommendations, USEPA, Washington B.C., February 1991.

   16. Office of Water Draft Streamlining Plan, USEPA, Washington B.C., February 7, 1994.
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REGION 1
INTRODUCTION

Region 1 encompasses the six New England states and nine tribes, and ranges from densely
populated coastal urban areas to pristine mountains and forests. Historically a center for the
textile, paper, and metal plating/jewelry industries, and more recently for high-tech and health
industries, Region 1 environmental challenges include old mills and industrial sites, contaminated
sediments and water, urban air quality problems, acid deposition, radon, land use, and others.

The vision for Region 1 is "A New England where 1) people freely include in their daily lives a
concern for the environment and a commitment to prevent pollution  at work, at home and at play;
2) a quality environment and a healthy economic climate are compatible and meet the needs of
future generations; 3) rich and poor alike share in the benefits of a healthy environment; 4) the
natural balance of all living things is not threatened; and 5) a Regional Office with a dedicated,
highly skilled and culturally diverse workforce rewards achievement, creativity, teamwork and
continuous improvement."

Four years of strategic planning, resulting in a comprehensive, long-term (FY 1993 — 1998)
strategic plan, has enabled Region 1 to focus its activities in priority areas by re-targeting
resources and by undertaking new initiatives. Consistent with  the Agency-wide guiding
principles, Region 1's plan targets five long-term areas:
   1)  Protection of critical New England resources;
   2)  Pollution prevention;
   3)  Improving science and data, in-house and with partners;
   4)  Measurement of environmental results; and
   5)  Changing the organizational culture; collaborating with  states and tribes  is a key
      component of all Region 1 long-term strategies.

In addition to pursuing long-term strategies, Region 1 will be  implementing several new
initiatives:  a) the environmental technology industry initiative; b) assistance to the regulated
community; c) reinventing EPA through bold experimentation; and d) targeted enforcement.

Region 1 will target activities and  shift resources into regional and Agency-wide priorities, and
out of lower priority activities, using the disinvestment process. In FY 1994, Region 1 is
reinvesting about 5 percent of its staff into multi-media teams in priority areas, and funding five
positions from overhead to  coordinate cross-program priority activities. There also have been
significant shifts within divisions to carry out strategic workplans. The ultimate goal is to
incorporate these new approaches into the way Region 1  does business in the region so that the
disinvestment process becomes unnecessary.
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SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. Ecosystem Protection

Region 1's resource protection strategy entails management measures to protect high priority
natural resources in New England, and integrating the resource protection approach into how the
region does its work. Initiatives during the next five years include:
   *•  New Hampshire Pilot — This pilot will identify and protect high priority resources in
      New Hampshire, in partnership with federal, state, and local agencies and other
      organizations; this approach will be expanded to the other New England states.
   >•  Comprehensive Ground Water Protection Strategy — EPA will integrate ground
      water activities across its programs, and provide flexibility to states on ground water
      management.

   >•  Merrimack River Initiative — EPA will work with federal, state, local, and private
      partners developing a multimedia, ecosystem protection plan for the watershed, with
      targeted outreach activities, environmental and ecosystem goals and indicators, and a
      monitoring plan.

2. Environmental Justice

Region 1's environmental justice strategy includes implementation of Region I's Environmental
Justice Policy (using a database Region 1 developed to target potential inequities), annual division
workplans, and regular assessment of progress to integrate environmental justice into EPA, state,
and tribal activities, and a strong focus on partnership with community groups, Indian tribes,  and
other agencies. The Urban Lead (Pb) Project, in collaboration with federal, state, and community
organizations, has the goal of reducing risk of exposure to lead for urban children in
ethnic/minority and low-income communities.

3. Pollution Prevention

Region 1's pollution prevention strategy mandates annual division workplans of new and ongoing
efforts to integrate pollution prevention (P2) into all EPA activities, flexible negotiation of state
and tribal grants, and development of prevention measures. Region 1 supports new activities  such
as integrating environmental objectives with transportation planning and the P2 University
Consortium. Region 1 and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are
negotiating flexibility to implement DEP's "FIRST" program of whole-facility inspections. Air,
water, and RCRA program outputs are negotiated as a package, and DEP is allowed to vary  the
inspection mix between type and major and minor sources. Among the many DEP innovations:
identifying unpermitted waste streams and prevention opportunities during inspections.

4. Strong Science and Data

The region's improving science/data and environmental measurement strategies focus on
developing and utilizing scientifically sound data,  methods, and environmental and performance
measures that support regulatory actions and assessment of EPA program effectiveness. Actions
include implementing a team approach to setting data quality objectives for data collection,
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developing regional guidelines, methods, and environmental indicators, nurturing scientific staff,
and supporting EMAP and REMAP projects. Region 1 is establishing an indicators workgroup to
work with states on environmental measures.

5. Partnerships
Region 1 will be implementing a new approach to state and tribal partnerships to achieve better
joint planning, more capacity building, enhanced flexibility, increased public involvement, and
greater accountability for environmental results. A quality action team is addressing grants
streamlining. The State/EPA Communities Workgroup is evaluating the burden of regulatory
mandates on communities. The New England State/EPA Enforcement Committee will coordinate
enforcement priority setting and planning. New initiatives will focus on building partnerships with
states and tribes, and establishing collaborative relationships with other external stakeholders.

 6. Reinventing EPA Management
Region 1's changing organizational culture strategy recognizes the need for changes in EPA
culture to foster new approaches to environmental stewardship in New England. Key elements
include quality, cross-program approaches, teamwork, risk-taking, and diversity. Ongoing
activities include Total Quality Management, cross-program coordination, streamlining, and the
Organizational Health Survey (a periodic survey of employees' perceptions of progress on
long-term objectives). Region  1 will be reinventing EPA Region 1 through a series of bold
experiments with new approaches to more effectively and efficiently achieve environmental
outcomes.

7. Environmental Accountability
Through targeted enforcement initiative, EPA will work with the existing New England
State/EPA Environmental Enforcement Committee to establish a cooperative State/Federal New
England Environmental Compliance Network that will undertake a concerted,  cross-program
effort to strategically target state and federal compliance and enforcement resources. Region 1
will use two approaches: offering technical assistance to the regulated community, and pursuing
vigorous enforcement actions  against the right targets. Activities will include analysis of
enforcement resources, joint priority-setting with states, public outreach,  setting measures of
success, and institution-building.
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 REGION  2
 INTRODUCTION

 Region 2 is responsible for carrying out EPA programs in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico,
 and the Virgin Islands. Home to over 29 million people, the region claims unique features such as
 its vast coastal marine environment, the coral reefs and rain forests of the Caribbean, and three
 major waterways bordering Canada.  The region's densely concentrated industrial sector, including
 printing, publishing, and manufacturing of chemicals, allied products, and electronic equipment is
 a major factor in regional planning. Region 2 fully embodies the Agency mission and shares the
 Administrator's vision for the future  of environmental protection in this country. Region 2
 priorities reflect the national agenda as well as local circumstances.
 SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

 1. Ecosystem Protection

 At the heart of the region's efforts in ecosystem protection is the targeting of waters that continue
 to experience adverse ecosystem impacts. Region 2 is working with stakeholders to develop
 comprehensive plans to restore the ecological integrity of the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, the
 Long Island Sound, New York/New Jersey Harbor, the New York Bight, the Delaware Estuary,
 and San Juan Bay. Joint EPA/State/tribal strategic plans outline clear commitments for all parties
 to protect these watersheds and ensure EPA support of state and tribal initiatives on others.
 Region 2  also plays a leadership role in the protection of Onondaga Lake, Lake Champlain, and
 the Peconic Estuary, in response to Congressional mandates, and it is working with federal, state,
 tribal, and local partners to protect other unique ecosystems such as the Hackensack
 Meadowlands in New Jersey. Ecosystem protection will  continue to be an integral consideration
 in the region's strategy for targeting both multi-media and single-medium enforcement activities.

 One primary cause of adverse ecosystem impacts in Region 2 is contaminated sediment. Toxics in
 sediments contribute to elevated levels of toxics in fish tissue, which impose significant risk for
 the health of humans and fish-eating wildlife.  Contaminated sediments also make dredging and
 dredged material disposal problematic, threatening the economic viability of the region's ports.
 Therefore, Region 2 will focus in the coming years on the identification, characterization and
 remediation of contaminated sediments, and on environmentally responsible dredging and dredged
 material disposal.

 2. Environmental Justice

 Region 2 can point to several environmental justice efforts, including the establishment of a
 cross-divisional regional workgroup on environmental justice. One of this group's most important
 functions is to recommend to senior management ways to ensure that environmental justice
 considerations figure prominently in technical and managerial decisionmaking. Most recently,
 workgroup members have begun to draft a multi-year plan to guide the region's  environmental
justice endeavors. At the same time, staff are  active in bringing the benefits of environmental


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protection to all parts of the region. In the Catano area of Puerto Rico, which combines both
residential and industrial zones, a multi-media risk assessment is being conducted in response to
public health concerns raised by local residents. Regional enforcement resources also are being
focused on Catano to assure industrial and municipal facilities are in compliance. These efforts
will culminate in a long-term environmental management plan for the entire area that will mitigate
environmental factors that may be contributing to reported health problems. The Superfund
program also is engaged in an environmental equity study comparing remedial activities at
CERCLIS National Priority List (NPL) and non-NPL sites with respect to racial and economic
indicators. Objectives are to determine whether demographic groups are disproportionately
represented among residents near these sites, and whether groups have been differentially served
by any of the processes and procedures applied to Superfund site identification and remediation.
Results are expected to help orient program planning well into the future. In recognition of the
health problems related to subsistence fishing and the consumption of contaminated fish by
minority populations in the New York/New Jersey Harbor, Hudson River, and Great Lakes, the
region has implemented a fish advisories project. Grants have been given to the states to promote
community outreach and education on fishing bans and the risks associated with fish consumption.
Environmental justice factors will also be added to the criteria Region 2 currently uses to target
facilities for coordinated multi-media inspections and the resultant enforcement actions.

3. Pollution Prevention
In keeping with the Agency's emphasis on pollution prevention, Region 2's FY 1994 Pollution
Prevention Incentives for States grant program encourages partnerships between state agencies
and local government and/or non-profit private agencies; targeting of high risk areas; and
implementation of special  projects in support of environmental justice goals.  Over the next five
years, Region 2 will continue to support creative, local-level efforts to promote pollution
prevention through outreach and training and by developing a network of university-based
pollution prevention programs. Consistent with the Agency's internal Pollution Prevention
Policy, Region 2 also will assess and implement pollution prevention approaches at the EPA
facility in Edison, New Jersey (which is the largest EPA-owned facility), including waste
reduction, downsizing, and product or method substitution.

The region's strategy for using multi-media compliance and  enforcement to support pollution
prevention encompasses EPA, state and tribal initiatives. Region 2 are committed to incorporating
pollution prevention elements in case settlements, including those that lend themselves to
Supplemental Environmental Projects. The next few years will see the development of a
partnership with the state  of New York to carry out a risk-based multi-media inspection and
pollution prevention audit program. This effort will target major toxic dischargers who generally
represent higher-risk facilities and afford the greatest opportunities to prevent pollution. By
offering training and technical assistance, Region 2 will encourage other state and local
governments to adopt a similar approach.

4. Strong Science and Data
Region 2's Geographic Information System  (GIS) is a critical tool that ensures programs are
managed on the basis of strong science and data with respect to multi-media sources, exposures,
 and environmental conditions. Region 2's database design is a blueprint for building the GIS


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 infrastructure over the coming years, setting priorities for data acquisition, and developing
 applications that meet regional needs. Several pilot applications are underway, including projects
 for the Niagara River and Multi-Media Aquifer Protection. Region 2 will continue to share data
 with state, tribal, and other federal agencies in  order to obtain cost-effective information that is
 critical to local-area multi-media analysis.

 Region 2 also intends to promote quality science by providing analytical and technical support to
 programs and delegated states and tribes, and implementing state-of-the-art analytical methods in
 the regional laboratory. As a member of the EPA Environmental Monitoring Management
 Council steering committee, Region 2 will work toward Agency-wide, consistent, comparable
 monitoring methods. Region 2 will pursue similar goals on an interagency level through work
 with the Interagency Task Force for Monitoring and the Interagency Quality Assurance for
 Environmental Measurements Committee. This year Region 2 is initiating a pilot for an
 interagency environmental data information transfer system to facilitate federal agency sharing of
 environmental data,  and to avoid duplication of monitoring efforts. The pilot will be governed by
 the highest standards of data quality to maximize its utility. Region 2 also plans to foster improved
 science dialogue with the public through implementation of Region 2's Peer Review Policy and
 continuation of the Region 2 Quality Assurance Outreach Program.

 5. Partnerships

 Working to develop partnerships with stakeholders to improve the effectiveness of EPA's
 environmental programs and policies is another of Region 2's fundamental activities. Through FY
 1999, the region will continue and expand  its outreach programs with other federal, state, and
 tribal agencies to help develop and strengthen their capacity to deliver effective environmental
 programs. Building on successful pilot efforts with two states in the water program, the region
 will  expand strategic planning efforts with  state and tribal  agencies to ensure that their needs and
 priorities are accounted for in all programs. In addition, the region will emphasize flexibility by
 reducing the level of oversight where state and  tribal agencies have proven their capability to
 conduct effective environmental programs.

 Indian nations have used regional assistance to  develop environmental consortia; the St. Regis
 Mohawk Tribe periodically publishes the Iroquois Environmental Newsletter, further promoting
 information sharing.  Region 2 anticipates the further strengthening of EPA-Indian partnerships
 through specific unique  initiatives. For example, the Seneca Nation of Indians is  considering a
 program of tribal enforcement and outreach to  mitigate the potential environmental impacts of
 petroleum storage tanks on their lands.  The region's Indian program will become more directed to
 specific programs in the future, consistent with  the partnership strategy.

 International programs in Bulgaria, Poland, and Asia should be viewed as an extension of EPA's
 domestic efforts, recognizing that pollution knows no boundaries. The region will continue to
 support the Agency's international program in a manner consistent with the strategic plan. The
 region's technical assistance to Bulgaria aims to support the creation of sustainable programs to
 protect human health and the environment. Region 2 anticipates that, in the coming years,
Bulgaria will begin to institutionalize some of the components of previous Region 2 programs,
especially in the area of drinking water protection and waste water treatment. Region 2 also plans
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to call upon New York State's expertise in air protection to assist Bulgaria in the development of
its comprehensive monitoring, compliance, and enforcement program.

6. Reinventing EPA Management
Region 2 views reinventing EPA management as an opportunity to re-examine its priorities, to
restructure its operations to make the best use of resources, and to improve the quality of service
and programs delivered to customers. Region 2 shares the goals articulated in the Agency's
streamlining guidance and have devised, with input from all divisions and all staff levels in the
region, a plan that addresses each goal in turn. Specific Region 2 efforts over the coming years
will include establishing a process for organizational analysis and redesign; analyzing the feasibility
of regional task force recommendations; and continuing an aggressive recruiting programs in
support of workforce diversity, while providing a broad range of developmental opportunities to
enhance employee readiness for managerial positions when vacancies occur. At the end of five
years, streamlined work processes and increased delegation of authority and accountability will
have contributed to significant managerial improvements in the region.

7. Environmental Accountability
Region 2 has a variety of plans in place to enhance environmental accountability in the regulated
community over the coming years. For example, the region will continue to concentrate both
single-medium and multi-media inspections and follow-up enforcement activity (as appropriate) in
geographic areas of ecological sensitivity and/or in communities with environmental justice
concerns. These include the  Niagara Frontier and Corning and Cortland aquifer regions of New
York, the area of the Akwesasne Indian lands, and the  Catano region of Puerto Rico.  The next
several years will see an increase in efforts to use SEPs to achieve pollution prevention objectives
in connection with enforcement case settlements. Finally, Region 2 will continue to develop new
levels of partnership with counterpart state agencies by encouraging their participation in
Multi-Program Enforcement Steering Committee, which selects multi-media inspection candidates
and oversees all aspects of Region 2's multi-media enforcement program.

Media program staff will continue to offer educational  programs on new and existing regulatory
requirements. The region expects to replicate the positive results of the region's storm water
permitting effort in Puerto Rico, which enabled the region to ensure that emerging compliance
requirements were widely discussed, understood, and met prior to initiation of follow-up
enforcement actions. The emphasis in future years for Clean Water Act programs will be on the
combined  sewer overflow policy/Clean Water Act requirements, wetlands, and the second phase
of the storm water permitting program. Region 2 also plans to expand active compliance
 assistance programs in the areas of quality assurance and sound scientific data, laboratory, and
field  technical assistance, and the programs for asbestos, lead, PCBs, the transition to
 non-ozone-depleting refrigerants, and EPCRA Section 313 and federal facilities compliance.
 Region 2 will continue to refine its process for developing compliance assistance targets and
 strategies, especially through the use of GIS data and risk analysis. Regional staff also will expand
 public information, education, and assistance programs designed to address environmental justice
 concerns in low-income and minority areas. In selected areas, including Camden and Newark,
 New Jersey, compliance profiles will be developed in coordination with local and state agencies.
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 The region's Superfund program plans a number of advances in the area of environmental
 restoration over the coming years. Construction completions at the region's "worst sites first" will
 be a top priority, as will continued participation in the Superfund Accelerated Cleanup Model and
 Superfund Administrative Improvements Initiative. The region's focus on enforcement is expected
 to increase the number of timely cleanups it can undertake or oversee with existing resources.
 Procedures to be developed in the near future will ensure that potential responsible parties (PRPs)
 meet the terms of compliance vehicles, especially schedules to which parties have consented, and
 will do much to maintain patterns of timely compliance over the next five years. Other specific
 activities to be undertaken in support of the region's Superfund enforcement commitments during
 FY 1995 — FY 1999 include the conduct of early PRP searches to favor negotiations and
 maximize their participation in cleanups, and the utilization of innovative techniques to promote
 settlements, such as alternative dispute resolution  and non-binding preliminary allocations of
 responsibility. At the same time, the region will work to expedite the resolution of PRPs' liability,
 especially in cases involving small volume generators. The timeliness of these resolutions will be
 enhanced by full consideration of de minimis and de micromis settlements, opportunities for mixed
 funding,  and prospective purchaser agreements to expedite the re-use of Superfund sites.

 It is difficult to segregate regional activities into discrete categories because in many cases Region
 2 initiatives respond to a number of important concerns, in addition to a primary one: the
 protection of the environment and human health in all parts of the region. For this reason, a
 number of the region's endeavors exemplify the pursuit of more than one key strategy. This is a
 good indicator of Region 2's successes in multi-program, multi-divisional planning, which the
 region will build upon in the future. It is envisioned that implementation of these strategies will
 primarily involve targeting of regional programmatic activities and resources, rather than shifting
 from one area or medium to another. Through  implementation of these strategies, in concert with
 strong base program activities, the region anticipates continued steady progress toward attaining
 national goals for environmental protection.
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REGION 3
INTRODUCTION
Region 3 is the nation's mid-Atlantic region. It includes the states of Delaware, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia, which is treated as
a state by most environmental statutes. EPA's Region 3 is located in Philadelphia, PA. The
Central Regional Laboratory and the Chesapeake Bay Program Office are situated in Annapolis,
MD. There is also a small staff in Wheeling, WV.
Region 3 is characterized by densely settled urban areas, large agricultural areas that are
cultivated intensely, mountain regions with significant coal mining and mineral extraction, and
several areas with producing gas and oil wells. It is a  center of steel-making, coal mining, and oil
refining, and a secondary center for gas and oil extraction. Environmentally, the region is
threatened by acid mine drainage, acid deposition, ozone violations, toxic releases from chemical
plants and refineries, significant  non-point source water pollution, and problems related to aging
heavy industry.
The region's major river systems include the Delaware, the Susquehanna, the Ohio, the Potomac,
and the James. The region's rivers feed into two major estuaries, the Delaware and Chesapeake
Bays.  The Chesapeake Bay and  most of its basin lie within the region. The Delaware Bay lies
partially in Region 3 and partially in Region 2. Both estuaries face significant environmental
stresses. The region has major program efforts underway in each.

Region 3's overall approach and priorities for the next five years are similar to those in the
Agency-wide strategic plan and support the Agency-wide plan. The region is looking forward to
implementing both plans.

Overall Approach
Region 3 is implementing a regional strategic plan for FY 1994 through 2001 that complements
the Agency-wide strategic plan. It is based on five strategic goals and twenty-one objectives that
 support the goals. The goal topics are Management,  Reliance on Data, State Relations, Acid
Pollution and Ozone. (A complete list of goals and objectives is included in Region 3's strategic
 plan which is available from the region's Strategic Planning and Program Integration Branch.)

 The region's goals are reflected by the activities the region will stress in addition to national
 priorities. There are a number of other initiatives underway in the region that support both
 regional and national priorities.  For example, the Chesapeake Bay Program is an initiative that
 involves the region, the states in the region and several headquarters offices. Other initiatives of
 this type are the Baltimore-Washington Urban Risk Project, multi-media enforcement targeting,
 an emphasis on ecosystems and protection of biodiversity, development of environmental
 indicators, support of international programs, and a very active pollution prevention program. The
 region will support these activities by  investing more resources over the next five years.
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 SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

 1. Ecosystem Protection

   *• The Chesapeake Bay program supports ecosystems on the broadest scale. Bay program
      efforts are multi-media, cross program, and inter-governmental. For example, the
      program has an initiative underway to assess the impact of air transport of nitrogen
      compounds as a major source of nitrogen as a nutrient in the Bay. This program will help
      achieve the nitrogen reduction target for the year 2000.

   *- The region's study of the inland and coastal bays focuses on a unique ecosystem, small
      bays that have extremely limited interchange of their waters and which are under
      development pressure.  The study includes field sampling, data analysis, and a comparison
      with historical data to establish a baseline and trends to guide future environmental
      improvement efforts.

   *• The Terrestrial Ecosystem Protection Initiative takes a proactive role in conserving
      terrestrial habitats and biological diversity in unique and threatened areas. The initiative
      is focusing on development issues in the Pocono region of Pennsylvania to protect
      habitats in areas that will be developed over the next five to ten years.
   *• The Mid-Atlantic High/and Assessment (MAHA) enhances ecosystem protection and
      improves science and data. It is a major effort to chart the environmental health of a
      fragile ecosystem that is found throughout the Appalachian highlands.

2. Environmental Justice

Each division has an environmental justice plan in place that is intended to make environmental
justice part of the region's everyday work and not an afterthought. The plans will be implemented
over the next five years.

   >• The Baltimore-Washington Urban Risk project addresses environmental justice concerns.
      The project is examining the relationship between exposure to toxic substances and
      neighborhoods in Baltimore as well as working to raise awareness of environmental risks
      to city residents. Work  has been underway in Baltimore for two years and is starting in
      Washington. There are  three headquarters-funded comparative risk projects in Region 3
      that will provide data on environmental justice.
   *•  The region's multi-media enforcement program supports environmental justice by
     targeting actions in areas where environmental justice is an issue.  A study has been
      started to document environmental justice concerns in enforcement actions throughout
     the region. It should be available to the region's enforcement staff in FY 1995.

3. Pollution Prevention

  *• Prevention strategies are an important part of Region 3's approach to compliance.
     Region 3 was a pioneer in using Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) in
     enforcement settlements. The region has active 33/50 and Green Lights programs.
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   +• Region 3 is part of the Tidewater Interagency P2 Project (TIPPP). TIPPP is an EPA,
     DOD, NASA pilot created under the EPA-DOD Chesapeake Bay Agreement. It has
     advanced from planning to implementation. Results will be used throughout DOD.

4. Strong Science and Data
   *• The region has made reliance on data one of its strategic goals. The region has started a
     multi-year  process to develop improved environmental indicators. Region 3 plans to have
     indicators in place and to produce a "State of the Region" report during FY 1995.
   >• The MAHA project, described under the Ecosystem Protection section, also is intended
     to upgrade environmental data available to the region.
   *• The region will improve its programmatic and administrative data as part of the reliance
     on data goals. Activity measures will be integrated into indicators. Data will be
     developed  to support the management goal. The region's on-LAN (Local Area
     Network) management information system will be expanded to include data from all
     efforts. Most of this work should become operational during FY 1995.
   > The region is building a new environmental science center at Fort Meade, which will
     house the Central Regional Laboratory and the OPPTS laboratory in Beltsville.
   >- The region plans to study the use of neo-tropical birds as environmental  indicators. Bird
     populations, migratory habits, and species diversity are unique indicators.

5. Partnerships
   *• The region has adopted state relations as one of its strategic goals. State representatives
     are being invited to participate in the activities of the goal which include involving states
     in the region's priority setting/strategic planning process.
   >• Region 3 is very active in its support of international activities. The region has the lead
     for managing EPA's partnership with Poland.
   *• The management goal includes customer focus as one of its areas of emphasis. The
     region's external relations plan for FY 1994 focuses on the customer needs of various
      constituencies. Region 3 also is providing leadership for the Agency-wide work group
      addressing the President's Executive Order on Customer Focus.
   >- In the area of state partnerships, Region 3 is working with the state of West Virginia to
      address acid mine drainage, which is a significant environmental problem in the coal
      mining areas.
   >•  The Chesapeake Bay Program is dependent on the efforts of all of the states and many of
      the local governments in the region. In particular, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia
      are the prime movers behind  the program and are keys to its success.

In FY  1993, Region 3 acted to improve its state/federal enforcement partnership. Semi-annual
meetings are held between senior state and EPA enforcement managers to identify areas where
the state/federal  enforcement partnership can be strengthened.
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 The region's Multi-Media Enforcement Initiative is an integrated regional approach to single and
 multi-media enforcement using various systems for information exchange, targeting, coordination,
 and case management. The initiative has established enforcement objectives from headquarters,
 regional, and state goals and priorities. Part of the region's effort will be directed to working with
 the newly established OECA to incorporate national strategies into the region's enforcement plan.

 6. Reinventing EPA Management

   >• The region's management goal emphasizes process improvement, empowerment, and
      cultural diversity.

   >• The Region 3 Cultural Diversity Work Group, with the assistance of a consultant, will
      develop and implement a cultural diversity strategy for the region.
   *- Each major organization in the region is undertaking a review for possible realignment to
      meet the needs of changing programs and to reduce overhead. The region's streamlining
      plan also includes an outreach component to help work with customers on implementing
      changes as part of reinventing government.

 7. Environmental Accountability

 Region 3 has a number of initiatives listed under Pollution Prevention, Environmental Justice, and
 Strong Science and Data which will enhance Environmental Accountability. In particular,  a strong
 promotion of voluntary programs and development of environmental indicators will involve more
 actors in cleaning up the environment  and boost Region 3's ability to assess the impact of its
 actions.

 Region 3 also has a number of enforcement initiatives underway to support Environmental
 Accountability:

   *•  The Multi-Media Enforcement Initiative is designed to target the region's enforcement
      activities in a systematic fashion by emphasizing environmental, health, and compliance
      problems and resolving them in a whole facility context with or without enforcement
      actions.

   *"  Region 3 enforcement programs are developing innovative targeting strategies. For
      example, the NPDES program is redirecting its attention from significant non-compliers
      (SNCs) and to the issue  of water quality and the numerous minor sources and non-SNCs
      that contribute to its degradation.
   *-  The region holds semi-annual  meetings with states. These meetings have established a
      continuing forum that addresses enforcement and compliance issues and emphasizes
      state/federal cooperation.
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REGION  4
INTRODUCTION

By the year 2000, the population of Region 4 is expected to top 52 million, making this region
most populous of all ten EPA regions. The special challenges associated with this growth make it
imperative that the region enhance traditional regulatory approaches to environmental protection
without the benefit of extensive new resources. The region must work externally to leverage the
resources of states, local governments, the regulated community, environmental groups, and the
general public. Internally, Region 4 must provide an environment that allows its employees to be
creative and empowered, provide a more geographic focus for the region's actions, and put more
emphasis on non-regulatory strategies while maintaining the region's regulatory base.

Region 4 will use the National Goals Project as a starting point to begin work internally and with
states and other customers externally to develop quantitative, results-oriented goals and
indicators. Region 4 expects to begin working with states and other external customers following
the National Goals Project Regional Roundtable. As the region moves toward goals and
indicators, much of its work will take a more geographic focus. This will provide a framework to
examine a variety of solutions to complex problems and better measure environmental results.
 SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

 1. Ecosystem Protection
 The region is continuing several selected projects including South Florida, Atlanta Olympics,
 Southern Oxidant Study, Southern Appalachian Mountain Initiative, Savannah River Watershed,
 Flint Creek, several National Estuary Projects, and several Advanced Identification of Wetlands.
 Region 4 will increase investment in the Gulf of Mexico Program to meet the five-year
 environmental challenges set in 1992. The region will increase the emphasis on ecosystem-related
 projects in the future. In order to select the most critical priority areas for such projects, Region 4
 will develop and use a system to characterize and prioritize ecosystems based on hydrologic and
 other ecosystem characteristics.

 2. Environmental Justice
 Region 4 intends to integrate environmental justice concerns into its everyday program operations
 and improve internal communication on this  issue. Over the next 18 months the region will be
 developing and delivering training to its employees. The region is now involved in a health risk
 targeting analysis project. Once the highest-risk areas are identified, Region 4 will overlay
 demographic information to identify areas of high environmental justice concern. Region 4 also
 plans to place special emphasis on environmental justice in all of its geographic/ecosystem
 initiatives. Region 4 will meet with its customers in each area to discuss their concerns.
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 3. Pollution Prevention

 This plan seeks to broaden the understanding of pollution prevention beyond source reduction to
 include increased efficiency in the use of raw materials, energy, water, and other resources and
 conservation of natural resources leading to sustainable development. Region 4 will incorporate
 pollution prevention into its internal regulatory operations through opportunities identified by the
 Region 4 pollution prevention network. With a separate regional office pollution prevention focus
 group, Region 4 will build pollution prevention into daily office activities and work with the
 Government Service Administration to make the new Atlanta Federal Building, which will be
 occupied in 1996, a model of environmental efficiency. The region is seeking partnership
 opportunities with industries  and local government to promote voluntary pollution prevention
 efforts and will promote environmentally beneficial technologies.

 4. Strong Science and Data

 A major need in Region 4 is to redirect and increase monitoring and analysis to strengthen the
 regions understanding of geographic problems. Region 4 plans to leverage the resources of other
 agencies as much as possible  in the sharing of environmental data and expand its ecosystem
 assessment capability of the use of GIS and EMAP to help develop solutions to problems and
 display indicator trends. This  will be an invaluable tool as the region expand its geographic focus.
 By using existing data, knowledge, approaches, and best judgments, the region can meet the
 needs of broad assessments of ecosystems with sufficient information to develop goals and
 problem-solving strategies, and improve its capability to develop indicators.

 5. Partnerships

 The development of goals and indicators with states will be a major effort in this area. The region
 is also planning to initiate a new partnership with the citizens of Region 4 by focusing
 environmental education efforts on the community at large to provide awareness of how
 individuals can play major roles in improving environmental quality. Region 4 will build
 partnerships with small business and communities by providing a greater emphasis on
 non-regulatory cooperative assistance. As part of its geographic and ecosystem focus, Region 4
 will develop and strengthen partnerships with land acquisition and resource management agencies.
 The region also will continue  its on-going partnership-building in Central and South America in
 collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization. The region also  expects to continue to
 strengthen its working relationships with tribes and environmental groups.

 6. Reinventing EPA Management

Region 4's recently completed streamlining plan lays out a detailed set of activities with
 accompanying milestones. Specific regional goals addressed in  the plan include  flattening the
organization and empowering employees to make decisions as  appropriate, using diversity as a
strength, creating GS-14 and higher positions to provide technical expert opportunities,  and
taking advantage of new technologies to improve operations internally. Region  4 intends to use
the streamlining process to help create an atmosphere among all of employees of integrity, trust in
the ability of co-workers, and  encouragement of diverse viewpoints. The region believe these
values are important factors in encouraging the maximum creativity from its employees.  Another
regional goal which is not specifically addressed n the plan is managing the organization  to


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increase focus on geographic and non-regulatory activities. Region 4 expects the implementation
of its streamlining plan to make these types of activities easier to accomplish by increasing
flexibility in the organization. This increased flexibility is essential to begin dealing effectively with
problems on a multi-media basis. Region 4 will be looking carefully at this issue as it examine
potential organizational changes to improve the region's enforcement program.

7. Environmental Accountability
The heart of Region 4's enforcement program is to maintain high levels of administrative and civil
judicial enforcement actions. Region 4 will contain to maintain this level of enforcement activity.
Region 4 will increase cross-program and multi-media targeting and compliance/enforcement
planning activities. Region 4 also intends to increase the utilization of its enforcement resources in
higher priority areas (e.g., sensitive ecosystems, environmental justice and other "hot" spots).
Region 4 will increase the use of compliance assistance activities for "key" sectors and industries
in Region 4, including both private and federal facilities. Region 4 plans to define and measure
"compliance rates". Region 4 intends to communicate/develop "strategic enforcement" plan with
states and to collaborate with the states on numerous compliance and enforcement activities.
Region 4 intends to increase the use of SEPs and other innovative enforcement tools, as
appropriate.
 OTHER MANDATES AND OBLIGATIONS

 Region 4 is strongly committed to meeting its regulatory obligations while at the same time
 carrying out the activities presented in this plan. Region 4 believes that a geographic, multi-media
 focus to its activities will lead ultimately to improved regulatory compliance. Most of the activities
 presented in this plan can be undertaken with out the expenditure of significant new resources.
 Region 4 is not requesting that resources be shifted from one medium to another. The region does
 expect to be targeting many of its base activities by geographic area rather than by program.
 However, there are some changes in the way the region does business that are necessary for full
 implementation of its goals. These changes include targeted resource shifts from regulatory
 activities toward non-regulatory assistance activities, changing emphasis from activity measures to
 tracking environmental results, greater regional flexibility in overview of state programs, and
 greater flexibility in state grants. If the Agency can make these changes in how it does business,
 the regions can put greater emphasis on achieving environmental results rather than meeting
 quarterly activity targets.
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 REGION  5
 INTRODUCTION

 Region 5 and the six state environmental agencies and departments located in Region 5 (Illinois,
 Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin) are dedicated to serving as stewards of the
 environment and its natural resources for present and future generations.

 In November 1993, Region 5 and the states completed an 18-month effort to reach agreement on
 strategic directions for the Midwest environment (1995 — 1999). Ten strategic themes that
 address protection of public health and the environment, reduction of pollution at its source, and
 improvement of the institutions that perform these responsibilities form the basis of a joint
 planning process. The ten themes are: human exposures to environmental hazards; ecosystem
 protection and restoration; diffuse and non-point source pollution; global  atmospheric hazards;
 prevent pollution; reduce toxic releases; intergovernmental capacity and cooperation; enhanced
 public outreach; improved delivery systems, and local physical infrastructure.

 A fundamental shift in management philosophy is occurring among Region 5, the states, and the
 tribes. With the states, a series of annual one-on-one meetings will identify specific activities to
 pursue during the coming year. With the tribes, Region 5 currently is developing a strategic
 planning process to identify similar opportunities.

 In the near term, changes in workplans and budgets  will reflect these  strategic directions. In order
 to effect long-term changes, Region 5 will work with EPA headquarters to obtain the necessary
 flexibility in grants programs and systems of accountability to achieve environmental goals. The
 region intends to work with headquarters to shift from activity measures to environmental
 indicators and results. Ultimately, the allocation of resources and the  accountability among Region
 5, the states, and the tribes will be linked to attainment of environmental results.
SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. Ecosystem Protection

Traditional programs, effective in the past, no longer are sufficient to address threats facing
Midwest ecosystems such as the Great Lakes, oak savannas, prairies, etc. Environmental
protection and conservation programs must be re-oriented to meet the needs of ecosystems.

The Great Lakes National Program Office has long-term planning specifically addressing the
Great Lakes Basin. Actions such as the joint federal/state Five-Year Strategy for the Great Lakes,
the Great Lakes Enforcement Strategy,  and the EPA/State Great Lakes Wafer Quality Initiative '
are basin-wide efforts aimed at translating theory into practice. These efforts target existing tools
or develop new tools to address specific, identified threats to the ecosystems.  Lakewide
Management Plan (LaMPS) and Remedial Action Plans (RAPS) are key management processes
that integrate and coordinate management actions based on lake-wide or local impairments.
Efforts are underway to integrate fishery management goals for lakes and local areas with
environment goals established in LaMPS and RAPS.

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To implement the Great Lakes five-year habitat protection goal, work has begun with other
partners to develop a strategic conservation plan for critical Great Lakes habitats. Demonstration
projects are underway for habitat restoration and protection. These efforts present opportunities
to bring about greater integration and coordinated management between environmental protection
and resource management activities.
Region 5 has forged a relationship with federal, state, and private land management agencies
under an "Ecosystem Resolution". This framework enables Region 5 with its partners to define
areas of ecosystem protection where joint efforts are essential for success. These areas include the
sharing of information, resources and project planning and implementation activities. Through
these efforts and strategic planning with the states and tribes, Region 5 is moving in the direction
of integrated ecosystem management.

2. Environmental Justice
Region 5 and the states are pursuing environmental justice by working towards the reduction of
human exposures to environmental hazards, the reduction of toxic releases, the prevention of
pollution and the enhancement of public outreach. In addition, environmental justice is being
addressed in  specific Regional initiatives such as brownfields and urban redevelopment,
sustainable development and on-going geographic initiatives, notably Southeast Chicago and
Cleveland, Ohio.

3. Pollution  Prevention
Region 5 and the Great Lakes National Program Office are working in collaboration with states,
tribes, non-government organizations, and Canada on pollution prevention projects in the Great
Lakes basin,  such as the Bi-Nation Program to Restore and Protect Lake Superior, the Great
Printers Project, and in the  automotive sector. Region 5 and its partners will  continue to work
together to: 1) identify and remove barriers to pollution prevention; 2) develop incentives that
encourage pollution prevention and conservation of environmental resources; 3) integrate
pollution prevention into current programs; 4) educate and increase public awareness on pollution
prevention; 5) support and  promote research and development of pollution prevention
technologies; and 6) develop methods of measuring achievement and tracking performance in
preventing pollution.

4. Strong Science and Data
The Great Lakes National Program Office has been cited as  a national model for expanding the
use of data integration. Region 5, the states, and other federal agencies are identifying existing
and needed research for solving environmental problems, developing methods to  share databases
and GIS information,  and devising methods to  assess, maintain, and restore ecosystem
biodiversity at the regional level.

5. Partnerships
Region 5 has found that, when it works in partnership with others, it has been successful in
operating outside of the regulatory framework to pursue more effective environmental protection.
Region 5 and the states have developed a joint, multi-year strategic plan. They are developing a
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 joint strategic plan with the tribes. In partnership with 20 other state and federal agencies, the
 region has developed the resolution for Interagency Cooperation on Ecosystem Management
 (ICEM). ICEM is a consortium of midwestern state and federal agencies working together to
 coordinate ecosystem management activities.

 6. Reinventing EPA Management

 Region 5 will implement its reinventing plan. The plan addresses issues such as empowerment,
 organization structure,  diversity in the workforce, and improving work processes and systems. It
 lays out a detailed set of activities with accompanying milestones. The plan is designed to
 empower Region 5 employees and provide them with a clear sense of mission.

 7. Environmental Accountability

 Region 5 will work with the states, the tribes, and other federal agencies to promote an effective
 enforcement program. Region 5 will target actions on multi-media initiatives, high-risk sectors,
 geographic areas, and ecosystems to accomplish its goal of protecting human health and the
 environment.  In addition, Region 5 will continue to pursue pollution prevention and other
 innovative solutions. The region is committed to maintaining its strong enforcement presence.
OTHER MANDATES AND OBLIGATIONS

Region 5 has a unique role as the Program Manager for the Great Lakes National Program Office.
This office has specific ecological objectives mandated by Congress for which the region is
responsible. The region will continue to meet regulatory obligations and at the same time move
ahead on new initiatives. Region 5 is committed to addressing the enforcement priorities identified
with the states and tribes. Resource savings identified in the reinventing Region 5 process will be
shifted to priority matters.
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REGION  6
INTRODUCTION
The Region 6 vision is "To Meet the Environmental Needs of a Changing World." The region's
employees are public servants dedicated to improving and preserving the quality of the
environment and protecting human health.
Region 6 encompasses an ecologically, demographically, and economically diverse five-state
region of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, as well as 63 Indian tribes.
The Region 6 strategic plan addresses environmental problems and issues in terms of the priorities
determined by a region-wide  comparative risk analysis that examined ecology, human health, risk
management, and economic factors. To assist in this effort, Region 6 has developed an
environmental justice assessment indicator process using the CIS.
In support of the Administrator's seven guiding principles, Region 6 is focusing on geographic
initiatives to address issues identified in the comparative risk report as posing the greatest risks to
human health and the environment. The plan is not intended to be comprehensive nor to duplicate
national program goals or initiatives that are accomplished, to a large extent, through regional
base programs.
Geographic specific concerns along the U.S./Mexico Border in the southern Louisiana are
integrally tied to environmental justice. By combining ecosystem protection and pollution
prevention as approaches to  manage risk and address environmental justice in these areas, the
region addresses not just symptoms, but the causes.
Basing the Region 6 approach to prioritization on comparative risk assessments allows the region
to direct effort and resources toward solving problems that pose the greatest  danger to human
health and the ecology first. In addition, this approach supports the commitment to strong science
and data. Building partnerships is an approach key to accomplishing the region's goals. Region 6
is making, and  will continue  to expand its efforts with the various constituencies the Agency
 serves. Streamlining will be pursued in all of the region's efforts as government and the Agency
 move toward smaller workforces and fewer resources, with expanding missions.
 SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES
 The region's strategic plan addresses its priorities in the context of the Administrator's seven
 guiding principles — ecosystem protection, environmental justice, pollution prevention, strong
 science and data, partnership building, environmental accountability, and reinventing EPA
 management. These principles will form the basis of how the region implements the major
 initiatives. In addition, Region 6 will use community outreach to achieve its objectives. These
 priorities have been discussed with Region 6 states, and the Regional Administrator has
 committed to meeting personally with states/tribes  on a regular basis to further this partnership of
 developing yearly outputs/activities in support of the region's initiatives. The region has eight
 major initiatives to  be accomplished in the next five years that reflect the seven guiding principles.
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    1) State/Tribal Capacity Building — to establish a framework for state/tribal/ regional
       relations emphasizing flexibility, a mutually supportive working relationship, and a
       recognition of shared and unique EPA, state, and tribal environmental priorities.
    2) Multi-Media Enforcement — to implement a more comprehensive, multi-media
       approach to solving environmental problems. Develop and implement an inspection
       program that targets facilities to be inspected on a multi-media basis. Refine and focus
       enforcement actions.

    3) U.S./Mexico Border — to provide for the long-term protection of human health and
       natural ecosystems in the border area through pollution prevention, monitoring,
       investigations, and mitigation of the effects of pollution. Integrate environmental justice
       into all decisionmaking in partnership with EPA regions,  state and local agencies in
       Texas, and New Mexico, as well as affected public/private entities.
    4) Southern Louisiana/Lower Mississippi River — to minimize loss of natural
       ecosystems, reduce impact of air toxics, reduce pesticides exposure, identify and address
       Superfund sites in this highly populated and ecologically sensitive area. Develop and
       implement strategies with local, state, federal, and public/private partnerships to aid in
       protecting human health and restoring, protecting, and creating natural ecosystems.
    5)  Gulf of Mexico — to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for managing
       and protecting resources of the Gulf in partnership with EPA (Atlanta),  other federal
      agencies, state and local agencies in Texas and Louisiana, as well as affected
      public/private entities. Aggressively implement Resource  Conservation and Recovery
      Act permitting and corrective action programs to minimize releases that could affect the
      Gulf of Mexico. Protect,  restore, and reduce the loss of coastal wetlands through
      implementation of Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act
      (CWPPRA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and other remedies involving federal state
      partnership.

    6) Petrochemical Industrial Sector — to identify specific sites of this industrial sector (40
      percent of the national total are located in Region 6) that  are causing  environmental
      problems and move toward an integrated, multi-media approach to pollution prevention,
      permitting, and compliance activities. In partnership with  the states, establish
      coordinated EPA, state, and local programs to reduce environmental risk associated with
      the petrochemical industry through activities that promote chemical release prevention,
      regulatory compliance, and public interaction.

    7) Watershed/Geographic Approach — to work closely with state and tribal officials to
      develop a cooperative effort of pollution control and prevention in carrying out the
      watershed protection program with full participation of all stakeholders. As an example,
      the region currently considering the Mississippi Delta Project for  inclusion in its plan.
   8) Federal Facilities — to achieve multi-media compliance at all facilities, timely and
      efficient remediation, expeditous property clean-up, transfer, and  closing of bases, and
      participation of affected communities.

Region 6 has directed resources within each program to focus on these  high priority initiatives.
The region will continue to work with headquarters counterparts to maximize flexibility within

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existing appropriations and laws. The region's strategic plan addresses its priorities in the context
of the Administrator's seven guiding principles as shown below.

1. Ecosystem Protection
Three initiatives — Southern Louisiana/Lower Mississippi River, Gulf of Mexico,  and Watershed
Protection — deal specifically with protecting natural ecosystems. They will aim to protect,
restore, and reduce impacts in these geographic areas.

2. Environmental Justice
Southern Louisiana/Lower Mississippi River, U.S./Mexico Border, Petrochemical Industrial
Sector, Federal Facilities, and Multi-Media Enforcement initiatives all directly address the of
environmental justice. The region's goal is to integrate environmental justice decisionmaking,
particularly focusing on these initiatives.

3. Pollution Prevention
The U.S./Mexico Border initiative, Petrochemical Industrial Sector initiative, and Multi-Media
Enforcement initiative focus on pollution prevention strategies to achieve their goals.

4. Strong Science &  Data
In accomplishing the initiatives, the region is using the Geographic Information System (GIS) to
create a consistent, organized process for programs to access, review, verify, and  catalog data.
Use of GIS as a data quality tool augments scientific credibility and promotes data integration.

5. Partnerships
The State/Tribal Capacity Building initiative centers on the strategy of building and sustaining
partnerships. Other initiatives that focus on the strategy of partnership include: U.S./Mexico
Border, Southern Louisiana/Lower Mississippi River, Gulf of Mexico,  and the Watershed
Protection Program.

6. Reinventing EPA Management
Region 6 will continue to refine and implement its streamlining plan, which promotes diversity and
empowerment while moving forward in meeting the Administration's goals to increase
 supervisor-to employee ratios and reduce federal workforce. The region continues to focus on
Total Quality Management (TQM) principles for improving work processes and systems.

 7. Environmental Accountability
 The State/Tribal Capacity Building initiative, Multi-Media Enforcement initiative, and
 Petrochemical Industrial Sector initiative, as well as the environmental justice and pollution
 prevention principles, will serve as the cornerstone of implementing environmental accountability.
 Within these initiatives, Region 6 will stress societal accountability for protecting and enhancing
 the environment through compliance and enforcement.
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 REGION  7
 INTRODUCTION

 Region 7 is comprised of the states oflowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, and is home to nine
 federally recognized tribal nations. Covering nearly 287,000 square miles, with a population of 12
 million, the landscape is dominated by grassland prairies.

 Through a comprehensive set of strategies, Region 7 supports the Administrator strategic vision
 for FY 1995 — 1999. Region 7 will continue to deliver strong and effective regulatory programs.
 Enforcement and compliance will be critical elements in carrying out statutory mandates. Yet the
 region will enhance and expand its environmental protection efforts through use of a broad array
 of tools, featuring education and outreach, pollution prevention and partnerships, and a focus on
 places by emphasizing ecosystem management and other geographic-based initiatives. Region 7's
 goal is a sustainable environment together with a vibrant economy and culture for future
 generations.

 Protection of surface water, and groundwater from agricultural pollution is a major concern.
 Groundwater provides 75 percent of the drinking water for the region, and surface water is vitally
 important  to the health of numerous riparian and other ecosystems covering the Great Plains,
 including the central flyway for migratory birds. Although the major industries are agriculture and
 agriculture-related, Missouri has been the center of the U.S. lead mining and refining industries
 for over a century.

 The region continues to address priorities established through its comparative risk analysis:
 statutory implementation, lead risk reduction, pesticides/nitrates risk reduction, toxic chemical
 releases risk reduction, and ecosystem assessment  and protection. These strategic directions could
 be combined with additional priority areas identified through future analytical processes. The
 region will work closely with the states and other partners as it finalizes its agenda for the FY
 1995 — 1999 planning period.
SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. Ecosystem Protection

Region 7 is employing a complement of programs and initiatives in support of this strategy. A
major focus of Region 7's ecosystem strategy is the development of methodologies and tools to
prioritize risk, measure progress, and communicate results. Increased emphasis on environmental
assessment is illustrated by the region's partnership with The Nature Conservancy, Western
Governor's Association, state agencies, other federal agencies, and Canada to identify risks to
endangered species and critical habitat across the Great Plains region. The second component of
this strategy is a focus on geographic, place-based programs, including the watershed protection
program and larger-scale ecosystem initiatives. Both the Great Plains Program and the Platte
River Basin Protection Program are examples of this approach.
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2. Environmental Justice
Implicit in Region 7's approach to environmental stewardship is an emphasis on environmental
justice. The region's multi-pronged strategy incorporates equity concerns in the conduct of
statutory mandates, and provides a focal point for addressing issues through specific initiatives.
For example, in cooperation with Region 5, Region 7 will work with state and local health
officials and community organizations in the St. Louis/East St. Louis metro area to reduce health
risks from exposure to lead. Exposure to lead potentially affects a disproportionate share of
low-income and minority children in this area. Region 7 is targeting bilingual training information
and instructions regarding toxic and agricultural chemicals to Hispanic farm workers. At
Superfund sites with environmental justice implications, the region is utilizing communication
forums to surface issues that could place low-income people and minorities at greater risk. The
Great Plains ecosystem program offers opportunities to address specific Native American
concerns through geographically-targeted initiatives. Internally, the region is employing a diverse
workgroup to offer recommendations for more broadly incorporating environmental justice issues
into its work.

3. Pollution Prevention
Prevention is the first choice of action, with education, sound science, accessible data, and
partnership approaches serving as the hallmarks of the program. Education and outreach have
been continuing priorities in Region 7. "Charlie Chipmunk" helps the region publicize a wide
range of environmental issues at schools and at civic events. The region also supports this strategy
through grants to stimulate the development Environmental Education Training Center at the
University of Kansas, and to encourage Haskell Indian Nations University's environmental
curriculum. Seven million tons of fertilizer and 70,000 tons of pesticides are applied annually to
 122 million acres in Region 7. Through partnerships with the farming community, extension
services, agri-business, and federal and state agencies, the region is working to reduce this usage
through Best Management Practices (BMPs) and environmental education. Region 7 is expanding
its agricultural chemical container recycling program. And  Region 7 will build upon a successful
mix of pollution prevention and public-private partnership  initiatives (e.g., 33/50),  as it designs
 strategies for watershed, ecosystem, and other geographic-based programs.

 4. Sound Science and Data.
 As the region broadens strategies for environmental protection, the accessibility of scientifically
 sound indicators and other data becomes critical for assessment and valuation purposes, and for
 management of multi-media projects. The region's IRM Strategic Plan  REMAP, and related
 initiatives provide the framework for an aggressive strategy that incorporates development of
 predictive models (e.g., wetlands risk prioritization) and environmental indicators (e.g.,
 measurement of the health of fisheries), with long-term data collection and management efforts.
 Related initiatives include innovative environmental technology, such as remote sensing of toxic
 air pollutants, a State-EPA Locational Data Program, and  expansion of the region's Quality
 Assurance (QA) states through a technical assistance initiative.
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 5. Partnerships

 Region 7 has established mutual environmental priorities with each of its four states, and it is
 finalizing a process to extend mutual planning efforts to Indian tribes. These will set the Region 7
 environmental agenda for the future. In working with the states and tribes, the region will explore
 all opportunities for flexibility, and emphasize managing for environmental result over
 administrative activities. Region 7 is exploring a variety of approaches to capacity building,
 including technical training, IP As of EPA staff, enhanced data sharing, and joint project efforts.
 As part of sustainable development efforts, the region also will work with small communities to
 develop capacity and flexibility in protecting health and the environment at the local level. The
 region will expand its partnerships to include not only public sector entities, but also private
 sector groups with environmental concerns. Small business is a vital client group in Region 7.

 6. Reinventing EPA Management

 Region 7 will continue to emphasize a strong fiscal and management control program to protect
 federal funds. New initiatives include technical assistance to the states in enhancing their program
 of internal controls, flexible grant programs and procedures,  and automated systems to improve
 productivity (e.g., LANs) and safeguard the region's resources (e.g., ESD equipment and supplies
 inventory management system).

 The region has begun a program to streamline its operations  and empower its employees. Region
 7 will cut unnecessary red tape, reduce multiple levels of concurrence where appropriate, and
 involve its employees in central decisionmaking processes. Working jointly with states and
 headquarters counterparts, Region 7 will look for opportunities to reduce resources spent in
 oversight, and redirect efforts to areas that yield the most environmental results.

 7. Environmental Accountability

 Region 7 will continue to maintain a rigorous and comprehensive enforcement program to ensure
 compliance with environmental mandates. The region also will emphasize compliance assistance,
 outreach, state and tribal partnerships,  other form of compliance assurance, using multi-media and
 geographic approaches where feasible. Region 7's goal  is to direct the region's compliance and
 enforcement resources to high-risk problems and areas as identified.
OTHER MANDATES AND OBLIGATIONS

As the region strives to encourage industry compliance, it will increase attention to mandatory
and voluntary compliance initiatives (e.g., New Source Performance Standards, sector strategies,
use of farm BMP and pesticide container recycling), and multi-media inspection and enforcement.
Region 7 also will look for specific opportunities to amplify its ecosystem and pollution
prevention initiatives.
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REGION 8
INTRODUCTION
Region 8's vision and priorities for protecting the environment over the course of the next five
years are grounded in its commitment to fulfill EPA's mission of protecting public health and the
environment, and participate in the re-invention of government by implementing, as appropriate,
the recommendations of the National Performance Review, the Agency's strategic vision, the
Region 8 streamlining plan "A Framework for Change, " and the extension of the current Region
8 strategic plan.
The geographic area contained in Region 8 is noted around the world for its unique blend of
pristine and fragile environs, including, for example, its scenic national and state parks, wilderness
areas, picturesque landscapes, rugged mountains, diverse prairies, arid deserts, trout fishing, and
skiing. The six states and 27 Indian  reservations in Region 8 cover 581,477 square miles
(approximately 33 percent is federal and 5.2 percent is Indian land). The 1990 census population
for the region is 7,686,060.

Strategic Investment Goals
As Region 8 streamlines, it will function with a more compressed organization, emphasizing
stakeholders' needs (internal/external) and invest more strategically to:
    *•  Promote ecosystem protection and sustainable development guiding principles, policies,
       and partnerships to  cultivate an encompassing, multi-media approach to environmental
       protection, and foster more risk reduction using the authorities and resources of the
       statutory programs;
    *-  Promote pollution prevention guiding principles, and practices in all day-to-day
       activities;
    >•  Direct the region's enforcement efforts to maximize compliance in partnership with the
       state and tribe environmental  statutes;
    >•  Expand partnerships with other federal agencies, the states, and tribes, local
       organizations, academia, and  the private sector, resulting in more interregional and
       interstate working relationships and projects;
    >• Promote environmental justice to ensure all citizens are equally protected by
       environmental laws with emphasis on information sharing and targeting compliance
       assessment in concert with local community interests;
    *• Promote scientific excellence and data management to bolster linkages between science
       and decisionmaking; and
    +- If feasible, provide more training and technical assistance opportunities to ensure that the
       region, states, and the tribes acquire the skills necessary to carry out the strategic plan.

 These investments will require the region to be more cognizant of and deal more sensitively with
 such critical issues as unfunded mandates, resource shifts, sustainable development, cost and


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 benefit accounting, small communities, regulatory impacts on communities, delegations, and
 significant increases in population and tourism throughout the region.
 SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

 In support of the Agency's strategic vision and the media-specific Region 8 is dedicated to the
 following guiding principles

 1. Ecosystems Protection

 Establish and participate in forums for sustainability and stewardship of ecosystems; support
 innovative initiatives through all statutory authorities and regulatory programs, and, by
 reinvesting resources in assessment and protection of public health (especially children and others
 at elevated risk) and ecosystem health,  promote those initiatives that consider socio-economic
 well-being. Current examples are: the Region 8 Headwaters Mining  Waste Initiative, the
 Colorado Plateau Ecosystem Project (co-lead with the National Park Service), and the Great
 Plains Initiative (a cooperative effort with Region 7).

 2. Environmental Justice

 Implement the region's environmental justice plan working with the  states, the tribes, and
 communities to reduce disproportionate environmental risks to people  of color and low-income
 communities through grants, technical assistance, education, and outreach to affected parties;
 implement  the region's Indian lands policy; and, provide cultural diversity training to Region's
 staff.

 3. Pollution Prevention

 Focus more on market-based pollution prevention incentives; promote  "life-cycle analysis" to
 better understand the flow of materials used by society, and assist in  the design of methodologies
 to reduce the amount of materials that cause pollution; invest more in education and
 communication through information-based strategies; develop and implement Region 8's
 Pollution Prevention Federal Sector Enforcement Initiative, focusing on federal facilities and
 Indian country; establish for all tribes strong pollution prevention programs; expand approaches
 (like the Colorado pollution prevention  partnership) across industry,  government, and academia;
 and establish outreach to other federal agencies and facilities, formally inviting them to develop '
 "green plans," including Green Lights, WAVE, Waste-Wise, etc.

 4. Strong Science and Data

Develop and use environmental indicators and indices and monitoring partnerships across all
levels of government; expand the resource base to include more volunteers; improve quality
assurance and data accessibility; expand the EMAP and the Regional EMAP (or REMAP)
program potentials; and improve Environmental Services Division (ESD) capabilities to perform
lab analyses and data quality assurance,  and coordinate with the programs.
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5. Partnerships
Across all levels of staff, improve working partnerships with the states, the tribes, the local
governments, and private sector; invest more in ecosystem-oriented partnerships, e.g., the
Terrestrial Regional Research and Analysis Laboratory (TERRA), the Colorado Ecosystem
Partnership, the Canyonlands Coalition, the Yellowstone Coalition, the State Rural Development
Councils;  support organizations like the Colorado Pollution Prevention Partnership and the Utah
Manufacturing Association; and, encourage Intergovernmental Personnel Assignments (IPAs).
Region 8 also will strive to increase grant funding for tribes.

6. Reinventing EPA Management

Implement Region 8's streamlining plan to create an office that works better and costs less; use
total quality management (TQM), facilitation, and conflict management skills, and train employees
in these and other skill areas; establish an ad hoc Streamlining Implementation Task Force to
oversee progress and promote re-engineering of some core work processes, e.g., permits,
inspections, enforcement, block grants, and budget.

7. Environmental Accountability

In directing the region's enforcement  efforts to maximize compliance in partnership with the state
and tribe environmental statutes, Region 8 will address the highest priority, cross-regional
enforcement initiatives, and utilize enforcement tools to help address environmental equity issues
of disproportionate risk.
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REGION 9
INTRODUCTION

Region 9's primary mission is to protect public health and the environment by implementing and
enforcing environmental statutes. Region 9 complements the Agency's mission through its vision
of a sustained regional economy based on sound environmental policy decisions; effective
pollution prevention measures; and constructive partnerships with states, tribes, municipalities,
and economic and environmental interests. Part of this vision includes the infusion of
environmental justice throughout the region's work to achieve equal environmental protection for
all segments of the public.

Region 9 includes the states of Arizona,  California, Hawaii, and Nevada, as well as the Pacific
Islands and numerous Indian tribes. Major environmental challenges facing the region include
improving air quality for the south coast of California and other geographic  areas; improving
water quality, conserving water resources, and preserving wetlands for the San Francisco
Bay/Delta Estuary; military base cleanup; and environmental renovation along the U.S./Mexican
Border. Over the next five  years, Region 9 will continue to address each of these areas by
following the guiding principles outlined in the Administrator's vision.

The region is continuing its emphasis on enforcement. One of the goals of Region 9's Regional
Enforcement Management  Council is to  operate an integrated strategic program that targets
Region 9's enforcement interests most effectively.
SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Region 9 supports the Administrator's strategic vision through two regional initiatives:  (1) San
Francisco Bay/Delta Estuary Initiative and (2) Toxic Source Reduction Initiative.
   1) The San Francisco Bay/Delta Estuary Initiative is a long-term geographic initiative that
     focuses on protecting  and restoring the estuary's waters, wetlands, and aquatic
     ecosystems by informing and involving the public and agricultural and regulated
     communities in the pollution prevention  process. The initiative emphasizes the region's
     commitment to ecosystem protection, pollution prevention, forming partnerships with
     federal and state counterparts, coordination with other projects (e.g.,  Central Valley
     Project Improvement Act), improving scientific technical capabilities, and fostering
     cross-media integration. The initiative has agriculture and wetlands components. The
     agriculture component emphasizes preventing pollution from agricultural sources, such
     as pesticide run-off, as well as promotion of water conservation practices. In FY 1995,
     activities will include determining the total maximum daily load of selenium into the San
     Joaquin River; and demonstrating an on-farm pollution prevention approach for priority
     pesticides found through comprehensive environment planning; public education; and
     advanced identification to improve wetlands function in the Bay/Delta area. The
     advanced identification effort will provide better information to target future
     enforcement cases to high value resources and/or areas with multiple  violations that
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     cause significant cumulative effects. California has been working with the region to
     implement their State Wetlands Conservation Policy, and has identified mitigation
     banking and Section 404 delegation among their pilot projects. FY 1995 activities
     include implementing the North Bay Resource Management Plan, a cooperative effort
     among federal, state, and local groups to coordinate resource protection activities in
     Marin, Sonoma, Napa, and Solano Counties; advance planning in rapidly urbanizing
     Sacramento County; and local planning assistance/outreach for communities and farmers
     throughout the Central Valley.
   2) The goal of the Toxic Source Reduction Initiative is reduction of toxics emissions and
     reduction exposures to lead. The initiative emphasizes two major activities the Mutual
     Efforts to Reduce Industrial Toxics (MERIT) partnership and the lead exposure
     reduction project. The goals of the MERIT partnership are to reduce toxic emissions by
     promoting a pollution prevention partnership in southwest Los Angeles County, the area
     of highest toxic release inventory emissions in Region 9. The partners consist of industry
     and federal/state/local agencies. Guidelines were drafted for companies and agencies to
     develop methods to reduce industrial  releases, including incentives for expedited
     consideration of permit applications. In FY 1995, Region 9's goal is to increase outreach
     activities to industry sectors like metal-finishing, aerospace, electronics, and oil refineries
     in order to facilitate implementation of actual pollution prevention projects. In the lead
     project, Region 9's goal is to reduce lead exposure risk through research, public
     outreach and education, and grant funding in partnership with states, industry, and the
     public. Activities to date include regional GIS lead study, establishment of a lead hotline,
     distribution of multi-lingual educational materials on lead hazards, a culturally-based
     home remedies survey, partnership development of state grants, and targeted outreach
     and education presentations. Region 9 plans to continue implementation of the Region 9
     lead strategy to further identify areas  of high lead risk. The region will use data from the
     TRI reporting program in conjunction with  the GIS  as a means of targeting areas of
     high lead risk for pollution prevention and future enforcement.  The region will also work
     in partnership with states to develop lead programs and outreach and education to
     promote environmental justice.

Resources for both the San Francisco Bay/Delta Estuary Initiative and the Toxic Source
Reduction Initiative have come from existing regional resources (e.g., priority permit and EIS
reviews) as well as funding for regional initiatives from EPA Headquarters in FY 1993 (SF Bay
only) and FY 1994 (both). In recognition of the Administrator's desire to reinvent EPA to
manage for better results among other activities, to implement a major streamlining, some of
whose projected cost savings will be reinvested in regional initiatives.
OTHER MANDATES AND OBLIGATIONS

Part of Region 9 vision is to assure that equal protection under the law is infuse into everything
done in the region. The region's environmental justice efforts promote this ethic through open
communications with affected community groups, outreach and public education programs.
Regional senior management recently developed an action plan that includes, as a first step, an
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assessment of the real and perceived impact of EPA's environmental protection programs on the
distribution of risks in Region 9.

One of the region's major environmental obligations is to its 139 Indian tribes. Among them is the
Navajo Nation, for which Region 9 serves as the lead region responsible for coordinating EPA
assistance among three regions. A recent study of Native American programs has resulted in new
efforts to strengthen coordination between programs to better target resources to tribes. These
efforts will require shifting some of the region's resources within programs to more up-front
planning and coordination of tribal issues.
SUMMARY

The following is a summary of how regional initiatives and other regional activities support the
Administrator's seven guiding principles:

1. Ecosystem Protection

The San Francisco Bay Delta/Estuary Initiative (SFBAY) will promote fully the protection of the
region's diverse aquatic ecosystems through its agricultural and wetlands components. This is
being done in concert with several other efforts, including the The San Francisco Estuary Project.

2. Environmental Justice

The Toxic Source Reduction Initiative's lead project will promote culturally-based community
outreach and education in the Los Angeles area, as well as other environmental justice activities.

3. Pollution Prevention

The region will promote pollution prevention through the MERIT Project by encouraging
voluntary reductions to toxic emissions in southwest Los Angeles County. In SFBAY, the region
will demonstrate on-farm pollution prevention approaches for priority pesticides. The region will
continue to encourage states to integrate pollution prevention into annual grant workplans.

4. Strong Science and Data

The region will promote scientific and technical expertise through participation n Headquarters
technical workgroups, liaisons and exchanges with the Office of Research and Development, and
through affiliation with various universities and scientific and professional organizations.

5. Partnerships

The MERIT Project will promote a partnership of industry and federal/state/local agencies to
reduce toxic emissions in the highest release area. Region 9 will continue to promote numerous
other partnership activities, including alliances with Pacific Gas and Electric in San Francisco and
the Arizona Public Service utility in Phoenix.
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                              	  Chapter 4

6. Reinventing EPA Management
Region 9 is implementing a major streamlining plan to refine its infrastructure and serve clients
better.

7. Environmental Accountability
The region will carry out its regional enforcement strategic plan under the guidance of the
Regional Enforcement Management Council. The plan will help to ensure that the region's
resources, both multi-media and traditional single medium, are directed towards clear goals that
can be shared with its state, tribal, and local government partners.
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REGION  10
INTRODUCTION

Region 10's strategic directions, developed with input from public and private sector customers,
are the foundation of its strategic plan. The directions embody the main priorities for Region 10
and tie directly to the Agency's strategic vision and guiding principles. Each of the region's
strategic directions has a vision statement that represents environmental goals for the region. The
five strategic directions and examples of required changes and resource shifts are listed below:
   1) Environmental Outreach and Education — More emphasis on seeking out
     customers/stakeholders to include their concerns in region's decisionmaking process will
     require a change of focus in some programs.
   2) Pollution Prevention —  The goal of integrating pollution prevention into the region's
     daily business and decisionmaking will shift resources from cleanup to prevention.
   3) Rethinking the Enforcement Mix — This represents a shift in the way the programs
     are run. One of the activities of this strategic direction is a cost-benefit analysis of
     multi-media inspections, enforcement, compliance assistance programs, etc.
   4) Geographic/Multi-Media Leadership — Extra grants support will be required for a
     well-integrated, multi-media, geographical approach.
   5) The Wholesale-Retail Concept of Program Delivery — Program focus will change as
     the region works toward its goal of enabling others with an emphasis on providing
     technical assistance.
SUPPORTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Region 10 media programs chose a list of specific program activities to implement the strategic
directions. Each ensuing year, different activities will be emphasized. Progress is reviewed
through the region's Management System. The region also focuses on environmental benchmarks
that help measure environmental progress, customer needs, and program outputs.

1. Ecosystem Protection

As a direct outcome of the President's Forest Conference, Region 10 is part of a federal
cooperation structure established to develop an ecosystem management design for northwest
forests. Another Region 10 project, in the Mid-Snake River area, focuses on exploring options for
enhancing sustainable agricultural practice, but it will require a significant redirection of
resources.

2. Environmental Justice

Underway for over a year, Region 10 coordinates a federal/state project to improve the health of
Alaska natives by improving waste disposal/drinking water in their villages.  The region will
evaluate enforcement  data to determine where regional enforcement actions have occurred and  if

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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                                          Chapter 4

there is a trend related to environmental justice. The study will use methodologies similar to the
National Law Journal study. The geographical area will be determined based on input from
community organizations and local agencies. Additional outreach with affected communities, to
better understand community perceptions of Region 10's enforcement efforts,  will be a part of the
project.

3. Pollution Prevention

For the second year, Region 10 is working with the Alaska Department of Environmental
Conservation in a pilot to redirect  state program grant funds to initiate multi-media pollution
prevention activities. Year one provided the state's Pollution Prevention Office with three percent
of its program resources. The amount was increased to four percent in year two, with a third year
goal of five percent. This initiative is successful in two ways: helping Alaska integrate P2 into its
program activities, and promoting Region 10 state/EPA partnerships.

4. Strong Science and Data

Region 10 is involved in many cross-media activities unique to the region: using the GIS system
to link to environmental justice by monitoring seafood consumption by minority groups and
resulting exposure; working with ORD and Region 9's states/tribes to develop monitoring
systems on an ecosystem instead of species-by-species determinations. The region also  is
developing hard science methodologies such as sampling and analyzing to ensure that the entire
ecosystem is being addressed.

The region's Career Tracks Order enhances the careers of scientific and technical staff, thereby
maintaining and improving regional expertise and commitment to strong science. Exceptional
scientific employees may advance to master level (GS-14) positions without assuming a
supervisory role, thereby retaining their scientific expertise and functions.

5. Partnerships

Region 10 has operation offices in each of its states. The offices provide Region  10 closer access
to state offices, the legislature,  and the public. With the operations office on the same site as state
offices, it is easier for grantees  to access EPA staff, and that helps build trust and familiarity. The
cross-media organization of the operations office provides an advantage when meeting  with
customers, giving Region 10 a unique perspective on state programs and facilitates technical
assistance to a variety of agencies.

The Idaho Cumulative Mandates Pilot  Project focuses on small towns in Idaho and seeks to
develop environmental priority-setting  approaches that enable communities to  better target
resources  to their most significant  problems. Partners in this project are the Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality, four towns, three universities, and other federal, state and local
organizations.

6. Reinventing EPA Management

Region 10 has implemented Career Enrichment, which identifies temporary opportunities for
supervisors and staff. The region is seeking ways employees can broaden perspectives,  develop
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additional skills, and meet changing Agency needs. Employees initiate their assignments or
respond to Career Enrichment Opportunity announcements, which fit with streamlining.

7. Environment Accountability

Building heavily on our existing Strategic Direction:  Compliance (Rethinking the Enforcement
Mix), Region 10 is already well positioned to implement the seventh guiding principle —
Environmental Accountability. To do so, Region 10 will continue to implement its Compliance
Strategic Direction and emphasize the following elements:
   ^ Continue to target our compliance activities in high risk sectors, ecosystems, and
      populations.
   ^ Emphasize multi-media, whole facility approaches which emphasize pollution prevention
      and innovative compliance techniques.
   >• Continue to evaluate our data reporting systems and work to measure all activities which
      contribute to compliance rates, not just traditional measures such as cases referred or
      penalties assessed.
   >• Look carefully at environmental justice concerns in all our compliance activities, and
      provide leadership in fostering participation in international environmental compliance
      activities.
OTHER MANDATES AND OBLIGATIONS

Sustainable Development:  Region 10 is serving as a major catalyst in promoting sustainable
development. Areas of focus include pilot work with small communities, work with industrial
sectors, extending a watershed focus in selected areas to incorporate sustainability, and working
to build commitment in the business and university communities on this issue. There is also an
ongoing internal effort to increase staff knowledge and awareness of sustainability concepts and
implications.

Enabling Customers and State Capacity Building:  One of Region 10's strategic directions is
the "Wholesale-Retail Concept" of program delivery.  The direction's goal is to boost
effectiveness through a clearer definition of the various partners. Strategies developed by each
program division emphasize Region 10's preferred role of enabling state or local partners for
successful program delivery.  Activities also will focus on identifying the core skills needed to
develop staff for the changing role of EPA.

Multi-Media Enforcement: In Region 10, the Office of Enforcement serves as coordinator for
the regional multi-media program and is responsible for ensuring that the region is using state of
the art, risk-driven targeting  as well as coordinating joint multi-media inspections. Examples of
the guiding principles supported by this approach are the ability to use pollution prevention in
settlements, and optimization of opportunities for partnerships (state, tribe, and local) in joint
inspections and enforcement  follow-up.
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan	Appendix A



                                           APPENDIX A

                           ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

On December 7, 1993, Administrator Browner announced her intentions to develop a five-year agency-wide
strategic plan that would guide the Agency's planning, resource allocation, and decisionmaking processes in
carrying out a new approach to environmental protection. Towards that end, she formed an agency-wide Strategic
Planning Task Force. Task Force members devoted much time and energy in developing a strategic plan and
process that provided a focus for prioritizing strategies and for identifying measurable environmental goals this
country must strive to achieve if it is to attain a sustainable environmental future.

In working to create an open, inclusive process for developing the strategic plan for the Agency, the Task Force
members worked with established agency workgroups (e.g., the Science Policy Council helped develop the
principle on Strong Science and Data) to further develop the principles and their implementation outlined in
Chapter II of the strategic plan. The Task Force met with all Assistant, Associate, and Regional Administrators
and the General Counsel and Inspector General to discuss plans for program and regional implementation of the
seven principles outlined in Chapter II. Program and Regional offices then developed broad plans for supporting
the agency-wide strategic plan. These plans constitute Chapter IV of the strategic plan.

In order to ensure broad, external involvement in the development of the strategic plan, the Task Force met with
industry representatives, environmental groups, Congressional Committees, States, Tribes, Office of Management
and Budget, and White House staff to solicit their ideas and comments on the strategic plan. At a meeting of EPA's
senior leadership, the states and tribes were invited, for the first time, to discuss the strategic plan. Without the
involvement of all internal and external stakeholders, the strategic plan could not be successful, nor would it
include such a diverse set of ideas for achieving environmental goals. The plan will not be static. Rather, it will be
constantly evolving to ensure that EPA is focusing its efforts most productively. Not only will this process continue
within EPA, but also with our local and global partners in environmental protection.
 STRATEGIC PLANNING TASK FORCE

 Co-Chairs                                         Advisors
 David Gardiner, Assistant Administrator, OPPE          Sylvia Lowrance, Associate Deputy Administrator, AO
 Jonathan Cannon, Assistant Administrator, OARM       Mike Vandenbergh, Chief of Staff, AO

 Members
 Lynn Goldman, Assistant Administrator, OPPTS
 Elliott Laws, Assistant Administrator, OSWER
 Elizabeth Cotsworth, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Solid Waste, OSWER
 Pat Meaney, Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 1, Boston
 Bill Muszynski, Regional Administrator, Region 2, New York
 Jane Saginaw, Regional Administrator, Region 6, Dallas
 Beverly Negri, Chief, Program, Planning, and Grants Branch, Region 6, Dallas
 Bob Wayland, Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, OW
 Gene Durman, Deputy Director, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, OAR

 Senior Manager Support
 Deny Allen, Director, Office of Strategic Planning and Environmental Data, OPPE
 Kathryn S. Schmoll, Comptroller, OARM
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                                                                      Agency-wide Strategic Plan
 Thanks go to the many staff members that provided significant support to the strategic planning process:
       Katherine Brown
       Bonita Crockett
       Robert Currie
       Steve Delaney
       Michael Glikes
       Elaine Haemisegger
Debbie Ingram
Dona Harris
Maurice LeFranc
Charles Minor
JeffMorin
Joyce Morrison
Sharon Payne
Alan Perrin
Sue Priftis
Margaret Saxton
Ruth Alene Soward
Julie Spyres
Tom Super
Debbie Walker
Kerry Weiss
Shiree Womack
There are many individuals that should be recognized for their participation on one or more of the guiding
principle teams and their assistance in writing major portions of the agency-wide strategic plan:
       ECOSYSTEM PROTECTION
       Jonathan Z. Cannon, Team Lead, OARM
       Maurice LeFranc, Staff Lead, OPPE
       Don Brady, OW
       David Gardiner, OPPE
       Lynn Goldman, OPPTS
       Janet Pawlukiewicz, OW
       Bob Wayland, OW
       Louise Wise, OW

       ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
       Kathy Aterno, Team Co-lead, OARM
       Elizabeth Cotsworth, Team Co-lead, OSWER
       Dona Harris, Staff Lead, OPPE
       Clarice Gaylord, OARM/OEJ
       Robert Knox, OARM/OEJ
       Environmental Justice Policy Workgroup
       POLLUTION PREVENTION
       Lynn Goldman, Team Lead, OPPTS
       Alan Perrin, Staff Lead, OPPE
       Elizabeth Cotsworth, OSWER
       John Cross, OPPTS
       Gene Durman, OAR
       David Gardiner, OPPE
       Mark Greenwood, OPPTS
       Dave Kling, OPPTS
       Fred Lindsey, ORD
       Tom McCully, P2 Policy Staff, AO
       Al McGartland, OPPE
       Pat Meaney, Region 1
       Tom O'Farrell, OW
       Greg Ondich, ORD
       Eric Schaeffer, OECA
                      STRONG SCIENCE AND DATA
                      Lynn Goldman, Team Co-lead, OPPTS
                      Jonathan Z. Cannon, Team Co-lead, OARM
                      Mike Glikes, Staff Lead, OPPE
                      Robert Sussman, Chair, Science Policy Council
                      William Raub, Chair, SPC Steering Committee
                      Jay Benforado, ORD
                      Mark Day, OARM
                      Angela Nugent, OPPE
                      Dorothy Patton, ORD
                      Gail Robarge, ORD
                      PARTNERSHIPS
                      David Gardiner, Team Lead, OPPE
                      JeffMorin, Staff Lead, OPPE
                      Elizabeth Cotsworth, OSWER
                      Eugene C. Durman, OAR
                      Charles W. Kent, OROSLR
                      Jamison Koehler, OIA
                      Janet S. Mason, Region 5
                      Patricia L. Meaney, Region 1
                      Shelly Metzenbaum, OROSLR

                      REINVENTING EPA MANAGEMENT
                      Sylvia Lowrance, Team Lead, OA
                      Debbie Ingram, Staff Lead, OARM
                      Management Committee

                      ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY
                      Scott Fulton, Team Lead, OECA
                      Alan Perrin, Staff Lead, OPPE
                      Phil Milton, OECA
                      Jack Neylan, OECA
                      Eric Schaeffer, OECA
                      Frederick Steihl, OECA
158
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Agency-wide Strategic Plan                                                        Appendix B


                                      APPENDIX B

               GLOSSARY  OF  ABBREVIATIONS
AARP 	American Association of Retired Persons
ASTSWMO ... Association of State & Territorial Solid Waste Management Officers
8

BAQA 	Building Air Quality Alliance
BAT 	Best Available Technology
BMP 	Best Management Practices
c
CAA  	Clean Air Act
CAAA 	Clean Air Act Amendments
CD-ROM 	Compact Disk - Read Only Memory
CEPP 	Chemical Emergency Prepared and Prevention/OSWER
CEQ 	Council on Environmental Quality
CERCLA 	Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
CERCLIS  	Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System
CFC 	Chlorofluorocarbons
CFO 	Chief Financial Officer
CSGWPP 	Comprehensive State Ground Water Protection Program
CSO 	Combined Sewer Overflow
CWA 	Clean Water Act
CWPPRA	Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection & Restoration Act
 D

 DDT  	Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloroethane
 DEP 	Displaced Employee Program
 DEQ  	Department of Environmental Quality
 DfE 	Design for the Environment
 DOD  	U. S. Department of Defense
 DOL	Department of Labor
 £

 EIS  	Environmental Impact Statement
 EJ  	Environmental Justice
 EMAP 	Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program
 EPA 	Environmental Protection Agency
 ERA 	Ecological Risk Assessment
 ESA 	Endangered Species Act
 ESD 	Environmental Service Division
 ETI 	Environmental Technology Initiative
 ETS 	Environmental Tabacco Smoke
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 Appendix B                                                             Agency-wide Strategic Plan
 FDA 	Food and Drug Administration
 FFEO 	Federal Facilities Enforcement Office
 FMFIA  	Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act (Also referred to as "The Integrity Act")
 FSA  	Freedom Support Act
 FTE  	Full time Equivalent
 FY  	Fiscal Year
 FTTA 	Federal Technology Transfer Act
 G

 GATT 	General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
 GIS 	Geographic Information System
 GLP  	Good Laboratory Practices
 GPRA 	Government Performance and Results Act
 GS  	General Schedule
H
HUD 	Housing and Urban Development
IBEP 	Integrated Border Environmental Plan
ICEM  	Interagency Cooperation pm Ecosystem Management
IG  	Inspector General
IPA	Intergovernmental Personnel Assignments
IPM 	Integrated Pest Management
IRM 	Interim Remedial Measures (CERCLA)
L

LaMPS  	Lakewide Management Plans
LAN	Local Area Network
M

MACT  	Maximum Achievable Control Technology
MAHA  	Mid-Atlantic Highland Assessment
MBDA  	Minority Business Development Agency
MBE  	Minority Business Enterprise
MERIT  	Mutual Efforts to Reduce Industrial Toxics
MOU 	Memorandum of Understanding
N

NAAG  	National Association of Attorneys General
NAFTA 	North American Free Trade Agreement
NAFTA 	North American Free Trade Agreement
NAS 	National Academy of Science
NASA  	National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NATO  	North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NCSL  	National Conference of State Legislatures


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Agency-wide Strategic Plan	        Appendix B


NEIC 	National Enforcement Investigations Center
NEPA 	National Environmental Policy Act
NETI 	National Enforcement Training Institute
NGA 	National Governors Association
NHEXAS  	National Human Exposure Assessment Survey
NPDES 	National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
NPL  	National Priority List (CERLA)
NPR  	National Performance Review
o
OAM 	Office of Acquisition Management
OAQPS 	Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards
OAR 	Office of Air and Radiation
OARM  	Office of Administration and Resource Management
OC  	Office of the Comptroller (OARM)
OCE 	Office of Criminal Enforcement
OCEPA  	Office of Communication, Education, and Public Affairs
OCLA 	Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs
OCR	Office of Civil Rights
OE  	Office of Enforcement
OECA 	Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
OECD 	Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
OECD SID  .... Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Screening Information Data Set
OECO 	Office of Enforcement Capacity and Outreach (OECA)
OFA 	Office of Federal Activities
OFFE 	Office of Federal Facilities Enforcement
OGC 	Office of General Council
OIA 	Office of International Activities
OIG 	Office of Inspector General
OMB 	Office of Management Budget
OPPE 	Office of Policy Planning and Evaluation
OPPTS 	Office of Pollution, Pesticides and Toxic Substances
ORC 	Office of Regional Counsel
ORD  	Office of Research Development
ORE 	Office of Regulatory Enforcement
ORIA 	Office of Radiation and Indoor Air
OROSLR 	Office of Regional Operations and State/Relations
OSDBU  	Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
OSRE  	Office and Site Remediation Enforcement
 OSW  	Office of Solid Waste (OSWER)
 OSWER  	Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
 OW 	Office of Water
 P
 P2  	Pollution Prevention
 Pb  	Lead
 PCBs 	Polychlorinated biphenyls
 PPIC 	Office of Policy, Planning and Information (OSWER)
 PRP 	Potential Responsible Party
 PSA 	Public Service Announcement
 PSD 	Prevention of Significant Deterioration
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 Appendix B 	                                           Agency-wide Strategic Plan
 Q
 QA 	Quality Assurance
 R

 R&D  	Research and Development
 R-EMAP  	Regional Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Program
 RAPS 	Remedial Action Plans
 RCRA 	Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
 REMAP  	Regional Environmental Monitoring and Program
 RTP  	Research Triangle Park
 s

 SAB  	Science Advisory Board
 SBA  	Small Business Administration
 SDWA  	Safe Drinking Water Act
 SEED 	Support for Eastern European Democracy
 SEP  	Supplemental Environmental Projects
 SES  	Senior Executive Service
 SIP 	State Implementation Plan (CAA)
 SNC  	Significant Non-Compliance
 SPC  	Science Policy Council
 SRRP 	Source Reduction Review Project
 STEP 	Small Town Environmental Planning
 STORET  	Storage and Retrieval of Water Quality Information
 T

TERRA	Terrestrial Regional Research and Analysis
TIO 	Technology Innovation Office/OSWER
TIPPP  	Tidewater Interagency P2 Project
TMDLS  	Total Maximum Daily Loads
TQM  	Total Quality Management
TRI	Toxic Release Inventory
TRI	Toxic Release Inventory
TSCA  	Toxic Substances Control Act
u
U.S. TIES 	U.S. Technology for International Environmental Solutions
UNDP 	United Nations Development Program
USDA 	United States Department of Agriculture
UST 	Underground Storage Tanks
w
WAVE  	Water Alliance for Voluntary Efficiency
WBE  	Women Business Enterprise
WIPP 	Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
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