United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Office of the
Administrator
EPA100-R-97-001
January 1997
"Protect people,
not bureaucracy.
Promote results.
not rules.
Get action,
not rhetoric."
— ^ ^>/l M ^*^ /OOR9700/
fl^Zl/directions
A REPORT ON REGULATORY REINVENTION
foreword
During President Clinton's first term in
office, EPA joined other Federal agencies in
an unprecedented effort to "reinvent gov-
ernment" so that it works better and costs
less. At EPA, that challenge has meant
closely examining our programs and priori-
ties and acting on opportunities for reduc-
ing costs and unnecessary regulatory bur-
den. Doing so will help State and local
governments, private businesses, and EPA's
own staff focus on areas offering greater
gains for environmental and public health
protection. This report is designed to pro-
vide readers with a better understanding
of what reinvention is, how it is being pur-
sued, and what is being accomplished as a
result. Each edition will feature an in-depth
look at a major reinvention effort as well
as brief updates on other projects that are
underway or under development.
inside
Milestone:
New Agreement Under Project XL 2
Spotlight: List of Key Projects 4
Reinvention Ombudsmen Named 6
Reducing Regulatory Burden 6
1001^700 /
Performance
Partnerships
Building a Stronger
Relationship Between
EPA and the States
An important milestone
towards reinventing envi-
ronmental and public
health protection was reached on May
17, 1995, when Administrator Carol
Browner and Deputy Administrator
Fred Hansen joined State
Environmental Commissioners in
establishing Performance Partnerships
to reform the ways States and EPA
work together.
What Are Performance
Partnerships?
Performance Partnerships establish a
new working relationship whereby the
States and EPA determine on an annual
basis what and how work will be per-
formed. Traditionally, the process for
funding and addressing environmental
and public health priorities has been
conducted with a single media focus.
States have submitted up to 16 annual
workplans and received multiple grants
to support air, drinking water, hazardous
waste, and other pollution control pro-
grams. While reflective of the media-
specific focus that has characterized
environmental management over
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 2)
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Tuesday, November 18,1996,
marked an important date
for Project XL as
Administrator Carol Browner
approved a new agreement with
Intel Corporation officials, the
Arizona State Department of
Environmental Quality, and communi-
ty leaders in Chandler, Arizona.
Project XL is a national pilot program
that allows regulated facilities to test
alternative management strategies on
the condition that they exceed mini-
mum standards and achieve higher
levels of environmental performance.
Under the agreement, Intel will adopt
a 5-year environmental management
plan that includes meeting more
stringent air pollution standards in
exchange for an air quality permit
that eliminates the usual permit modi-
fication process each time the plant
needs to make an operational change
to its manufacturing process. In addi-
tion, the plant will be allowed to file
a single, consolidated report for all
pollution emissions to Arizona's
Department of Environmental Quality,
rather than separate reports for air,
water, and hazardous waste to sepa-
rate agencies. The agreement will
benefit the public as well—Intel has
agreed to make all the plant's envi-
ronmental information available on
the Internet. Intel is the first company
to do so.
Performance
Partnerships
(FROM PAGE 1)
the past quarter century, this approach
has fueled administrative management
and oversight activity, diverting
resources from on-the-ground improve-
ment efforts. To overcome this dilemma,
Performance Partnerships are designed
to place much greater emphasis on envi-
ronmental results and to achieve better
coordination between Federal and State
environmental programs.
How Do Performance
Partnerships Work?
Performance Partnerships begin with a
comprehensive assessment of a State's
problems and conditions to establish a
stronger basis for decision-making. In
some cases, this step may be the first
such undertaking. In other cases, States
may use an existing assessment, such as
an annual State of the Environment
report or a comparative risk assessment.
Based on this information, the State
proposes environmental and public
health objectives and an action plan as a
basis for negotiating an annual agree-
ment with EPA. At this point, if not
before, the State also conducts outreach
efforts to ensure appropriate public
understanding and support.
Next, EPA and the State begin negotiat-
ing the actual agreement. Ideally, this
agreement includes specific roles for
EPA and the State, including how EPA's
oversight of State roles will be reduced
in those areas of strong performance. In
addition, it includes measures of envi-
ronmental and program management
performance to better measure success.
An added element of Performance
Partnerships is grants flexibility. States
are given a new option of combining
two or more single-media grants into a
single Performance Partnership Grant.
They also have the option of maintain-
ing media-specific grants or requesting a
combination of both.
What Are the
Advantages?
Most significantly, Performance
Partnerships provide an enhanced focus
on improving environmental conditions
and reducing the amount of time spent
on administrative and managerial activi-
ties. Greater management flexibility is
another significant benefit for the
States. Under Performance Partnership
Grants, States can target and leverage
their resources for greater gains than
could normally be achieved.
With regard to EPA's responsibilities,
this new approach provides a clearer
understanding of actual problems and
conditions, and added assurance that
States will focus on the issues most in
need of attention. The public will gain
similar assurance as they are given more
opportunity to learn about conditions
and trends and to participate in the
decision-making process.
What Are the Challenges
Ahead?
The actual content of each Performance
Partnership agreement will differ
depending on the players, conditions,
and issues involved. In nearly every
case, certain challenges must be recog-
nized and addressed. One of these chal-
lenges will be overcoming basic resis-
tance to change in the States and EPA.
It's far easier, and in the short term pos-
sibly even less expensive, for managers
and staff to continue operating with the
status quo. Creating more effective
approaches for the future will require
time, money, and, most importantly, a
willingness to experiment and make
necessary adjustments along the way.
Another challenge is how to best
achieve a balance between flexibility and
REPORT ON REINVENTION
January 1997
-------
accountability. The added management
flexibility under Performance
Partnerships is one of the strongest
incentives for State participation. When
used properly, it has the potential to sig-
nificantly increase productivity. This
flexibility cannot be provided, however,
without first ensuring adequate safe-
guards to protect public health and our
environment. Exactly what those safe-
guards should be will continue to be an
issue for debate and negotiation.
Finally, it will be important to develop
better ways for informing and involving
the public. Protecting public health and
the environment is a job beyond EPA
and the States—it requires the active
involvement of individuals and organiza-
tions throughout the country. To be
most successful, Performance
Partnerships have to fully reflect the
concerns and interests of those they
affect.
At this time, over two-thirds of the
States are negotiating Performance
Partnership agreements with EPA for FY
1997. This level of participation is largely
due to the response from the six States
that originally participated in 1996. In a
meeting of the State Environmental
Commissioners, Bharat Mathur, director
of the Illinois state air program, explained
how this new process has generated better
information than ever before on environ-
mental trends in the State and how their
environmental programs affect those
trends. Jim Pauk, the Illinois water pro-
gram director, described how the process
has focused the dialogue between his staff
see signifi-
cant benefit
from the
thought process
involved in
developing these
agreements . . . we
are in a much better
position to achieve
our mission."
Christophe Tulou, ENVIRONMENTAL
COMMISSIONER OF DELAWARE
Performance
Partnerships
1997 State
Participation*
.*jt\ /. Agreement Only
^H Grant Only
Agreement and
Grant
* Completed or Negotiating
and the EPA Regional Office on environ-
mental results rather than on "bean count-
ing" and bureaucracy. Other States have
noted similar advantages. Christophe
Tulou, the Environmental Commissioner
of Delaware, stated, "I see significant ben-
efit from the thought process involved in
developing these agreements. We've taken
a hard look at our programs and their
effectiveness, and based on what we've
learned, we've set clear goals and objec-
tives and identified what needs to be done.
As a result, we are in a much better posi-
tion to achieve our mission." He also
noted how the final agreement has been
useful as a communication device—in
working with the public and explaining
programs and priorities to the State legisla-
ture. These perspectives show that
Performance Partnerships are helping to
shape a fundamentally different relation-
ship between EPA and the States, one that
should help deliver stronger, more effec-
tive environmental and public health pro-
tection for the future.
January 1997
REPORT ON REINVENTION
-------
In March 1995, as a result of the
Clinton Administration's National
Performance Review, EPA identified
25 high priority actions and other significant
steps to reinvent our system of environmental
protection. These actions were designed to fix
problems with existing regulatory programs
and to create innovative alternative strategies
to current regulatory approaches. Collectively,
they are often referred to as EPA's "reinven-
tion initiative." The profiles below include
many of those initial actions as well as other
significant efforts that have evolved more
recently. This list is not all inclusive and does
not capture the full range of reinvention activ-
ities underway. Nevertheless, it does provide
the reader with a more complete understand-
ing of how programs are being reinvented
and, more importantly, why these efforts are
so important. The specific projects vary con-
siderably, and they address different problems.
But, in every case, the overarching goal is
clear—to continuously improve environmen-
tal performance.
light A Look
Cutting
red tape
Part in
ships
\
Flexil
for results
FacilH
compliance
Reduction in Paperwork
Burden
Identify obsolete, duplicative, and
unnecessary monitoring, record-
keeping, and reporting require-
ments with a goal of eliminating
total burden by 25 million hours
PROGRESS
• Completed line-by-line
review of all rules
• Eliminated over 15 million
hours of paperwork burden
• Identified and initiated
action to eliminate an
additional 8 million hours
Performance
Partnerships
Increase effectiveness of State and
Federal environmental programs
through greater coordination and
a stronger emphasis on environ-
mental results
PROGRESS
• Developed and endorsed
framework for cooperation
with States
• Negotiating agreements and/or
grants with over 30 States for
1997
Project XL (excellence
and Leadership)
Allow regulated entities to test
alternative management strate-
gies that increase performance
beyond current regulatory
requirements and save resources
PROGRESS
• Signed agreements with 2 com-
panies
• Negotiating agreements with
and evaluating proposals from
numerous public and private
sector entities
Risk-Based
Enforcement
Target enforcement and compli-
ance efforts to activities that
present most serious threat to
human health and the environ-
ment
PROGRESS
• Issued new policies that
reduce NPDES and RCRA
inspections for facilities with
strong compliance records
• Identified new methods to
assess relative risk of specific
facilities based on emissions
One Stop
Reporting
Streamline environmental report-
ing for regulated community, fos-
ter multi-media and geographic
approaches, and improve real-
time access to environmental
data
PROGRESS
• Supported 5 States in integrat-
ing reporting systems to
streamline regulatory processes
• Proposed information manage-
ment policy and identified
infrastructure needs to better
integrate State-EPA data
Center for Environmental
Information and Statistics
Improve EPA information on
multi-media environmental status
and trends to provide a more
integrated picture of conditions
for decision-makers and the
public
PROGRESS
• Developed options to guide
pending decisions on Center's
function, scale, and manage-
ment
Common Sense
Initiative
Create an industry-by-industry,
consensus-based approach to
environmental protection that
improves environmental perfor-
mance and saves resources
PROGRESS
• Streamlining reporting and
permitting
• Identifying alternative regulato-
ry approaches
• Examining opportunities to
improve small businesses' access
to capital for pollution preven-
tion and remediation activities
Incentives for Auditing,
Disclosure, and Correction
Promote compliance by providing
incentives for systematic discovery
of violations through environ-
mental audits or management sys-
tems, and publicly disclosing and
correcting violations
PROGRESS
• Developed and issued final
policy
• Received self-disclosures from 83
companies and settled 19 cases,
all of which eliminated or signif-
icantly reduced the penalty
REPORT ON REINVENTION
January 1997
-------
at Major Reinvention Projects
Consolidated Federal
Air Rule
Consolidate all Federal air
quality requirements specific
to an industry into a single
rule
PROGRESS
• Established agreement
with chemical industry and
States to develop rule for
synthetic organic chemical
industry
Regulatory Negotiation
and Consensus-Based
Rulemaking
Improve quality and effectiveness
of rulemaking and policy devel-
opment efforts by early involve-
ment of outside stakeholders
PROGRESS
• Routinely assess regulatory
negotiation opportunity prior
to any new rulemaking
• Initiated and presently
involved in negotia-
tions or consensus-based activi-
ties to support new rules or
policies in all media
Open-Market Air
Emissions Trading
Provide a more flexible approach
for complying with ozone
standards
PROGRESS
• Drafted guidance; expect final
document Spring 1997
• Supportred trading demonstra-
tion project involving 37 facili-
ties and over 40 trades in the
northeast and mid-atlantic
regions
Reinvent Pesticide
Registration Process
Simplify and expedite process
of reviewing and approving
pesticide products
PROGRESS
• Issued final rule exempting
31 low-risk active pesticide
ingredients and 160 inert
ingredients from registration
• Established self-certification
process for minor product
changes
• Automated and standardized
precautionary labelling
Electronic Public
Access
Make EPA information widely
available and easily accessible to all
interested parties
PROGRESS
• Developed capability to make envi-
ronmental Federal Register notices
available electronically within 1 day of
publication.
• Developed ENVIROFACTS to provide
access to and easier integration of
data from multiple environmental
databases
• Re-designed EPA homepage to facili-
tate use by specific stakeholders
• Established on-line ordering capabili-
ties for EPA publications
Effluent Trading in
Watersheds
Implement on a national scale as
a cost-effective approach for
reducing water pollution
PROGRESS
• Issued final policy
• Developed and released for
public comment draft "how-to"
framework document
Refocus Drinking Water
Treatment Requirements
on Highest Risks
Focus EPA drinking water
resources on highest risks and
increase flexibility for States and
water suppliers
PROGRESS
• Renegotiated court-ordered
schedule for setting drinking
water requirements to allow
for more risk-based approach
• Help define significant reforms
in Safe Drinking Water Act
reauthorization
• Established "Partnership for
Safe Drinking Water" to
reduce risks of microbial cont-
amination
Community-Based
Environmental Protection
Help communities achieve sustainabili-
ty through management approaches
more tailored to local conditions.
PROGRESS
• Increased internal and external
understanding of how EPA authori-
ties, programs, and resources can be
applied at the community level to
achieve stronger environmental
results
• Identified and providing access to
new tools that support local deci-
sion-making and action
• Providing technical and financial
support to scores of communities
nationwide
Brownfields
Refocus Hazardous Waste
Regulation on High-Risk
Wastes
Better target public and private sector
resources toward higher risk problems
related to hazardous wastes
PROGRESS
• Proposed RCRA legislative reforms
that led Congress to exempt certain
low-risk wastes from land disposal
requirements
• Issued final rule on universal waste to
encourage recycling and reduce haz-
ardous waste regulatory requirements
associated with commonly used products
• Proposed rules for hazardous waste
identification that would exempt many
low-risk wastes from RCRA require-
ments
Green Chemistry
Challenge
Promote pollution prevention and
industrial ecology
PROGRESS
• Established annual award and
grant program to recognize and
support research, development,
and implementation of innova-
tive and environmentally bene-
ficial technologies
Empower States, communities,
and other interested stakeholders
to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse
Brownfields—abandoned, idled,
or under-used industrial and com-
mercial sites
PROGRESS
• Provided technical and financial
support to 76 communities
• Removed 27,000 sites from
Superfund list
Small Business Compliance
Assistance Centers
Improve compliance by improv-
ing understanding of environ-
mental regulatory requirements
and increasing awareness of pol-
lution prevention techniques and
strategies
PROGRESS
• Established centers for four
sectors—printing, farming,
auto service, and metal
finishing
• Establishing two new centers
for small chemical and printing
wiring board manufacturers
Environmental Leadership
Program
Recognize and provide benefits to
facilities that take a systematic
approach to achieving environmental
regulatory compliance
PROGRESS
• Developed pilot program and
selected 12 participants from pub-
lic and private sectors
• Evaluated pilot results in prepara-
tion for full-scale program
• Preparing to issue Federal
Register notice announcing plans
for full-scale implementation in
1997
January 1997
REPORT ON REINVENTION
-------
EPA Reinvention
Ombudsmen Named
ecognizing that
EPA's reinvention
efforts have been
most successful
hen senior
managers have been actively involved,
Deputy Administrator Fred Hansen has
asked Deputy Assistant Administrators
and Deputy Regional Administrators to
serve as Reinvention Ombudsmen for
their programs or Regional offices,
One of EPA's biggest
reinvention opportunities
is reducing record-keep-
ing and reporting requirements for busi-
nesses and communities. Nearly all EPA
regulatory programs require environmen-
tal monitoring and periodic reports in
order to determine what pollution con-
trols are necessary, whether compliance is
being achieved, and any impacts of pollu-
tion and pollution controls on the envi-
ronment. These requirements have
evolved over many years as programs
have been put into place. Not surprising-
ly, many of the requirements are obsolete,
duplicative, or unnecessary.
respectively. The goal is to open lines of
communication so that those on the
outside as well as EPA's own staff have a
point of contact for raising new reinven-
tion opportunities or potential problems
with existing efforts.
Specifically, the Reinvention
Ombudsmen will be ensuring that:
1) significant legal and policy issues are
brought to the appropriate management
level for timely resolution, 2) our stake-
holders have easy access to information
and issues being reviewed and an
opportunity to provide meaningful
input, and 3) people and organizations
interested in pursuing reinvention
efforts receive timely answers to their
proposals, questions, and requests. If
you have an issue that needs attention,
contact the appropriate Ombudsman
listed on the next page.
Reducing
Regulatory
Burden
EPA recognized and began to address this
dilemma in 1995 when it undertook a
comprehensive, line-by-line evaluation of
all its regulatory requirements in
response to a Presidential directive to all
Federal agencies to eliminate regulatory
burdens by 25 percent. At that time, EPA
estimated the total environmental regula-
So how much of the
total burden has EPA
eliminated? To date,
over 15 million hours!
tory burden at 81 million hours a year.
However, that estimate was increased to
100 million hours in 1996, partly because
of new statutory requirements and partly
because more complete information
became available. For example, the bur-
den for meeting land disposal require-
ments for hazardous wastes was increased
by over 4 million hours to reflect a larger
than originally estimated universe of
affected generators.
So how much of the total burden has EPA
eliminated? To date, over 15 million
hours! The largest reduction—about 4.7
million hours—was made in discharge
(CONTINUED ON PAGES)
REPORT ON REINVENTION
January 1997
-------
EPA Regional Reinvention Ombudsmen
REGION
Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
Region 4
Region 5
Region 6
Region 7
Region 8
Region 9
Region 10
OMBUDSMAN
PHONE
617/565-3417
212/637-5000
215/566-2900
* 404/562-8357
312/886-3000
214/665-2100
913/551-7006
303/312-6308
415/744-1001
206/553-5811
E-MAIL
ADDRESS
EPA Headquarters Reinvention Ombudsmen
OMBUDSMAN
Air and Radiation
General Counsel
Cross-Cutting Issues
Policy, Planning, and
Evaluation
Prevention, Pesticides, and
Toxic Substances
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
Water
Enforcement and
Compliance
Inspector General
• -.
•"•„ '•> * >* J ^^, ^ *
i **** %t*"t-'v'^if» Sft^' .>•> * *'
202/260-7400
f 202/260-5372
I
-. 202/260-5497
202/260-2997
' 202/260-2910
' 202/260-4610
202/260-5700
202/564-2450
202/260-1112
International Activities 202/260-4870
Research and Development
Administration and
Resources Management
Henry I.«Mtgest II
* 202/260-7676
202/260-4083
wilson.richard
nelson.james
January 1997
REPORT ON REINVENTION
-------
Reducing Regulatory Burden
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6)
monitoring reporting (DMR) under the
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (i.e., water quality permitting).
Historically, the DMR monitoring and
reporting requirements have been the
Agency's largest regulatory burden. As a
result of new policy, however, this burden
has been cut by 26 percent. A 3 million
hour reduction was achieved for Title V
air quality permittees through a new poli-
cy that significantly reduces the amount
of information collected and the number
of facilities subject to permitting require-
ments. In addition, about 1 million
hours were cut as a result of a new two-
page certification form and similar
improvements to the Toxic Release
Inventory requirements. It is important
to note that these burden reductions have
been made without any compromise in
environmental and public health protec-
tion. For example, the reductions in
DMR monitoring and reporting are
offered to facilities that have a good com-
f-lY
pliance record and an ability to reduce
pollutants beyond requirements in exist-
ing permits. Similar conditions are in
effect to safeguard performance in other
areas. At this time, an additional 8 mil-
lion hours of burden have been identi-
fied and slated for reduction as staff con-
tinue working to meet the President's
goal of a 25 percent across-the-board
reduction in Federal requirements. That
goal translates into a 25 million hour
reduction for EPA, and we are over
halfway there.
It is important to note, however, that
burden reduction is about more than just
eliminating monitoring and reporting
requirements. It also means finding ways
to make the job easier by using more
efficient reporting methods. EPA has
projects underway to do just that. Look
for articles on "One-Stop Reporting" and
"Electronic Data Transfer Systems" in
upcoming issues.
Burden Reduction Hours by Statute*
(as of December 31, 1996)
H Remaining
I Completed
Remaining Total: 8.3 million hours
Completed Total: 15.7 million hours
CWA CAA TSCA
FIFRA SARA OPA RCRA SDWA CERCLA Misc.
TITLE-IN
(TRI)
*List of EPA Statutes
CWA= Clean Water Act; CAA= Clean Air Act; TSCA= Toxic Substances Control Act; FIFRA= Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act; SARA= Superfund; OPA= Oil Pollution Act; RCRA=
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; SDWA= Safe Drinking Water Act; CERCLA= Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
FIRST CLASS
POSTAGE & FEES
PAID
EPA
Permit No. G-35
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