United States         Office of the Chief
                      Environmental Protection  Financial Officer
                      Agency             Washington DC 20460
EPA 190-R-00-OO2
September 2000
www.epa.gov
                      STRATEGIC  PLAN
The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency is to protect human health
     and to safeguard the natural environment — air, water, and land—
                       upon which life depends.

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                         Message from the Administrator
                                   September 2000
lampleased to presentthe Environmental Protection Agency's Strategic Plan, which charts the course
that we will follow in the coming years to protect human health and safeguard the environment. EPA' s
Strategic Plan describes our goals and objectives and discusses our strategies for achieving environmental
results. It explains how we will work with our state, tribal, local government, and federal agency partners
and with the many public and private organizations and individuals who support and contribute to
environmental protection.

Since EPA was created 30 years ago, we have made great progress toward a cleaner, healthier
environment for the American people. Today, however, the challenges we face look far different than they
did even a decade ago, and the Agency' s work has changed to meet them. We have found innovative
ways to use market forces, reduce regulatory burdens, and streamline processes so that we can achieve
better environmental results with less cost and complexity. We are changing the way we interact with our
partners in state, tribal, and local government, and together we are using new and different kinds of tools to
solve environmental problems. And we are supporting communities as they address local environmental
issues, for example by improving our ability to provide data and information in innovative, interactive ways.

Building on these creative approaches and the progress we have made so far, this Strategic Plan continues
to encourage innovation to enhance existing programs and develop new strategies for achieving better and
more cost-effective results. EPA looks forward to working with all of our partners as we pursue the goals
set out in this Plan. Together, we can continue our progress toward a clean and safe environment and
make area! difference to our families and our communities.
                                                      Carol M. Browner
                                                      Administrator

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   STRATEGIC FLAN
United States Environmental Protection Agency
        Washington, D.C. 20460

          September 2000

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EPA Strategic Plan

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    Table  of Contents
         •

     Introduction	-	 1
         I       ?r, *fc '•                              -  •  •
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     Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals	.,13
         *       —,\TL~                   '   .                        .   .
     J  * **       *""-^V^              -    "            _    -.;-!«. , -;_••_•-.-
     Chapter 2: Cross-Agency Programs	 63
      &          *•                                       ...,.',--
"     ChajDter 3: ^Assessing Our Work and
        Learning From Our Results	 77
          _,    •", „* l i J3^ r  i                         -
                *    ^                               —

  «*.                 J -%  •*      f

     Appendix A;  Congressional, Partner, and
        Stakeholder Consultation	 A-1       f
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   »  ,, -  , f^,,   ..^,  .>.,,-.    ,.,-            '•           -                -., . ".   --4
    'Appendix B:  Coordination Between EPA and Other                     \
        Federal Agencies	B-1       i

     Appendix C:  Statutory and Other Authorities
        for EPAs Goals	.............C............. C-1

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EPA Strategic Plan

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Introduction

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Introduction
                                             Introduction
               For the past 30 years, the U.S. Environmental
               Protection Agency (EPA) has been working
               towards a cleaner, healthier environment for
               the American people. Our mission is clear: to
               protect human health and to safeguard the
               natural environment—air, water, and land—
               upon which life depends. We have made great
               progress toward our mission since the Agency
               was created in 1970. Today, millions of
               Americans are breathing cleaner air, drinking
               water that meets standards for health, and
               eating food that is safe from pesticide residues.
               Our citizens are better protected from toxic
               waste and hazardous chemicals. Together with
               our state, tribal, and local government partners,
               EPA is cleaning up hazardous waste sites at a
               rate that quadruples earlier efforts and
               revitalizing urban communities by returning
               sites to productive use.  We have also learned
               a great deal about the causes and
               consequences of environmental problems and
               the toll they take on human health, particularly
               on our children and other vulnerable
               populations, and we have gained experience in
               solving these problems.

               Many of the advances in environmental
               protection would not have been possible
               without the participation and support of the
               states. Working together, we have forged the
               strong partnerships that  are essential to
               protecting human health and the environment
 and achieving our goals and objectives.  Many
 federal environmental statutes call for EPA to
 authorize or delegate to states the primary
 responsibility for implementing programs and
 designate them as co-regulators,  once EPA has
 confirmed that they meet certain qualifying
 criteria.  A new relationship between the states
 and EPA is emerging—one that allows us to
 adapt to changing priorities and to experiment
 with new ideas. We each have important roles
 to play, and by cooperating and collaborating
 with one another, we are achieving better
 results at lower costs.

 Similarly, EPA is working closely with tribes to
 improve management of environmental issues
 in Indian country and to develop tribal capacity
 to operate environmental programs.  We are
 reviewing our data and data systems to allow
 both tribes and EPA increased access to data
 pertaining to Indian country and to help us
 agree on priorities for environmental
 management activities. In short,  the success of
 EPA's environmental programs rests largely on
 the strength of our partnerships with states,
 tribes, and local agencies and on our continuing
 collaboration.

As a steward of America's environment, EPA
plays a vital role in society and in ensuring our
nation's health and quality of life.  With states,
tribes, and local governments, we lead
           ERA Strategic Plan

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                                                                                              Introduction
America's environmental protection efforts,
and we are accountable to the American
people for achieving results that will make a
real difference in citizens' lives. Our Strategic
Plan describes how we intend to achieve these
results and realize the trust that Congress and
the American people have vested in the
Agency.

In the pages that follow, we present EPA's
Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2000 through
2005, including our mission statement and the
ten long-term Goals around which we will
focus our efforts over the next five years. As
required by the Government Performance and
Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), this Strategic
Plan updates our previous Strategic Plan,
issued in 1997. Like our earlier Plan, it
establishes the framework we will use to plan
our programs, set priorities, and allocate
resources.  Our revised Plan takes into account
our performance over the past years and lays
out new and innovative tools and approaches to
advance our progress in environmental
protection.

Innovation:
Critical to EPA's Success
"Innovation" is a theme which permeates
EPA's work.  Recognizing the changing nature
of the environmental problems that we face,
EPA has embraced innovation to advance
environmental management. When EPA was
created in 1970, many of our nation's
environmental problems were starkly obvious
and their solutions equally clear.  By
implementing technical solutions and regulatory
mandates—often in very prescriptive terms—
and focusing on "end-of-the-pipe" pollution
from large industrial and municipal sources,
EPA was able to oversee rapid and impressive
improvements in environmental conditions.

 Over the last three decades, however, the easy
victories have been won.  Increasingly, EPA is
finding that traditional approaches and
regulation of large and obvious sources of
pollution are not sufficient to achieve our goals
nor the results the American people expect.
We must also adopt new perspectives, try new
approaches, and create new partnerships in our
core environmental programs. As we enter a
new century, we are gaining greater
appreciation of people's relationship with the
environment and how our actions can affect
the ecosystems in which we live, work, and
play.

Today, it is no longer enough to focus only on
controlling pollution. We face new problems,
such as the loss of biological diversity and
global climate change, which are much more
difficult to assess and manage. Genetic
engineering is raising important questions about
the possibilities and ethics of science; global
trade and e-commerce are revolutionizing the
ways we live and work; and changing
demographics and lifestyles are placing
additional stresses on our environment and
resources.  EPA is addressing many of these
issues. To ensure our continued progress,
however, we must invest in developing the
science, strategies, and tools needed to
understand and successfully address these new
challenges while considering the costs of
achieving this progress.

Innovations in EPA's Programs
EPA has been promoting innovation to enhance
existing programs and develop new approaches
with the potential for achieving better and more
cost-effective  environmental results. We have
streamlined regulatory processes, cut
paperwork, built more flexibility into
regulations, established new voluntary
programs and partnerships, and adopted new
cross-Agency, cross-media perspectives on
health and environmental problems.
                                                                            EPA Strategic Plan

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Introduction
Projected SO2 and NOX Emmision Levels from Utility
  Sources Following CAA Title IV Implementation
  20 -
  15 -
       17.5
              SOa Emissions
               Market-Based Solutions
               Because a safer, healthier environment goes
               hand-in-hand with a robust economy, EPA is
               using common sense approaches that consider
               benefits and costs and seek the most cost-
               effective ways to integrate our efforts with
               those armed at economic growth. We are
               working to increase environmental stewardship
               and accountability and get better environmental
               protection at reasonable cost by incorporating
               successful innovations into daily operation of
               environmental programs.

               One way in which EPA is making
               improvements is
               by offering
               environmental
               managers more
               flexibility through
               market-based
               approaches  to
               environmental
               management.
               Perhaps the best
               known example
               of market-based
               regulation is the
               acid rain
               program.  This
               program places a
               mandatory
               nationwide ceiling, or cap, on sulfur dioxide
               (SOj) emissions from electric utilities and
               allocates emission "allowances."  At the end
               of the year, utilities must hold an allowance for
               each ton of SO2 emitted; extra allowances may
               be banked for future use or sold to other utility
               companies.  Under phase  I of the acid rain
               program, SO2 emissions from electric utilities
               have dropped from 1980 levels by 5 million
               tons. This reduction was  about 30 percent
               more than was required, primarily because of
               the flexibility of the program which rewarded
               early action. Moreover, the cost of the
               program upon full implementation is now
               projected to be approximately half the cost
               EPA predicted in 1990.
_ _ _  —«18.7
Without Title IV
     With Title IV

             NOx Emissions
            T"
                  -r
    1980    1985  1990   1995   2000  2005 2010
                       Year
 Based on the success of the acid rain program,
 EPA has initiated other emissions trading and
 averaging programs and is working with states,
 which have primary responsibility for
 implementing national air quality standards, to
 establish trading and other market-based
 incentive programs. For example, EPA
 worked with 12 northeastern states through the
 Ozone Transport Commission to develop a
 trading program to address nitrogen oxide
 (NOx) emissions, which contribute to interstate
 ozone pollution and other air quality problems.
 EPA, which is operating the allowance tracking
 system for the states, recorded more than
                       1,200 trades in 1999,
                       the first compliance
                       year.  Beginning in
                       2003, this NOx
                       Budget Program,
                       coupled with
                       reductions achieved
                       by the federal acid
                       rain program, is
                       expected to reduce
                       annual seasonal
                       emissions for the 12-
                       state region by 50
                       percent from the
                       1990 level. Similar
                       efforts are underway
                       at both national and
state levels to address concerns such as ozone
layer depletion and toxic air emissions.

Protecting Children
EPA's program to protect children from
environmental risks reflects another kind of
innovation—taking a comprehensive and
integrated approach to a concern that cuts
across other Agency efforts. With an
improved understanding of the environmental
risks to children, we are focusing Agency
attention on children's particular susceptibilities.
In addition to the traditional media approach,
our efforts to reduce risks to children look
across media to ensure that Agency standards
                              -r
                                   -r
                                        i-
           EPA Strategic Plan

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                                                                                              Introduction
and regulations controlling pollution in all
environmental media explicitly and consistently
consider the risks to children. We have
launched an ambitious research strategy to
better understand the kinds and levels of
pollution to which children are exposed and
how their exposures and responses may differ
from those of adults. We are working in
partnership with federal agencies, states, local
agencies, academia, and other organizations
that have responsibilities for public health not
only to advance research, but also to develop
information and education initiatives that raise
public awareness of this sensitive
subpopulation.

Superfund
EPA's Superfund program, established to clean
up the nation's most toxic waste sites,
demonstrates the success of several new and
innovative approaches. Through a series of
administrative reforms, EPA has improved
virtually every aspect of the  Superfund
program—from assessing risk and ensuring
public involvement in cleanup strategies, to
recovering costs from responsible parties. As
a result, the average time and costs for cleanup
have fallen by 20 percent. More than three
times as many Superfund cleanups were
completed between 1993 and 1999 as were
completed in the previous 12 years combined.
Further, a recent analysis of Superfund actions
between 1993 and 1997 shows a total savings
of $2.1 billion through the use of innovative
rather than conventional remediation
technologies.  We will build on these successes
as we continue to clean up polluted Superfund
sites and return them to productive use.

Project XL
EPA's interest in providing more flexibility and
finding new approaches has led to another
important environmental reform  effort—
Project XL (excellence and Leadership).
Launched in 1995, this program challenges
EPA and our partners outside the Agency to
think and operate differently. It is enabling us
to break new ground by trying approaches to
environmental protection that have never been
tried before, with the expectation that lessons
learned from these targeted experiments will
be incorporated into broader programs.  As of
early August 2000, the Agency signed 28
Project XL agreements with industry and
communities across the country.  These
projects are underway to test new approaches
to managing wastes, reducing air pollution,
protecting water quality, and enhancing
pollution prevention. More than 25 other
projects are being developed or negotiated, for
a cumulative total of 50 projects scheduled for
implementation by September 30,2000. We
believe all these projects show promise for
broader application in the future.

For example, in Atlanta, EPA has worked with
a developer, the State of Georgia, and other
stakeholders on an innovative strategy to
promote smart growth. Atlantic Steel proposed
to convert a former steel mill into a new
residential and commercial business property.
At first, it seemed the project would not be
feasible. A bridge was needed to connect the
site to nearby Interstates and the local
commuter rail system. But the metropolitan
area's air quality problems meant it did not
qualify for federal highway funding,  which
would be needed for bridge construction.
Once the proposal was evaluated more
carefully, however, it .became clear that
developing the site was the soundest
environmental option:—preserving green space
and helping to address the region's air quality
problems by reducing driving for residents,
shoppers, and workers.  Based on the flexibility
provided through Project XL, the Atlantic Steel
proposal was approved. This example
demonstrates what smart growth is all about,
and it provides a model for how flexibility can
lead to better environmental results.
                                                                             EPA Strategic Plan

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Introduction
                Compliance
                Innovation has also led to new approaches for
                improving compliance. EPA has established an
                audit policy that provides incentives for
                companies to find and address their own
                environmental performance problems. EPA
                waives or significantly reduces penalties for
                companies that systematically evaluate their
                environmental management and take action to
                disclose and correct any violations that are
                found. This is an extraordinarily successful
                component of EPA's enforcement and
                compliance program. To  date, almost 700
                companies have disclosed violations at over
                2,700 facilities. The audit policy is highly cost-
                effective as it not only helps to achieve
                corporate-wide and individual settlements, but
                also serves as  the basis for sector-wide audits.
                For example, incentives resulting from the
                policy enabled EPA to eliminate 700 tons of air
                pollutants annually by a recent settlement
                involving a major commercial airline. Under
                the terms of the settlement with the airline,
                EPA cut total penalties by more than 90
                percent for violations that the airline voluntary
                disclosed and promptly corrected, and the
                airline agreed to undertake additional
                environmental improvement projects. The
                settlement served as a model for other airlines
                to come forward to resolve multiple federal
                environmental violations at one time.
 Innovations in compliance assistance are also
 promoting unproved compliance.  EPA is
 employing new tools and approaches, including
 shifting the Agency's role from that of
 providing tools directly to the regulated
 community to that of "wholesaler"—developing
 tools, establishing a compliance assistance
 clearinghouse, and fostering a compliance
 assistance network. While EPA will maintain a
 strong presence in enforcement, we will also
 bring a mix of innovative compliance tools and
 solutions to bear on environmental problems.

 Innovation Through Partnerships
 As we strive to improve our programs, we look
 to others outside of EPA for new ideas and
 partnership opportunities. For example, we
 continue to work closely with other federal
 agencies to develop streamlined, effective
 programs that will achieve our mutual goals
 and objectives. (See Appendix B for a chart
 illustrating areas of coordination.) Thousands
 of individuals and organizations in state, tribal,
 and local government agencies, private
 industry, trade associations, nonprofit groups,
 universities, and research institutions can
 contribute unique expertise and bring new
 perspectives to environmental protection.  EPA
 is reaching out to build strategic alliances with
 outside parties, knowing that these relationships
 will provide new insights, help us leverage
 resources, and promote continued progress.

 For example, strong and productive
 partnerships with states, tribes, and local
 governments are responsible for the success of
 many EPA programs and a critical means  to
 improved environmental protection. We have
 made it a priority to improve our working
 relationship with states through innovative
 approaches such as the National Environmental
 Performance Partnership System (NEPPS).
NEPPS promotes close cooperation between
EPA and its state co-regulators by clarifying
roles and responsibilities, fostering collaborative
efforts, and encouraging communications.
           EPA Strategic Plan

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                                                                                              Introduction
In some cases, partnerships are enabling EPA
to accomplish goals without regulatory action.
A recent example is the approach being used
by the High Production Volume (HPV)
Chemicals  Challenge Program to gather
critical information about some of the nation's
most toxic and widely used chemicals. Rather
than issuing a regulation to cover the entire list
of HPV chemicals, EPA worked with the
chemical industry on a voluntary information
collection initiative. The industry agreed to
provide existing chemical information and to
conduct testing to yield data that are missing.
As a result, important data for protecting
human health and the environment will be
available sooner than if we had prepared a
rulemaking for the entire list.

In developing the HPV Chemicals Challenge
Program, we have also renewed our
commitment to reducing the number of animals
used for testing, reducing the pain and suffering
of test animals, and replacing animals in testing
with other validated test systems.  These are
fundamental principles to which EPA has been
committed for many years. In addition to
pursuing the validation of alternative test
methods, EPA is incorporating these principles
into the design of its various hazard testing
programs, for example by encouraging
participating companies first to make available
all existing data pertaining to the chemicals and
endpoints being addressed. In this way,
available existing data will be evaluated for
their adequacy in assessing the potential health
risk of a chemical before additional testing is
conducted.

Several of EPA's partnership programs  focus
on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and are
based on voluntary action.  The Energy Star
program, a voluntary partnership between
EPA, the Department of Energy (DOE),
product manufacturers, local utilities, and
retailers, promotes products that use less
energy, saves consumers money, and
encourages greater energy efficiency in
buildings across the country. The Natural Gas
Star program works across the natural gas
industry to promote improved practices which
reduce emissions of methane, and the
Voluntary Aluminum Industrial Partnership
helps reduce emissions of some of the most
potent greenhouse gases.  Collectively, these
programs are helping to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by 35 million metric tons (in carbon
equivalents) a year. They will continue to be
critical components of EPA's partnership
efforts.

Innovations in Science
Science is the foundation that supports all of
EPA's work, providing us with the knowledge
and technologies to detect, abate, and avoid
environmental problems.  Our human activities
can impact natural processes positively or
negatively on both a local and global basis.
One of our challenges, therefore, is to ensure
that we sufficiently understand and address the
likely effects of our activities before they result
in harm to human health or the environment.
EPA is developing the knowledge we need to
advance environmental and human health
protection, from assessing risks and developing
regulatory standards to investigating new
technologies  that make it possible to prevent or
significantly reduce pollution.

To ensure that all of the Agency's policy and
regulatory decisions are based on the strongest
                                                                             EPA Strategic Plan

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Introduction
                scientific information and analysis available,
                EPA has adopted the following set of principles
                for our science activities: (1) development and
                use of an inventory of EPA's science activities;
                (2) effective cross-Agency planning for
                scientific investigations;
                and (3) coordination and
                collaboration with the
                nation's scientific
                community to support,
                enhance, and implement
                sound science practices.
                By fostering a reasoned and objective basis for
                our policies, these principles enhance EPA's
                ability to achieve our strategic goals and
                objectives.

                One of the chief objectives of EPA's science
                program is to help promote a more integrated
                approach to environmental management.  In
                the natural environment, air, land, and water
                are not separate; they interact in complex,
                subtle ways not always immediately apparent.
                Nature does not recognize the artificial
                distinctions created by legislation or regulatory
                programs that focus on a single medium or
                pollutant, and EPA science must reflect these
                very real and powerful dynamics. For
                example, in one such holistic approach,  EPA is
                integrating data collected by satellites with data
                collected from our streams, soils, marshlands,
                and beaches to help us gain a more complete
                and accurate understanding of environmental
                conditions in the mid-Atlantic and western
                states. To anticipate potential future
                environmental problems, EPA is also using
                these data to model possible associations
               between current conditions and socioeconomic
                trends.

                Innovations in information and Public
                Involvement
               EPA is also moving to take advantage of the
               opportunities created by new information
               technology. We are committed to encouraging
               environmental action and stewardship more
               broadly throughout society and are working to
 "...newinformation technologies are
making it possible to gather, analyze,
 and present data in ways that were
       never before possible."
 make information widely available so others
 can understand and help solve environmental
 problems.  Our efforts involve businesses and
 industry, but they also include individuals and
 organizations that have often been on the
                     fringes of environmental
                     protection efforts in the
                     past.  We know that if
                     more people and
                     industries are given
                     information in forms
                     they can readily use and
 understand, they will be in a better position to
 act constructively. Increasingly, we will be
 relying on action by individuals at the local level
 for environmental and human health protection
 efforts to succeed.

 Today, new information technologies are
 making it possible to gather, analyze, and
 present data in ways that were never before
 possible. Expanding public access to this
 information is a top priority, and we are using
 all of the tools at our disposal to do so.  As a
 result, citizens now have access to much more
 environmental information than they did a
 decade ago. EPA is requiring more reporting
 on industrial toxic emissions, on the quality of
 drinking water supplied to consumers, and on
 the environmental performance levels of
 companies and individual business sectors. To
 maximize accessibility, we are putting this and
 other information on the Internet to reach a
 rapidly growing audience. One  such Internet
 site, the Envirofacts Data Warehouse, provides
 the public direct access to a wealth of
 information about environmental activities that
 may affect  air, water, and land anywhere in the
 United States. A program called
 EnviroMapper enables users to view and query
 information about EPA-regulated facilities
which is stored in the  Envirofacts  Warehouse.
EnviroMapper can also be used to view
 environmental statistics, profiles, and trends as
well as environmental information for certain
U.S. metropolitan areas, watersheds, and
 Superfund sites. Both Envirofacts and
           EPA Strategic Plan

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                                                                                              Introduction
EnviroMapper, as well as AIRNow (an EPA
Web site that provides real-time air quality
information), provide the type of Internet
capabilities that enhance the public's ability to
make informed environmental decisions for
their communities.

Implications for the Future
The experiments occurring in environmental
management are helping to advance state-of-
the-art practices and prove the value of new
approaches—promising more progress in the
future. Our recent innovations, together with
our experience in managing environmental
programs over the past 30 years, provide us
with insight into how our environmental
protection system can function more efficiently
and effectively.  First, we believe
environmental management must be more
performance-based—rewarding  and
encouraging environmental achievement and
voluntary actions. Second, it must become
more flexible—allowing alternatives to the
traditional regulatory framework to  reach
desired ends. And third, it must be more
informative and inclusive—providing access to
information and opportunities for citizens and
other interested parties to use their increased
knowledge to take action and influence
decision making in a meaningful way.

Looking ahead, EPA sees exciting possibilities
and great potential for improving environmental
and human health protection. The Information
Age has created a better-informed public with
a greater sense of its place in the global
community. Citizens are showing more interest
and leadership in addressing environmental
issues in their communities, and corporations
are becoming cleaner, less wasteful, and more
productive in order to stay competitive in
today's global marketplace.

This Strategic Plan focuses EPA on preparing
for the future and taking advantage  of the
many opportunities that exist for providing a
healthier environment. It shows how we will
build on the progress made in the past so that
more Americans live in areas where health-
based standards for air and drinking water are
being met and food is safe. It builds on our
continuing work to reduce and prevent
pollution, improve our cleanup programs, and
redevelop brownfield sites. It commits us to
work with other nations to reduce global
environmental risks. It details how we will use
the Internet and other new technologies to
ensure that environmental information flows
quickly and efficiently to support environmental
actions.  It presents the science we will support
to reduce the public's risk to environmental
hazards such as pesticides and chemicals that
threaten reproduction and other biological
functions. It describes how we intend to
expand incentives that can encourage
companies to continuously improve their
environmental performance.  And it commits
us to the highest standards of management,
ensuring that we use taxpayers' money most
effectively to carry out our environmental
stewardship responsibilities.

These goals and objectives outline EPA's major
priorities and show what we will do to build on
the nation's legacy of progress in
environmental management.  In Chapter 1, we
present our ten goals and our strategies for
achieving our objectives. Chapter 2 presents
six high-priority programs that cut across our
strategic goals and represent EPA's
commitment to innovation. Finally, Chapter 3
describes how we intend to measure and
assess our progress and further our
commitment to results-based environmental
management.

The  efforts that we have outlined in this Plan
will be guided by a commitment to creating the
strongest, most cost-effective system of
environmental and human health protection
possible.  And in carrying out these efforts, we
will continue to encourage and cultivate the
process of innovation that now influences so
much of our work.
                                                                            EPA Strategic Plan

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Introduction
I
r
I
1	
                         The mission  of the Environmental Protection
                                   Agency is to protect human health . . .
•

1
r
r
GoaM:
Clean Air
The air in every American community will
be safe and healthy to breathe. In particu-
lar, children, the elderly, and people with
respiratory ailments will be protected from
health risks of breathing polluted air.
Reducing air pollution will also protect the
environment, resulting in many benefits,
such as restoring life in damaged ecosys-
tems and reducing health risks to those
whose subsistence depends directly on
those ecosystems.

Goal 2:
Clean and Safe Water
AH Americans will have drinking water that
is clean and safe to drink. Effective
protection of America's rivers, lakes,
wetlands, aquifers, and coastal and ocean
waters will sustain fish, plants, and wild-
life, as well as recreational,  subsistence,
and economic activities. Watersheds and
their aquatic ecosystems will be restored
and protected to improve public health,
enhance water quality, reduce flooding,
and provide habitat for wildlife.

Goal 3:
Safe Food
The foods Americans eat will be free from
unsafe pesticide residues. Particular
attention will be given to protecting sub-
populations that may be more susceptible
to adverse effects of pesticides or have
higher dietary exposures to pesticide
residues. These include children and
people whose diets include large amounts
of  noncommercial foods.
Goal 4:
Preventing Pollution and Reducing
Risk in Communities, Homes,
Workplaces, and Ecosystems
Pollution prevention and risk management
strategies aimed at eliminating, reducing,
or minimizing emissions and contamina-
tion will result in cleaner and safer environ-
ments in which all Americans can reside,
work, and enjoy life. EPA will safeguard
ecosystems and promote the health of
natural communities that are integral to the
quality of life in this nation.

GoalS:
Better Waste Management, Restoration
of Contaminated Waste Sites, and
Emergency Response
America's wastes will be stored, treated,
and disposed of in ways that prevent harm
to people and the natural environment.
EPA will work to clean up previously
polluted sites, restore them to uses appro-
priate for surrounding communities, and
respond to and prevent waste-related or
industrial accidents.

Goal 6:
Reduction of Global and Cross-Border
Environmental Risks
The United States will lead other nations in
successful, multilateral efforts to reduce
significant risks to human health and
ecosystems from climate change, strato-
spheric ozone depletion, and other haz-
ards of international concern.
          EPA Strategic Plan

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                                                                            Introduction
 .  .  .  and to safeguard the natural environment -
air,  water,  and land —upon which life depends
Goal?:
Quality Environmental Information
The public and decision makers at all
levels will have access to information
about environmental conditions and human
health to inform decision making and help
assess the general environmental health of
communities. The public will also have
access to educational services and infor-
mation services and tools that provide for
the reliable and secure exchange of quality
environmental information.

GoalS:
Sound Science, Improved
Understanding of Environmental Risk,
and Greater Innovation to Address
Environmental Problems
EPA will develop and apply the best avail-
able science for addressing current and
future environmental hazards as well as
new approaches toward improving envi-
ronmental protection.
Goal 9:
A Credible Deterrent to Pollution and
Greater Compliance with the Law
EPA will ensure full compliance with laws
intended to protect human health and the
environment.

Goal 1.0:
Effective Management
EPA will maintain the highest-quality
standards for environmental leadership
and for effective internal management and
fiscal responsibility by managing for
results.
                                                              EPA Strategic Plan

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Introduction
            EPA Strategic Plan

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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
                                              Chapter  1:
                                             Achieving Our  Goals
               This chapter describes EPA's ten strategic
               goals. For each goal, we present a list of
               longer-term objectives we have established to
               attain the goal and include specific accomplish-
               ments we intend to achieve over the next
               several years.  We also discuss how we intend
               to proceed—the means and strategies we will
               employ to accomplish our goals—and how
               these specific accomplishments will move us
               closer to our long-range goals and objectives.
               Finally, we discuss the external factors that
               may bear on our ability to realize our plans and
               achieve our objectives.

               EPA's ten, long-range goals establish the focus
               for our work in the years ahead.  We will plan
               our programs and activities, set our priorities,
               and allocate our resources—human, capital,
               and technological—around these goals. We
will measure our performance to make sure
that we are making progress toward our goals,
and, as necessary, we will alter our approaches
or modify our strategies in order to achieve real
environmental results.

Goal 1:
Clean Air

The air in every American community will be
safe and healthy to breathe. In particular,
children, the elderly, and people with
respiratory ailments will be protected from
health risks of breathing polluted air.
Reducing  air pollution will also protect the
environment, resulting in many  benefits,
such as restoring life in damaged ecosys-
tems and reducing health risks  to those
whose subsistence depends directly on those
ecosystems.

Importance of This Goal
Despite great progress in achieving cleaner,
healthier air, air pollution continues to be a
widespread human health and environmental
problem in the United States. Air pollution can
cause premature death, cancer, long-term
damage to respiratory and reproductive
systems, and difficulty with breathing.  Further,
air pollution reduces visibility; damages crops,
forests, and buildings; acidifies lakes and
           EPA Strategic Plan
                                                  Statutory and other authorities for EPA's goals are found in Appendix C.

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                                                                           Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
streams; and poses additional risks to Native
Americans and others who rely on plants, fish,
and game for subsistence.

Much work lies ahead.  Although air quality
has been improving overall, there are still urban
and rural areas where the air does not meet
national air quality standards, areas with
worsening air quality, and areas, such as in
Indian country, where air quality is not ad-
equately monitored. As of 1999, about 62
million people were still breathing air that did
not meet one or more of the health-based
national standards established by EPA, and
millions of tons of toxic air pollutants are still
being released into the air.  Progress has been
achieved in reducing the pollutants that cause
acid rain; however, emissions of sulfur dioxide
and nitrogen oxides are currently at levels that
can damage lakes and  forests.

Objectives
•  Reduce the risk to human health and the
   environment by protecting and improving air
   quality so that air throughout the country
   meets national clean air standards by 2005
   for carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen
   dioxide, and lead; by 2012 for ozone; and by
   2018 for particulate matter (PM). To
   accomplish this in Indian country, the tribes
   and EPA will, by 2005, have developed the
   infrastructure and skills to assess,
   understand, and control air quality and
   protect Native Americans and others from
   unacceptable risks to their health,
   environment, and cultural uses of natural
   resources.

 •  By 2020, eliminate unacceptable  risks of
   cancer and other significant health problems
   from air toxic emissions for at least 95
   percent of the population, with particular
   attention to children and other sensitive
   subpopulations, and substantially reduce or
   eliminate adverse effects on our natural
   environment.  By 2010, the tribes and EPA
  will have the information and tools to
  characterize and assess trends in air toxics
  in Indian country.

• By 2005, reduce ambient nitrates and total
  nitrogen deposition to 1990 levels. By 2010,
  reduce ambient sulfates and total sulfur
  deposition by up to 30 percent from 1990
  levels.

Results We Intend to Achieve
Over the next several years, EPA and state,
tribal, and local governments will make sub-
stantial progress in reducing pollution and
improving air quality. We expect to achieve the
following specific accomplishments:

• By 2012, air throughout the country meets
  the national standards for ozone.

• By 2018, air throughout the country meets
  the national standards for PM.

• By 2018, visibility will be improving in 80
  percent of our 156 national parks and
  wilderness areas from 1999 levels, and none
  of them will have deteriorating visibility.

• Through 2005, air throughout the country
  continues to meet the national standards for
  nitrogen dioxide.
       Population in Counties with Pollution
            Levels Above the N AAQS
            S02
   AnyNAAQS{1-hrO3)

   Any NAAQS (8-hr O3)
                       50        100
                        Millions of People
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
                  By 2005, air throughout the country meets
                  the national standards for carbon monoxide,
                  sulfur dioxide, and lead.

                  Through 2018, provide methods, models,
                  data and assessment criteria on the health
                  risks associated with PM and other National
                  Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
                  alone and in combination, focusing on the
                  exposures, mechanisms of injury, and
                  components that affect human health.
                  Provide NAAQS implementation tools for
                  tropospheric (near ground level) ozone and
                  PM that quantify emissions and model air
                  quality as well as develop the science to
                  support control strategies for attaining clean
                  air standards.

                  Through 2020, develop and improve (1) air
                  quality models and source receptor tools to
                  identify the sources and source contributions
                  of hazardous air pollutants;  (2) cost-
                  effective pollution prevention and other
                  control options to address indoor and urban
                  pollutant sources that significantly contribute
                  to risk; and (3) scientific information and
                  tools for quantitative assessment of
                  nationwide, urban, and residual air toxic risks
                  to susceptible populations from hazardous air
                  pollutants, considering both indoor and
                  ambient air environments.

                  Through 2020, continue to use and improve
                  air toxics information and tools (i.e.,
                  monitoring networks, reporting requirements,
                  inventories, and assessment approaches) to
                  support the quantitative evaluation,
                  characterization, and tracking of risk-based
                  indicators. Develop the technical tools
                 needed to fully implement strategies and
                 programs to reduce air toxic exposure risks,
                 including risks to children and other sensitive
                 subpopulations.

                 By 2020, (1) reduce cancer incidence in
                 urban areas by 75 percent (from 1990
                 levels) from stationary source emissions
   through a combination of federal, state, local,
   and tribal regulatory programs and voluntary
   initiatives; (2) reduce cancer incidence from
   mobile source emissions by 65 percent
   through implementation of motor vehicle and
   fuels programs; (3) substantially reduce non-
   cancer risk from all sources; and (4) address
   disproportionate impacts on populations and
   areas including, for example, densely
   populated areas, children, and people who
   are highly exposed to water and food
   affected by air toxics.

 •  By 2005, annual emissions of nitrogen oxides
   from electric power generation sources will
   be reduced by 2 million tons from projected
   levels, of which 1 million tons will occur
   during the summer to facilitate attainment of
   the ozone standard. By 2010, annual sulfur
   dioxide emissions from electric power
   generation sources will be reduced by 8.5
   million tons below 1980 levels.

 Means and Strategies
 The Clean Air Act establishes the strategic
 framework for national, state, local, and tribal
 efforts to reduce air pollution and protect air
 quality.  Under the Clean Air Act, EPA
 provides leadership and technical and financial
 assistance for the development of cooperative
 federal, state, local, and tribal programs to
 prevent and control air pollution. A strong
 partnership with and among the different
 governments that each play a key role in air
 quality protection is critical to achieving clean
 air, because it is the sum of our collective
 efforts that constitutes the national air quality
program. The objectives and priorities of each
 agency and level of government may reflect
their values and specific focus, but it is vital
that all parties share a common vision and
strategic direction for air quality management.
Together with our state, tribal, and local co-
regulators, we are creating this shared vision,
which is essential so that the different govern-
ments can work together effectively and
efficiently to achieve common ends, communi-
           EPA Strategic Plan

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                                                                          Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
cate easily and without misunderstandings, and
present a consistent set of priorities and
objectives to the public, stakeholders, and
federal and state lawmakers.

In full partnership with our state, tribal, and
local co-regulators, and with industry, small
businesses, and other federal agencies, we will
develop a range of approaches to address air
quality problems. To attain national air quality
standards, we will collaborate on new strate-
gies, based on sound science, which include
regional and geographic approaches and
enforcement and compliance assistance
programs.  Based on the success of the
innovative, market-based approach pioneered
by the Acid Rain Program, for example, EPA
supports other emissions cap-and-trade pro-
grams, such as the NOx Allowance and
Emissions Tracking Systems for the NOx
Budget Program, that provide flexible,
market-based approaches to solving air quality
problems. EPA will continue to offer grants
and technical assistance to aid states and tribes
in developing plans and strategies that meet
their needs.

Under the national air toxics program, EPA
issued a July 1999 strategy to reduce further
emissions of toxic air pollutants. Four compo-
nents comprise the strategy:  regulations to
control air toxics emissions from all sources,
including major industrial sources, smaller
stationary sources, and mobile sources; national
initiatives and support for regional and local
initiatives to address specific toxic pollutants
(e.g., mercury) and risks in a community or
geographic area; assessments (including
expanded monitoring and modeling) to identify
areas of concern, set priorities, and track
progress; and education and outreach to inform
stakeholders and invite input into program
design.

EPA will continue to develop and issue na-
tional, technology-based standards to reduce
the quantity of toxic air pollutants emitted from
industrial and manufacturing processes. We
will assess risk remaining after standards are
implemented, and we will research cost-
effective risk management approaches and
evaluate their effectiveness.  We must also
develop a sound, scientific understanding of the
air pollution mixture and its potential effects on
human health, including effects to sensitive
groups such as children, the elderly, and people
with respiratory ailments. We will continue to
work with states to improve on-time delivery of
permits and reduce overall permitting costs.

EPA will develop federal control measures for
mobile, stationary, and other sources that are
best regulated at the federal level, such as on-
and off-road engines, consumer products,
maintenance coatings, and facilities that emit
radiation.  We will reduce mobile source
emissions by focusing on vehicle-based solu-
tions, developing cleaner engine technologies
and cleaner burning fuels, and developing
flexible motor vehicle inspection and mainte-
nance programs. We will continue to promote
and support comprehensive state and local
transportation planning and will work with other
federal agencies, states, local governments, and
citizens to develop more flexible, efficient
transportation systems.

In Indian country, EPA will work with tribes on
a government-to-government basis to develop
the infrastructure and skills tribes need to
assess, understand, and control air quality on
their lands. In consultation with our tribal
partners, EPA will develop the necessary
federal regulatory authorities and support the
development of tribal programs to protect tribal
air resources.  The 1998 Tribal Authority Rule
authorizes tribes to administer air programs in
Indian country and, over the next few years,
EPA will work with tribes to fashion and
manage their own air programs, consistent with
their traditions and culture. Where tribes do
not develop their own programs, EPA will
implement air quality programs directly. We
will also support tribal air programs by provid-
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
               ing technical support, assistance with data
               development, and training and outreach.  EPA
               will help tribes participate in national policy and
               operations discussions and in regional planning
               and coordination activities.

               EPA's strategy for implementing new, more
               protective air quality standards has been
               modified as a result of ongoing litigation.  In
               May 1999, a U.S. Court of Appeals issued an
               opinion that called into question EPA's ability to
               adopt and enforce new standards for ozone
               and PM established in 1997.  In May 2000, the
               Supreme Court agreed  to hear a Department
               of Justice argument to overturn this decision.
               While these legal issues are being resolved,
               EPA's strategy is to maximize the public health
               protection available under the 1-hour ozone
               standard and pre-1997 PM standard and move
               forward to build the infrastructure that will be
               needed to implement the new standards when
               the time comes. We will also continue to
               conduct research and upgrade and improve air
               monitoring networks to obtain better data and
               improve our understanding of how PM, toxic
               air pollutants in urban areas, ozone in rural
               areas, and acid deposition impact the health of
               Americans and the environment. In addition, -
               we will focus on air-water linkages such as the
               deposition of airborne pollutants in water.

               EPA will also address regional haze, which
               results when pollution that occurs in one state
               affects visibility downwind in other areas.  To
               foster more effective regional solutions, EPA
               will continue to encourage multi-state efforts to
               plan and develop strategies to address regional
               haze. All 50 states will participate in planning,
               analysis, and emission control, and EPA will
               work with tribes to ensure their participation in
               these efforts.

               Relating Annual  Performance Goals to
               Strategic  Objectives
               EPA's long-term performance under this goal
               will be measured according to progress in
 achieving the objectives that the clean air
 program has established. These objectives
 reflect our efforts to ensure that EPA reduces
 the risk to human health and the environment
 by protecting and improving air quality to meet
 national clean air quality standards; addressing
 air toxics emissions to eliminate unacceptable
 risk of cancer and other significant health
 problems, and reduce or eliminate adverse
 effects on our natural environment; and
 reducing ambient sulfates and total sulfur
 deposition.

 EPA's progress in achieving each objective will
 be supported by annual performance goals that
 will be fully developed in our Annual Plans.
 Annual performance goals will focus on
 achieving incremental environmental improve-
 ments and on accomplishing program activities.
 Generally, activity- or output-based goals will
 be established for the work required to develop
 and implement programs, and goals that reflect
 environmental improvements will be established
 for more mature programs. In newer program
 areas, program mfrastructures and strategies
 have to be developed and implemented before
 reductions in targeted air pollutants can occur.
 Several more years may pass before newer
 programs have a measurable effect on the
 environment.

 External Factors

 Weather conditions and meteorological patterns
 have very important effects on air quality. For
 example, high temperatures and bright sunlight
 can increase the formation of ozone. Wind can
 bring air pollution to one area from another,
 while conditions of little or no wind can cause
 air pollutants to remain in an area and build up
to unhealthy levels.  These effects must be
 considered when developing and implementing
plans and strategies to reduce emissions and
 achieve and maintain clean air. On the other
hand, plans to improve air quality can help
ensure protection of public health even in the
face of adverse weather conditions.
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                                                                           Chapter ^: Achieving Our Goals
  Lawsuits and court action may also impact
  EPA's ability to achieve objectives, requiring
  the Agency to adjust schedules and delay
  accomplishment of certain goals and objec-
  tives. Finally, achievement of the clean air
  objectives can be affected by economic
  conditions and development patterns in the
  United States and the world, and by energy and
  transportation policy choices.

  Goal 2:
I  Clean and Safe Water

  All Americans will have drinking water that
  is clean and safe to drink.  Effective protec-
  tion of America's rivers, lakes,  wetlands,
  aquifers, and coastal and ocean waters will
  sustain fish, plants, and wildlife, as well as
  recreational, subsistence, and economic
  activities.  Watersheds and their aquatic
  ecosystems will be restored and protected to
  improve public health,  enhance water
  quality, reduce flooding, and provide
  habitat for wildlife.

  Importance of This Goal
  Our nation's health, economy, and quality of life
  depend on reliable sources of clean water. We
  need safe, clean water for drinking, recreation,
  fishing, maintaining ecosystem integrity, and
  supporting agriculture, industry, and other
  commercial activities.  Through our invest-
  ments and programs, Americans  enjoy one of
  the safest drinking water supplies in the world,
  yet prevention and treatment measures must be
  continually assessed to maintain a maximum
  level of public health protection.  For example,
  microbial pathogens threaten drinking water for
  all Americans, especially sensitive populations
  such as children, the elderly, pregnant women,
  and the immuno-compromised, and also present
  a significant risk to people who swim, partici-
  pate in other water-related recreation, or eat
  contaminated fish.

  In 1999, more than 25 million people served by
  community drinking water systems (approxi-
mately 9 percent) received water that violated
health standards at least once during the year.
Polluted water and degraded aquatic ecosys-
tems threaten the viability of all living things
and the vigor of the nation's economy. As of
1998, about 40 percent of the assessed waters
in the United States were degraded to the point
that they did not support their designated use.
Furthermore, in the continental United States,
we have lost more than 50 percent of our
wetlands—more than 100 million acres—since
the time of European settlement. To ensure
our health, economy, and quality of life, we
must continue  to preserve and protect
America's rivers, lakes, wetlands, aquifers, and
coastal and ocean waters.

Objectives
•  By 2005, protect human health so that 95
   percent of the population served by
   community  water systems will receive water
   that meets health-based drinking water
   standards, consumption of contaminated fish
   and shellfish will be reduced, and exposure
   to microbial and other forms of
   contamination in waters used for recreation
   will be reduced.
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
                 Our drinking water supply is one of the
                 safest in the world, but...
                        (violations)
                     ... one out of every ten people is served
                     by a community water system reporting
                          a health standard violation (1999).
               •  By 2005, increase by 175 the number of
                  watersheds where 80 percent or more of
                  assessed waters meet water quality
                  standards, including standards that support
                  healthy aquatic communities. (The 1998
                  baseline is 501 watersheds out of a national
                  total of 2,262.)

               •  By 2005, reduce pollutant loadings from key
                  point and nonpoint sources by at least 11
                  percent from 1992 levels. Air deposition of
                  key pollutants will be reduced to 1990 levels.

               Results We Intend  to Achieve
               EPA will continue to work with its many
               partners to implement  the Safe Drinking Water
               Act (SDWA) Amendments.  We will develop
               and implement rules for contaminants  of
               greatest risk; provide states, tribes, and water
               system managers with funding and tools;
               establish strong prevention barriers by con-
               necting source water protection and regulatory
               programs; and ensure that the public is well
               informed. Pursuant to the Clean Water Act
               Amendments and other related statutes, the
               Agency will work to enhance the ecological
               health of the nation's waters and aquatic
               ecosystems with stronger water quality stan-
dards; foster natural resource stewardship for
cropland, pasture, rangeland, and forests; and
inform citizens and officials about the health of
watersheds, beaches, and fish. We expect to
achieve the following specific accomplish-
ments:

•  By 2005, the population served by
   community water systems providing drinking
   water that meets all 1994 health-based
   standards (issued under the SDWA as
   amended in 1986) will increase to 95 percent
   from a baseline 83 percent in 1994.  For
   standards issued in 1998 and beyond (under
   the SDWA as amended in 1996), the
   population served by community water
   systems providing drinking water that meets
   such new health-based standards will reach
   95 percent within five years after the
   effective date of each rule.

•  By 2005, standards that establish protective
   levels for an additional ten high-risk
   contaminants (e.g., disinfection byproducts,
   arsenic, radon) will be issued and will
   provide increased protection to the general
   population as well as sensitive
   subpopulations such as children, the elderly,
   and the immune-compromised.

•  By 2005, demonstrate the effectiveness of
   both voluntary and regulatory activities to
   protect sources of drinking water by (1)
   ensuring that 50 percent of the population
   served by community water systems will
   receive their water from systems with
   source water protection programs in place
   and (2) managing identified, high-risk Class
   V wells in 100 percent of priority protection
   areas (e.g., wellhead,  source water, sole
   source aquifer) and all Class I, II, and III
   injection wells.

•   By 2005, 5 percent of the waters with fish
   advisories will demonstrate a decline in fish
   tissue contamination, consumption of
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                                                                        Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
contaminated fish and shellfish will be
reduced, and the percentage of waters
attaining the designated uses protecting the
consumption offish and shellfish will
increase.

By 2005, exposure to microbial and other
forms of contamination in waters used for
recreation will be reduced, and the
percentage of waters attaining the
designated recreational uses will increase.

Through 2005, provide a stronger scientific
basis for future implementation of the
SDWA.

By 2005,5,000 additional miles of water will
attain water quality standards and specific
interim milestones will be achieved in 50,000
impaired miles.

By 2005, and in each year thereafter, the
work of federal, state, tribal, and local
agencies; the private sector; hunting and
fishing organizations; and citizen groups will
result in a net increase of 100,000 acres of
wetlands.

Through 2005, provide the means to identify,
assess, and manage aquatic stressors,
including contaminated sediments.

By 2005, using both pollution control and
prevention approaches, reduce at least 3
billion pounds of annual point source loadings
from key sources, including a combined 11
percent reduction from industrial sources,
publicly owned treatment works (POTWs),
and combined sewer overflows (CSOs).

By 2005, through the work of federal, state,
tribal, and local agencies and the private
sector, nonpoint source loadings (especially
sediment and nutrient loads) will be reduced
or prevented, including a 20 percent
reduction from 1992 levels of erosion from
cropland (i.e., reduction of 235 million tons
of soil eroded).
• Through 2005, deliver decision support tools
  and alternative, cost-effective wet weather
  flow control technologies for use by local
  decision makers in community-based
  watershed management.

• By 2005, improve water quality by reducing
  releases of targeted persistent toxic
  pollutants that contribute to air deposition by
  50 percent compared to 1990 levels, as
  measured by the National Toxics Inventory.
  Also by 2005, reduce ambient nitrates and
  total nitrogen deposition to 1990 levels, as
  measured by the National Atmospheric
  Deposition Network and the Clean Air
  Status and Trends Network.

Means and Strategies
To restore and protect the nation's waters and
aquatic ecosystems, EPA uses a watershed
approach, which uses nature's boundaries  of
water resources to enable comprehensive
management of our aquatic resources and their
surroundings.  Focusing on the whole water-
shed helps to strike the best balance in protect-
ing these resources and engages a wide variety
of our partners and stakeholders in solving the
wide range of water protection problems.  As
of 1998, EPA, states, and tribes were working
in a total of 2,262 discrete "watersheds"
delineated by U.S. Geological Survey Hydro-
logical Unit Codes.

Protecting Drinking  Water
Under the watershed approach, EPA will
 conduct both voluntary and regulatory activities
to protect the nation's drinking water. We will
work with our state, tribal, and local govern-
ment partners to connect such activities as
 source water protection, capacity development,
 and operator certification with regulatory
 actions for drinking water. Through the
 extensive stakeholder process and new scien-
 tific and analytic standards set forth in the 1996
 SDWA Amendments, EPA will continue to set
 drinking water safety standards and, as the law
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
                 Our rivers, lakes, and coastal waters are
                 cleaner today than 25 years ago, but...
                   50*-
                   40 -
                   30 -
                      rivers
                                lakes
                                        estuaries
                      ... many assessed waters are still too
                       polluted for safe fishing or swimming
               requires, revise existing drinking water regula-
               tions on a 6-year cycle. In addition, the
               Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
               (DWSRF) assists public water systems in
               financing the costs of infrastructure improve-
               ments needed to achieve or maintain compli-
               ance with SDWA requirements and to protect
               public health. Through the right-to-know
               provisions in the 1996 SDWA Amendments, all
               customers served by community water systems
               now have access to consumer confidence
               reports that contain information about a
               system's source water, the quality of the
               drinking water, and any special circumstances
               that may affect their drinking water. The
               Agency  will  continue to post these consumer
               confidence reports on its Internet Web site.

               Protecting Water for Other Uses
               States and tribes have primary responsibility for
               protecting those persons living within their
               boundaries from the health risks associated
               with contaminated, noncommercially caught
               fish and  wildlife and with recreational waters.
               EPA will continue to support states and tribes
               by developing sound scientific methods,
               preparing technical guidance and communica-
 tions strategies, and providing access to
 national information. For example, to address
 fish contamination, EPA will help states and
 tribes develop and implement fish advisory
 programs by providing the scientific information
 and tools needed to assess local contamination
 problems and inform the public. In addition,
 EPA will conduct a major survey of contamina-
 tion in fish tissue that will provide information
 on the nature and extent of specific pollutants
 across the United States.

 Information on the extent and nature of
 contaminated recreational water is not consis-
 tently collected across the country, nor are all
 recreational waters monitored.  EPA's long-
 term strategies are designed to support state
 and tribal efforts to correct this problem and
 ensure that all Americans are protected against
 potential risks.

 To ensure that our rivers, streams, lakes,
 wetlands, and coastlines reliably support
 healthy aquatic communities, EPA will encour-
 age  and assist comprehensive watershed
 programs for all states and tribes. EPA will
 continue targeted efforts (such  as the National
 Estuary Program, Chesapeake Bay Program,
 Gulf of Mexico Program, South Florida/
 Everglades Program, and Northwest Forest
 Plan) to assist states and stakeholders in
 developing and implementing watershed
 management plans in priority areas of national
 significance.

 EPA is relying on the establishment of Total
 Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for impaired
 bodies of water to address pollutant loading
 threats.  Implementation of TMDLs will bring
 impaired waters into attainment for designated
 uses under requirements of the Clean Water
 Act. TMDLs enable multiple approaches to
protection, including point source discharge
permits, nonpoint source management, pollutant
trading schemes, and other innovative ap-
proaches. For coastal ports, EPA will ensure
that comprehensive dredged material manage-
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                                                                          Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
ment plans are put in place to maintain, restore,
and improve the health of coastal waters.

EPA and its partners have made significant
progress in reducing pollutant discharges from
traditional point sources (industries and munici-
pal wastewater treatment plants); however,
discharges from "wet weather" sources, such
as combined sewer overflows, storm water,
and sanitary sewer overflows, remain the
greatest challenge to the  point source program
as a whole. The Agency will continue to
streamline and simplify effluent guidelines and
the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) permit program, and to
manage the Clean Water State Revolving Fund
(CWSRF) program, the tribal grant program,
and other funding mechanisms to provide clean
and safe water.

Finally, EPA will work with states and tribes to
characterize risks, set priorities, and implement
a mix of voluntary and regulatory approaches
through state nonpoint source management
programs. The Agency will continue to
manage the CWSRF program and other
funding mechanisms to provide support for
nonpoint source management and estuary
protection programs. EPA will work with other
federal agencies (including the  U.S.
Department of Agriculture and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration) to enhance watershed
and nonpoint source management for
the protection of water quality.  These
efforts will involve stakeholders with
interests in a given watershed to
determine the approaches that best
suit their water quality needs.  EPA
will assess options to strengthen
controls on sources  of nitrogen
deposition, mercury, and other toxins
and will recommend voluntary and
regulatory actions. In addition, the
DWSRF assists public water systems
in financing the costs of infrastructure
improvements needed to achieve or
         maintain compliance with SDWA requirements
         and to protect public health.

         Protecting Wetlands
         EPA will work with its state and tribal partners
         to develop and improve their wetlands protec-
         tion programs. We will integrate wetlands into
         watershed management through research,
         assessment methods, technical assistance, and
         linkages to regulatory decision making.  Re-
         viewing previously permitted discharges of
         dredged and fill material, and improving
         mitigation to offset the impacts of unavoidable
         activities, will better protect wetlands and other
         waters. EPA will provide guidance and
         assistance for monitoring programs to improve
         the information base on wetlands.

         Relating Annual Performance Goals to
         Strategic Objectives
         To achieve our goal of clean and safe water,
         EPA has established objectives that identify
         key programs and areas of emphasis through
         2005. These objectives reflect the efforts of
         EPA, states,  and tribes to ensure that commu-
         nity water systems will meet national safe
         drinking water standards, provide increased
         protection for the nation's watersheds, and
Wetland losses have been significantly
reduced, but...
        0
                         -290
      -500
                   -450
           1954-74
        Source:
   USFWS Status
 and Trends Report
 and USDA Natural
Resources Inventory
                  1974-83
                          1985-95
   less than half of the wetlands in the contiguous states
     remain, and annual losses continue to exceed gains
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
               reduce pollutant loadings from point and
               nonpoint sources.

               An essential measure of our progress toward
               these objectives is the set of annual perfor-
               mance goals and measures.  EPA is making
               every effort to incorporate measures of actual
               water quality conditions and associated human
               health and ecological quality into its manage-
               ment of the Clean Water Act and the Safe
               Drinking Water Act programs.  Our annual
               performance goals and measures direct a
               variety of program activities, offering a strate-
               gic "road map" for achieving the long-term
               results envisioned under this goal. Our annual
               goals will focus on continuing research and
               improving scientific understanding to better
               define the conditions of healthy aquatic ecosys-
               tems and safe drinking water; improving the
               accuracy and scope of watershed assess-
               ments; integrating physical and biological
               indicators with long-standing chemical assess-
               ments to improve the measurement of aquatic
               health; and developing new criteria (for
               bacteria, nutrients, and microbiological patho-
               gens) that go beyond the traditional, chemical-
               specific tools.

               External  Factors
               The natural environment, the behavior of
               others, court-established schedules, and the
               economy all affect EPA's ability to meet this
               goal. Natural processes (including weather,
               species population fluctuations, invasive
               species, and complex ecological processes) can
               dramatically improve or impair our ability to
               make progress  toward clean and safe water.
               Because EPA depends on the work of states,
               tribes, and others to achieve this goal, changes
               in their priorities or resources can also impact
               our accomplishments.

               The complexity of upcoming drinking water
               regulations and the process of gaining stake-
               holders' understanding pose a continuing
               challenge in implementing the 1996 SDWA
 Amendments.  Furthermore, EPA depends on
 our state partners' capacity to adopt health-
 based and other drinking water regulations and
 willingness to make changes that will enable
 comprehensive assessment of the nation's
 waters. Since states have primary enforce-
 ment authority for drinking water regulations,
 they must have not only staff and resources to
 work with public water systems to ensure
 compliance, but also the new tools needed to
 implement these new rules. States and tribes
 may need to enact statutory or regulatory
 changes to adopt the scientific, technical, and
 programmatic framework that supports biologi-
 cally based aquatic life uses into their water
 quality standards programs. Further, most of
 the monitoring data upon which EPA depends
 for analyses of trends and baselines are
 gathered by governmental and private/volun-
 teer partners; an improvement or change in the
 methodology for gathering these data or in data
 quality, regardless of the actual change in
 water quality over time,  could affect EPA's
 assessment of that change.

 Goal 3:
 Safe Food   ^

 The foods Americans eat will be free from
 unsafe pesticide  residues.  Particular
 attention will be  given to protecting sub-
populations that  may be more susceptible to
 adverse effects of pesticides or have higher
 dietary exposures to pesticide residues.
 These include children  and people whose
 diets  include large amounts of noncommer-
 cial foods.

 Importance of This Goal
 Americans  enjoy one of the safest, most
 abundant food supplies in the world. The
 availability and safe use of pesticides during
 food production, processing, storage, and
 transportation help make this possible. How-
 ever, pesticide application, especially when
pesticides are misused, sometimes results in
 residues which can potentially adversely affect
           EPA Strategic Plan

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                                                                           Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
human health. In addition, certain
groups, such as infants and children,
may be more sensitive to the effects of
pesticides.   Therefore, ensuring that
food remains safe for consumption for
everyone requires continued diligence.

Objectives
•  By 2006, reduce public health risk
   from pesticide residues in food from
   pre-Food Quality Protection Act
   (FQPA)  levels (pre-1996).
•  By 2008, use on food of current pesticides
   that do not meet the new statutory standard
   of "reasonable certainty of no harm" will be
   eliminated.

Results We Intend to Achieve
EPA will significantly reduce the risk posed to
people by pesticide residues on food through a
number of activities specifically designed to
eliminate high-risk pesticide exposures and
ensure that all pesticides that remain on the
market meet the health-based safety standard
mandated by FQPA. Before a pesticide can
be used legally in the United States, EPA must
determine that its use will result in "reasonable
certainty of no harm to human health" and "no
unreasonable adverse effects" on  the environ-
ment.  In carrying out FQPA over the next
several years, EPA will continue  to base
regulatory decisions on sound science, ensure
that decisions and policies are transparent to
our stakeholders and partners, facilitate a
reasonable transition away from the higher-risk
pesticides for the agricultural community, and
pursue effective consultation with stakeholders
and partners. With these efforts, we expect to
achieve the following specific accomplish-
ments:

•  By 2006, at least 7 percent of agricultural
   pesticide acre treatments will use reduced-
   risk pesticides.
By 2006, residues of carcinogenic and
cholinesterase inhibiting neurotoxic
pesticides on the foods most frequently
eaten by children will be reduced by 50
percent from baseline levels determined
using data from 1994 through 1996.

Through 2006, all registration activities
(including registration of new conventional
chemicals, new uses, "me-toos,"
antimicrobials, etc.) will meet the applicable
standards mandated by law.

By 2008, active ingredient and product
reregistration will be completed for all
pesticides subject to reregistration under the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)-88.

By 2006, 100 percent of the reassessments
of pesticide residue tolerances mandated by
FQPA will be completed.

By 2006, Registration Review will be fully
established and operational.

Through 2008, provide research results to
support the new FQPA regulatory standard
of "reasonable certainty of no harm." for
pesticides used on food.
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
               Means and Strategies
               EPA's priorities in ensuring safe food are to
               address those agricultural pesticides posing the
               greatest health risks, to encourage lower-risk   •..'
               means of pest control, and to protect vulnerable
               populations, particularly children, from pesticide
               risk.  To deal with some of the major chal-
               lenges facing the Agency in meeting our
               objectives under this goal, EPA will work to (1)
               ensure the consistency of science policies and
               regulatory decisions with the latest scientific
               knowledge and standards; (2) maintain a
               balance between stakeholder participation,
               rapidriskmitigation, agricultural needs, avail-,
               ability of viable reduced risk alternatives, and
               meeting statutory deadlines; (3) measure the
               effects of regulatory actions in terms of risk
               prevention or addressing and measuring the
               effects in terms of risk reduction; and (4)
               effectively coordinate our food safety program
               with the U.S. Department of Agriculture
               (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administra-
               tion (PDA), which monitor pesticide residues in
               food and collect authoritative data on patterns
               of food consumption.

               EPA will also use a number of innovative
               strategies to reduce pesticide  risk.  These
               strategies and approaches, some of which pre-
               date FQPA, involve working closely with all of
               the stakeholders involved in agriculture, such as
chemical manufacturers; commodity groups;
individual growers; and state, tribal, and federal
regulatory agencies.  One of the key strategies
EPA will use under this goal is expediting the
registration of lower-risk pesticides. EPA
expedites the registration process for safer
pesticides so that it takes about half the time it
usually takes the Agency to register pesticides.
Providing this incentive to pesticide manufac-
turers has resulted in a dramatic increase in the
number of new, safer pesticides available for
use on America's  farms. EPA, along with
USDA, is pursuing a number of approaches to
foster the broader use of safer pesticides and
pest control methods.

In addition, EPA will encourage the use of
safer pest management practices through the
Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program
and the FQPA Strategic Agricultural Initiative.
These projects demonstrate creative, cost-
effective, and environmentally friendly farm
management practices and provide growers
with "a reasonable transition" away from the
highest risk pesticides.

The Agency will use cutting-edge science to
expand further our knowledge of the effects of
pesticides on people.  This includes developing
tools for evaluating and predicting effects on
human health of cumulative exposure; develop-
       ing improved measurements and
       exposure methods to detect, quantify,
       and  characterize pesticide exposure to
       infants and children; developing a
       framework to collect information to
       estimate the potential for nondietary
       exposures for infants/children; screen-
       ing and testing chemicals to identify
       endocrine disrupters; and identifying
       the pesticides, pathways, and activities
       representing the highest potential for
       exposure and health risk.

       EPA's pesticide enforcement activities
       will  further support efforts to ensure a
       safe food supply for all Americans
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                                                                          Chapter 1: Ach/ev/ng Our Goals
through coordinated outreach and compliance
assistance strategies, compliance assistance to
farming communities on changes resulting from
regulatory actions, prompt action on referrals
from FDA and/or USD A forever-tolerance
pesticides, and compliance assistance to
farmers and others when disposal and storage
regulations are finalized.

The Agency's regional offices will also provide
a crucial field presence in various states and in
Indian country by promoting the use of re-
duced-risk pesticides, providing outreach and
education to growers and private pesticide
users, encouraging the use of alternative pest
management strategies, and monitoring post-
reregistration use of pesticides.

Relating Annual Performance  Goals  to
Strategic Objectives
EPA's annual program outputs under this
goal—such as the number of annual pesticide
registrations, reregistrations, and tolerance
reassessments—are indirectly related to the
objectives of reducing risk from pesticide
residues and reducing the use on food of
pesticides not meeting the current health
standard.  In registering pesticides,  the Agency
ensures that new pesticides entering the
market meet current health standards, while
the process of pesticide reregistration and
pesticide tolerance reassessment ensure that
older pesticides (those registered prior to the
implementation of FQPA) are brought up to
current health standards.  FQPA also requires
EPA to conduct periodic reviews of registered
pesticides, thus ensuring the safety  of regis-
tered pesticides on an ongoing basis as new
scientific technologies and information become
available.

Developing effective annual performance goals
that relate to reducing pesticide risk is complex.
Pesticide risk is rooted in the hazards posed by
the pesticide (such as neurotoxicity, or the
ability to cause cancer) but also depends on
how, where, and how often the pesticide is
used, what happens to it after it is used, what
populations are exposed to it, how they are
exposed, how often, and at what levels.

We will continue to pursue developing more
direct risk-based annual performance goals and
measures for the objectives under this goal.
The Agency is working with stakeholders to
develop better performance goals and mea-
sures and has incorporated improvements into
this Plan and the Agency's Annual Perfor-
mance Plans. During this development period,
EPA will also continue to employ program
outputs for our annual goals, such as the
number of reduced-risk pesticide registrations,
and surrogates of risk information for our
annual performance measures, such as the
aggregate use of pesticides of particular
concern, based on existing sources of produc-
tion data and estimates of agricultural use for
selected pesticides.

External Factors
Our ability to achieve Goal 3 and its objectives
depends on several factors over which the
Agency has only partial control or influence.
In working to achieve safe food,  EPA's suc-
cess depends on partnerships with other
federal agencies, states, tribes, local govern-
ments, and regulated parties. EPA coordinates
with USDA and FDA to ensure the safe use of
pesticides. These agencies have  the responsi-
bility for monitoring and controlling residues
and other environmental exposures.  In addi-
tion, EPA collaborates with these agencies to
coordinate with other countries and interna-
tional organizations which share safe food
goals with the United States. In meeting our
safe food goal, the Agency also depends at
least in part on the voluntary cooperation of the
public and agricultural community.

In addition, new commitments within the
Administration, new or amended legislation,
and/or lawsuits that delay or stop planned EPA
or state/tribal partners' pesticide-related
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
               activities may prevent the Agency from
               achieving our safe food objectives. Likewise,
               economic growth and changes in producer and
               consumer behavior could slow down the
               Agency's ability to accomplish this goal.
               Further, large-scale accidental releases of
               pesticides or rare catastrophic natural events
               such as flooding or drought may also impact
               EPA's ability to achieve our objectives.

               In the longer term, new environmental technol-
               ogy or unanticipated complexity or magnitude
               of the health and environmental problems
               posed by pesticides may affect the time frame
               for achieving our goal and objectives. Newly
               identified environmental problems or economic
               priorities could have a similar effect on our
               long-term results. For example, pesticide use is
               affected by unanticipated outbreaks of pest
               infestations and/or disease factors, which can
               require EPA to consider petitions for emer-
               gency uses of higher risk pesticides for eco-
               nomic reasons. Finally, while the Agency can
               provide the chemical industry with incentives to
               submit reduced-risk or reduced-use pesticides
               for registration, EPA cannot control the
               number or type of incoming requests for
               registration actions. As a result, the Agency's
               projection of regulatory workload is subject to
               change.
Goal 4:
Preventing Pollution and Reducing
Risk in Communities, Homes,
Workplaces, and Ecosystems        I

Pollution prevention and risk management
strategies aimed at eliminating, reducing, or
minimizing emissions and contamination will
result in cleaner and safer environments in
which all Americans can reside,  work, and
enjoy life.  EPA will safeguard ecosystems
and promote the health of natural communi-
ties that are integral to the quality of life in
this nation.

Importance of This Goal
Synthetic and naturally occurring chemicals in
our homes, offices, and other structures, as
well as in the environment, may pose a threat
to our health and the vitality of the world's
ecosystems.  In fact, more than 75,000 of these
chemicals are sold commercially today, with an
estimated 2,000 new chemicals and 40 geneti-
cally engineered microorganisms introduced
annually.

For example, persistent bioaccumulative toxic
chemicals (PBTs) are of particular concern
because these chemicals are not only hazard-
ous but also persist in the environment for
many years and may accumulate to toxic
          levels. Also, an estimated 65 million
          homes still contain old lead paint,
          and recent data from the National
          Health and Nutrition Examination
          Survey (NHANES) show that
          nearly 1 million children under six
          have elevated blood levels of lead,
          which are associated with intelli-
          gence quotient deficits, learning
          disabilities, and other ailments. In
          addition, poor indoor air quality may
          be contributing to the rate of asthma
          in America. An estimated 20 to 30
          million Americans have asthma,
          which leads to the death of approxi-
           EPA Strategic Plan

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                                                                         Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
mately 4,000 people per year. Asthma is more
prevalent among children, especially children in
low-income and minority communities.

Much of the land set aside for Native Ameri-
cans has environmental problems impacting the
health and well-being of its residents. This goal
specifically addresses the assessment of
environmental conditions impacting lands of
federally recognized tribes and the need to
work with tribal governments to develop then-
capacity to manage environmental programs.
Under this goal, EPA will address these and
other threats to human health and the natural
environment by developing and implementing
pollution prevention and risk reduction
strategies.

Objectives
•  By 2005, public and ecosystem risk from
   pesticides will be reduced through migration
   to lower-risk pesticides and pesticide
   management practices, improving education
   of the public and at-risk workers, and
   forming "pesticide environmental
   partnerships" with pesticide user groups.

•  By 2007, significantly reduce the incidence
   of childhood lead poisoning and reduce risks
   associated with polychlorinated biphenyls
   (PCBs), mercury, dioxin, and other toxic
   chemicals of national concern.

•  By 2007, prevent or restrict introduction into
   commerce of chemicals that pose risks to
   workers, consumers, or the environment and
   continue screening and evaluating chemicals
   already in commerce for potential risk.

 •  By 2005,16 million more Americans than in
   1994 will live or work in homes, schools, or
   office buildings with healthier indoor air.

 •  By 2005, facilitate the prevention, reduction,
   and recycling of toxic chemicals and
   -municipal solid wastes, including PBTs. In
  particular, reduce by 20 percent the actual
  (from 1992 levels) and by 30 percent the
  production-adjusted (from 1998 levels)
  quantity of Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)-
  reported toxic pollutants which are released,
  disposed of, treated, or combusted for
  energy recovery, half through source
  reduction.

• By 2005, EPA will assist all federally
  recognized tribes in assessing the condition
  of their environment, help in building tribes'
  capacity to implement environmental
  management programs, and ensure that
  EPA is implementing programs in Indian
  country where needed to address
  environmental issues.

Results We Intend to Achieve
We will continue working to fulfill our mandate
under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), which requires that
EPA control unreasonable risks of pesticides to
human health and the environment  in general.
While work under Goal 3 concentrates on
reducing risks posed by pesticides on food,
Goal 4 addresses all other risks from the use of
pesticides with a collection of activities, such as
chemical information gathering, testing, risk
screening, risk assessment, and voluntary and
regulatory risk management actions. Likewise,
the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
mandates that EPA control unreasonable risks
of chemicals in commerce. We intend to
continue systematically screening all chemicals
in. commerce and identifying those  believed to
be used safely and those that warrant concern.
We will also continue our progress toward
reducing the levels of lead poisoning, achieving
healthier indoor environments, and providing
national leadership for waste reduction and
 improved recycling efforts.  We expect to
 achieve the following specific accomplish-
 ments:
                                                                           EPA Strategic Plan

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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
               •  By 2010, reduce by at least 10 percent
                  (from the average 1993 to 1995 levels) the
                  incidence of adverse health effects from
                  pesticide exposures for which individuals
                  required health care. By 2008, reduce
                  potential exposure (as indicated by sales or
                  use volume) to carcinogenic and
                  cholinesterase inhibiting neurotoxic
                  pesticides used in or around residential areas
                  by 50 percent each from 1995 levels for
                  both consumer- and restricted-use
                  pesticides.

               •  By 2005, reduce by 50 percent from 1995
                  levels the number of incidents and amount of
                  mortality to terrestrial and aquatic wildlife
                  caused by the 15 pesticides currently
                  responsible for the greatest mortality to such
                  wildlife. Each year, none of the top 15
                  species  on the Office of Pesticide
                  Programs/Fish and Wildlife Service/U.S.
                  Department of Agriculture priority list of
                  threatened or endangered species will be
                 jeopardized by exposure to pesticides. By
                  2005, implement stewardship strategies to
                 reduce pesticide risk by the use of
                 Integrated Pest Management (IPM) through
                  agreements with 80 pesticide user groups.

               •  By 2010, detections of the 15 pesticides
                 most frequently found in surface water in
                 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 1994
                 National Water Quality Assessment
                 (NAWQA)  data will be reduced by 50
                 percent.  Any new pesticide registered since
                  1996 found in USGS 2010 NAWQA data
                 for surface water will have a detection
                 frequency no greater than 30 percent. By
                 2010,50 percent of all pesticides with the
                 potential to  leach to groundwater will be
                 managed through labeling or other methods
                 to prevent groundwater contamination.

              •  By 2007, EPA will reduce the incidence of
                 blood lead levels at or above 10u£/dL in
                 children between the ages of 1 and 5 years
                 from approximately 900,000 children in 1991
                 through  1994 to fewer than 200,000.

           EPA Strategic Plan
 By 2007, EPA will achieve continued
 reductions in remaining uses of PCBs at
 concentrations above 500 ppm in
 transformers and capacitors, retiring from
 service and safely disposing of 120,000
 transformer units and 210,000 capacitor
 units cumulatively from 2002 through 2007.
 EPA will also achieve significant reductions
 in exposures to toxic fibers, mercury, and
 dioxin.

 By 2007, EPA will allow no new chemicals
 for which it receives Pre-Manufacture
 Notifications to be introduced into
 commerce that pose significant unmanaged
 risks to workers, consumers, or the
 environment.

 By 2007, inform the public about potential
 chemical hazards and risks associated with
 High Production Volume (HPV) chemicals
 in commerce by making screening level
 hazard, as well as limited exposure, data sets
 publicly available for 90 percent of the
 approximately 2,800 HPV chemicals. In
 addition, EPA, in cooperation with the
 Organization for Economic Cooperation and
 Development (OECD), will make publicly
 available internationally recognized hazard
 classification determinations for at least one
 human health and one ecological endpoint
 for 500 HPV chemicals for which  hazard
 data sets are available.  EPA will also make
 publicly available basic screening level
 information on endocrine disruption potential
 for at least 50 HPV chemicals by 2007.

 Through 2008, provide the scientific basis
 for support of Agency efforts to ensure safe
 communities, homes, workplaces, and
 ecosystems. Improved methods, models,
measurements, and tools will be developed
for use in guidelines, protocols, and risk
assessment/risk management strategies
covering the full range of ecosystem
stressors and protecting human health.

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                                                                        Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goafs
 By 2005, to reduce lung cancer, respiratory
 diseases including asthma, and other indoor
 air quality (IAQ)-related health problems,
 11.5 million more Americans will be exposed
 to healthier air in their homes by mitigation
 of 700,000 homes with high radon levels, the
 construction of 1 million homes with radon-
 resistant construction techniques, and the
 reduction of the proportion of households in
 which children 6 years and younger are
 regularly exposed to smoking from 27 •
 percent in 1994 to 15 percent. To reduce
 health problems in the nearly 10 million
 children annually who may become ill from
 contaminated indoor air in schools, 15
 percent of the nation's schools will adopt
 good IAQ practices consistent with EPA's
 "Tools for Schools" guidance. To reduce
 lAQ-related illness from contaminated air in
 the workplace, 5 percent of office buildings
 will be managed with good IAQ practices
 consistent with EPA guidance as set forth in
 EPA's "Building Air Quality" guidance.  By
 2005,1 million children with asthma will
 have reduced exposure to indoor asthma
 triggers. In addition, 200,000 low-income
 adults with asthma and 2.5 million
 asthmatics overall will have reduced
 exposures to indoor asthma triggers.

 By 2007, EPA will promote the use of
 pollution prevention (P2) for meeting
 environmental goals by (1) increasing the
 purchase of environmentally preferable
 products by the federal government; (2)
 increasing adoption of environmentally
 protective business practices such as
 environmental accounting practices and P2
 opportunity assessments; (3) increasing
 integration of P2 into EPA's regulatory,
 enforcement, and compliance programs; and
 (4) reducing the generation of pollutants by
 facilities assisted by state and tribal P2
 programs supported by EPA.

• By 2007, Design for the Environment (DfE)
 voluntary partnership risk-reduction efforts
  since 1992 will cumulatively lower exposure
  for more than 4 million workers, and toxic
  chemical use and wastes in more than
  400,000 businesses using more than 750
  chemical  substances.

• By 2005, facilitate source reduction to
  reduce municipal solid waste generation to
  4.3 Ibs/person/day and facilitate increased
  recycling, including composting, to divert at
  least 35 percent of municipal solid waste
  from landfilling and combustion.

• By 2007, accomplish the following
  cumulative results through commercialization
  of green chemistry approaches [as
  evidenced in nominations submitted for
  EPA's Green Chemistry Challenge Awards
  from 1996 (year awards program initiated)
  through 2007]: elimination of 250 million
  pounds of hazardous substances from new
  and existing chemical products and
  processes; elimination of 25 million gallons
  of hazardous solvents; savings of 2 billion
  gallons of water; and savings of 25 billion
  Btu of energy.

 • By 2005, EPA will utilize multiple tools to
  reduce use and releases of priority PBTs by
  preventing the entry of new PBTs into
  commerce; achieve through voluntary
  efforts a net reduction of 50 percent (from
   1991 levels') in the volume of priority PBTs
  in hazardous waste streams; and reduce by
   50 percent from 1990 levels releases of
  mercury to air nationwide and to water
  within the Great Lakes Basin.

 Means  and  Strategies
 EPA's philosophy is to "reduce, reuse, and
 recycle." EPA's strategy of first choice is to
 prevent pollution before it occurs.  Pollution
 prevention precludes environmental damage
 and the necessity for costly cleanups. When
 pollution prevention cannot be'achieved, EPA
 will strive to reduce the toxicity and quantity of
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
                waste and increase recycling. These ap-
                proaches can help to preserve our natural
                resources,  decrease reliance on treatment and
                disposal, and mitigate global climate change.
                The Agency will focus specifically on several
                strategies:

                Pesticide Risk Reduction
                To address adverse effects on workers,
                nontarget organisms (especially endangered
                species), and natural resources including
                groundwater and ecologically important surface
                waters, EPA will continue to mandate the
                conditions  of registration, marketing, and use of
                pesticides,  including medical and household
                disinfectants, wood preservatives, and house-
                hold pest and lawn care products. In addition,
                EPA will reduce risks through enhanced public
                education and appropriate labeling, as well as
                through accelerated approval of safer alterna-
                tive pesticides.
 Cooperation with Industry
 EPA publicly recognizes companies pioneering
 pollution prevention work through our Green
 Chemistry Awards and publicizes case studies
 to serve as industry examples. We will con-
 tinue to supply environmental accounting tools
 to help industry evaluate alternative environ-
 mental costs.  EPA will work with industry
 through the Design for the Environment
 program to identify cost-effective processes
 and products that promote pollution prevention.

Public Right-to-Know
 EPA believes that an informed and knowledge-
 able public will be better able to make decisions
 at the local level to safeguard its health, the
health of its families, and the environment. We
will continue to collect data about existing
chemicals and to provide that information to the
public using a variety of communications
means, including printed and electronic media.
                                         Blood Lead Levels of Children Aged 1-5 Years

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                            L~H 1991-1994
                               >5ug/dL  >10ug/dL  >15 ug/dL  >20 ug/dL >25 ug/dL  >30 ug/dL
                                                 Blood Lead Levels
                Notes: ug/dl = micrograms per deciliter of blood. The NHANES III, Phase 2 (1991-1994) did not report
                the percentage of children with blood levels 5 ug/dl or higher; 25 ug/dl or higher; or 30 ug/dl or higher.
                Source: NHANES II and III, Phase 1 and Phase 2
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                                                                         Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goafs
Managing Existing Chemicals
EPA will continue to assess and manage risks
associated with commercial chemicals and
develop chemical exposure and hazard data.
Through the HPV Chemicals Challenge, for
example, EPA will make hazard data available
to the public for more than 2,800 of the HPV
chemicals.  EPA will work to reduce exposure
to PBT pollutants through the PBT Initiative.
(See Chapter 2 for a discussion of EPA's PBT
program.)

Assessing New Chemicals
EPA will continue to assess new chemicals
before they are manufactured or imported.
This approach will advance EPA's preferred
strategy of preventing pollution and will mini-
mize or eliminate regulatory burdens on new
chemicals that replace riskier substances
already in the marketplace.

Lead
To reduce the risk of lead poisoning, EPA will
continue implementing national standards for
exposure to lead. We will work with all 50
states, territories, and tribes to train and certify
lead abatement professionals. We will expand
educational programs that target low-income
minority populations, which experience the
highest incidence of lead poisoning, and many
of our activities may contribute to the inter-
agency Lead Poisoning Prevention Strategy.
In addition, we will promote sound and proven
technologies to eliminate lead-based paint in
housing cost-effectively.

Indoor Air
We will continue to conduct education and
outreach programs to inform the public about
the health risks posed by poor indoor air quality.
Working through partnerships and technology
transfer programs, we will promote behavioral
 changes and technology-based practices that
 improve indoor environmental quality. Also, we
will implement the interagency Asthma Initia-
tive (as discussed in Chapter 2 under "Environ-
mental Health Risks to Children").

Waste Prevention and Recycling
To minimize waste requiring landfilling and
incineration, to conserve natural resources, and
to reduce energy use, we will apply, source
reduction and recycling of municipal solid
waste through voluntary programs and will
promote the purchase of goods made from
recycled materials.

Conditions on Tribal Lands
Using cooperative agreements under the
General Assistance Program, we will survey
and assess the environmental interests and
needs in Indian country and build capacity
within tribal governments to manage environ-
mental programs.
Relating Annual Performance Goals to
Strategic Objectives
EPA will use trend data of incidences of
pesticide poisonings, pesticide presence in
groundwater, and incidences of wildlife mortal-
ity to measure success in protecting human
health and the environment from the use of
nonagricultural pesticides. Our efforts to
reduce the levels of lead in children's blood will
be measured by NHANES.

Reducing PBT pollutants is one of EPA's
priorities. We will utilize TRI data to measure
reductions and to prioritize further pollution
prevention activities to achieve our long-term
goals. Other performance goals and measures
involve gauging the health of indoor air by
evaluating (1) implementation of good indoor
air quality practices in schools and commercial
buildings; (2) reduction of smoking indoors; (3)
mitigation of radon in homes; (4) reduction of
exposure to indoor asthma triggers; and (5)
adoption of indoor environmental quality
education and outreach programs by tribes.
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
               Targets we set for ourselves will advance our
               progress toward our goal of improving indoor
               air quality in homes, schools, and office
               buildings.

               External  Factors

               Our ability to achieve Goal 4 and its objectives
               depends on several factors over which the
               Agency has only partial control or influence.
               For example, achievement of our commitment
               to reduce the incidence of lead poisoning in
               children to fewer than 200,000 children by 2007
               would be accomplished in conjunction with full
               implementation of the strategy published by the
               President's Task Force on Environmental
               Health Risk and Safety to Children in February,
               2000, Eliminating Childhood Lead Poison-
               ing: A Federal Strategy Targeting Lead
               Paint Hazards.

               A number of external factors will also impact
               EPA's success in pollution prevention. For
               example, the number of inspections, risk
               assessments, and abatements performed to
               reduce the risks from lead will depend on
               availability of funding from other federal
               agencies and programs.  Similarly, EPA's
               progress in improving indoor air is dependent
               on participation by other federal, state, tribal,
               industry, and nonprofit organizations. The
               success of EPA's Tribal Program relies heavily
               on state and tribal cooperation.

               The strength of economic growth will also
               impact our ability to meet our pollution-preven-
               tion and risk-reduction objectives. A strong
               economy increases consumption and can lead
               to increased waste generation.  Additionally,
               EPA relies on public outreach, incentives, and
               voluntary actions by individuals (e.g.,
               homeowners, school administrators, parents,
               building owners) to protect human health and
               the natural environment.
 Goal 5:
 Better Waste Management,
 Restoration of Contaminated Waste
 Sites, and Emergency Response      I

 America's wastes will be stored, treated, and
 disposed of in ways that prevent harm to
people and the natural environment.  EPA
 will work to  clean up previously polluted
 sites, restore them to uses appropriate for
 surrounding  communities, and respond to
 and prevent waste-related or industrial
 accidents.

 Importance of This Goal
 Improper waste management and disposal
 threaten human health and the maintenance of
 healthy ecosystems. Uncontrolled hazardous
 and toxic substances, including radioactive
 waste, migrate to the air, groundwater, and
 surface water—contaminating drinking water
 supplies for communities located miles from a
 waste site and potentially causing acute
 illnesses or chronic diseases.  These circum-
 stances present unique health threats to
 sensitive populations, such as children and the
 elderly, and tribal communities that follow
 subsistence lifestyles. They can also signifi-
cantly damage other natural resources and
sensitive ecosystems. To protect against these
risks, EPA has developed and implemented
policies to clean up active and inactive waste
disposal sites; promote safe waste storage,
treatment, and disposal; and prevent spills and
releases of toxic materials.
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                                                                         Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goafs
The Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or
Superfund) and the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) provide the legal
authority for most of EPA's work toward this
goal.  EPA and its partners use Superfund
authority to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned
hazardous waste sites and return them to
productive use when possible. The Agency's
Brownfields Program encourages the cleanup
and redevelopment of idle and abandoned
industrial and commercial properties that are
not on the National Priorities List (NPL) by
addressing concerns such as environmental
liability and cleanup, infrastructure declines,
and changing development priorities. Under
RCRA, EPA works in partnership with states
and tribes to address risks associated with
leaking underground storage  tanks (LUSTs)
and with hazardous and nonhazardous waste
generation and management at active facilities.
EPA also uses the authority of the Clean Air
Act, Clean Water Act, and the Oil Pollution
Act of 1990 to protect against spills and
releases of hazardous materials.

Objectives
•  By 2005, EPA and its federal, state, tribal,
   and local partners will reduce or control the
   risk to human health and the environment at
   more than 374,000 contaminated Superfund,
   RCRA, underground storage tank (UST),
   and brownfield sites and have the planning
   and preparedness capabilities to respond
   successfully to all known  emergencies to
   reduce the risk to human health and the
   environment. (Total comprises 1,105 NPL
   sites;  1,714 RCRA facilities; 370,000 UST
   cleanups initiated or completed; and 1,500
   brownfield properties.)

 •  By 2005, EPA and its federal, state, tribal,
   and local partners will ensure that more than
   277,000 facilities are managed according to
   the practices that prevent releases to the
   environment. (Total comprises 6,500 RCRA
  hazardous waste treatment, storage and
  disposal facilities, and municipal solid waste
  landfills; 264,000 USTs; and 7,100 oil
  facilities.)

Results We Intend to Achieve
EPA strives to apply the fastest, most effective
waste management and cleanup methods
available, while involving affected communities
in the decision-making process. Waste man-
agement techniques include recycling, land
disposal, and combustion; however, different
wastes require different treatment and disposal
methods. Decisions about cleanup are based
not only on technical considerations, but with
community, human health, and environmental
concerns in mind.  We expect to achieve the
following specific accomplishments:

• By 2005, cleanup of 370,000 LUST sites
  will be completed or initiated under the
  supervision of EPA and its state or tribal
  partners.

• By 2005, EPA and its partners will reduce
  the risks that Superfund sites pose to public
  health and the environment by (1)
  completing construction at a total of 1,105
  NPL sites; (2) conducting an annual average
  of 300 Superfund emergency responses and
  removal actions to address significant
  hazardous substance releases; (3)
  determining if Superfund cleanup is needed
   at 85 percent of the sites entered into the
   Superfund site data base (CERCLIS);  (4)
  maximizing potentially responsible party
   (PRP) participation in conducting/funding
   response actions; and (5) meeting statutory
   deadlines for federal facility activities.

 •  By 2005, EPA will continue to maximize the
   participation of PRPs in conducting/funding
   response actions at Superfund sites through
   the application of enforcement and
   settlement authorities while promoting
   fairness during the enforcement process.
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
                  Based on the urgency of the situation and/or
                  the capabilities of the PRPs, EPA will
                  optimize PRP removals. Since 1992,
                  responsible parties have performed or
                  financed over 70 percent of the new
                  remedial construction starts at Superfund
                  sites, and EPA's goal is to maintain or
                  increase that level of participation.  In
                  addition, EPA will address cost recovery at
                  100 percent of all NPL and non-NPL sites
                  with total past costs equal to or greater than
                  $200,000 which need to be addressed prior
                  to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

                  Through 2005, EPA will enter into an
                  Interagency Agreement with the responsible
                  federal agency at all federal facilities as
                  soon as possible after listing on the NPL but
                  no later than 180 days after completion of
                  the first remedial investigation and feasibility
                  study.

                  By 2005,95 percent of 1,714 high-priority
                  RCRA facilities will have human exposure
                  to toxins controlled and 70 percent of these
                  facilities will have toxic releases to
                  groundwater controlled.

                  Through 2005, EPA will provide improved
                  methods  and dose-response models for
                  estimating risks from complex mixtures
                  contaminating soils and groundwater;
                 provide improved methods for measuring,
                 monitoring, and characterizing complex
                 wastes in soils and groundwater; and
                 develop more cost-effective and reliable
                 technologies for cleanup of contaminated
                 soils and groundwater. Also, through 2005,
                 EPA will demonstrate/verify, via the
                 Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation
                 (SITE) program, more cost-effective
                 technologies for remediation and
                 characterization of contaminated soils,
                 sediments, and groundwater, and more cost-
                 effective restoration/rehabilitation of
                 ecosystems impacted by these sources.
•  By 2005, EPA and its state, tribal, and local
  partners will facilitate the redevelopment of
  400 brownfields communities by providing
  technical and financial assistance resulting in
  $3 billion of leveraged redevelopment funds,
  generation of 6,500 jobs, and initiation of
  2,500 site assessments.

  Through 2005, EPA will respond to 100,
  percent of requests provided to EPA from
  other federal agencies to facilitate and assist
  with  the transfer of federal properties for
  use, reuse, or redevelopment.

  By 2005, 50 percent of the nation's largest
  metropolitan areas (having populations
  greater than 1 million) will have been trained
  and equipped to respond effectively to
  terrorist events that involve chemical,
  biological, or radiological agents.

  By 2005, the annual number of confirmed
  releases from USTs will not exceed 6,500, in
  comparison to the 24,000 reported in FY
  1997.

  By 2005, of the facilities that have submitted
  risk management plans identifying their
  chemical risks and processes, 20 percent of
  those facilities that pose significant risk will
  have reduced their potential of having a
  major chemical accident.  Local
  communities will incorporate facility risk
  information into their emergency
  preparedness and community right-to-know
  programs.

  By 2005,7,100 facilities will be in
  compliance with oil pollution prevention
  regulations and, therefore, better prepared to
 prevent oil spills, and the consequences of
  spills to environmentally and economically
  sensitive areas will be significantly lessened
 by pre-spill contingency planning by EPA
 and its federal, state, tribal, and local
 government partners.  Each year, all
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                                                                        Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goafs'
significant oil spills in the inland zone will be
responded to in an effective manner by the
responsible party, the state or local spill
responders, or EPA.

Through 2005, EPA will provide integrated,
multimedia, multipathway exposure and risk
methods and models for assessing the risks
from waste facilities and provide unproved
techniques to monitor, control, and prevent
releases during waste management.

By 2005, EPA and its partners will prevent
radioactive releases into the environment by
safely managing and disposing of all EPA-
regulated radioactive waste.

By 2005, at least 80 percent of hazardous
waste management facilities and 100
percent of municipal solid waste facilities
will have controls in place to prevent
dangerous releases to air, soil, and
groundwater.
Means and Strategies
By meeting these objectives, EPA will have
made significant progress toward achieving our
long-term goal of promoting better waste
management, restoring contaminated waste
sites, and preventing waste-related or industrial
accidents.  Agency research to support safe
waste management will continue to yield cost-
effective and innovative technologies and
scientifically sound approaches for site
cleanup. To achieve our long-term goals, EPA
is committed to working efficiently with states,
tribes, and stakeholders to make the most of
available resources.

EPA will continue to complete construction at
NPL sites and oversee cleanups at PRP-lead
and federal facility sites to reduce risks to
human health. We will rely on our "enforce-
ment first" policy, ensuring cleanup by respon-
sible parties through the successful implemen-
tation of administrative reforms.  We will
strongly encourage PRP participation, espe-
cially for new construction starts at non-federal
NPL sites, and will continue to emphasize cost
recovery.
                            National UST Corrective Action Authority
               Total Corrective Actions Cumulative over Time from FY1991—FY2000
                                                                              KEY
                                                                         S3 Confirmed Releases
                                                                         j& Cleanups Initiated
                                                                         • Cleanups Completed
              The underground storage tank (UST) program is an example of EPA's
                          effort to manage wastes more effectively
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
               RCRA corrective action implementation at
               hazardous waste management facilities will
               remain one of EPA's highest priorities. The
               corrective action program will focus on control-
               ling human exposure to toxins and groundwater
               releases at more than 1,700 high-priority
               facilities jointly identified by EPA regions and
               their state partners. EPA regional offices will
               work with states and tribes to implement the
               RCRA Cleanup Reforms initiative, encouraging
               cleanups, reducing impediments to cleanup
               actions,  enhancing state and stakeholder
               involvement, and exploring policy changes
               regarding liability concerns to further encour-
               age facility cleanup and reuse. We intend to
               work closely with state partners and the
               regulated community to ensure program
               flexibility and develop practical approaches
               through comprehensive training, outreach,
               application of new enforcement tools, and
               enhanced community involvement through
               greater public access to information.

               The UST program will  continue to support
               state and tribal efforts to improve compliance
               with all  UST requirements (such as leak
               detection and the 1998  deadline requirements
               to upgrade, replace, or close old tanks) and to
               reduce the backlog of cleanups at UST sites
               with confirmed releases. To accomplish this,
               state, tribal, and federal UST programs will use
               multiple tools to ensure that systems are
               working as intended and operation and mainte-
               nance improvements are in place and function-
               ing. Programs will also promote the use of
               risk-based decision making and expanded use
               of pay-for-performance cleanups in which a
               reduction in contamination is demonstrated for
               a fixed price. Finally, the UST program will
               support redeveloping abandoned or idle UST
               sites (also known as USTFields) and prevent-
               ing or addressing contamination from oxygen-
               ates in gasoline such as  methyl tertiary butyl
               ether.

              EPA is committed to integrating economic
              revitalization considerations into the process of
 cleaning up abandoned, inactive, and contami-
 nated waste sites and other properties, and we
 will take full advantage of Community-Based
 Environmental Protection and other available
 tools to do so. The Brownfields Program will
 continue working with states and local commu-
 nities to assess, clean up, and reuse former
 industrial and commercial properties where
 expansion or redevelopment is complicated by
 potential environmental contamination, liability,
 or other concerns.

 RCRA corrective action and UST programs
 will continue to identify instances where
 redevelopment of contaminated sites is compli-
 cated by regulatory or programmatic impedi-
 ments. EPA will work with its partners and
 stakeholders to overcome these barriers
 through the development of streamlined,
 tailored, and innovative approaches to permit-
 ting and remediation.  The Superfund Program
 will continue to implement the Superfund
 redevelopment initiative by identifying during
 the assessment phase  sites that can be re-
 turned to productive use once cleanup is
 completed; allaying liability concerns through
 the issuance of comfort/status letters and
 prospective purchaser agreements;  and
 working with communities and other stakehold-
 ers to  ensure that these sites are "recycled"
 back into productive use.  Management,
 response, and preparedness programs will
 target special needs on tribal lands, incorporat-
 ing cultural values into decision making,
 supporting the closure of open dumps, and
 building capacity of tribal waste management
 and response organizations.

 Relating Annual Performance Goals to
 Strategic Objectives

 EPA's long-term performance under this goal
 will be measured according to progress hi
 achieving milestones that waste management,
 response, prevention, and preparedness
programs have established through 2005.
Annual performance goals, supported by a
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                                                                          Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
variety of measures, are determined each year
and provide a limited set of data to demonstrate
accomplishments leading to long-term strategic
objectives.  Examples of our annual perfor-
mance goals under Goal 5 include the number
of (1) construction completions at Superfund
NPL sites; (2) high-priority RCRA facilities
with controls in place to prevent human
exposures and toxic releases to groundwater;
(3) hazardous and municipal solid waste
facilities with controls in place to prevent
dangerous releases to air, soil, and groundwa-
ter; (4) UST cleanups completed and USTs in
compliance with leak detection and 1998
upgrading, replacement, or closure require-
ments; and (5) leveraging of redevelopment
dollars and provision of community assistance
through the Brownfields Program.  These and
other annual goals relate directly to the results
that we intend to achieve under Goal 5, and
ultimately, to our objectives of reducing or
controlling risk to human health and the envi-
ronment at more than 374,000 contaminated
sites and ensuring that the more than 277,000
facilities are managed according to practices
that prevent dangerous releases to the
environment.

External  Factors
There are a number of external factors that
could substantially impact the Agency's ability
to achieve objectives under this goal.  These
include heavy reliance on state partnerships,
application of new environmental technology,
commitment by other federal agencies, and
 statutory barriers.

 The 2005 target of 1,105 Superfund construc-
 tion completions is dependent on the perfor-
 mance of other federal agencies, such as the
 Department of Defense and the Department of
 Energy, as are .the establishment of the Resto-
 ration Advisory Boards/Site-Specific Advisory
 Boards and other cleanup activities. In addi-
 tion, the Agency's goals of construction
 completions, cost recovery, and maximizing
PRP participation are heavily dependent on the
progress of PRP negotiations, the activities of
states' voluntary cleanup and Superfund
programs, agreements with states and tribes,
and the nature of contamination at NPL sites.

For the RCRA and UST programs, achieve-
ment of the release prevention and cleanup
objectives and attainment of our 2005 targets
will depend heavily on the participation of
states that have been authorized or approved to
be the primary implementors of these
programs.

For the risk management and preparedness
programs, the Agency recognizes that accident
prevention and response, as well as prepared-
ness for environmental terrorist incidents, are
inherently local activities.  To succeed, the
program relies on the commitment and accom-
plishments of various partners and stakehold-
ers, including industry, state and local govern-
ment, and other federal agencies. EPA's
success will depend on the willingness and
ability of these partners and stakeholders to
deliver on their commitments and obligations.
EPA plays a key role, but we neither control
the resources nor set the priorities that could
ensure all federal, state, and local participants
are engaged at a level sufficient to meet our
commitments.
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
               Goal 6:
               Reduction of Global and Cross-
             [  Border Environmental Risks

               The United States will lead other nations in
               successful, multilateral efforts to reduce
               significant risks to human health and
               ecosystems from climate change, strato-
               spheric ozone depletion, and other hazards
               of international concern.

               Importance of This Goal
               Environmental hazards, like ecosystems, are
               not limited by national borders.  Transboundary
               circulation of toxic chemicals; marine pollution;
               depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer;
               climate change; safety issues posed by the
               international trade in chemicals, pesticides, and
               biotechnology products; and similar global
               issues all pose  significant risks to the United
               States. Unilateral domestic actions and
               investments cannot adequately protect the well
               being of our citizens or our environment from
               such threats. For this reason, collaboration
              with other countries is essential in.protecting
              the global environment. Goal 6 programs
              address this need by fostering multilateral
              cooperation on environmental issues and
              enhancing the technical capacity for addressing
              environmental risks.
 Objectives

 •  By 2005, reduce transboundary threats to
   human health and shared ecosystems in
   North America, including marine and Arctic
   environments, consistent with our bilateral
   and multilateral treaty obligations in these
   areas, as well as our trust responsibility to
   tribes.

 •  By 2010, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions will
   be substantially reduced through programs
   and policies that also lead to reduced costs
   to consumers of energy and reduced
   emissions leading to cleaner air and water.
   In addition, EPA will carry out assessments
   and analyses and promote education to
   provide an understanding of the
   consequences of global change needed for
   decision making.

 •  By 2005, ozone concentrations in the
   stratosphere will have stopped declining and
   slowly begun the process of recovery. In
   addition, public education to promote
   behavior change will result in reduced risk to
   human health from ultraviolet (UV)
   overexposure, particularly among susceptible
   subpopulations such as children.

•  By 2006, reduce the risks to ecosystems and
   human health, particularly in tribal and other
   subsistence-based communities, from
   persistent, bioaccumulative toxicants (PBTs)
   and other selected toxins which circulate in
   the environment on global and regional
   scales.

•  Through 2005, integrate environmental
   protection with international trade and
   investment and increase the application of
   cleaner and more cost-effective
   environmental practices and technologies in
   the United States and abroad to ensure that
   a clean environment and a strong economy
   go hand-in-hand.
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                                                                         Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
Results We Intend to Achieve
Through collaborative efforts with other
countries and international organizations, our
international programs will reduce risks to
human health and the environment within the
United States and globally. We expect to
achieve the following specific accomplish-
ments:

• By 2010, the air will be safer to breathe in
  areas along the U.S./Mexico and U.S./
  Canada borders that exceed one or more of
  the National Ambient Air Quality Standards
  (NAAQS), and all areas will attain the
  standards within the time frames described
  under Goal 1, Clean Air.

• By 2005, the population in the U.S./Mexico
  border area (including tribes) that is served
  by adequate drinking water, wastewater
  collection, and treatment systems will
  increase by 1.5 million through the design
  and construction of water infrastructure.

• By 2005, disposal rates of hazardous waste
  generated in the U.S./Mexico border area
  will be reduced by 8 percent (on a per
  employee basis) and Chemical Accident
  Contingency Plans will be in place in 10 of
  the 14 pairs of Sister Cities along the U.S./
  Mexico border.

• Restore and maintain the chemical, physical,
  and biological integrity of the Great Lakes
  Basin Ecosystem, particularly by reducing
  the level of toxic substances, protecting
  human health, restoring vital habitats, and
  restoring and maintaining stable, diverse, and
   self-sustaining populations.

• By 2005, reduce transboundary sources of
  pollution in the Arctic environment, including
   a 25 percent reduction of high-level sources
   of radioactive waste in the Arctic and a 30
  percent reduction of stockpiled, obsolete,
   PCB-contaming transformers in the Russian
Arctic. Reduce pollution of the marine
environment through a reduction of vessel
discharges, ocean dumping, and land-based
sources of marine pollution, including a
global prohibition, no later than 2008, on the
use of tributyltin (TBT) on vessels.  By
2010, all ships will manage their ballast
water in a manner designed to prevent the
introduction of non-native aquatic species to
U.S. waters.

By 2010, EPA will substantially offset the
growth in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions
through programs that help organizations and
consumers  capture the environmental and
economic benefits that untapped energy
efficiency and other opportunities offer the
nation.  EPA programs are expected to
offset forecasted growth by 20 to 35 percent
relative to 1990 emission levels, equivalent to
annual reductions of between 130 and 200
million metric tons of carbon equivalent
in 2010.

Through 2005, the United States will
continue to implement its international
commitments under the Framework of the
Convention on Climate Change regarding
greenhouse gas emissions, sequestration,
and education. EPA will formulate policy
options and analyze their economic and
other implications to support U.S. decision
making and catalyze developing countries to
adopt and meet international commitments.

By 2010, EPA will conduct assessments,
including developing assessment methods
and conducting attendant research, of the
consequences of global change on human
health, ecosystems, and social well being.

By 2005, atmospheric concentrations of the
ozone-depleting substances CFC-11 and
CFC-12 will have peaked at no more than
300 and 570 parts per trillion, respectively,
while production of these chemicals will be
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
                  allowed only for very limited essential uses.
                  In addition, except for critical uses where
                  viable alternatives are not available, all
                  methyl bromide production and import and
                  45 percent of all HCFC production and
                  import will be phased out, further
                  accelerating the recovery of the
                  stratospheric ozone layer.

                  By 2005,8 million children in 17,000
                  elementary and middle schools across the
                  United States will experience reduced risk
                  from UV overexposure as a result of the
                  environmental and health education efforts
                  of the SunWise School Program.

                  By 2005, help to ensure that at least 75
                  developing countries comply with their
                  obligation under the Montreal Protocol to
                  achieve a 50 percent reduction in their
                  production and consumption of CFCs.

                  By 2006, substantially reduce the global
                  release and long-range, transboundary
                  movement of PBTs and other selected
                  toxics by characterizing baseline conditions
                  and transport patterns, negotiating key
                  international treaties and initiatives, and
                  engaging in the information exchange and
                  capacity building needed  to facilitate the
                  implementation of these treaties and
                  initiatives, especially in key identified source
                  countries. In so doing, reduce the
                  worldwide use of lead in gasoline to below
                  1993 levels, reduce domestic mercury
                  releases to the air and water from human
                  activities in the United States by 50 percent
                  from 1990 levels, and reduce domestic
                  mercury use by 50 percent from 1995 levels.

                  By 2006, EPA will develop and standardize
                  chemical testing methods, hazard
                  characterization, exposure characterization
                  (including monitoring instrumentation and
                  methods), risk assessment, and good
                  laboratory practices; collect release data
                  through use of pollution release and transfer
   registers; and share the technical and
   financial burden of testing and assessing
   specific chemicals.

 •  Through 2005, address the regulatory and
   other environmental implications of trade
   and investment policies, agreements, and
   programs; upwardly harmonize public health
   and environmental standards with U.S.
   trading partners; and ensure that
   environmental policymaking takes into
   consideration trade and investment
   concerns.

 •  By 2005, use technical cooperation and
   information exchange on best practices to
   achieve measurable improvements in
   environmental protection in the United
   States and abroad and to support other
   national policy objectives.

 Means and Strategies
 We achieve our international objectives through
 a variety of approaches.  We work with the
 Department of State  and other agencies to
 negotiate and implement environmental agree-
 ments with other countries; cooperate with
 other countries to address specific environmen-
 tal risks; and work collaboratively with our
 federal, state, and tribal partners and with
 business/industry associations, environmental
 groups, and other stakeholders to research,
 develop, and promote sustainable technologies
 in the United States and abroad.

 Major programs, such as those focused on
 climate change, the U.S./Mexico border, or the
 Great Lakes, have developed targeted strate-
 gies for meeting their objectives.  For example,
 we are approaching our climate change
 objectives by working in partnership with
business, government agencies, and other
partners to deliver multiple benefits, from
 cleaner air to lower energy bills, while improv-
 ing overall scientific understanding of climate
change and its potential consequences. To help
decision makers understand the possible
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                                                                          Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
impacts of climate change, our Global Change
Research Program is conducting a series of
assessments that identify the potential conse-
quences of global change. These assessments
will be conducted in support of the U.S. Global
Change Research Program (USGCRP)
National Assessment Process, an ongoing
process mandated by the Global Change
Research Act of 1990.  EPA's Global Change
Research Program is committed to this effort
and will continue to be involved in National
Assessment activities organized through the
USGCRP, including sponsorship of regional and
sectoral assessments of the potential conse-
quences of global change for the United States.
These assessments and attendant research to
support the assessments will address issues of
greatest concern to stakeholders. We are also
working with our partners to improve overall
scientific understanding of climate change and
its potential consequences.

Our U.S./Mexico Border and Great Lakes
Basin programs both incorporate voluntary and
regulatory components. Along the U.S./
Mexico border, we will continue to focus on
priority issues, such as air quality/visibility,
water infrastructure, hazardous waste manage-
ment, and outreach to communities and busi-
nesses in the region. In the Great Lakes Basin,
we will continue to target multimedia problems
through monitoring and modeling efforts as well
as lake-wide plans that employ a comprehen-
sive, ecosystem approach to addressing toxins
and habitat loss. Specifically, under the Great
Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy, we have
committed by 2006  to reduce high-level PCBs
used in electrical equipment by 90 percent;
reduce aggregate national anthropogenic
mecury releases to the  air and water in the
United States  by 50 percent and reduce
mercury use by 50 percent; and reduce total
anthropogenic releases of dioxins and furans by
75 percent. These and other efforts will
continue to restore and maintain the chemical,
physical, and biological integrity of the Great
Lakes Basin Ecosystem.  In addition, we are
working with our partners and stakeholders to
implement remedial action plans for each of the
"areas of concern," geographic areas where
beneficial use of water or biota is adversely
affected or where environmental criteria are
exceeded. We are coordinating our regulatory
efforts in the Great Lakes with Canadian
federal, state, tribal, and provincial environmen-
tal organizations; together, we are using all
available authorities to restore targeted areas.

The promotion of sustainable technologies is a
strategy that underlies a number of our pro-
grams. For example, we are developing and
promoting advanced technologies for clean and
energy-efficient vehicles, including fuel cell and
other technologies. These efforts will comple-
ment broader federal tax policy and voluntary
initiatives that encourage market penetration of
new technologies. To restore and protect the
stratospheric ozone layer, we will continue
efforts to limit the production and use of ozone-
depleting substances and to develop and
promote the use of safe alternative compounds.
We are also focusing on public information and
education to reduce the risks of overexposure
to UV radiation. Through our Arctic program,
we are designing specific technical assistance
projects to minimize the potential release of
radionuclides and other pollutants that might
undermine the health of the Arctic ecosystem.

We will continue to work with other countries
to negotiate and implement specific treaties,
while also collaborating on international envi-
ronmental projects. For example, to prevent
degradation of the marine environment and to
address the serious problem we face with the
introduction of non-native aquatic species
through shipping, we are working with the
Department of State, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Coast
Guard, and other federal agencies to negotiate
and implement legally binding, multilateral
agreements that address significant sources of
marine pollution. Through treaties such as the
draft Global Persistent Organic Pollutants
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
                    Importance of Developing Country Compliance with
                                the Montreal Protocol
                     1985   2000
                                 2015
                                                   2060
                                                         2075
                                                                2090
                                       2030   2045
                                          Year
                            H Without Compliance   • With Compliance

                   As developing country compliance with the Montreal
                 Protocol decreases, the risk of ozone depletion increases
               instrument, we seek to reduce risks associated
               with persistent and bioaccumulative substances
               and with other toxins that circulate in the
               environment.  We are also working with other
               countries through the Organization for Eco-
               nomic Cooperation and Development and in
               other international organizations to develop
               harmonized methods for testing and assessing
               toxic chemicals and for measuring the pres-
               ence of these chemicals in humans and the
               environment.

               The 1999 Executive Order on Environmental
               Review of Trade Agreements (EO 13141)
               formally institutionalizes procedures (including
               detailed written reviews) to ensure the timely
               consideration of environmental issues in the
               development of U.S. negotiating positions on
               trade.  The Executive Order represents a
               major development in the effort to integrate
               and balance U.S. objectives to promote
               economic growth through expanded trade with
               sustainable development through strong
               domestic environmental protections. To fully
               implement the Executive Order and to better
            integrate environment and trade
            policies, EPA will need to develop
            models and means of analysis to
            link trade policies to environmental
            and regulatory effects.  Successful
            implementation of the Executive
            Order will require close collabora-
            tion between EPA, the U.S. Trade
            Representative, and other federal
            agencies.

            Relating Annual Performance
            Goals to Strategic
            Objectives
            To reduce global and cross-border
            environmental risks, we have
            established a sequence of annual
            performance goals that will help us
            gauge our progress towards our
            longer-range objectives.  For
            example, monitoring networks
along the U.S./Mexico border allow us to
measure progress in improving environmental
quality. Our commitments to specific actions,
such as sediment remediation in the Great
Lakes, will continue to improve water quality.
Voluntary programs to reduce emissions of
greenhouse gases  have been exceeding our
targets, and implementation steps of the
Montreal Protocol have helped reduce damage
to the stratospheric ozone layer.  Other annual
performance goals reflect our efforts to reach
negotiated goals with other countries on
reducing transboundary pollution. In later
years, our annual performance goals will stress
the implementation of these negotiated agree-
ments, especially in key source countries.

External Factors
The cooperation of other countries is key to the
success of our Goal 6 programs. For instance,
reduction of air, water, and waste pollution
along the U.S. border with Mexico will require
continued commitment by national, regional,
state, and local governments in both countries.
Similarly, progress towards our objectives for
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                                                                          Chapter 1: Achieving Our GoaJs
the Great Lakes Basin will rely on cooperation
among U.S. partners—including EPA, other
federal entities, state regulatory agencies, and
the private sector—and counterpart Canadian
organizations. Where the United States and its
partner countries differ on program develop-
ment or focus, or when a partner country fails
to maintain environmental programs, enforce
existing laws, or meet treaty obligations, the
effectiveness of our initiatives might be com-
promised. Recovery of the stratospheric  ozone
layer is contingent on international adherence
to commitments made under the Montreal
Protocol.  Similarly, the success of international
agreements on toxic substances is contingent
both on U.S. provision of technical assistance
and financial resources to developing countries
and on the commitment of other developed
countries to provide similar assistance.  Failing
the provision of such assistance, key source
countries might not develop the technical skills
and management infrastructure necessary to
implement the terms of such agreements.

Political considerations and other factors
beyond our influence (e.g., civil strife, natural
disasters,  sudden economic downturns, demo-
graphic changes) might also affect progress
under Goal 6. Demographic changes along the
U.S./Mexico border, where the combined
border population might double by 2020, could
seriously  strain the area's environmental
infrastructure and make achieving our  strategic
objectives more difficult. Accounting for such
factors as we develop performance measures
presents a continuing challenge under Goal 6.

We also develop our international programs in
conjunction with other federal agencies,
including the Department of State, the  Agency
for International Development, the Department
of Commerce, and the Department of Energy.
The continued interest in and commitment to
environmental initiatives among these partner
agencies will influence the success of our
programs. The same holds true for our
cooperative programs with state and local
governments, especially along our national
borders. The continued collaboration of
business and industry groups, environmental
organizations, and multilateral organizations
(such as the World Health Organization) will
also affect the success of these programs.

Finally, the integration of environmental issues
into trade policies poses particularly difficult
challenges. Numerous countries fear that the .
linkages between trade liberalization and
environmental protection might limit their
market access. We will continue working
directly with environmental ministries in other
countries to demonstrate that trade liberaliza-
tion and enhanced environmental protections
are not mutually exclusive.

Goal 7:
Quality Environmental Information   j

The public and decision makers at all  levels
will have access to information about
environmental conditions and human health
to inform decision making and help  assess
the general environmental health of commu-
nities. The public will  also have access to
educational  services and information
services and tools that provide for the
reliable and secure  exchange of quality
environmental information.

Importance of This Goal
Information about the environment—environ-
mental characteristics; physical, chemical, and
biological processes; and chemical and other
pollutants—underlies all environmental man-
agement decisions. The availability of and
access to quality information and the analytical
tools needed to understand it are essential for
measuring environmental improvements and
assessing progress.  Clearly, the more accu-
rate, complete, timely, and accessible is our
data, the better we can make decisions and
assess progress. This goal recognizes the
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
               importance of working with the public, our
               partners, and stakeholders to collect, manage,
               and make available the information needed at
               the national, regional, state, and local levels to
               make sound decisions leading to a cleaner,
               healthier environment.

               Informing decision makers and providing
               access to sound environmental information are
               essential components of a comprehensive
               environmental protection program. Environ-
               mental information can better enable the public
               to understand conditions and make informed
               decisions about protecting the health and the
               environment of local communities. It can lead
               to creative and sustainable solutions to environ-
               mental problems and opportunities for pollution
               prevention.  Quality environmental information
               is crucial to sound decision making and to
               establishing public trust and confidence in those
               decisions.

               The unprecedented changes in information
               technology over the past few years, combined
               with an increasing public demand for informa-
               tion, are fundamentally altering the way the
               Agency  and the states collect, manage, —
  be
, ana-
 lyze, use, secure, and provide access to quality
 environmental information. We are working
 with the states and tribes to strengthen our
 information quality, leverage information
 maintained by other government organizations,
 and develop new tools that provide the public
 with simultaneous access to multiple data sets,
 allowing users to understand local, state,
 regional, and national environmental conditions.
 Access to quality data and tools to understand
 these data may allow decision makers to make
 more informed decisions about public environ-
 mental policies.

 Objectives
 •  Through 2006, EPA will continue to increase
   the availability of quality health and
   environmental information through
   educational services, partnerships, and other
   methods designed to meet EPA's major data
   needs, make data sets more compatible,
   make reporting and exchange methods more
   efficient, and foster informed decision
   making.

 •  By 2006, EPA will provide access to new
   analytical or interpretive tools beyond 2000
   levels so that the public can more easily and
   accurately use and interpret environmental
   information.

 •  Through 2006, EPA will continue to improve
   the reliability, capability, and security of
   EPA's information infrastructure.

 Results We Intend to Achieve
 Over the next several years, we will improve
 every American's access to EPA's integrated
 environmental data, educational services, and
 analytical tools for evaluating environmental
 conditions and trends, and we will provide a
 secure environment for data storage and
retrieval. These accomplishments will enable
EPA, our partners, and the public to better
understand potential environmental impacts,
opportunities for preventing pollution, and
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                                                                          Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
uncertainties and  possible trade-offs that may
be considered in making many environmental
decisions. We will offer reliable environmental
information services to those who do not have
access to the Internet at home, work, or
school. We will also work to improve the
efficiency of data exchange with states, tribes,
and industry, while reducing their reporting
burdens. With help from the Agency's part-
ners and stakeholders, we expect to achieve
the following specific accomplishments:

•  By 2006, EPA will create an information
   network for reliable and accurate data
   exchange that ensures greater than 95
   percent data consistency between EPA and
   participating states, and by 2003, achieve
   greater than 95 percent accuracy in facility
   name and address information for facilities
   reporting air, water, waste, and Toxic
   Release Inventory (TRI) program data, and
   implement an Agency-wide Information
   Plan to identify and fill our high-priority
   information needs.

•  By 2006, EPA will address the changing
   needs of the public to know more about
   chemical releases, conditions, status, and
   trends and also achieve a 15 percent burden
   reduction from 2000 levels for facilities
   reporting TPJ program data.

•  By 2006, 75 percent of the Agency's major
   environmental data, information, tools, and
   information products created since 2001 will
   be available in multiple formats and
   distribution vehicles and EPA will have
   institutionalized a program of advance
   notification to partners and stakeholders of
   significant information products. EPA will
   use advisory, educational, and outreach
   programs; partnerships; and customer
   feedback to improve our information
   products.

 •  By 2006, EPA will define, characterize, and
   identify the intended use of its environmental
  data and document any known limitations of
  the data for all of its new major analytical
  products.

• By 2006, EPA will develop new analytical
  tools that will enable all stakeholders and
  state and tribal partners to query data for
  their own specific purposes; provide access
  to new types of environmental or health data
  that are relevant to localities; facilitate the
  public's ability to access and use Agency,
  state, and other data; and increase by 10
  percent, compared to 2000, the number of
  communities with real-time, geographically-
  based environmental information.

• By 2006, all EPA information technology
  services will meet or exceed industry
  standards for combined cost and  quality of
  service.

• Through 2006, EPA will continue to ensure
  the integrity, availability, and confidentiality
  of EPA's data against known likely risks,
  using evolving industry standards.

Means and Strategies
EPA is actively working to ensure that we
keep pace with the rapid advances in informa-
tion technology and meet the growing demand
for reliable, quality environmental information.
Collaboration and cooperation with our federal,
state, and tribal partners and interested stake-
holders will be crucial to our success. Our
principal strategy for achieving this will be the
development of an Information Plan that
assesses the Agency's environmental direction,
establishes the framework that will  strategically
identify and address information needs, and
matches the information and technology
resources to meet those needs. The Plan will
also establish processes for addressing data
needs and identify potential data collection
efficiencies and opportunities to leverage
information resources with our federal part-
ners, such as the U.S. Geological Survey and
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
               others involved in environmental activities, to
               meet information needs common to multiple
               programs. EPA will continue to pursue the
               strategic use of information in priority setting,
               measuring performance, assessing progress,
               and making decisions.

               The Information Plan will be guided by six
               strategic principles:

               Expand the American Public's Right-to-
               Know About the Environment
               Providing the public electronic and non-
               electronic access to accurate and reliable
               environmental data collected by EPA and our
               partners and stakeholders supports our mission
               and our partners' and stakeholders' efforts to
               protect human health and the environment.
               Increased public access advances citizens'
               understanding and involvement in environmen-
               tal issues and enables them to make better
               decisions that help protect their families and
               their communities.

               Integrate Information
               The Agency envisions a comprehensive and
               integrated information exchange network to
               facilitate sharing information among EPA, the
               states, other federal agencies, tribes, localities,
               and the regulated community.  The network
               will improve environmental decision making,
               improve data quality and accuracy, ensure
               security of sensitive data, avoid data redun-
               dancy, and reduce the burden on those who
               provide and those who access information.
               Key features include standardized data formats
               and definitions, a centralized approach to
               receiving and distributing information, and
               improved access to timely and reliable environ-
               mental information.

               Enhance Information Quality
               To increase the value of environmental infor-
               mation for all stakeholders, the Agency will
               seek  customer feedback and systematically
               improve information usability, clarity, accuracy,
 reliability, and scientific soundness. To this end,
 we will institute compatible data standards and
 ensure that data quality is known and appropri-
 ate for intended uses.  Enhancing the quality of
 environmental information will accord all
 environmental players and interested parties a
 more accurate, comprehensive environmental
 "picture."

 Foster Information-Based Decisions
 EPA recognizes the need to evaluate the
 appropriateness of data in the context of
 specific decisions. The Agency is  committed
 to communicating information and making
 appropriate data and information accessible for
 improved environmental decision making. We
 will work with our partners to enhance the use
 of quality environmental data in setting priori-
 ties and making decisions.

 Reduce Burden
 EPA will strive to streamline information
 collection, making it more efficient and cost-
 effective by reducing unnecessary cost and
 burden to EPA, states, tribes, and the regulated
 community.  The Agency will critically exam-
 ine the information reporting burdens we have
 placed on our partners and on the regulated
 community and ensure that information collec-
 tion addresses specific needs.

Strengthen and Secure EPA's Information
Infrastructure
 Strengthening and securing EPA's information
 infrastructure is fundamental to increasing the
 availability of environmental information. EPA
will remain vigilant in maintaining a strong and
 secure information infrastructure that directly
 supports the mission needs of the Agency. A
secure information infrastructure is essential to
maintaining Congressional and public confi-
dence in EPA's stewardship of environmental
and regulatory information.

Two of these six strategic principles, integrating
information and enhancing information quality,
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require EPA to find significantly different ways
of doing business. As we improve our existing
information systems and develop new ones, we
must work toward an integrated information
network, avoiding data redundancy and utilizing
compatible database designs, standard data
definitions, and a common technological
platform.  This represents a departure from the
old "stovepipe" way of designing information
systems.  Systems developers will need to think
of their systems as integral components of a
larger, integrated network that extends beyond
EPA to our state and tribal partners.

Our working relationships with the states and
tribes will continue to be a major factor in our
ability to achieve the objectives of Goal 7. Our
partners play major roles in all of our highest
priority efforts, including the information
exchange network and the Information Plan.
EPA will continue to work with state and tribal
governments through existing forums, such as
the Environmental Council of the States and
the Agency's Tribal Caucus, and to involve
state and tribal representatives on specialized
advisory work groups and task forces.  We will
continue and expand our outreach to the public
and to industry stakeholders through public
meetings and the use of public advisory
committees.

The Agency will work to instill a more holistic
and multimedia approach to environmental
information. Our heightened emphasis on
information quality will require a new "informa-
tion quality culture" within the Agency. Our
quality system is designed to provide the "right
data" to the Agency and must be  an integral
aspect of Agency program management
activities. Decision makers and data users
ensure that measurements and data are of
known and documented quality and that the
quality is sufficient for the data's  intended uses.
EPA will review the quality of its information to
ensure its accuracy, objectivity, utility, and
integrity.
Relating Annual Performance Goals to
Strategic  Objectives
The success of EPA's information programs
will be reflected in our partners' and stakehold-
ers' ability to make sound decisions based on
quality information to solve the nation's envi-
ronmental problems. EPA is playing a major
role in providing data and tools tailored to their
needs. Rather than making abstract connec-
tions between improvements in information
access and environmental outcomes, our
performance measures for this goal emphasize
outcomes that are important to EPA programs
and our state and tribal partners and the extent
to which we provide integrated, quality environ-
mental information and tools to the public
efficiently and effectively.

For example, to measure our progress toward
increasing the availability and accessibility of
quality environmental information, we will set
annual goals and select performance measures
that track our progress in terms of improved
consistency between the data in our systems
and the data held by states and tribes, decreas-
ing error rates in our facility identification
information, and increasing the number of
people and organizations accessing our infor-
mation. We will demonstrate our progress
toward improving the public's ability to use and
understand our data by (1) ensuring that the
majority of our analytical products, both
electronic and non electronic, describe the
appropriate uses and limitations of the data and
(2) increasing the number of communities with
access to real-time information about their local
environment. Finally, EPA will demonstrate
improvements in the reliability, capability, and
security of our information infrastructure by
ensuring that all of our information technology
services meet or exceed accepted industry
standards.  We will also ensure that our
information network is designed to minimize the
potential impact of security threats and use the
best methods for ensuring that those who
access the most sensitive parts of our network
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
               are authenticated each time they access our
               system.

               External Factors
               EPA's information comes from many
               sources—states, tribes, and local governments;
               industry; federal agencies; volunteer monitoring
               programs; and our own environmental monitor-
               ing, assessment, and research programs.
               Therefore, working in partnership with state
               and tribal governments is an essential element
               of our information programs, and seeking
               advice and input from the regulated community
               and the public will ground our information
               programs and approaches and make them
               more responsive to stakeholders' needs. To
               achieve an integrated information network that
               increases efficiency and fosters information
               sharing, we must work with those who provide
               and use EPA's information to ensure that data
               are used properly, maintained effectively, and
               protected appropriately.

               We expect to see dramatic changes in technol-
               ogy over the course of the next five years. To
               be efficient and cost-effective, EPA's informa-
               tion systems and technology infrastructure
               must be flexible enough to respond to changes
               and take advantage of innovations in technol-
               ogy. As the world becomes more dependent
               on electronic commerce, issues such as
               information security have become a dominant
               concern hi both the public and private sectors.
               To reduce our vulnerabilities  and ensure that
               we can meet current and future information
               needs, EPA's systems and technology infra-
               structure must keep pace with advances in
               available technology.

               Our evolving user community will also affect
               the success of our information efforts. As
               more states develop the ability to integrate
               environmental information, we must adjust our
               own systems to accommodate these develop-
               ments. As we provide technical assistance to
               tribes and improve our ability to understand and
 address environmental issues in Indian country,
 the number of tribes able to interact with us
 electronically will increase, and their need for
 new and improved information tools will
 expand. Local citizens' organizations and the
 public are also increasingly involved in environ-
 mental decision making, and their need for
 information and more sophisticated analytical
 tools is growing.

 Finally, the current federal budget climate
 requires us to work closely with our federal
 partners to leverage our collective information
 holdings and find innovative information tools
 that have environmental applications. We must
 also consider our user community and ensure
 that those without electronic access have the
 information they need to protect their health
 and local environments and to participate in
 decisions that affect them.

 Goal 8:
 Sound Science, Improved
 Understanding of Environmental
 Risk, and Greater Innovation to
 Address Environmental Problems

 EPA will develop and apply the best avail-
 able science for addressing current and
future  environmental hazards as well as new
 approaches toward improving environmental
protection.

 Importance of This Goal
 Under Goal 8, EPA focuses on our commit-
 ment to using science and innovation to reduce
 risk—the possibility of unwanted, adverse
 consequences to human life, health, or the
 environment. By identifying important sources
 of risk, science informs our priority setting,
 enhances the credibility of our policies, and
 guides our deployment of resources. Goal 8
 also highlights EPA's commitment to innovative,
 continuous improvement in the ways in which
we conduct our business and accomplish our
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                                                                          Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
mission, with an emphasis on finding new and
better approaches to environmental issues
while minimizing the burden on the regulated
community. Finally, Goal 8 highlights our
reliance on expert review and collaborative
partnerships to ensure the highest level of
quality and relevance in our work.

Many of the activities we describe throughout
this Strategic Plan are aimed at reducing
specific environmental risks. However, not all
of our efforts are aimed at attaining such
measurable outcomes. Much of EPA's risk
reduction work under Goal 8 is designed to
advance sound science and spark innovation.
The experimental nature of these activities
seldom generates outcomes that we can
predict and quantify in advance.  For example,
through our Regional Vulnerability Assessment
(ReVA) program, EPA is conducting research
to assess the simultaneous impact of stressors
such as urbanization, pollution, and climate
change to make regional predictions of environ-
mental conditions over the next 5 to 25 years.
While the ReVA program's potential to reduce
environmental risk is great, it would be difficult
to predict its outcome in quantitative terms with
specific time  lines. To ensure sound science
and the highest level of quality and relevance in
projects like these, EPA's work under Goal 8
promotes expert review and collaborative
partnerships. EPA works with researchers
who are best qualified to judge the quality of
the science and with stakeholders who can
comment most effectively on the relevance of
innovative approaches.  Through these activi-
ties, EPA strives to ensure that its risk reduc-
tion strategies, programs, and decisions are
based on the best available science and the
most innovative ideas.

As implied in the previous paragraph, EPA
conducts problem-driven research to address
specific environmental risks associated with
each of the other goals of this Strategic Plan.
The measurable outcomes for this research are
reflected in the discussion of these goals.
Additionally, under Goal 8, EPA conducts core
research to improve our understanding of the
fundamental principles underlying risk assess-
ment and management. More specifically,
Goal 8 research focuses on developing funda-
mental mechanisms, methods, processes,
databases, models, and innovative technologies.
To help ensure that we focus on the highest
research priorities, EPA  develops its research
priorities and strategies through cross-Agency
teams.  These teams propose  a research
program that is then reviewed by senior
management from all program and regional
offices. The proposed research program is
further adjusted when the President's request
to Congress is modified by Congressional
appropriation. EPA is committed to continuing
to look for ways that improve our ability to
meet the highest needs for science across the
Agency.

Objectives
•  Provide the scientific understanding to
   measure, model, maintain, and/or restore, at
   multiple spatial scales, the present and future
   integrity of highly valued ecosystems.

•  Improve the scientific basis to identify,
   characterize, assess, and manage
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
                  environmental hazards and exposures that
                  pose the greatest health risks to the
                  American public by developing models and
                  methodologies to integrate information about
                  exposures and effects from multiple
                  pathways.  This effort includes focusing on
                  risks faced by susceptible populations, such
                  as people differentiated by life stage (e.g.,
                  children and the elderly) and ethnic/cultural
                  background.

                  Enhance EPA's capabilities to anticipate,
                  understand, and respond to future
                  environmental developments; conduct
                  research in areas that combine human health
                  and ecological considerations; and enhance
                  the Agency's capacity to evaluate the
                  economic costs and benefits and other social
                  impacts of environmental policies.

                  Provide tools and technologies to improve
                  environmental systems management while
                  continuing to prevent and control pollution
                  and reduce human health and ecological
                  risks originating from multiple economic
                  sectors.  (The term "environmental systems
                  management" refers to integrated, systems-
                  based risk management solutions that
                  consider the combined impacts over time of
                  multiple stressors from diverse sources.)

                  Increase partnership-based projects with
                  counties, cities, states, tribes, resource
                  conservation districts, and/or bioregions,
                  bringing together needed external and
                  internal stakeholders, and quantify the
                  tangible and sustainable environmental
                  results of integrated, holistic, partnership
                  approaches.

                  Incorporate innovative approaches to
                  environmental management into EPA
                  programs, so that EPA and external partners
                  achieve greater and more cost-effective
                  public health and environmental protection.
• Demonstrate regional capability to assist
  environmental decision making by assessing
  environmental conditions and trends, health
  and ecological risks, and the environmental
  effectiveness of management action in
  priority geographic areas.

• Conduct peer reviews and provide other
  guidance to improve the production and use
  of the science underlying Agency decisions.

Results We Intend to Achieve
By meeting the objectives listed above, we will
strengthen the Agency's ability to assess the
condition of the environment and to develop
alternative management strategies at the local,
regional, and national levels. With the help of
expert review and collaborative partnerships,
we intend to attain the highest quality of
scientific research and implement innovative
approaches to reduce environmental risk and
achieve the following specific accomplish-
ments:

• Enhance EPA's capabilities to anticipate,
  understand, and respond to future
  environmental developments; conduct
  research hi areas that combine human health
  and ecological considerations; and conduct
  research hi social science, environmental
  decision making, economic valuation, and
  estimation of environmental costs, risks, and
  benefits.

• EPA will develop and use a consistent set of
  assumptions for its economic analyses.
  These analyses will be used by
  environmental decision makers and the
  general public to support decisions on
  adopting cost-effective, market-based
  environmental control measures. EPA will
  analyze the societal impacts, costs, and
  benefits of regulatory alternatives for all
  economically significant regulatory actions.
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                                                                          Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goafe
• The nation's environmental protection
  efforts will become more integrated and
  efficient through EPA-program and private-
  sector embrace of sector-based approaches,
  outreach to small businesses, environmental
  stewardship, and environmental
  performance incentives.

• EPA will make innovations in its programs
  and culture according to the strategic
  opportunities that its partners, its
  stakeholders, and the private sector will help
  identify by the use of pilot projects capable
  of being transferred into core functions such
  as permitting, rule writing, and compliance.
  In addition, EPA will build its capacity to
  perform program evaluations in order to
  improve Agency programs and practices.

 Means and Strategies
 Our primary objective under Goal 8 is to
 reduce risk by fostering sound science,
 encouraging innovation, and enhancing expert
 review and collaborative partnerships. To this
 end, we have adopted strategies to understand
 risk, prevent and control risk, evaluate the costs
 of risk and risk reduction, and maintain expert
 review and collaborative partnerships. In
 implementing these strategies, EPA is practic-
 ing the principles for "Innovations in Science"
 discussed in the Introduction: the development
 and use of an inventory of EPA's science
 activities; effective cross-Agency planning for
 scientific investigations; and coordination and
 collaboration to support, enhance, and imple-
 ment sound science practices.

 Understanding Risk
 We are focusing on three major efforts to
 enhance our understanding of the significant
 risks threatening our natural environment.
 First, based on statistically rigorous sampling
 schemes, we are collecting environmental data
 to  develop indicators of ecological health at
 multiple spatial scales. Second, we are devel-
 oping ecological risk models to help us under-
stand the fate and transport of pollutants within
watersheds and the exposure of wildlife to
these pollutants. Third, we are evaluating the
efficacy of various restoration schemes in
maintaining the integrity and sustainability of
watersheds. Our research on ecological risk
focuses on aquatic ecosystems because their
quality frequently reflects the state of sur-
rounding terrestrial ecosystems.

To complement our research on ecological risk,
we assess risks to human health, investigating
each link in the chain of events through which
environmental factors trigger deleterious
effects in humans.  We are developing models
to understand the degree to which children and
people of varying lifestyles are exposed to
environmental contaminants across all media,
and  we intend to develop guidance for assess-
ing risks to children. We are also analyzing the
biological effects of these contaminants, taking
into account the genetic variability in people's
response to them.

Beyond our research into existing risks, we
recognize that to prevent damage  to human and
ecosystem health,  we must detect, describe,
evaluate, and mitigate or eliminate stressors
before damage occurs.  Therefore, we are
building the institutional capacity to forecast
and prepare for emerging risks.

To further EPA's efforts to understand risk,
regional laboratories have established the
Centers of Applied Science program.  Devel-
oped initially to address specific regional needs,
the  Centers offer specialized analytical exper-
tise with broad application to other geographic
 and analytical areas. These Centers' activities
 are  planned across regions and include active
 training and information dissemination pro-
 grams.

Preventing and Controlling Risk
 EPA looks for sources of innovation outside the
 Agency by partnering with individual facilities,
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
               industrial sectors, and communities. By
               providing industry with expedited or consoli-
               dated permitting, reduced record-keeping and
               recording requirements, and other opportunities
               for regulatory flexibility, we are creating
               opportunities for firms to focus on improving
               environmental performance rather than merely
               complying with the law.  We are also support-
               ing the creation and effective functioning of
               networks of local governments, citizens,
               planners, and others who are concerned about
               environmental issues that affect the quality of a
               community's life.

               EPA also promotes pollution prevention and
               reduction by developing more environmentally
               compatible technologies and facilitating then-
               introduction into the marketplace. As part of
               this strategy, we are assisting industry in
               adopting cost-effective production processes
               that minimize environmental harm; providing
               grants to encourage research into environmen-
               tally friendly technologies; and completing
               protocols to test and verify the efficacy of
               environmental technologies.

               As we learn from these initiatives, we will
               develop and implement coordinated approaches
               to help regulated entities achieve equal or
               superior environmental performance, while
               minimizing the regulatory burden they face.

               Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Risk
               and Risk Reduction
               Environmental risks impose costs upon society
               by contributing to disease or by otherwise
               diminishing the quality of life. We are funding
               extramural research among social scientists to
               help us understand the value that society places
               on human health and natural resources.
               Moreover, we are developing a set of assump-
               tions and methods that environmental profes-
               sionals and the public can use both to analyze
               the economic impact of regulatory alternatives
              and evaluate environmental protection schemes
              based on market incentives.
  Maintaining Expert Review and
  Collaborative Partnerships
  To foster excellence and innovation in scientific
  research and environmental protection, we are
  strengthening our alliances with external
  parties. We will continue our partnerships with
  universities and laboratories in the broader
  research community by funding extramural
  research.  We also will continue to collaborate
  with the Science Advisory Board, a Congres-
  sionally-mandated panel of nongovernmental
  scientists, engineers, and economists who
  provide EPA with independent technical advice
  and peer review.

  Relating Annual Performance Goals to
  Strategic Objectives

  EPA's primary objectives within Goal 8 are to
  foster sound science, encourage innovation,
  and enhance expert review and collaboration.
  We are developing the databases, methodolo-
  gies, tools, and technologies that contribute to
'  achieving the environmental outcomes targeted
  under other goals. Therefore, annual perfor-
  mance goals and measures under Goal 8  are
  expressed in terms of work products and
  processes that contribute to environmental
  outcomes described elsewhere in this Strategic
  Plan.

  For example, to foster sound science in our
  understanding of ecological risk, we are
  developing a computer-based system to assess
  and integrate wildlife exposures to contami-
  nants via land, water, air, and food pathways.
  To foster sound science in our understanding of
 human health risk, we are characterizing the
  contamination of children's food through
 contact with environmental agents. To encour-
 age innovation in preventing and controlling
 risk, we are establishing cross-office initiatives
 that integrate sector approaches to environ-
 mental protection, leading to reduced emissions
 and resource consumption. Other annual
 performance goals reflect our continuing
 efforts to improve the practice of social
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                                                                            Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goafs
 science in environmental protection, such as
 organizing workshops to bring economists
 together to explore important questions facing
 the Agency, including the valuation of ecologi-
 cal effects and childhood health effects.
 Moreover, to enhance expert review and
 collaboration within the Agency, we have
 established annual performance goals to
 complete peer review reports and develop
 broad stakeholder partnerships among govern-
 mental regulators, regulated industries, and
 nongovernmental organizations to implement
 sector- and facility-based program reforms

 External Factors
 Science and innovation are creative processes
 that can occur most effectively with minimal
 constraints.  To further these processes, EPA
 provides grants to independent researchers
 over whom we exercise little control. More-
 over, to the extent that we create opportunities
 for firms and communities to develop environ-
 mental projects, we depend on these external
 parties for innovations that advance environ-
 mental protection.

 The general principles of sound science, and
 innovation run through this entire Strategic Plan
 and are reflected in many specific examples.
 Ultimately, our success under Goal 8 will be
 measured by the degree to which all of EPA's
 goals and objectives embody this vision—that
 the Agency bases all decisions on the best
 available science and the most innovative
 approaches.

  Goal 9:
 A Credible Deterrent to Pollution and
I Greater Compliance with the Law

 EPA will ensure full compliance with laws
  intended to protect human health and the
 • environment.

  Importance of This Goal
  Protecting the  public and the environment from
  risks posed by violations of environmental
requirements is, and always has been, basic to
EPA's mission. Many of the environmental
improvements America has made over the last
30 years can be attributed to a strong set of
environmental laws and an expectation of
compliance with those laws. EPA's aggressive
enforcement program has been the centerpiece
of efforts to ensure compliance and has
achieved significant improvements in human
health and the environment. By providing
assistance designed to prevent violations,
offering incentives to motivate compliance, and
taking enforcement actions to correct violations
and deter others, EPA obtains continuous
improvement in compliance with standards,
permits, and other requirements. Those actions
also provide fairness in the marketplace by
ensuring that noncomplying facilities do not
gain an unfair competitive advantage. As  a
result, environmental risks are mitigated and
regulated facilities do a better job of environ-
mental management. While maintaining a
strong regulatory enforcement program, EPA
arid its state and local partners are also ex-
panding the use of innovative tools for ensuring
compliance by providing assistance and
incentives to the regulated community.

In partnership with states, tribes, other federal
agencies such as the Department of Justice
             Percent of FY99 Civil Cases Resulting in
              Selected Environmental Improvements

      Remediation/Restoration

                Removal

   Emissions/Discharge Change

      StorageyDisposal Change

     Industrial Process Change

            Use Reduction

       Remedial Design/Action

                     0.0%     10.0%    20.0%    30.0%    40.0%
  Note: Percentages are based on the compliance requirements of the 741 FY99
  civil settlements which required improvements in the use or handling of
  pollutants. Many settlements reported multiple results including training,
  reporting, and auditing or labeling.
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
               (DOJ), and local partners, EPA's enforcement
               and compliance assurance program addresses
               approximately 8 million entities that range from
               community drinking water systems to pesticide
               users to major industrial facilities. Almost 1.3
               million of these are facilities such as municipal
               wastewater treatment plants, large manufac-
               turing and industrial operations, or hazardous
               waste treatment and storage facilities for
               which performance is closely tracked and data
               maintained. The remaining 6.5 million entities
               range from small facilities to individual property
               owners. Given the broad scope of regulatory
               requirements under the various environmental
               statutes and the large and diverse universe of
               regulated entities, the enforcement and compli-
               ance assurance program uses a variety of tools
               and strategies to maximize compliance.

               Objectives
               • EPA and its state, tribal, and local partners
                will improve the environment and protect
                public health by increasing compliance with
                environmental laws through a strong
                enforcement presence.

              • EPA and its state, tribal, and local partners
                will promote the regulated community's
   compliance with environmental requirements
   through voluntary compliance incentives and
   assistance programs.

 Results We Intend to Achieve
 Our ultimate goal is compliance. By identifying
 and addressing violations of environmental
 statutes and regulations, EPA will work to
 mitigate and reduce environmental problems
 and associated risks. We expect to reduce
 pollutants, increase compliance rates for
 selected regulated populations, improve facility
 operations, provide greater public access to
 enforcement and compliance information, and
 increase use of compliance incentives and
 assistance tools.  Specific accomplishments
 anticipated include:

 •  EPA and its partners will improve
   compliance with environmental laws where
   there are patterns of noncompliance or
   significant risks to human health or the
   environment by maintaining a strong
   enforcement presence.

 •  EPA and its partners will improve targeting
   and compliance monitoring to ensure that
   activities are conducted where there are
   high risks to human health or the
   environment, patterns of noncompliance, or
   disproportionately exposed populations.

 •  EPA will implement international
   commitments for enforcement and
   compliance cooperation with other countries,
   especially along the U.S. border (Mexico/
   Canada).

•  Over the next five years, EPA will complete
   settlements with approximately 1,000
   facilities to voluntarily self-disclose to the
   federal government and correct violations.

•  By working with other compliance
   assistance providers, EPA and its partners
   will increase the understanding of
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                                                                         Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
  environmental requirements through the
  development, distribution, and use of
  compliance assistance tools.

• EPA will review all major proposed federal
  actions under the National Environmental
  Policy Act (NEPA) and achieve successful
  mitigation of at least 70 percent of adverse
  environmental impacts through interagency
  negotiations.

Means and Strategies
The Agency will strategically target its en-
forcement and compliance activities. We will
expand our use of more sophisticated analyses
to focus on significant environmental problems
and areas where we find high rates of noncom-
pliance.  Our analyses will also address the
most significant risks to human health and the
environment, including addressing dispropor-
tionate burden on certain populations (such as
children, the elderly, and low-income communi-
ties), in keeping with EPA's environmental
justice responsibilities.  EPA will conduct
inspections and investigations, along with both
civil and criminal enforcement actions, to deter
violations and provide a level playing field.

While enforcement remains central to our
program, we also rely on compliance assis-
tance, incentives, and results-oriented pro-
grams.  Over the next several years, we will
build on the innovations launched six years ago
when EPA reorganized its enforcement  and
compliance program. Examples of innovation
include shifting EPA's role to that of a "whole-
saler" of compliance assistance, providing the
tools  and expertise to those closer to the
problem; fostering a wide network of compli-
ance  assistance providers; encouraging  greater
use by the regulated community of the revised
and expanded Audit Policy and Small Business
Policy; and developing integrated strategies
that effectively blend compliance assistance,
compliance incentives, and enforcement to
achieve our environmental goals and
objectives.

As a result of the delegation/authorization
provided for by most statutes, state, tribal, and
local governments bear much of the responsi-
bility for ensuring that regulated facilities and
other entities comply with requirements.
Nationally, on average, states conduct over 80
percent of all inspections and are responsible
for 84 percent of formal enforcement actions.
States also are the primary vehicle for deliver-
ing on-site compliance assistance to regulated
sources.  EPA is working with tribes to develop
their own compliance and enforcement pro-
grams by offering assistance and incentives
and, in some cases, directly implementing
federal enforcement programs.

EPA will also work with other federal agencies
to implement NEPA. The Agency will review
the environmental impacts of proposed major
federal actions, identify ecological and public
health risks, and negotiate changes to eliminate
or mitigate these risks.  EPA's partnerships also
extend to other countries. We will work with
foreign governments and international organiza-
tions to ensure their compliance with appli-
cable U.S. laws, help them to build enforce-
ment and compliance capabilities in their
countries, and work to fulfill U.S. commitments
under international treaties and agreements.

We will promote many types of enforcement
and compliance training, including a virtual
university, NETI Online, that provides Internet-
based training to promote EPA professionals'
improved understanding and greater effective-
ness. Finally, we are committed to modernizing
our enforcement and compliance information
systems to provide a comprehensive, readily
accessible, multimedia view of environmental
compliance. We will work with our state
partners to provide high-quality, timely data to
promote effective decision making and ex-
panded public access.
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
               Relating Annual Performance Goals to
               Strategic  Objectives
               EPA will track and report progress we make
               toward reducing noncompliance and achieving
               environmental benefits through a variety of
               measures, including the annual performance
               goals and measures included in our Annual
               Performance Plan.  We are committed to
               improving our measures to report on results/
               outcomes of enforcement and compliance
               activities, enabling us to track real progress.
               Our efforts  are paying off, as we can now
               demonstrate both reductions in pollutants to our
               environment as well as environmental improve-
               ments.  Since we started tracking this data in
               FY 1996, our enforcement actions have
               required reductions in emissions of nearly 5.9
               billion pounds of NOx, over 700 million pounds
               of PCB-contaminated material, and 409 million
               pounds of carbon dioxide.  In the past four
               years, we have also achieved over $479 million
               in environmental improvements from supple-
               mental environmental projects.

               Another example involves measuring the
               results of compliance assistance. In FY 1998
               we reached 250,000 regulated entities through
               compliance  assistance; in FY 1999 this had
               grown to 330,000 regulated entities. These and
               other environmental and compliance results
               form the foundation of EPA's current and
               future strategic direction. Successful achieve-
               ment of our  long-term objectives requires that
               we build on existing work as we continue to set
               challenging and meaningful annual perfor-
               mance goals and measures, emphasizing
               outcomes wherever possible.

               The National Performance Measures Strategy
               (NPMS) is a critical component of EPA's
               performance assessment effort.  NPMS
               includes both traditional measures, such as the
               number of inspections and enforcement
               actions, and outcome measures,  such as
               changes in compliance rates and behavioral
               changes resulting from compliance assistance
               and pollutant reductions. Seeing actual trends
 in performance better enables EPA and our
 state partners to continually evaluate the
 enforcement and compliance program and will
 lead to achievement of our long-term objec-
 tives. FY 2000 is the first full year of imple-
 mentation of NPMS, and we will build on the
 lessons learned in the first year to promote and
 improve measurement of results.  We will also
 communicate our progress in this endeavor
 through the Agency's Annual Plan.

 External Factors
 EPA's ability to meet its enforcement and
 compliance annual performance goals and
 longer-term strategic goals may be affected by
 a number of factors. Projected performance
 would be impacted by natural catastrophes,
 such as major floods or significant oil spills that
 require a redirection of enforcement resources
 to address immediate environmental threats.
 EPA also assumes that state and tribal partners
 will continue or increase their levels of en-
 forcement and compliance work. In addition,
 EPA relies on DOJ to accept and prosecute
 cases the Agency refers for civil judicial or
 criminal enforcement.  The success of EPA's
 activities also hinges on the applicability of
 technology and information systems to inter-
 face (particularly state and federal systems) to
 ensure the availability of high-quality data.
 Finally, the economic conditions and the
 regulated community's level of effort/willing-
 ness to comply with the law will greatly
 influence EPA's ability to meet its goals.

 GoaMO:
 Effective Management

EPA will maintain the highest-quality stan-
 dards for environmental leadership and for
 effective internal management and fiscal
responsibility  by managing for  results.

 Importance of This Goal
Activities under this goal support the full range
of Agency activities for a healthy and sustain-
able environment. Agency management
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                                                                          Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
provides vision and leadership—within EPA,
nationally, and internationally—and support for
all Agency programs.  The effectiveness of
EPA's management approaches will determine,
in large measure, how successful we will be in
achieving all the goals identified in this Strate-
gic Plan. Sound leadership, proactive manage-
ment of human resources, rational policy
guidance, innovation, quality customer service,
consultation with stakeholders, results-based
planning and budgeting, fiscal accountability,
and careful stewardship of our resources
provide the foundation for everything EPA
does to advance the protection of human health
and the environment.  In addition, work under
this goal ensures that  EPA's management
systems and processes will be supported by
independent evaluations that promote opera-
tional integrity and economic, efficient, and
effective programs, allowing us to  obtain the
greatest return on taxpayer  investment.

Objectives
•  Provide vision, national and international
   leadership, executive direction, and support
   for all Agency programs.

•  Demonstrate leadership in managing for
   results by providing the management
   services, administrative policies, and
   operations to enable the Agency to achieve
   its environmental mission and to meet its
   fiduciary and workforce responsibilities
   and  mandates.

•  Effectively conduct planning and oversight
   for building operations and provide
   employees with a quality work environment
   that considers safety, new construction, and
   repairs and that promotes pollution
   prevention within EPA and with our state,
   tribal, local, and private partnerships.

 •  Provide audit, evaluation, and investigative
   products and advisory services resulting in
   improved environmental quality and human
   health.
Results We Intend to Achieve
EPA continues to face significant challenges in
streamlining business processes and launching
innovations, while ensuring sound management
of its administrative and financial services.  In
the coming years, we will work to improve the
delivery of services we will need to meet our
environmental mission. We will build on past
achievements and continue to focus on identi-
fying customer needs and expectations, using
innovative technologies and designs, improving
program results and operational business
practices, and developing a highly skilled
workforce to meet the needs of the 21st
century.  We expect to achieve the following
specific accomplishments:

•  The Office of the Administrator will design
   and implement policies that protect human
   health and the environment and ensure that
   program activities and decisions reflect
   those policies.

•  Provide Agency policy direction and
   guidance on equal employment opportunity
   (EEO), civil rights, and diversity issues.

•  EPA's Environmental Appeals Board will
   issue decisions rn active permit and
   enforcement cases within an average of 12
   months.
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
               •  By 2005, 80 percent of actions brought
                  before the Administrative Law Judges will
                  be completed within 12 months of receipt.

               •  Cost-effective investment in environmental
                  protection and human health will be made
                  through responsible, results-based, high
                  quality strategic and fiscal resource
                  management and accountability.

               •  Effectively prepare EPA for future
                  challenges by streamlining administrative
                  processes, strengthening the integrity of
                  resource management and internal controls,
                  building employee skills, fostering diversity,
                  and giving superior customer service.

               •  The Agency will provide a healthy, safe, and
                  secure environment for EPA employees and
                  maintain services, essential facilities, and
                  operations in an efficient and cost-effective
                  manner.

               •  By 2002, all headquarters employees will be
                  consolidated in a new complex, and by 2001,
                  Research Triangle Park (RTF) employees
                  will be moved into a state-of-the-art facility.

               •   Provide facility and administrative services
                  to support all regional programs in their
                  mission.

               •   Return two times the value of the annual
                  investment in the Office of Inspector
                  General (OIG) by making recommendations
                  for potential savings, risk reductions,
                 recoveries, process changes, and
                 enforcement actions.

               Means and Strategies
               EPA will employ five overarching corporate
               management strategies to  advance the protec-
               tion of human health and the environment.
               These strategies cut across all organizational
               boundaries and are key to performing the
               Agency's mission.
 Providing Results-Based Leadership
 EPA will ensure that its leadership is of the
 highest caliber and accountable and responsive
 to the needs of our Congressional, state, tribal,
 local, and private partners. We will provide
 leadership and direction to improve the quality
 of the environment while employing innovative
 approaches and partnerships.

 Investing In Infrastructure
 Consistent investments in core infrastructure
 are critical to provide a safe and healthy work
 environment and to maintain new state-of-the-
 art facilities and laboratories.  These facilities
 provide the tools essential for researching
 innovative solutions to current and future
 environmental problems and enhancing our
 understanding of environmental risks. In
 addition, the Agency is building a national
 framework for identifying and sharing energy
 efficiency and pollution prevention techniques
 appropriate for both public and private sector
 laboratories.

 Streamlining  Business Processes and
 Meeting Customer Needs
 We intend to establish world-class business
 processes by streamlining, improving, and
 automating our administrative systems to
 provide the best customer service at the least
 cost. We will use system integration tools,
 such as enterprise resource planning and
 knowledge management, to develop innovative,
 secure technologies that enhance business
 processes in financial management, payroll,
 human resources, grants,  and contracts.

Strengthening Program Integrity
EPA is committed to working with Congress,
 our oversight agencies, and our state and tribal
partners to protect the integrity of Agency
programs. We will expeditiously address
management challenges and program risks
identified by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB), the General Accounting Office
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                                                                          Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goafs
(GAO), and EPA's OIG. We will also continue
to establish early warning systems and other
controls to prevent vulnerabilities from becom-
ing major management issues.

Managing Human Resources
As we enter the 21st century, a key EPA
priority will be managing our workforce. EPA
strongly believes that the Agency's human
resources are our most valuable asset, and we
will work hard to secure, develop, empower,
and retain the talented people we need to
accomplish our environmental mission. This
effort will include workforce planning, to
ensure that human resource requirements are
aligned with strategic goals, and training, to
enable our workforce to deliver national
leadership and science and technology exper-
tise in environmental protection.  The Agency
recognizes that investing in human resources is
fundamental to achieving our strategic goals
and objectives. Our "Strategy for Human
Capital at EPA" is a plan defining the goals,
strategies, and activities needed for improving
investment in and management of our human
resources. Our goals are:

• EPA attracts and retains a diverse and
   highly skilled workforce. Given the
   expected future challenge in recruiting and
   retaining mformation technology
   professionals, scientists in various disciplines,
   and other key staff, we plan to carry out
   such activities as implementing an Agency-
   wide workforce planning system; developing
   national and local recruitment strategies,
   including intern programs and long-term
   partnerships with educational institutions;
   and focusing on retention, through such
   efforts as identifying retention pressure
   points and making effective use of
   workplace programs aimed at achieving a
   balance between work and non-work life.

  • EPA's people perform to their highest
   potential. To ensure progress toward this
 goal, we will continue to implement the
 Workforce Development Strategy, which is
 aimed at providing EPA's current and future
 employees with the broad competencies
 necessary to meet our strategic goals and
 objectives.  We will also conduct a similar
 workforce analysis, focusing on specific
 scientific and technical skills needed to
 accomplish our program offices' missions
 and strategic goals, and devise strategies for
 closing any technical skills gaps identified,
 including recruitment, retention, and
 development.

 Innovation, creativity, and risk taking are
 demonstrated by all EPA people at all levels
 of the organization. Fostering creativity and
 risk taking can ensure that the Agency's
 strategic goals and objectives  continue to be
 achieved in innovative ways.  We must set
 expectations that innovation, creativity, and
 risk taking will be demonstrated by all
 employees and institute new ways to share
 information about innovative approaches
 throughout the Agency.

 EPA's people have a sense of community,
 where differences are recognized as
 contributing to the whole, all employees'
 contributions are appreciated, and all views
 are solicited and welcomed. Building a
 sense of community, thus enabling the
 Agency to benefit from the best efforts and
 contributions of all our employees, will entail
 ensuring that the Merit Principles are fully
 understood and applied in selection,
 promotion, development, recognition, and
 work assignment decisions. We will also
 expand the use of feedback mechanisms to
 improve communication throughout EPA.

1 Teamwork and collaboration are routinely
 practiced with internal and external partners.
 We will continue to build consensus and
  constructive labor/management relations
 through improved communication and
  information sharing and to improve and
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals
                  support teamwork within organizations and
                  across organizational boundaries.

               •  EPA's human resources systems are
                  integrated with planning, budgeting, and
                  accountability processes. Our strategies for
                  accomplishing this integration include
                  instituting mechanisms to ensure that
                  workforce impact studies are conducted and
                  that human resources  support needs are
                  identified and planned for early in strategic
                  planning and program planning processes.

               Relating Annual Performance Goals
               To Strategic Objectives
               To achieve effective management, we will be
               working towards objectives in four areas:
               (1) executive leadership,  (2) management and
               administrative services, (3) building operations
               and new construction, and (4) audit and
               investigative services. We have established
               annual performance goals and measures that
               will enable us to track our progress in these
               areas. Specifically, our annual performance
               goals and measures focus on providing results-
               based leadership, managing human resources,
               investing in infrastructure, streamlining business
               processes and meeting customer needs, and
               strengthening the integrity of our management
               processes. We will provide executive leader-
               ship that promotes policies and actions that
               protect human health and the environment and
               builds effective partnerships.  In the area of
 managing human resources, we are concerned
 with measuring Agency efforts to create a
 highly skilled workforce to meet the future
 needs of the Agency.  In investing in our
 infrastructure, we seek to ensure that EPA
 provides a healthy and safe work environment
 and that employees are equipped with the tools
 they need to accomplish the Agency's mission.
 Other performance goals and measures focus
 on measuring improvements to critical pro-
 cesses that support EPA's mission, such as
 financial services and management of con-
 tracts and grants. Finally, to support our
 objectives for delivery of audit and investigative
 services, we have established goals and
 measures to strengthen the integrity of EPA
 programs. Taken together, our annual perfor-
 mance goals and measures link program efforts
 directly to strategic objectives in order to
 promote vision, leadership, and accountability
 throughout the Agency.

 External Factors
 New legislation, regulations, and executive
 orders may impose major new requirements
 necessitating a shift in existing priorities.
 Directives from OMB, the U.S. Treasury, the
 General Services Administration, the Office of
Personnel Management, and GAO could affect
management activities. In addition, EPA has a
significant number of employees eligible for
retirement and must compete for the available
labor pool.
           EPA Strategic Plan

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Chapter 2:
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Chapter 2: Cross-Agency Programs
                                           Chapter 2:
                                           Cross-Agency Programs
              Over the past 30 years, EPA and our partners
              have made substantial progress in addressing
              human health and environmental issues. Many
              of these advances have been the result of
              conventional regulatory approaches.  However,
              EPA has grown increasingly aware of the need
              for integrated strategies for solving complex
              environmental problems.

              In this chapter, we highlight EPA programs that
              depart from standard approaches.  These
              programs promote partnerships with  states and
              tribes and enlist the efforts of others outside
              the Agency in our environmental protection
              work; cut across traditional media and
              organizational boundaries; and consider, with a
              more comprehensive view, the risks posed to
              particular or vulnerable populations.
            i State Partnerships
              Program Description
              Many of the advances in environmental
              protection would not have been possible
              without the participation and support of the
              states. Working together, we have forged the
              strong partnerships that are essential to
              protecting human health and the environment
              and achieving our goals and objectives. Many
federal environmental statutes call for EPA to
authorize or delegate to states the primary
responsibility for implementing programs and
designate them as co-regulators, once EPA has
confirmed that they meet certain qualifying
criteria. A new relationship between the states
and EPA is emerging—one that allows us to
adapt to changing priorities and to experiment
with new ideas.  We each have important roles
to play, and by cooperating and collaborating
with one another, we are achieving better
results at lower cost.

In May  1995, EPA and state leaders made a
commitment to establish a joint partnership for
environmental protection. The National
Environmental Performance Partnership
System (NEPPS) provides for EPA and states
to set priorities jointly; negotiate NEPPS
Performance Partnership  Agreements  (PPAs)
that define their roles and responsibilities; find
flexible ways of implementing environmental
protection; work together to define a set of
core performance measures (CPMs) that will
demonstrate the environmental results they
have achieved; and evaluate their success.

Five years after the signing of the NEPPS
agreement, in March 2000, EPA's Deputy
Administrator issued a memorandum
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                                                                      Chapter 2: Cross-Agency Programs
reaffirming EPA's commitment
to the performance partnership
system and to setting
environmental priorities jointly
with states through the
negotiation of PPAs.  The
Environmental Council of the
States (EGOS), an organization
of State Environmental
Commissioners, responded in
kind with a resolution that
reaffirmed  the states'
commitment to NEPPS. These
renewed commitments
demonstrate EPA's and states'
continued resolve to work
together towards more integrated and strategic
environmental management, increased pollution
prevention, and enhanced environmental
quality.

What Will be Accomplished
• Promote greater collaboration in solving
   environmental problems, with states and
   EPA working together more effectively to
   take advantage of their relative strengths.

 • Based on an assessment of environmental
   conditions and needs, target priorities which
   are likely to achieve the greatest
   environmental and human health benefits.

 • By 2003, increase the use of actual
   measures of environmental and human
   health conditions, thereby achieving a better
   balance with traditional program activity
   measures.

  • Expand the number and type of protection
   strategies available to include more
   integrated and flexible approaches such as
   pollution prevention, ecosystem
   management, and compliance assurance.

  •  Tailor the amount and type of EPA oversight
    to the strengths and needs of individual
    states.
• Analyze and understand the results of
  protection efforts and consult with and
  inform the public about environmental and
  human health conditions and strategies for
  resolving remaining problems.

• Promote enhanced partnerships with co-
  regulators through continually improving
  PPAs under NEPPS, including the
  Performance Partnership  Grants (PPG)
  process.

Means and Strategies
From its inception, NEPPS has been an
ambitious initiative. To achieve its goal of
demonstrable improvement in the nation's
environment as a result of close cooperation
between the states and EPA, the NEPPS
process requires that states  and EPA
understand and adapt to  each others' roles and
responsibilities and maintain good
 communications.

 To this end, EPA will continue to work with
 states to negotiate and implement PPAs that
 clarify our respective roles and responsibilities.
 In tandem with PPAs, EPA will use its
 authority to allow states  to combine funds from
 multiple categorical grants into one or more
 PPGs.  PPAs and PPGs encourage states to
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Chapter2: Cross-Agency Programs
               develop innovative ways to address their
               highest environmental priorities across all
               media; link their program activities more
               effectively with environmental results; and
               devise improved pollution prevention, cross-
               media, ecosystem, and community-based
               strategies. We will continue to work with
               states to use PPAs  and PPGs to seek ways of
               providing needed flexibility in program areas,
               resource utilization, and oversight, while
               maintaining accountability and ensuring that
               federal funds and resources are applied to the
               highest environmental priorities.

               Another NEPPS priority is the joint EPA/state
               effort to develop a set of CPMs that reflect
               states' program priorities and will help gauge
               their progress in protecting human health and
               the environment. EPA and states will work
               together to define better measures of actual
               environmental conditions as the indicators of
               program effectiveness, leading to a significant
               increase in outcome-oriented CPMs by
               FY2003.

               EPA has incorporated a variety of methods to
               improve NEPPS in our 2000 work plan, and we
               will continue to develop work plans each year.
               Our current work plan, which reflects a
               number of recommendations to improve
               NEPPS implementation provided by the
               General Accounting Office, focuses Agency
 efforts on providing leadership for NEPPS
 efforts among the states and at all levels at
 EPA; developing guidance to make PPA
 development and quality more consistent
 nationwide; integrating NEPPS concerns into
 EPA's internal processes, particularly strategic
 planning and budgeting; and improving the use
 of outcome-based CPMs in PPAs to paint a
 picture of the state of environmental protection
 nationwide. In addition, based on a survey of
 NEPPS-related training that is available now
 and that will be required in the future, we will
 work to improve Agency training programs and
 develop new tools and approaches.

 Taken together, these efforts will promote
 EPA/state partnerships and help to advance
 our ability to work together to achieve efficient
 and effective environmental and public health
 protection.
Tribal Partnerships
Program Description
American Indian culture and way of life are
inextricably linked to the environment, and the
very existence of some tribal peoples can be
threatened by the substandard environmental
conditions that persist in Indian country.
Unique cultural and legal issues and
           complicated federal Indian law
           present challenges to the
           coordination and implementation of
           environmental management
           activities in Indian country. As a
           result, these issues must be
           addressed through innovative
           approaches and a coordinated
           federal program that works in
           partnership with tribes.

           In 1994, Administrator Browner
           established the American Indian
           Environmental Office (AIEO) to
           lead the individuals and
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                                                                      Chapter 2: Cross-Agency Programs
organizations in the Agency that comprise
EPA's Indian Program. Consistent with our
government-to-government relationship and
commitment to conserve natural resources  for
cultural uses, EPA's Indian Program advances
our trust responsibility to federally recognized
tribes by ensuring the protection of human
health and the environment in Indian country.

What Will be Accomplished
The Agency's Indian Program has established
three overall objectives to help achieve its
mission:

•  Advance health and environmental quality in
   Indian country through increased
   implementation of environmental programs.

•  Enhance the relationship between tribes and
   EPA to promote more effective
   partnerships.

•  Promote consistency within EPA, and
   improve coordination with other federal
   agencies.

Means and Strategies
To improve the environmental programs being
implemented in Indian country by tribes or by
EPA, the Indian Program will launch a number
of initiatives to assess tribes' current needs,
capabilities, and priorities.  This will be
accomplished by completing the baseline
assessment of environmental conditions in
Indian country; continuing the establishment of
formal environmental management
agreements; and working cooperatively with
tribes to  implement the agreements. The
Indian Program will use the information
gathered through the baseline assessment and
the environmental management agreements to
develop innovative ways to continue to
increase tribal capabilities to implement and
manage environmental programs. Although
EPA will continue to provide funding directly to
 tribes, we will also be working on creative
ways to increase Agency resources dedicated
to the tribes' environmental issues and to
remove legal and procedural barriers to
program implementation.

EPA cannot achieve its goals without working
closely with tribes, so the Indian Program is
taking  a number of steps to help build more
positive relationships and more effective
partnerships. EPA will improve the internal
and external communications infrastructure for
the Indian Program. Internally, the Agency will
increase training for all staff on how to work
effectively with tribal governments, and the
Agency will keep tribes better informed about
the activities and accomplishments of the
Indian Program through an annual
accomplishments report. Finally, the Indian
Program also plans to increase its support to
advisory organizations, including the National
Indian Working Group, Tribal Operations
Committee, Regional Tribal Operations
Committees, and the Senior Indian Program
Managers to promote more effective use of
these organizations.

Although the Indian Program encompasses a
variety of activities and organizations, it is
important that its efforts remain consistent
across the Agency and are well coordinated
with those of other federal agencies. To
promote internal consistency, the Agency will
be developing innovative models for common
tasks,  such as permitting, that are performed
throughout the Agency.  While these models
will offer a more consistent approach, they will
remain flexible enough to meet the needs of
individual tribes.  EPA will coordinate with
other federal agencies that have related
responsibilities to assist tribes in assuming
environmental programs and working on
environmental problems cooperatively and
consistently. Finally, EPA will work with tribes
and states to establish mechanisms to resolve
issues around common environmental
concerns.
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Chapter 2: Cross-Agency Programs
               Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxics
             I Initiative


               Program Description
               Persistent bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT)
               chemicals, which include mercury, lead, and
               polychlorinated biphenyls, present a particular
               threat to human health and the environment
               because they are toxic, persist in ecosystems
               over long periods of time, and accumulate in
               fish and up the food chain. Children, whose
               bodies are still developing, and individuals who
               consume large quantities offish are especially
               vulnerable to risks posed by PBTs.

               Because PBTs can travel long distances, move
               between air, water, and soil, and linger for
               generations, the challenge of reducing risks
               from PBTs cannot be addressed solely by
               EPA's traditional, single-statute approaches.
               Therefore, EPA has designed an Agency-wide
               PBT Initiative (PBTI) which employs all of
               EPA's tools—regulation, compliance and
               enforcement, research, voluntary actions, and
               international negotiation—to reduce PBTs that
               have been identified as priorities.  The PBTI
               relies upon a variety of innovative, coordinated,
               cross-office activities that maximize our efforts
               to protect human health and the environment
               from PBT risks.

               What Will be Accomplished
               •  Substantially reduce risks to human health
                 and the environment from exposure to
                 existing priority PBTs, and prevent the entry
                 of new PBTs into commerce.

               •  Coordinate an Agency-wide approach to
                 further reduce risks  from exposure to
                 priority PBTs, using all available regulatory
                 and voluntary tools, approaches, and
                 incentives.
 Means  and Strategies
 EPA has organized the PBTI to address
 priority PBTs across media and across offices.
 EPA will:

 - Develop and implement National Action
   Plans  for the first set of 12 priority PBTs;
 - Prevent the entry of new high-risk PBTs
   into commerce;
 - Identify emerging PBT priorities for future
   National Action Plan development; and
 — Assess progress through monitoring and
   measurement.

 To ensure that we meet our PBTI objectives,
 we will continue to apply cross-media, cross-
 office approaches.  This is particularly
 important in order to determine the sources of
 PBT contamination of water bodies in the
 United States.  EPA is coordinating an effort
 under the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water
 Act to develop models that will allow the
 Agency to better identify local sources of
 mercury, a priority PBT. We expect
 regulations affecting municipal waste
 combustion and medical waste incinerators to
 reduce airborne mercury emissions by about
 100 tons per year.  In addition, EPA will
 develop protective water quality criteria to
 address the most toxic and pervasive PBTs.

 EPA will work with our partners and
 stakeholders to develop and begin to implement
 National Action Plans for the first set of 12
 priority PBTs (mercury, PCBs, aldrin/dieldrin,
 chlordane, DDT, mirex, toxaphene, dioxins/
 furans, benzo(a)pyrene, hexachlorobenzene,
 alkyl lead, octachlorostyrene).  As part of these
Plans, we will pursue opportunities for working
within sectors or geographic areas to  address
 several pollutants at the same time. In these
Action Plans, the Agency will assess the
current levels of priority PBTs in the
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                                                                     Chapter 2: Cross-Agency Programs
environment and in human populations and will
track progress in reducing these PBTs.

In implementing specific action plans, EPA will
encourage voluntary partnerships with industry
and other stakeholders.  We will work with
industry to identify risks, evaluate new
approaches, improve compliance, and
ultimately implement cleaner production
technologies.  For example, our Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act program will
focus on waste minimization, working with
industry to reduce PBTs of highest concern in
waste streams.  We will promote projects that
will achieve measurable reductions quickly.
For example, we are working with the
American Hospital Association to virtually
eliminate mercury in hospitals. We will
continue to conduct similar efforts with other
sectors that use or release priority PBTs and
will work with partners and stakeholders to
develop and expand use of tools such as the
PBT profiler.

A priority for EPA is measuring and monitoring
PBTs in the environment and in human
populations and tracking progress on reductions
using databases such as the Toxic Release
Inventory (TRI) and the National Health and •>
Nutritional Examination Surveys (NHANES),
among others. Facilities will begin to report
PBT chemical releases under a new TRI rule.
EPA will gather more information on key
areas, such as mercury releases from utilities
and the impact of storm water runoff.  In
addition, we will continue our nationwide study
to document the extent and nature offish tissue
contamination by PBT chemicals which had
not been considered in an earlier study.

On the international front, EPA will work with
Environment Canada to implement the Great
Lakes Binational  Toxics Strategy (BTS).  The
purpose of this binational strategy is to set forth
a collaborative process by which EPA,
 Environment Canada, Great  Lakes states, the
Province of Ontario, and Indian tribes will work
in cooperation with their public and private
partners toward the goal of virtually eliminating
inputs of PBTs to the Great Lakes Basin (as
defined in the BTS) in order to protect and
ensure the health and integrity of the Great
Lakes  ecosystem.

In addition, EPA expects negotiations on a
global convention for persistent organic
pollutants (POPs) to be successfully concluded
by December 2000. We will participate in
capacity-building projects to support key
developing countries' efforts to comply with
the POPs convention. Projects will include
working with the World Health Organization's
"Roll Back Malaria" Program to phase out the
production and use of DDT around the world
and providing support to Asian countries,
particularly Indonesia and other Southeast Asia
countries, as they work towards an eventual
phase-out of leaded gasoline.

Finally, we will emphasize research to help
prevent the introduction of PBTs into the
environment, and we will target our research
efforts towards sectors  producing large
quantities of PBTs. We will make the most of
our research resources by addressing groups of
PBTs that share common characteristics.

Protecting the Environment
Through the Sector-Based
Approach


Program Description
EPA has been exploring innovative approaches
to environmental protection that go beyond
traditional media-specific or chemical-specific
programs. One such innovation, the sector-
based approach, focuses on a particular
business, service, or industrial sector to achieve
more efficient, effective, and timely
 environmental results.  When an industry
works with government and other stakeholders
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Chapter 2: Cross-Agency Programs
               to consider releases to all environmental media
               comprehensively, they see more clearly the
               environmental and economic value of
               preventing pollution at the source. Incentives
               can be tailored to meet the needs of the sector.
               Further, we have found that sector projects that
               encompass various Agency core functions
               such as permitting, rulemaking, and
               compliance/enforcement help establish critical
               links between different parts of EPA, as well
               as between EPA and our co-implementers at
               the regional, state, tribal, and local levels.

               The sector-based approach was  demonstrated
               through the Common Sense Initiative (CSI), a
               1994-98 pilot program for six large and small
               industry sectors. Based on our experience
               with CSI and other sector initiatives such as
               Design for the Environment (which focuses on
               alternative technology development), the
               Sustainable Industry program (which creates
               sector-specific incentives and removes barriers
               to better, more cost-effective  environmental
               performance), and Web-based Compliance
               Assistance Centers (which provide industry
               sector-specific information to promote
               compliance), sector work is being further
 integrated into EPA's core functions. Creation
 and implementation of the FY1999 and 2000
 Sector Action Plans have reinforced our
 integration efforts: the 2000 Plan strongly
 encourages cross-Agency, multimedia, sector
 approaches. As part of this effort, it is
 important for us to consider when and how the
 sector approach works with other approaches
 to environmental protection. For example,
 facility-based programs like Project XL
 (excellence and Leadership) and Performance
 Track (a new program for motivating and
 rewarding top environmental performance)
 present opportunities for sector-wide
 application. Also, watershed and community-
 based approaches must deal with broad
 economic sectors like transportation, as well as
 with the impact that several facilities in the
 same industry may have on the community:
What Will be Accomplished
• Promote better compliance with
  environmental laws and more diligent
  corporate stewardship by facilities in defined
  sectors through a combination of incentives,
                                     Perchloroethylene Use by U.S. Dry Cleaning Industry
                      1985   1986  1987  1988    1989   1990   1991  1992   1993   1994  1995    1996  1997   1998

                      An example of the results achieved by the sector-based approach to pollution reduction
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                                                                      Chapter2: Cross-Agency Programs
  voluntary actions, and streamlined regulatory
  procedures. Measure performance and
  report results.

• Develop and implement a 5-year Sector
  Program Plan. This strategy will complete"
  the transition from CSI as a demonstration
  program to the integration of the sector-
  based approach into EPA's core functions.

Means and  Strategies
EPA will develop more sector-specific,
comprehensive stewardship programs that
involve industry,  state and local governments,
and other partners and stakeholders.  We will
complete implementation of the Metal Finishing
Strategic Goals Program and develop similar,
targeted programs in other sectors. We will
expand efforts to integrate sector-based
strategies into core Agency functions such as
permitting, coordinated rulemaking,
enforcement and compliance, regional problem-
solving, voluntary partnerships, research, and
international activities. We will implement a
wide range of sector-specific innovations to
promote "cleaner, cheaper, smarter"
performance that outpaces the results
achievable under typical regulatory programs.
In programs like  Sustainable Industry and
Design for the Environment, we will further
identify, test, and implement innovative
approaches tailored to individual sectors' needs
and opportunities. We will also identify
innovations from the Project XL and other
facility-specific demonstration projects that are
appropriate for sector-wide implementation,
and we will implement more sector-based pilot
projects to test new innovations.

By revising the Agency's 1984 Small Business
Strategy, we will raise EPA's awareness of
sector issues and help small business sectors
meet and exceed their environmental
responsibilities. We will develop strategies for
operating existing Compliance Assistance
Centers more cost-effectively, thereby making
resources available for establishing new
Centers to serve sectors dominated by small-
to medium-sized entities.

In collaboration with representatives from
broad economic sectors and other key
stakeholders, we will design and test innovative
strategies for improving livability and protecting
public health and the environment in America's
communities. We will provide resources,
information, and new analytical tools to state
and local governments and the economic
development community to help inform
decisions and create new incentives for more
environmentally beneficial development. We
will also work with the real estate industry,
economic development industries, and
communities to encourage smart growth and
improve community Hvability through programs
that improve air and water quality, revitalize
brownfields, and preserve open space.

We will help stakeholders in the transportation
sector reduce traffic congestion, improve air
quality, and enhance the local quality of life. In
collaboration with the U.S. Department of
Transportation, state departments of
transportation, and metropolitan transportation
organizations, we will offer more regulatory
credit for air quality improvements that result
from better coordination of transportation and
land use. We will work specifically with the
freight transportation sector on strategies to
minimize air pollution, increase transportation
efficiency, and lower costs. Finally, we will
work to remove regulatory barriers and other
disincentives to smarter growth.

Environmental Health Risks
to Children
Program Description
Children face significant and unique health
threats from a range of environmental hazards.
They are often more heavily exposed and more
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Chapter2: Cross-Agency Programs
               vulnerable than adults to toxins in the
               environment. Pound for pound, children
               breathe more air, drink more water, and eat
               more food than adults.  Children's behavior
               patterns, such as playing close to the ground
               and putting hands-to-mouth, increase their
               exposure to potential toxins. In addition,
               children's body systems are still developing, so
               they may be less able than adults to metabolize,
               detoxify, and eliminate toxins. Environmental
               risks to children include asthma-exacerbating
               air pollution, lead-based paint in older homes,
               treatment-resistant microbes in drinking water,
               and persistent chemicals that may cause
               cancer or induce reproductive or
               developmental changes. Toxic injury to
               developing organ systems can carry lifelong
               consequences.

               Assessing health risks to children from
               environmental pollutants is a major concern for
               EPA. In 1995, EPA announced a new
               Agency-wide policy to  ensure that
               environmental risks to children's health are
               explicitly and consistently evaluated in our risk
               assessments, risk characterizations, and human
               health regulations and standards. In late 1996,
               the Agency issued its National Agenda to
               Protect Children's Health from Environmental
               Threats. This Agenda builds and improves
               upon current Agency-wide activities to ensure
a consistent approach in improving our risk
assessments and national standards specifically
to protect children. EPA will also be able to
assure the American people that, based on the
best scientific information, risks to children are
fully considered in all of our national health-
based environmental protection efforts.

What Will be Accomplished

• Conduct and support research relating to
  children's environmental health.

• Work to ensure that EPA regulations and
  standards explicitly consider risks to
  children.

• Implement community-based public
  awareness and education programs on
  children's environmental health issues.

Means and Strategies
EPA intends to work with our partners,
including states and other federal departments,
to ensure that every individual, government
agency, corporation, community, and
organization will understand the link between
children's health and the environment and will
take positive action to improve children's
health-related environmental problems. We
will continue to focus efforts in two broad
  categories: building infrastructure and
  capacity and conducting public education
  and outreach.

  Building Infrastructure and Capacity
  It is critical that organizations responsible for
  caring for families and children make
  protecting children from environmental
  threats an integral part of the way they do
  business.  Therefore, EPA is investing
  substantial effort to ensure that children's
  environment-related health protection is
  integrated into EPA programs, other federal
  agencies, states, and private sector entities
  such as health care providers.
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EPA intends to coordinate children's health
issues across the Agency and with states.  In
addition, we will work to enhance state
capacity in children's environmental health
programs. As health-based standards are
developed or revised, EPA will ensure that they
are protective of children. We will implement
the interagency Asthma and Lead Poisoning
Prevention Strategies, which were developed
under the auspices of the Task Force on
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks
to Children. We will also ensure
implementation of the 1997 Declaration on
Children's Environmental Health, continue to
support efforts such as the International
Conference on Children's Environmental
Health, and develop a work element for the
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
(CEC).

EPA will conduct and support research on
children's susceptibility and exposure to
pollutants to ensure that we use the best
information in developing protective measures
for children. This includes working with other
federal agencies and academic institutions to
identify and expand research on children's
environment-related health. EPA, working
with the Department of Health and Human
Services, plans to conduct a feasibility study for
a long-term longitudinal cohort study of the
impact of exposure to environmental pollutants
on children. Working with health care
providers, we will continue to convey
information on environmentally related illness to
primary health care providers (physicians,
nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants,
nurse midwives, and community health
workers) through the traditional training and
continuing education system.

Conducting Public Education and Outreach
Communities, parents, and other caregivers can
do much to reduce children's exposure to
pollutants. EPA will provide information and
technical assistance to parents, teachers,
communities, and environmental and health
professionals so that they can better protect
children from environmental health threats in
their homes, schools, and communities. We
will expand the Child Health Champion
Campaign, designed to empower local citizens
and communities. In addition, to help
youngsters become informed adults, we will
work with youth organizations on children's
environment-related health issues.

Environmental Justice
Program Description
EPA's mission is to protect human health and to
safeguard the natural environment—air, water,
and land—upon which life depends. This
mission holds true for all of the American
public, regardless of race, color, national origin,
culture, education, and income or where
individuals live, learn, and work. Incur 1997
Strategic Plan, EPA stated that to accomplish
our mission, we must ensure that "all parts of
society—communities, individuals, business,
state and local governments, tribal
governments—have access to accurate
information sufficient to participate effectively
in managing human health and environmental
risks."

While EPA has made significant progress in
securing healthier, liveable environments, we
recognize that we still have much work to do to
extend the benefits of environmental regulatory
programs to all communities.  A number of
minority and low-income communities have
raised concerns that they may be
disproportionately exposed to environmental
harms and risks. Additionally, they have
contended that they do not have access to
environmental information and, consequently,
have not been able to make informed decisions
regarding environmental and health-related
issues in their communities.
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               The primary goals of the Agency's
               environmental justice program are to ensure
               that all individuals are protected from
               significant risks to human health and the
               environment where they live, learn, and work;
               to ensure that federal protective environmental
               laws are enforced fairly and effectively; and to
               ensure that all parts of society, including
               minority and low-income communities, have
               access to accurate information sufficient to
               participate effectively in environmental
               decision-making processes.

               What Will be Accomplished
               In order for environmental justice to be
               achieved for all of the American public, it must
               remain a high priority for EPA and continue to
               be incorporated into all Agency programs and
               policies. EPA will seek to:

               • Ensure that communities most
                 disproportionately impacted by toxic releases
                 and hazards receive fair, effective, and equal
                 enforcement under protective environmental
                 laws and encourage citizens in adversely
                 impacted communities to participate fully in
                 environmental decisions affecting them.

               • Achieve source reductions in high-risk
                 communities to ensure that all individuals are
                 protected from significant risks to human
                 health and the environment.

               • Review all EPA regulations and identify
                 opportunities for integrating environmental
                 justice into the decision-making process,
                 consistent with Executive Order 12898 and
                 existing environmental laws.

               Means  and Strategies
               EPA will use a variety of approaches to ensure
               that all communities, regardless of race or
               income, are protected from disproportionate
               environmental risks and are fully involved in the
               environmental decision-making processes that
 affect them. We will continue to develop tools
 that can be used to identify communities most
 disproportionately impacted by toxic releases
 and hazards and will work to minimize sources
 of pollution.  In addition, we will continue to
 target specific activities to reduce exposure to
 toxins, increase enforcement of environmental
 regulations, and clean up high-risk
 communities.  For example, EPA will continue
 to host meetings that bring together
 communities, local industry, and relevant
 agencies to share in addressing environmental
 problems. As part of these initiatives, we will
 continue to establish working committees that
 allow community-based organizations to be
 meaningfully involved in the health and
 environmental issues that impact their
 communities.

 The Presidential Memorandum that
 accompanied Executive Order 12898
 emphasized the importance of public
 participation as part of the National
 Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process,
 directing that "each federal agency shall
 provide opportunities for community input in the
 NEPA process." The Council on
 Environmental Quality issued the
 "Environmental Justice Guidance Under the
 National Environmental Policy Act," which
 incorporates environmental justice
 considerations into the NEPA process. EPA
 will continue its efforts to enhance community
 participation in environmental programs by
 increasing education and providing technical
 and financial assistance to high-risk
 communities. We will evaluate communities'
 effectiveness in identifying local environmental
 issues and participating in the decision-making
process, and, guided by the 1995 Public
 Participation Model Plan, we will work to
 increase public involvement. For example, by
providing access to user-friendly, Web-based
 information systems that integrate
 environmental information with census, health,
and other data, we will promote understanding
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                                                                       Chapter 2: Cross-Agency Programs
of environmental issues and help communities
find solutions at a local level. We will continue
to hold local public meetings to ensure that all
stakeholders receive the environmental
information they need to make informed
decisions.

Finally, EPA will continue to collaborate with
our federal, state, tribal, and local government
partners and with stakeholders to address
environmental justice issues. We will continue
to work with the Interagency Work Group on
Environmental Justice and the National
Environmental Justice Advisory Council to
discuss specific policy issues and concerns.
EPA will work to ensure that all of its
programs and policies promote environmental
justice and will incorporate guidance on
achieving environmental justice into regional
Memoranda of Agreement and State
Performance Partnership Agreements.
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Chapter2: Cross-Agency Programs
           EPA Strategic Plan

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Chapters: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Results
                                          Chapter 3:
                                          Assessing Our  Work and
                                          Learning from Our Results
              This chapter describes EPA's approach to
              assessing and learning from our short- and
              long-term progress in working toward our goals
              and objectives. It covers the following three
              areas: (1) fostering accountability to reinforce
              the responsibility of program managers for
              achieving program results, (2) assessing and
              learning from our annual performance results,
              and (3) measuring results using meaningful
              performance measures and benefit-cost
              assessments. The final section in this chapter
              provides a goal-by-goal summary of program
              evaluations that EPA has used to set the goals
              and objectives presented in this Strategic Plan.

              Fostering Accountability
              Five years ago, EPA embarked on a far-
              reaching effort to change past approaches to
              planning, budgeting, and accountability in a
              fundamental way. In March  1996,
              Administrator Carol Browner announced the
              creation of a new planning, budgeting, analysis,
              and accountability (PBAA) process intended to
              foster results-based management and monitor
              our progress towards EPA's goals and
              objectives.

              As part of this new process, in September
              1997, EPA produced a Strategic Plan that laid
              out long-term environmental goals and
              objectives. Beginning in FY 1999J the Agency
tied its annual plan and budget directly to these
strategic goals and objectives. Finally, using the
results we obtained in FY 1999, EPA prepared
its first Annual Performance Report, released
in March 2000. Currently, we are using FY
1999 performance results to revise and  fine
tune our annual goals for FY 2002. This
completes the first full cycle of the Agency's
new PBAA approach to results-based
management.

To further promote results-based management,
EPA is also relying on direct, focused
interaction between the Deputy Administrator
and the senior managers whose organizations
contribute to the achievement of our goals and
objectives. During a series of meetings, now in
its third year, senior Agency managers discuss
prior year performance results, lessons learned
from those results, progress toward meeting
current year goals, and progress toward
meeting the Agency's long-term goals and
objectives.

Over the next five years, as we complete
several more planning and budgeting cycles,
EPA will  closely examine our annual and
cumulative results. We will use our findings to
adjust our approaches and our resources to
focus on the highest risks to human health and
the environment and the most effective
strategies for addressing them.
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                                            Chapter 3: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Results
Learning and Improving
As a "learning year," FY 1999 provided many
opportunities for us to identify our strengths and
weaknesses and develop our capabilities for
results-based management. Implementing
results-based management has had a number of
positive effects on the Agency. In particular,
programs have been challenged to think
carefully about how to define success, look
beyond program activities to ultimate outcomes,
and review the availability and quality of
program data.  The strategic framework of
goals and objectives provides the Agency a
more structured way in which to discuss
priorities, the allocation of resources, and the
contributions of separate organizational
elements.  FY 1999 performance in particular
has provided the basis for identifying necessary
changes in annual goals and targets. It has also
led many Agency programs to reassess
strategies for meeting longer-term strategic
goals and objectives and to make the
adjustments that are reflected in this Strategic  .
Plan. We will have an even stronger basis for
such reassessments as we collect FY 2000
performance data and look ahead to our FY
2001 goals and targets.

Based on our FY 1999 performance, feedback.
on our Annual Plans and first Annual
Performance Report, and reassessment of our
strategic goals and objectives, EPA faces
several critical challenges:

•  Improving annual goals and strategic
   objectives so that a larger percentage
   address environmental outcomes, thus
   achieving a better balance of outputs,
   program outcomes, and environmental
   outcomes;

•  Continuing to assess whether the Agency's
   programs are measuring the right things and
   making the appropriate adjustments;
• Improving the use of our PBAA process as
  a management tool and as a vehicle for
  communicating with Congress and the
  public.

Meeting these challenges will require us to
continue our dialogue with partners and
stakeholders and to use their feedback to
improve our approaches. EPA is committed to
working hard over the  next several years to
address these challenges.

Measuring Results
A key aspect of results-based management is
setting meaningful performance measures:
measures of activities or results that can help
determine whether we  are making timely
progress toward our objectives. Since first
developing Agency-wide annual performance
goals and measures three years ago in our FY
 1999 Annual Performance Plan, EPA has made
significant improvements in the quality of our
goals and measures. More improvement is
needed, however, to develop additional
measures of programmatic or environmental
outcomes that can be used to evaluate our long-
term progress and the ultimate impact of
Agency activities on human health and the
environment.

Performance measures are often described as
being arrayed along a "continuum." At one end
 of the continuum are the numbers of actions
 taken by EPA and states, such as the number
 of reduced-risk pesticides that the Agency
 registers annually. These measures are
 generally referred to as "activity" or "output"
 measures.  Farther along the continuum are
 measures of intermediate results of EPA and
 state activities,  for example, the number of
 acres treated with reduced-risk pesticides.
 These measures are generally referred to as
 programmatic or "intermediate outcome"
 measures. At the furthest end of the
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Chapters: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Results
               continuum are measures of impacts on
               environmental quality, human health, or
               ecosystems, such as the occurrence of illnesses
               caused by pesticides in drinking water.  These
               measures are generally referred to as
               "environmental" or "end outcome" measures.

               At present, however, environmental outcome
               measures of performance are impractical or
               technically infeasible for some EPA and state
               programs and activities. For example, it is not
               always possible to obtain accurate information
               on environmental results without imposing
               unreasonable reporting burdens on states, local
               governments, or regulated entities. In other
               cases, the links between EPA activities and
               environmental results are indirect or gradual,
               requiring many years to take full effect.  As a
               result, it may not be feasible to link EPA
               activities during a specific year or years to
               specific environmental improvements. For
               example, because of the problems in measuring
               pollution that has been reduced or eliminated
               before entering the environment, it is technically
               difficult and resource intensive to develop
               measures for the Agency's pollution prevention
               programs.

               Nevertheless,  intermediate measures of
               outcomes,  such as measures of customer
               satisfaction, cost-effectiveness, or industry
 compliance can be developed and used to
 measure programmatic results. EPA is
 committed to improving the national information
 base on environmental quality and associated
 impacts on health and ecosystems by cataloging
 existing environmental data and advancing
 environmental monitoring efforts. As data are
 improved, EPA and states will continue our
 progress toward more outcome- or results-
 based measures of performance.  The Agency
 will have a continuing need to measure outputs,
 as they are an invaluable management tool and
 are frequently requested by external
 stakeholders. Thus it will continue to be
 important to employ a balance of measures
 along the continuum.

 Recognizing our need to increase the number of
 outcome or results-based goals and measures,
 EPA has initiated a variety of projects to
 improve performance measurement.  We have
 formed improvement work teams, conducted
workshops, and prepared special analyses to
support development of more outcome-oriented
goals and measures.  Some examples of our
ongoing work include: (1) development of a
National Performance Measurement Strategy,
which includes a plan to develop more
outcome-based performance goals and
measures (Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assistance);  (2) formation of a
      "best practices" work group, which has
      developed more outcome-oriented goals
      and measures (Office of International
      Activities); (3) ongoing analysis to
      identify and learn from results-based,
      research-related goals  and measures
      employed by other federal agencies
      (Office of Research and Development);
      (4) establishment of a work group  and
      cooperative agreement with Florida"
      State University to develop more
      outcome-focused goals and measures
      (Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and
      Toxic Substances); and (5)
      benchmarking of performance measures
      used by other agencies with functions
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                                            Chapters: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Resufts
similar to those of EPA's varied programs
(Office of the Chief Financial Officer).

An important subset of the Agency's
Government Performance and Results Act
(GPRA) performance goals  and measures—
and a particular focus of our work to improve
them—are the "core performance measures"
(CPMs), which have been negotiated with the
Environmental Council of the States through the
National Environmental Performance
Partnership System (NEPPS). (See Chapter 2,
"State Partnerships.")  CPMs are  a limited set
of the national measures designed to help gauge
EPA and state progress towards protection of
the environment and public health, and are an
important foundation for the data needed to
support EPA's GPRA objectives and annual
goals and measures. An estimated 25 percent
of CPMs currently reflect environmental
outcomes. While recognizing the continuing
need for output measures to help manage our
programs, EPA and the states are especially
committed to increasing significantly the ratio of
environmental outcome to output CPMs. Over
the long term, EPA will work with states to
develop outcome CPMs that reflect the impact
of our activities to improve the environment and
protect human health.

Assessing Benefits and Costs
In setting goals and developing specific policy
instruments to achieve these goals,  EPA uses
the best available science and economic
analysis. We make public policy decisions on
the basis of multiple criteria, including costs and
benefits, equity, institutional and legal feasibility,
 and risk tradeoffs. Benefit-cost analysis can be
used to inform decision makers and the public
 about the economic efficiency or  overall
 societal impact resulting from alternative
 environmental programs or policies.

 EPA is committed to analyzing the costs and
 benefits of major regulations as called for by
 Executive Order 12866 and law,  such as the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. When
Agency actions are expected to impose
significant costs on society, EPA conducts a
regulatory impact analysis of the costs, benefits,
and other anticipated economic impacts of the
action. To the extent permitted by law, such
analyses are used to inform regulatory option
selections and to adopt cost-effective
regulatory requirements. The Agency also
prepares economic analyses in other instances,
such as when statutes call for the preparation
of economic information to support regulatory
development processes.

EPA is also involved in integrated,
comprehensive benefit-cost assessments of
environmental programs, such as the recently
published benefit-cost analyses required by
Section 812 of the Clean Air Act Amendments
of 1990. The reports, "The Benefits and Costs
of the Clean Air Act, 1970-1990" and the
companion "The Benefits and Costs of the
Clean Air Act, 1990-2010," describe and
compare the environmental benefits from
reduced air pollution with the costs of pollution
control investments and their impact on
economic production. Both studies concluded
that the total benefits from investments in
environmental protection to achieve the goals of
the Clean Air Act have far exceeded the costs
over these two time periods. Similar efforts to
assess the benefits and costs of other programs
are planned or underway, and we expect the
results to contribute to the assessment of
 existing programs and assist in strategic
planning and priority setting.

 On an even larger scale, the Agency and the
 public have frequently cited data on the
 aggregate costs of all existing programs,
 represented, for example, in the 1990 EPA
 study, "Environmental Investments: The Cost of
 a Clean Environment." Although that report
 did not directly  estimate the costs to meet the
 specific goals in this Strategic Plan, the overall
 cost estimates provided a general indication of
 the magnitude of pollution control expenditures
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Chapters: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Results
               in the United States in the late 1980s and
               forecasted expenditures through the 1990s.
               The Commerce Department data collection
               program that produced the aggregate cost
               estimates in the report were discontinued in the
               mid-1990s. Recent efforts by the Census
               Bureau and EPA to renew collection efforts
               will assist in developing more current and
               complete reports of these costs, which should
               prove useful hi evaluating the economic impacts
               of EPA programs.

               Despite substantial efforts to perform economic
               analyses on a wide range of Agency programs,
               it remains difficult to articulate the full array of
               economic benefits that result from preventing
               and controlling pollution. For example, to
               evaluate the benefits of reaching an objective
               for decreased pollutant releases, one must
               document a complex sequence of analytic steps
               to arrive at an assessment of the impacts. In
               concept, the benefits of less pollution can be
               defined as improvements in human health and
               the environment, including reduced damage to
               plants, animals, and materials, and other quality-
               of-life attributes.

               Important prerequisites for estimating benefits
               include a clear scientific understanding of the
               linkage between an activity or condition and its
               effects on human health and the environment;
               scientifically based estimates of the incremental
               effects of these linkages,  such as dose-
               response relationships, expressed in forms
               compatible with economic analysis; and
               assessments of the value  of such effects to
               society. The assessments of risks from
               pollutants released to the environment, the
               measurement of the consequences to human
               and natural life exposed to these pollutants, and
               the quantification of the values associated with
               these changes are some of the challenges EPA
               faces in quantifying the benefits of achieving
               our goals. An analysis of benefits should cover
               the entire spectrum of benefits, from those that
               can be assigned a dollar value to those that can
               only be described qualitatively, and from those
 that are direct and immediate to those that are
 remote in distance or time.

 Consequently, in most cases, the benefits and
 costs of attaining the Agency's goals and
 objectives cannot be measured with precision.
 Existing information on costs and benefits of
 individual EPA regulations does not provide
 complete coverage of all of the actions needed
 to achieve the goals and objectives described in
 this Strategic Plan.  Many of the costs and
 benefits that may be associated with these
 goals and objectives are either very difficult to
 quantify or cannot be represented in monetary
 terms.

 Cognizant of these limitations, the Agency
 assesses benefit and cost information to the
 best of its ability and cautiously uses this
 information, when legally permitted, to inform
 regulatory decisions and other actions
 necessary to  achieve our goals and objectives.
 Over time, as better benefit and cost
 information becomes available, this information
 may also be used to influence EPA's objectives
 and numeric  targets.  The continuing process of
 information collection and analysis will serve
 both to refine Agency priorities and to inform
 the public about the results of EPA's programs.

 Using Program Evaluations
 Program evaluations provide EPA with an
 opportunity to examine cause and effect
 relationships  between program activities and
 program performance.  The Agency has
 undertaken a number of evaluation activities
 since publication of our 1997 Strategic Plan.
 This evaluation work, along with ongoing
 assessments of annual performance, has helped
 us assess our progress towards our strategic
 goals and objectives, identify strategies that are
 working and those that are not working, and
 change strategies where necessary.  Some key
program evaluations that have contributed to
the development of this Strategic Plan are
described below.
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                                            Chapters: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Results
Goal 1:  Clean Air
Over the past few years, the Agency has
conducted a number of evaluations of specific
air contaminants and program methods and
approaches under our Clean Air goal.

• Reformulated Gasoline (RFG)
  Evaluation: In December 1998, in
  response to growing concern about MTBE
  (methyl tertiary butyl ether) in drinking
  water, EPA's Administrator appointed a
  panel to examine benefits and concerns
  related to RFG, MTBE, and other
  oxygenates; identify data gaps; and evaluate
  alternatives based on their effects  on air
  quality, water quality, and stability of fuel
  supply and cost. The panel found that: (1)
  RFG has provided substantial reductions in
  the emissions of a number of air pollutants
  from motor vehicles; (2) MTBE is detected
  in approximately 5 to 10 percent of drinking
  water supplies in RFG areas showing
  detectable  amounts of MTBE; and (3) the
  major source of groundwater contamination
  appears to be releases from underground
  gasoline storage systems.  To address these
  issues, the panel recommended the following
   actions:
  	Improve the nation's water protection
       programs;
  —  Reduce the use of MTBE substantially
       and request that Congress provide clear
       federal and state authority to  regulate
       and/or eliminate the use of MTBE and
       other gasoline additives; and
   —  Ensure that there is no loss of current
       air quality benefits.
   On March 24, 2000, EPA published an
   "Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking"
   of EPA's intent to initiate rulemaking
   pursuant to Section 6 of the Toxic
   Substances Control Act to eliminate or limit
   the use of MTBE as a fuel additive.
Evaluation of Particulate Matter
Monitoring: The General Accounting
Office (GAO) August 27, 1999 report,
"EPA's Actions  to Resolve Concerns with
the Fine Particulate Monitoring Program,"
focuses on two  main areas of the particulate
matter monitoring program: (1) EPA's
response to a March 31, 1998 report by the
National Academy of Sciences, and (2)
issues encountered by state and local
agencies in implementing the program.
GAO's conclusions emphasize  the need for
more complete field testing of speciation
samplers prior to deployment. The
speciation samplers will help provide a
picture of which sources are contributing
which components to ambient air and will
help identify the sources of secondarily-
formed particles. The information will be
crucial for states to be able to develop less
costly control measures.

Redesign of Air Monitoring:  In response
to anticipated decreases in monitoring
resources and the growing need for
monitoring of ambient air (e.g., air toxics),
EPA is evaluating its current air monitoring
networks and future needs. The purpose is
to obtain information that will inform the
development of an integrated ambient air
monitoring strategy that will address
resources, technologies, and logistics for
monitoring all air contaminants over the long
term. The evaluation is expected to be
complete by mid-2001.

Evaluation of Prevention  of Significant
Deterioration (PSD):  The Agency has
evaluated approximately 300 PSD permits
issued over the last few years to examine
the extent to which best available control
determinations for similar source types have
been nationally consistent and to attempt to
quantify the added benefit of the PSD
requirements in terms of air pollution
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Chapters: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Results
                  prevented from release to the environment.
                  The evaluation is expected to be completed
                  by mid-2001, and the Agency plans to use
                  the results of the evaluation to make
                  recommendations about whether corrective
                  action is warranted.

                  Mobile Source Emission Factor Model:
                  In 1998, in response to a request from
                  Congress, the National Research Council
                  established a committee to evaluate and
                  develop recommendations for improving
                  EPA's mobile source emissions factor model
                  (MOBILE). MOBILE is an EPA-
                  developed model that is used by
                  environmental and transportation agencies
                  for estimating emissions from on-road motor
                  vehicles for air quality planning purposes. In
                  2000, the committee issued its report, which
                  included a number of recommendations for
                  improving the MOBILE model and the
                  overall process for estimating mobile source
                  emissions.  EPA is taking the
                  recommendations into consideration as it
                  develops a new MOBILE model, which
                  should be ready for use in 2001.
 Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water
 Over the past year, EPA made significant
 progress in enhancing its use of program
 evaluations to improve program performance
 under Goal 2. We inventoried current program
 evaluation activities and developed a strategy
 that outlines specific goals, objectives, and
 principles for conducting priority program
 evaluations in the future.

 •  Improving Data  Quality in the Safe
   Drinking Water Information System
   (SDWIS):  In FY 1998 and 1999, in
   response to concerns identified through
   internal audits and by external stakeholders,
   EPA and its partners developed an SDWIS
   evaluation and action plan for improving data
   quality. A data quality assessment, which
   included a review of three years of data
   verification audits covering 27 states,
   identified significant gaps in the compliance
   data that states report through SDWIS.
   EPA and its partners devised a Data
   Reliability Action Plan, which sets a data
   quality goal, identifies activities to establish a
   quantitative and qualitative data quality
   baseline, and lists interim actions to improve
   data quality.  The group made a number of
   recommendations to be implemented now
   and in the future:  (1) increase training for
   states on how to determine compliance with
   drinking water regulations and how to enter
   data correctly in SDWIS, (2) increase
   frequency and follow up of data verification
   audits, (3) improve the readability of reports
   on SDWIS data entry errors so that
   managers can use the reports as tools to
   improve data quality, (4) have states  issue
   annual reminders to their utilities of sampling
   requirements, and (5) streamline future
   reporting requirements.

•  Effectiveness of the National Estuary
   Program (NEP):  The key objective  of this
   FY 1999 NEP evaluation was to determine
   whether the NEP  approach has been
 ,  effective in managing the nation's estuaries
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                                           Chapter 3: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Results
  and what elements of the approach could be
  applied to other community-based
  environmental protection efforts. Major
  findings showed that the NEP approach
  benefits and improves the management of
  estuaries and  their resources and that EPA
  can improve program success by gaming
  more local funding for implementation and
  by developing an improved structure for
  monitoring environmental progress.

• Water Quality Standards (WQSs) Process:
  The water program's highest-priority
  program evaluation, expected to be
  completed in FY 2000, is a thorough
  evaluation of the WQSs decision-making
  process. As WQSs are the foundation of
  state and tribal water resource management
  programs, improvements in the development,
  revision, and tracking of state and tribal
  WQSs are a critical component of
  demonstrating progress toward clean and
  safe water.

Examples of potential, future program
evaluations that will contribute to our
assessment of our progress under Goal 2
include:

 • An evaluation of the state "Rotating Basin
  Approach" to watershed management. The
   analysis could include linkages to the
  National Water Quality Inventory Report
   305(b), which is the primary vehicle for
   informing Congress and the public about
   general water quality conditions in the
   United States; monitoring and assessment
   methodologies; and a comparative analysis
   of the successful state approaches.
   (Projected time frame:  FY 2001)

 •  An evaluation of state and tribal
   implementation of the Underground Injection
   Control Program.  (Projected time frame:
   FY2001)

 •  A thorough analysis of successful means to
   implement actions identified in state and
  tribal Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL)
  plans for impaired bodies of water.
  (Projected time frame: FY 2003)

Goal 3: Safe Food
EPA's progress in achieving Goal 3 has been,
and continues to be, evaluated and guided by an
array of outside groups. These groups provide
advice to the Agency on specific pesticide
issues, such as risks from particular pesticides,
as well as on general policy issues, such as
emerging science policies related to the Food
Quality Protection Act (FQPA). The groups
include:

• FIFRA  Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP):
  The SAP is a scientific peer review body
  composed of experts who represent the
  disciplines of toxicology, pathology,
  environmental biology, and related sciences.
  The SAP has played an instrumental role in
   evaluating some of the Agency's science-
  based decisions under Goal 3.

• EPA-U.S. Department of Agriculture
   (USDA) Committee  to Advise on
   Reassessment and Transition:  This
   committee is a successor to the Tolerance
   Reassessment Advisory Committee. It is
   being established to provide a forum for
   stakeholders to evaluate EPA and USDA
   processes and decisions relating to tolerance
   reassessment under FQPA.

 •  The Pesticide Program Dialogue
   Committee: This committee identifies and
   evaluates the technical and economic
   feasibility of proposed changes to EPA's
   policies and procedures to reduce the
   potential risks posed by pesticides.

 •  State-Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
   Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Issues Research
   and Evaluation Group:  This group
   identifies, analyzes, and evaluates EPA
   positions on pesticide registration,
   enforcement, training and certification,

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Chapters: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Results
                 water quality, disposal, and other areas of
                 environmental concern related to pesticide
                 manufacture, use, and disposal.

               In addition, GAO has provided several useful
               studies of EPA's pesticides program, including
               reports on reducing exposure to residues of
               canceled pesticides, the pesticides reregistration
               program, and general food safety.

               Goal 4: Preventing Pollution  and Reducing
               Risk in Communities, Homes, Workplaces,
               and Ecosystems
               Under Goal 4, EPA evaluated one of its key
               programs addressing a very high-risk
               contaminant—radon. EPA has also examined
               the connections between municipal solid waste
               and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, we
               are assessing our environmental accounting
               project and the pollution prevention grants
               program.

               •  Critical Elements of the Radon Program:
                 In FY 1999, the Agency evaluated radon
                 program performance to identify the most
                 effective elements of the program. We
                 found that public interest in radon was still
                 high and that the program was still getting
                 significant results (more than 50,000
                 mitigations per year and more than 200,000
                 new homes built with radon-resistant
                 techniques). This effort, Radon 2000, has
                 resulted in a more streamlined radon
                 program, more clearly articulated goals, and
                 more strategically focused activities.  For
                 example, EPA determined that our public
                 service announcements (PSAs) and
                 consumer help lines were critical to public
                 awareness and highly valued by our regional
                 offices and state counterparts.  Less critical,
                 but important, were partnerships with
                 nonprofit organizations.  In addition, we
                 reviewed and strengthened our relationships
                 with state radon programs. We continue to
                 track one aspect of-the effectiveness of our
                 radon media campaign by assessing how
                 often EPA's PSAs are broadcast and
 comparing the value of this donated time to
 the cost of these announcements. We also
 track the relationship between the airing of
 PSAs and increases in the numbers  of calls
 to the radon hotline from the areas where
 the PSAs are shown.  Moreover, by
 evaluating our radon media campaign, the
 Agency has determined that investing in
 focus group testing of the announcements
 produces much stronger and more effective
 advertising.  These lessons will help us
 sharpen the effectiveness of our media
 education campaigns  over the next several
 years. According to our data, if the  number
 of actions people take to test and mitigate
 high levels of radon in their homes and the
 number of builders who voluntarily build
 homes with radon-resistant construction
 techniques continue to rise, then we  may be
 able to draw some conclusions about the
 impact of media campaigns on these
 voluntary risk reduction activities.

 The EPA  Environmental Accounting
 Project (EAP): This project is intended to
 encourage industry to  understand the full
 spectrum of environmental costs and to
 integrate them into decision making.  An
 evaluation design commissioned by EAP
 recommended reworking aspects of EPA's
 program to facilitate its evaluation.
 Recommended changes to the program
 include incorporating approaches for
 performance  measurement.

 Environmental Justice through the
 Pollution  Prevention  Grants Program:
 EPA is assessing the pollution prevention
 grants program to help us identify
 successful, promising approaches to
 preventing or reducing pollution from
 sources located in or near disadvantaged
 communities. Preliminary indications are
 that this program, which provides seed
 money and assistance to help disadvantaged
 communities build their capacity to prevent
pollution, has been effective. In coming
          EPA Strategic Plan

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                                           ChapterS: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Results
  years, EPA will focus on
  applying the innovative
  approaches we have
  identified, such as the pollution
  prevention curriculum that
  Working Capital developed,
  tested, and incorporated into
  their small business loan
  program, or the wind power
  generator that the Lower
  Sioux tribal community uses to
  reduce air emissions.

• WasteWise:  Waste Wise is a
  voluntary partnership program
  through which businesses,
  governments, and institutions reduce
  waste—benefiting their bottom lines and the
  environment. Since the program began in
  1994, WasteWise partners have reduced
  volumes of municipal solid waste by more
  than 26 million tons and, in 1998 alone, saved
  an estimated $264 million in avoided disposal
  fees and purchasing costs. In 1998, EPA
  published Greenhouse  Gas Emissions from
  Management of Selected Materials in
  Municipal Solid Waste, which presented
  evaluations of commonly applied methods of
  municipal solid waste management.

 • Forum  of State and Tribal Toxics Action
  (FOSTTA):  EPA meets frequently with
  FOSTTA to receive feedback from state
  and tribal toxic program offices on our
  programs.

 Goal 5: Better Waste Management,
 Restoration of Contaminated Waste Sites,
 and Emergency Response
 In response to program developments,
 stakeholder concerns, and external audits, EPA
 is evaluating and improving our emergency
 response and waste management programs.
 Some of our more significant assessment and
 improvement activities address cost-benefit
 analysis, implementation of Superfund reforms,
implementation of RCRA reforms, and
management of the oil spill prevention program:

•  Cost-Benefit Analysis:  Recognizing the
   need for improved quantitative and
   qualitative information, EPA is currently
   developing a framework for improving its
   ability to characterize and communicate
   risks, benefits, and costs (including
   environmental, health, and other human
   welfare benefits). We have identified a set
   of generic benefit and cost attributes which
   reflect a broad range of categories that
   might apply across waste management
   programs.  The underground storage tank
   (UST) cleanup and Resource Conservation
   and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous
   waste management and minimization
   programs have been selected as pilot studies
   for the practical application of these
   attributes.  For the UST cleanup program,
   the focus is on developing two sets of
   methods, one describing retrospective
   benefits and costs likely to have accrued
   between implementation of the program and
   the present time and the other estimating
   future benefits and costs through 2005. For
   RCRA, the emphasis is on describing
   retrospective benefits and costs.
                                                                          EPA Strategic Plan

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Chapters: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Results
                 Superfund Reforms:  EPA has established
                 several groups which review and evaluate
                 Superfund reforms to ensure efficient,
                 effective implementation. These include:

                 —  The National Remedy Review Board:
                     Established in 1996, the Board reviews
                     and analyzes proposed site-specific
                     cleanup strategies.  The Board's goals
                     are to improve national consistency in
                     Superfund remedy selection; improve
                     remedy cost-effectiveness; confirm that
                     decision making at high cost sites is
                     technically sound; and ensure that
                     decisions are in accordance with
                     current law, regulations, and guidance.
                     Through FY 1999, the Board reviewed
                     43 cleanup decisions, with estimated
                     savings of over $70 million.

                 —  The National Risk-Based Priority
                     Panel:  Established in 1995, the Panel
                     evaluates risk at NPL sites as part of
                     the process to establish priorities in site
                     cleanup. Through FY 1999, the Panel
                     evaluated 75 projects valued in excess
     of $300 million. Of these, 35 projects
     were funded in accordance with the
     Panel's recommendations.

RCRA Corrective Action:  During 2000,
EPA will publish A Study of the
Implementation  of the RCRA Corrective
Action Program. This report  analyzes data
from facilities where interim or final
remedies have been selected and presents
national findings regarding the nature and
extent of contamination at these sites, the
process through which corrective action was
implemented at these sites, and the remedial
alternatives selected at these sites. These
findings will be used to support future
regulatory and guidance initiatives and to
enhance the Agency's overall understanding
of how the program is being implemented in
EPA regions and states.

RCRA Data:  WIN/INFORMED (Waste
Information Needs/Information Needs for
Making Environmental Decisions) is a joint
effort between EPA and its state partners to
reassess and improve information
           EPA Strategic Plan

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                                            Chapter 3: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Results
   management within RCRA hazardous waste
   programs.  The goals of this initiative are to
   improve data quality and meet the needs of
   EPA, states, tribes, and public and private
   sector customers for timely and accurate
   information about hazardous waste
   management; provide improved access to
   hazardous waste information; and reduce
   the burden on data providers. In FY 1999,
   EPA published a final report on the WIN/
   INFORMED program evaluation, which
   included key findings and recommendations
   for data collection, information systems
   requirements, and business process
   improvements for national program
   management.

•  Spill Prevention Control Center:  In FY
   1999, EPA conducted a national review of
   its Oil Spill Program to identify the
   program's most effective components and
   share the most promising innovations
   underway.  The review highlighted an
   innovative enforcement approach to identify
   and correct low-level spills within an
   expedited time frame of 30 to 60 days.  The
   program review found that a pilot
   demonstration of this approach significantly
   increased both enforcement and
   compliance.  EPA is now considering this
   approach for national implementation efforts
   in FY 2000 and 2001.

Goal 6:  Reduction of Global and Cross-
Border Environmental Risks
The Agency has conducted several evaluations
of our Goal 6 activities, including:

• Assessment of Border XXI:  The U.S./
   Mexico binational indicators initiative
   identifies commonU.S./Mexico
   environmental evaluation measures in media
   and thematic categories. A primary tool for
   assessing progress under the binational
   framework for U.S./Mexico border
   cooperation on the environment, the update
of indicator information will be released by
the end of 2000. An assessment of Border
XXI was also carried.out by the Good
Neighbor Environmental Board (a federal
advisory committee reporting to Congress
and EPA) as well as by its Mexican
counterpart. In addition, in 2000, GAO
reported on Agency activities supporting the
development of environmental infrastructure
in the border area.  EPA has also received
considerable input from the U.S. and
Mexican border states.  All of these
assessments will inform the outreach effort
EPA will initiate in 2000 toward
development of a new binational plan for
cooperation on the border environment.

Best Practices in Capacity Building:
Based on experience in designing,
implementing, and measuring the success of
its international capacity-building programs,
EPA has developed a set of best practices
for application in its bilateral involvements.
These best practices include criteria for
determining EPA involvement in a program;
guidelines for selecting, designing,
implementing, monitoring, and evaluating
projects under this program; and a
methodology, including generic performance
indicators, for measuring the effectiveness
of the program under the Government
Performance and Results Act (GPRA).
The practices emphasize the establishment
of baseline conditions in partner countries
where the work is being carried out.  EPA is
now using the best practices in developing
new programs, such as the Agency's
microbiologically safe drinking water
initiative for Central America (in connection
with Hurricane Mitch Relief) and Africa.
The practice of determining baseline
conditions in partner countries will be
integral to the successful implementation of
our new trade and environment project,
"The Partnership for Trade and Environment
Capacity Building."
                                                                          EPA Strategic Plan

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Chapters: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Results
               Goal 7: Quality Environmental Information
               During the past seven years, EPA's information
               programs have undergone numerous internal
               and external evaluations. In all cases, the
               Agency has reviewed the conclusions of these
               program evaluations and has implemented
               recommendations or developed processes to
               evaluate recommended improvements as part
               of a larger program improvement initiative.
               Some examples include the following:

               • Ensuring Data Quality:  In a continued
                 effort to address information management
                 issues and improve data quality, in April
                  1998,  EPA's Deputy Administrator issued a
                 memorandum calling for the development of
                 a strategic action plan to implement an
                 Agency-wide approach to ensuring the
                 quality of data in EPA's information systems.
                 As part of developing the Data Quality
                 Strategic Plan, an Agency-wide work group
                 conducted analyses of errors in EPA data
                 and the challenges associated with
                 developing an error correction system
                 integrated across EPA. The Plan identifies
                 and characterizes fundamental factors that
                 may cause or contribute to errors and other
                 discrepancies in EPA data systems and
                 makes recommendations for error
                 prevention and an error correction process
                 for Agency-wide implementation. EPA is
                 using the recommendations from this internal
                 evaluation effort as the starting point for a
                 new strategy to address data quality issues
                 Agency-wide.

               •  Challenges Facing the Office  of
                 Environmental Information  (OEI):  In
                 September 1999, GAO released a report
                 entitled, Environmental Protection:  EPA is
                  Taking Important Steps to Improve
                 Information Management,  but Challenges
                 Remain.  This report discusses  EPA's recent
                  information-related initiatives and the major
                 management challenges facing EPA's new
OEI.  The report recommends that EPA
take steps to ensure that its environmental
and regulatory data are sufficiently
complete, compatible, and accurate.
Specifically, the report stated that EPA's
ability to evaluate the outcomes of its
programs in terms of changes in the
environment is limited by gaps and
inconsistencies in data. GAO concluded
that EPA's program offices will have to
overcome difficulties in establishing cause-
and-effect relationships between program
activities and environmental outcomes, a
lack of reliable baseline data against which
to measure progress, and constraints on the
resources for gathering and analyzing the
data.  This report suggested that creating
OEI would help to address these obstacles.
GAO's recommendation was that the
Administrator direct OEI to develop an
action plan that details the key steps the
Agency needs to take to ensure that our
environmental and regulatory data are
sufficiently complete, compatible,  and
accurate to meet our needs. OEI will begin
work to develop a long-term Information
Plan for the Agency.

Improve Information Security: In FY
2000, GAO completed a comprehensive
assessment of EPA's information security
program. We have worked closely with
GAO  to address the identified vulnerabilities.
We have developed a security network that
meets industry standards, while preserving
our need to maintain electronic connections
with others, and significantly strengthened
the security of our systems Agency-wide.
The Agency is continuing to work with
GAO  and the EPA Office of the Inspector
General to evaluate and improve our
security program, and we are training our
staff to be vigilant about rapidly changing
security vulnerabilities.
            EPA Strategic Plan

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                                            Chapter 3: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Results
Goal 8: Sound Science, Improved
Understanding of Environmental Risk, and
Greater Innovation to Address
Environmental Problems
EPA continues to evaluate the quality and
relevance of its research programs.  Under
Goal 8, we have conducted evaluations of
several innovative pilot projects that cut a9ross
Agency programs:

• Research Evaluations: First, research
  proposals received in response to requests
  for applications undergo a rigorous external
  peer review.  Second, the EPA Board of
  Scientific Counselors has evaluated the
  Agency's science and engineering research
  programs, laboratories, and research
  management practices and recommended
  actions to improve their quality and
  relevance to the mission of EPA. In
  addition, the Board has evaluated and
  provided advice on the use of peer review in
  the Agency's research programs to enhance
  the quality of science at EPA.

• Assessment of the Common Sense
  Initiative Program: In 1998, EPA
  conducted an independent, third-party
  review of the 4-year Common Sense
  Initiative (CSI) to assess the extent to which
  CSI met its goals and to determine what
  was gained from the sector-based, multi-
  stakeholder, and consensus aspects of the
  Initiative. The study concluded that CSI
  was extremely productive in terms of the
  projects developed and recommendations
  submitted to the Agency for action. The
  study also showed that the pace at which
  CSI recommendations were developed and
  projects implemented had increased over
  that reported in an earlier study.

• Evaluation of Sector-Based Projects:
  Three new sector-based project evaluations
  are currently underway.  EPA is evaluating
  the implementation phase of the Metal
  Finishing Strategic Goals Program to assess
  how that process has worked and to provide
  guidance to other sectors seeking to
  implement sector-wide stewardship
  approaches with performance incentive
  tracks. We will apply our findings to
  implement future programs more quickly and
  cost-effectively.  The Agency is also
  developing and measuring sector
  measurement tools to help quantify the
  environmental and economic outcomes of
  sector programs without imposing additional
  reporting requirements. Finally, EPA is
  developing a project to evaluate the links
  between sector program outputs and the
  Agency's goals to determine whether and
  how sector programs advance the Agency's
  mission

Goal 9: A Credible Deterrent to Pollution
and Greater Compliance with the Law
EPA uses both formal and informal approaches
to evaluate the effectiveness of its enforcement
and compliance assurance program.  Methods
range from a formal process of evaluating
regional, state, and tribal performance to the
use of stakeholder meetings to solicit views on
effectiveness. These  efforts include:

• Stakeholder Review of Enforcement and
  Compliance Program: This effort
  examined the overall performance of the
  Agency's enforcement and compliance
  program through two program review
  conferences involving a wide range of
  stakeholders. The conferences elicited the
  views of participants on how EPA can
  improve public health and the environment
  through compliance efforts. Agency
  responses to stakeholder input include
  commitments to develop a national
  clearinghouse of compliance assistance
  materials, an annual compliance assistance
  plan, and compliance assistance tools for
  major new regulations.
                                                                          EPA Strategic Plan

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Chapters: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Results
               • Impacts and Effectiveness of Compliance
                 Policy: EPA reviewed the performance of
                 key compliance policies to determine
                 whether they achieved the desired results.
                 We evaluated the impact of our Audit Policy
                 and the Small Business Policy and funded an
                 independent evaluation of the effectiveness
                 of state audit policies to determine the extent
                 of use and the level of satisfaction of those
                 who have used them.  For example, in a
                 voluntary, anonymous survey of 252
                 disclosing entities, 88 percent of the
                 responding entities stated that they would
                 use the EPA Audit Policy again, and 84
                 percent would recommend the Audit Policy
                 to clients or counterparts.

               • Coordination with States on Clean Air
                 Act:  The Office of the Inspector General
                 evaluated EPA's Clean Air Act compliance
                 and enforcement program and found that
                 EPA and states need to develop a common
                 understanding of the definition of a
                 "significant violator" and actions required of
                 the states when dealing with significant
                 violators. Following extensive coordination
                 with the states, EPA issued new guidance
                 that resolves these issues and aims to
                 improve implementation of the Clean Air
                 Act enforcement and compliance program
                 by both EPA and the states.

               • New Program Element Reviews:  EPA is
                 currently evaluating our activities to carry
                 out the implementation, enforcement, and
                 compliance provisions of the Federal
                 Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
                 (FIFRA) Worker Protection Standard
                 (WPS). We are assessing WPS program
                 implementation through surveys, file
                 reviews, and interviews. Through this
                 evaluation, EPA will develop a national
                 picture of the strengths and weaknesses of
                 this program, so that changes can be made
                 to improve its effectiveness. This is the first
                 in a series of "Program Element Reviews"
                 to be conducted by EPA. We expect to
                 select one or two new "program elements"

            EPA Strategic Plan
   (an enforcement compliance program or
   portion of a program) to review each year.

Goal 10: Effective Management
EPA routinely assesses and evaluates the
performance of the Agency's management
services, systems, policies, and processes.
Each year, we conduct management
effectiveness and oversight reviews and study
our planning, budgeting, analysis, and
accountability processes as well as our
financial, contracts, grants, human resources,
and facility services. Based on the results of
these assessments, EPA may change or refine
policies and procedures, improve oversight and
monitoring, enhance training, and revamp and
streamline systems  and procedures. Examples
include:

•  Reviews of Management Grant
   Effectiveness:  In 1997, each of EPA's
   program and regional offices conducted
   Management Effectiveness  Reviews to
   evaluate grants management, focusing on
   pre-award assistance, award procedures,
   and training efforts and on post-award
   monitoring, closeout, and property -
   management. To determine individual office
   progress since the FY 1997 review, each
   office conducted another Management
   Effectiveness Review during FY 1999. The
   FY 1999 review  addressed the findings from
   the 1997 review  and assessed the office's
   efforts in one of five areas:  pre-award
   negotiations, post-award monitoring,
   closeouts, statutory authority, and Senior
   Resource Official review levels. The results
   of these reviews  will assist EPA in assessing
   nationwide progress in implementing post-
   award management activities and identifying
   further actions needed to strengthen post-
   award grants management.  One major
   outgrowth of evaluation efforts is the
   Grantee Compliance Assistance Initiative.
   This initiative will improve grantee post-
   award performance by focusing attention on
   post-award monitoring, especially on-site
   visits, and encourage continuous

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                                          Chapter 3: Assessing Our Work and Learning from Our Results
improvement both in the quality and number
of post-award efforts.

Benchmarking Financial Management:
EPA benchmarked its major financial
management functions against those of
public and private sector organizations,
including industry top performers. In
comparison with other organizations, EPA
devotes a smaller percentage of its
workforce to financial management.
However, EPA's financial management
systems costs are higher than public and
private sector averages.  EPA plans to
reduce management overhead costs of our
major financial and payroll systems. We will
implement a new payroll system that
reduces processing costs and customer
burden and initiate a long-term solution for
the replacement and integration of the
Agency's financial management system.
Conclusion
EPA's experience over the last several years
demonstrates the usefulness of the evaluation
and assessment tools outlined in this chapter. If
we are to succeed over the next five years in
meeting the important health and environmental
goals we have outlined in this Strategic Plan, it
is critical that we continue to  assess our work
and learn from our results. We intend to do so
by (1) holding senior mangers accountable for
results as we carry out the Agency's new
PBAA management approach, (2) regularly
incorporating what we learn from our annual
progress into our next year's planning and
budgeting, (3) improving the way we measure
short- and long-term results, (4) accurately
assessing the benefits and costs of our
activities, and (5) evaluating programs to help
us improve our approaches and ensure that
EPA programs are as effective as possible.
                                                                        EPA Strategic Plan

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                                      Appendix A: Congressional, Partner, and Stakeholder Consultation
                                      idix A:
                                         ssional,  Partner, and
                                        older Consultation
The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) requires federal agencies to consult with
Congress and to solicit and consider the views and suggestions of other entities potentially affected
by or interested in their strategic plans.

EPA's ongoing consultation with Congress began in Fall 1999. As part of the consultation process,
we provided our draft strategic planning framework—our mission statement, goals, and objec-
tives—to Congress on March 9, 2000. On March 10, 2000, Agency staff met with House and
Senate staff, under the auspices of the House GPRA Implementation Team, to discuss our draft
strategic planning framework and process for developing our Strategic Plan. On June 5, 2000, we
provided Members and Congressional staff with the full-text draft Strategic Plan.  EPA met with
Senate staff (hosted by the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs) on August 8, 2000, to
discuss issues arising from their review of the full-text draft.  We provided the draft strategic
planning framework and full-text draft to the following Members and staff:
                           Members
House of Representatives
Honorable Dan Burton
Honorable John Dingell
Honorable Ralph Hall
Honorable Stephen Horn
Honorable George Miller
Honorable Alan B. Mollohan
Honorable James Oberstar
Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner
Honorable Pete Sessions
Honorable Bud Shuster
Honorable Jim Turner
Honorable James T. Walsh
Honorable Henry Waxman
Honorable Don Young
Senate

Honorable Max Baucus
Honorable Jeff Bingaman
Honorable Christopher S. Bond
Honorable Michael Enzi
Honorable Bob Graham
Honorable Ernest F. Rollings
Honorable James M. Inhofe
Honorable Frank Lautenberg
Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman
Honorable John McCain
Honorable Barbara A. Mikulski
Honorable Frank Murkowski
Honorable Robert C. Smith
Honorable Fred Thompson
                                                                      EPA Strategic Plan

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Appendix A: Congressional, Partner, and Stakeholder Consultation
                                         Committee Staff
               House of Representatives
               Appropriations
               Commerce
               Government Reform
               Resources
               Science
               Transportation and Infrastructure
Senate

Appropriations
Commerce, Science and Transportation
Energy and Natural Resources
Environment and Public Works
Governmental Affairs
               EPA also sought the views and perspectives of its partners and stakeholders.  We provided a draft
               of the Agency's mission statement, goals, and objectives and the full-text draft of the Strategic Plan
               to the organizations listed below for review and comment.  In addition, the Agency's National
               Program Managers and regional offices worked directly with constituents on specific issues or
               interests. To allow for broader public comment, we also made these documents available on the
               Internet. The comments we received as a result of the Internet posting have allowed us to identify
               additional groups that can provide important insights into the Agency's work, including People for
               the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Humane Society of the United States, and the Doris Day
               Animal League.

               EPA consulted extensively with our state partners, beginning in Summer 1999 and continuing
               through completion of the Plan.  In partnership with the Environmental Council of the States
               (ECOS), EPA worked closely with the states to review draft documents and develop revisions to
               the Plan. EPA staff participated in a series of meetings with ECOS members to discuss the draft
               mission statement, goals, and objectives and the full-text draft. EPA is confident that this Strategic
               Plan better reflects the essential contribution of our state partners as a result of this work.

               Similarly, EPA has closely engaged our tribal partners in our Strategic Plan revision process. The
               tribes were provided opportunities to review our draft documents and to work with the Agency in
               revising the Plan. As a result, this Plan better reflects the importance of work that needs to be
               done in Indian country and the significant role of our tribal partners.

               State and  Local Governments

               Association of State Drinking Water Administrators
               Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators
               Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
               Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials
               Environmental Council of the States (ECOS)
               National Association of the State Departments of Agriculture
               State FIFRA Issues Research and Evaluation Group
               State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators/Association of Local Ah- Pollution
                Control Officials
            EPA Strategic Plan

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                                       Appendix A: Congressional, Partner, and Stakeholder Consuftaf ion
IMbal Governments

National Tribal Environmental Council
Tribal Association for Solid Waste and
 Emergency Response
Tribal Caucus
Tribal Pesticide Program Council

Other Federal Agencies

Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Education
Department of Energy
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Housing and Urban
 Development
Department of the Interior
Department of Justice
Department of Labor
Department of State
Department of Transportation
Department of the Treasury
Department of Veteran Affairs

Army Corps of Engineers
Bureau of Land Management
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Fish and Wildlife Service
Food and Drug Administration
General Services Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
 Administration
National Science Foundation
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Office of Personnel Management
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Small Business Administration
Social Security Administration
Tennessee Valley Authority
U.S. Agency for International Development
U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Information Agency
Business, Industry and
Public Policy Organizations

Business Roundtable
Center for Regulatory Effectiveness
Chemical Manufacturers of America
Coalition for Effective Environmental
  Information
Corporate Environmental Enforcement Council
Council for Excellence in Government
Friday Forum
National Academy of Public Administration
National Association of Schools of Public
 Affairs and Administration
National Federation of Independent Businesses
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Environmental and Public Interest Groups

American Farmland Trust
American Lung Association
American Oceans Campaign
American Public Health Association
American Rivers
Center for International Environmental Law
Center for Marine Conservation
Children's Defense Fund
Clean Water Action
Clean Water Network
Defenders of Wildlife
EarthJustice Legal Defense Fund
Environmental Defense
Environmental Law Institute
Environmental Working Group
Friends of the Earth
Greenpeace
National Audubon Society
National Environmental Trust
National Fish and Wildlife Council
National Pollution Prevention Roundtable
National Resources Council of America
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resources Defense Council
Nature Conservancy
OMB Watch
Resources for the Future
River Network
Sierra Club
Union of Concerned Scientists
                                                                        EPA Strategic Plan

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Appendix A: Congressional, Partner, and Stakeholder Consultation

               U.S. Public Interest Research Group
               Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Council
               World Resources Institute
               World Wildlife Fund

               Science and Research

               Alfred P. Sloane Foundation
               American Chemistry Council
               Chemical Industry Institute of Technology
               G.E. Energy and Environmental Research
                Corporation
               Historically Black Colleges and Universities
               Institute for Advanced Study
               National Association for State Universities and
                Land Grant Colleges
               National Research Council
               Nelson Institute of Environmental Medicine,
                NYU School of Medicine
               University of Delaware
           EPA Strategic Plan

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                         Appendix B: Coordination Between EPA and Other Federal Agencies
                         ndix B:
                          1'nation Between EPA
                          ther Federal Agencies
The chart on the next page identifies, for each of EPA's goals, areas of continued
cooperation and coordination between EPA and other federal agencies.
                                                 EPA Strategic Plan

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Appendix B: Coordination Between EPA and Other Federal Agencies


Agriculture
Army Corps of Engineers
Commerce
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Defense
Education
Energy
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Emergency Management Agency
General Services Administration
Health and Human Services
Housing and Urban Development
Interior
Justice
Labor
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Science Foundation
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Small Business Administration
State
Transportation
Treasury
Tennessee Valley Authority
U.S. Agency for International Development
U.S. Trade Representative
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                                          Appendix C: Statutory and Other Authorities forEPA's Goafs
                                      dix C:
                                       ry  and Other
                                      ities  for  EPA's Goals
GoaM: Clean Air

Objective 1
Clean Air Act (CAA) (42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q);
Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA);
Indian Environmental General Assistance
Program Act; Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA); Treaties with Indian
Tribes; Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
(15 U.S.C. 2601-2692)
Objective 2
CAA, CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA
Objective 3
CAA, TSCA

Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water

Objective 1
Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA);
Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. 1251-
1387); Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA); Marine Protection,
Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) (33
U.S.C. 1401-1445); Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA); Safe Drinking
Water Act (SDWA) (42 U.S.C. 300f-300j-26);
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) (15
U.S.C. 2601-2692)
Objective 2
CERCLA, CWA, RCRA, TSCA, Great Lakes
Water Quality Agreement Treaties with Indian
Tribes, 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Objective 3
Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q),
CERCLA, CWA, MPRSA, RCRA, TSCA

Goal 3: Safe Food

Objective 1
Food Quality Protection Act/Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FQPA/FFDCA),
section 408 (21 U.S.C. 346a); Federal Insecti-
cide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
(7 U.S.C. 136-136y); World Trade Organization
Agreements

Objective 2
FQPA/FFDCA, section 408 (21 U.S.C. 346a);
FIFRA, World Trade Organization Agreements
                                                                   EPA Strategic Plan

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Appendix C: Statutory and Other Authorities forEPA's Goals
              Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and
              Reducing Risk in Communities,
              Homes, Workplaces, and
              Ecosystems
              Objective 1
              Food Quality Protection Acl/Federal Food,
              Drag, and Cosmetic Act (FQPA/FFDCA),
              section 408 (21 U.S.C. 346a); Federal Insecti-
              cide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
              (7 U.S.C. 136-136y)
              Objective 2
              Clean Air Act (CAA); Comprehensive Envi-
              ronmental Response, Compensation, and .
              Liability Act (CERCLA) (42 U.S.C. 9601-
              9675); Clean Water Act (CWA); Marine
              Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act
              (MPRSA); Resource Conservation and Recov-
              ery Act (RCRA); Safe Drinking Water Act
              (SDWA) (42 U.S.C. 300f-300j-26); Toxic
              Substances Control Act (TSCA) (15 U.S.C.
              2601-2692)
              Objective 3
              FIFRA, TSCA
              Objective 4
              CAA (42 U.S.C. 7601-7671q), FIFRA, Radon
              Act, TSCA
              Objective 5
              CAA, CWA (33 U.S.C. 1251-1387), Emer-
              gency Planning and Community Right-to-Know
              Act (EPCRA) (42 U.S.C. 11001-11050),
              Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) (42 U.S.C.
              13101-13109), RCRA (42 U.S.C. 6901-6992k)
              Objective 6
              CAA, CERCLA, CWA, EPCRA, FIFRA,
              Indian Environmental General Assistance
              Program Act, RCRA,  SDWA, TSCA, Treaties
              with Indian tribes

              Goal 5: Better Waste Management,
              Restoration of Contaminated Waste
              Sites, and Emergency Response

              Objective 1
              Comprehensive Environmental Response,
              Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
(42 U.S.C. 9601-9675); Pollution Prevention
Act (PPA) (42 U.S.C. 13101-13109); Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (42
U.S.C. 6901-6992k)

Objective 2
Clean Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act
(CWA) (33 U.S.C. 1251-1387), Oil Prevention
Act (OPA)  (33 U.S.C. 2701-2761), RCRA

Goal 6: Reduction of Global and
Cross-Border Environmental Risks

Objective 1
Clean Air Act (CAA) (42 U.S.C. 7601-7671q);
Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. 1251-
1387); Emergency Planning and Community
Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) (42 U.S.C.
11001-11050); Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
and Rodenticide Act  (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136-
136y); Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) (42
U.S.C. 13101-13109); Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA) (42 U.S.C. 6901-
6992k); Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
(15 U.S.C.  2601-2692); V.A., H.U.D., and
Independent Agencies Appropriations Acts;
Water Quality Act of 1987 section 510; North
American Agreement on Environmental
Cooperation (NAAEC);  U.S./Canada Agree-
ments on Arctic Cooperation; U.S./Mexico
Agreement Establishing a Border Environmen-
tal Cooperation Commission and a North
American Development Bank;  1909 Boundary
Waters Agreement; U.S./Canada Great Lakes
Water Quality Agreement; 1997 Great Lakes
Binational Toxics Strategy; 1983 La Paz
Agreement on U.S./Mexico Border Region,
Annex 2, Article 3; 1989 U.S./Mexico Agree-
ment on Mexico City; 1989 U.S./U.S.S.R.
Agreement on Pollution; 1991 U.S./Canada Air
Quality Agreement; Treaties with Indian tribes;
Border XXI
Objective 2
CAA, Framework Convention on Climate
Change, PPA
Objective 3
CAA, TSCA, 1987 Montreal Protocol on
Ozone Depleting Substances
           EPA Strategic Plan

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                                          Appendix C: Statutory and Other Authorities forEPA's Goals
Objective 4
CAA; CWA; FIFRA; PPA; RCRA; TSCA;
NAAEC; 1996 Habitat Agenda, paragraph
43bb

Objective 5
EPCRA, PPA, North American Free Trade
Agreement, World Trade Organization Agree-
ments

Goal 7: Quality Environmental
Information

Objective 1
Clean Air Act (CAA); Clean Water Act
(CWA); Emergency Planning and Community
Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA); Federal Insecti-
cide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA);
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552);
Government Paperwork Elimination Act;
Paperwork Reduction Act; Pollution Prevention
Act (PPA); Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA); Safe Drinking Water
Act (SDWA); Toxic Substances Control Act
(TSCA)

Objective 2
CAA, CWA, EPCRA, FIFRA, Freedom of
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), Government
Paperwork Elimination Act, Paperwork Reduc-
tion Act  (PRA), PPA,  RCRA, SDWA, TSCA
Objective 3
PRA, Federal Property and Administrative
Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 471, et seq.)

Goal 8: Sound Science, Improved
Understanding of Environmental
Risk, and Greater Innovation to
Address Environmental Problems

Objective 1
Clean Air Act (CAA) (42 U.S.C 7601-7671q);
Clean Water Act (CWA)  (33 U.S.C. 1251-
1387); Comprehensive Environmental Re-
sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act
(CERCLA) (42 U.S.C. 9601-9675); Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
(FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136-136y); Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (42
U.S.C. 6901-6992k); Toxic Substances Control
Act (TSCA) (15 U.S.C. 2601-2692)
Objective 2
CAA; CERCLA; CWA; FIFRA; Food Quality
Protection Act/Federal Food, Drag, and
Cosmetic Act (FQPA/FFDCA); Safe Drinking
Water Act (SDWA) (42 U.S.C. 300f-300j-26);
TSCA

Objective 3
CAA, CWA, FIFRA, RCRA, SDWA, TSCA
Objective 4
CAA, CWA, Emergency Planning and Commu-
nity Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), Pollution
Prevention Act (PPA), RCRA, SDWA, TSCA
Objective 5
Administrative Dispute Resolution Act (5
U.S.C. 571-584), CAA, CERCLA, CWA,
EPCRA (42 U.S.C. 11001-11050), FIFRA,
PPA,,RCRA, SDWA, TSCA

Objective 6
CAA, CERCLA, CWA, EPCRA, FIFRA,
PPA, RCRA, SDWA, TSCA
Objective 7
CAA, CERCLA, CWA, EPCRA, FIFRA,
PPA, RCRA, SDWA, TSCA
Objective 8
CAA, CWA, EPCRA, FIFRA, FQPA/FFDCA,
RCRA, SDWA, TSCA

Goal 9: A Credible Deterrent to
Pollution and Greater Compliance
with the Law

Objective 1
Clean Air Act (CAA) (42 U.S.C. 7601-7671q);
Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. 1251-
1387); Comprehensive Environmental Re-
sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act
(CERCLA) (42 U.S.C. 9601-9675); Emer-
gency Planning and Community Right-to-Know
Act (EPCRA) (42 U.S.C. 11001-11050);
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136-136y); Marine
                                                                  EPA Strategic Plan

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Appendix C: Statutory and Other Authorities forEPA's Goals

              Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act
              (MPRSA); Resource Conservation and Recov-
              ery Act (RCRA) (42 U.S.C. 6901-6992k); Safe
              Drinking Water Act (SDWA) (42 U.S.C. 300f-
              300J-26); Toxic Substances Control Act
              (TSCA) (15 U.S.C. 2601-2692); North Ameri-
              can Agreement on Environmental Cooperation;
               1983 La Paz Agreement on U.S./Mexico
              Border Region
              Objective 2
              CAA, CERCLA, EPCRA, Federal Compliance
              Act, FIFRA, MPRSA, Pollution Prevention Act
              (PPA) (42 U.S.C. 13101-13109); RCRA;
              SDWA; Small Business Regulatory Enforce-
              ment Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 601 note);
              TSCA; Executive Order 12856, "Federal
              Compliance with Right-to-Know Laws"

               Goal 10: Effective Management

               Objective 1
              42 U.S.C. 2000e-16, Civil Rights Act of 1964;
              Comprehensive Environmental Response,
              Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
              (42 U.S.C. 9601-9675)
               Objective 2
              Government Performance and Results Act
               (GPRA); Chief Financial Officers Act (5
              U.S.C. Chapter 5); Civil Service Reform Act
               of 1978 (5 U.S.C. Chapter 3); Clinger-Cohen
              Act (Public Law 104-106); Competition in
               Contracting Act (41 U.S.C. 253 et seq.);
               Contract Disputes Act (41 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
              Federal Claims Collection Act (31 U.S.C. 3711
               et seq.); Federal Financial Management
               Improvement Act of 1996 (Title VIII of the
               1997 Treasury, Postal Service, and General
               Government Appropriations Act); Federal
               Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act (31
              U.S.C*6301 et seq.); Federal Managers
               Financial Integrity Act of 1982 (31 U.S.C.
               3512); Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. 3101 et
               seq.); Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
               U.S.C. 3501-3520)
Objective 3
Federal Property and Administrative Services
Act (40 U.S.C. 471 et seq.); Public Buildings
Act (40 U.S.C. 601  et seq.); V.A., H.U.D., and
Independent Agencies Appropriations Act

Objective 4
Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended (5
U.S.C. app.)
            EPA Strategic Plan

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                       Photo credits:




      Chris Hoff:  Cover (3); pp. v, 11,13,14, 63, 64, 77,78




       S.C. Delaney: pp. 6, 7,25,28, 56,65,72, 84, 87, 88




PhotoDisc: Cover (2); pp. 1,2,14,19,26,34,46, 51, 59, 66, 80,93

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