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
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Chapter 1: Achieving Our Goals .,13
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Chapter 2: Cross-Agency Programs 63
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" ChajDter 3: ^Assessing Our Work and
Learning From Our Results 77
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Appendix A; Congressional, Partner, and
Stakeholder Consultation A-1 f
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'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.
-------
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
EPA Strategic Plan
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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-
EPA Strategic Plan
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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.
EPA Strategic Plan
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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.
EPA Strategic Plan
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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
EPA Strategic Plan
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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-
EPA Strategic Plan
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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
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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-
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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:
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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
6
T3
JB
0.
CO
•s
3
S
KEY
• 1976-1980
m 1988-1991
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
EPA Strategic Plan
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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• 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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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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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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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.
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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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Chapter 2: Cross-Agency Programs
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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Chapter2: Cross-Agency Programs
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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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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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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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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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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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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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
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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.
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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
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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."
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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
-------
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
-------
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
-------
-------
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
-------
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
-------
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
-------
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
-------
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
-------
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
-------
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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