&EPA
O
Communications And
Public Affairs "•"
(A-107)
21K-1Q06
May 1991
Environmental Stewardship
EPA's First Two Years In
The Bush Administration
-------
CONTENTS
1 PREFACE
2 HIGHLIGHTS
4 PREVENTING POLLUTION
8 VIGOROUS ENFORCEMENT
12 REDUCING RISKS
18 PROTECTING NATURAL RESOURCES
22 INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP
26 SOUND SCIENCE
30 STRENGTHENING AGENCY RESOURCES
Cover Photograph
San Juan mountains
Colorado, USA.
©1986 Kahnweiler/Johnson, Folio Inc.
-------
PREFACE
When the Bush Administration took office in
1989, the environmental concerns and
expectations of the American people had
reached new heights. By our words and actions
over our first two years in office, we probably
have raised those expectations even further. As
this report documents, the Bush Administra-
tion has shown itself to be serious, determined,
and dedicated to the pursuit of an aggressive
and innovative environmental agenda. President
Bush has moved the environment from the
margins of national concern to the mainstream.
Our record of accomplishment to date is a
source of great satisfaction and pride, both for
the President and for all of us who work at
EPA.
Our environmental challenge as the nation
entered the decade of the 1990s was twofold:
first, to deal with a new generation of
problems that are both more widespread and
more complex than those of the past; and
second, to anticipate the environmental needs
of the next century and begin to develop new
policies and directions to meet those needs.
This dual challenge has required EPA to
assume a role that is different in both scope
and character from the past. EPA is broadening
its view to encompass concerns of the global
environment, and to embrace innovative
approaches to environmental protection. We
are elevating the role of science in decision-
making, recognizing that good science is the
basis of sound environmental policy. We are
taking steps to evaluate the relative severity of
environmental threats and harm, and to set
priorities based on the greatest opportunities to
reduce risk. We are designing new regulations
and programs that fulfill our mandates while
blending traditional and non-traditional tools,
such as market incentives and voluntary action,
to accomplish ambitious environmental goals.
We are strengthening our ability to evaluate
progress, to integrate and focus our activities
for greater efficiency and effectiveness, and to
adapt to changing conditions. And as we
pursue these new directions, we also are
working to strengthen existing environmental
programs and to ensure that environmental
laws and requirements are vigorously enforced.
Clearly, EPA cannot fulfill this ambitious
environmental agenda by itself. All levels of
government and all sectors of society, the
international community, and individual
citizens must share in the responsibility for
harmonizing human activities with the needs
and constraints of nature. I invite all who have
not yet done so to join the President and EPA
in actively seeking out opportunities to secure
our environmental legacy for future
generations.
William K. Reilly
Administrator
-------
HIGHLIGHT!
This report is an overview of the Bush
Administration's environmental themes and
accomplishments during its first two years in
office. It is by no means a comprehensive
account of the work of the Environmental
Protection Agency, let alone of the
Administration as a whole. The report briefly
describes the Administration's principal
environmental Ithemes and priorities, which
are: preventing pollution, vigorously enforcing
the laws, reducing environmental risks,
protecting and restoring natural resources,
providing leadership on international
environmental Issues, enhancing the role of
sound science in environmental policy-making,
and strengthening the resources available for
environmental protection. The report then
provides two or three specific examples of EPA
actions that support each theme, and spotlights
new or innovative programs. Finally, the report
lists additional accomplishments that have
helped to further the priority themes.
For more information on these or other EPA
activities, please write to:
Office of Communications and Public Affairs
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 M Street, S.W. (A-107)
Washington, DC 20460
• Clean Air Amendments. Secured most
significant air pollution legislation in
nation's history—Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990. Calls for permanent
10-million-ton reduction in acid rain
emissions; improvements in urban air
quality; reductions in toxic pollutants.
• Record-high Enforcement Results.
Past two years at EPA yielded new
criminal and civil enforcement records.
Fines imposed in 1990 grew to a record
$91 million—$30 million in criminal cases
and $61 million in civil penalties. One-
quarter of all civil penalties ever collected
by EPA were obtained during 1990, and
40 percent during the past two years.
• Enforcement First at Superfund Sites.
Responsible parties contributed $1.4
billion in settlements toward cleanup at
Superfund sites in 1990—an almost
threefold increase from 1988. Superfund
added 500 new enforcement positions;
1992 budget calls for $143 million more
than 1991 for site cleanups.
• Stratospheric Ozone Protection.
President Bush proposed that the United
States fully phase out, by the year 2000,
production and use of chemicals that
contribute to stratospheric-ozone
destruction. In June 1990, in London,
parties to the Montreal Protocol agreed to
phase out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs),
carbon tetrachloride, and nonessential
uses of halons by the end of the century
and to phase out methyl chloroform by
2005.
The United States is contributing more
than any other nation to the Montreal
Protocol Multilateral Fund to assist
developing countries in making the
transition from ozone-depleting
chemicals.
Domestically, an excise tax of CFCs and
other ozone-depleting chemicals is
reducing production and increasing
recycling even faster than the phase-out
requirements.
or Telephone: (202) 382-4454
-------
"These are our five principles: harnessing the power of the marketplace, state and local
initiatives, promoting prevention, international cooperation, and strict enforcement."
— President George Bush, Washington, D.C., June 8,1989
• Far-reaching Regulatory Decisions. In
1989, EPA banned 94 percent of all future
uses of asbestos. Rules were issued
cutting 29,000 tons of cancer-causing
benzene annually from industrial sources.
Smog-causing pollutants were reduced in
cities with air-quality problems by
reducing fuel volatility.
• Wetlands Protection. EPA vetoed the
proposed Two Forks project in Colorado,
citing adverse environmental effects, loss
of wetlands, and viable alternatives. The
Agency also exercised its veto authority
in Rhode Island and Virginia.
• Cutting Toxics Releases. EPA launched
a voluntary reductions program with
industry—to reduce by one-third the total
releases and transfers of 17 toxic
chemicals by 1992; further, to cut them in
half by 1995.
• Bioremediation. EPA achieved a
breakthrough to using bioremediation in
Prince William Sound, Alaska, to reduce
in half the time necessary to degrade
spilled oil on test plots.
• Recycling Efforts Redoubled. Over the
past two years, national volume of
materials recycled grew by more than 30
percent to 24 million tons. Thousands of
communities are starting recycling
programs to meet EPA goal of 25 percent
recycling of municipal solid waste by
1992.
• Climate Change Research. EPA
invested $9.6 million in 1989, $15 million
in 1990 to learn about the causes and
effects of climate change. Through actions
already taken or planned, the United
States should hold its greenhouse gas
emissions at or below current levels for
the foreseeable future. EPA produced
seminal reports on climate change effects,
and on policy responses and their
consequences.
• Assistance for Eastern Europe.
Administrator Reilly opened an
environmental center in Budapest,
Hungary to address regional pollution
problems through education, training, and
technology transfer.
« Basel Convention. EPA played a major
role leading to U.S. participation in the
Basel Convention on the Transboundary
Movement of Waste, signed in March
1990. This 80-country treaty requires
notice of proposed hazardous waste
shipments and prior written consent,
helping to ensure that waste will be
managed in an "environmentally sound
manner" by the receiving country.
• States, Tribes, and Localities. Despite
fiscal constraints, EPA grants to states
rose by 58 percent—to $498 million by
1991.
• Focus on Minorities. Sixty-nine percent
of net growth of 1990 professional and
administrative positions were women and
minorities, with minorities approximately
half the total. At management levels,
minorities and women made up two-
thirds EPA's net growth. Awarded a
record number of small business contracts
to minority-owned firms.
• Setting Priorities. At the request of
Administrator Reilly, the Agency's
independent Science Advisory Board
prepared a report--Reducing Risk—offering
guidance on how EPA can improve
efforts to reduce risks to health and
natural resources.
• Global Forest Agreement. President
Bush proposed an agreement on forests at
the G-7 Economic Summit in July 1990.
The agreement covers both temperate and
tropical rainforests, calling for research,
training, and technical assistance.
-------
PREVENTING POLLUTION
In the past, this country's environmental programs
have focused almost exclusively on end-of-pipe
pollution control and cleanup. This more traditional
approach is best suited to large, easily identifiable
sources like smokestacks and sewer outlets. It is
much less effective, however, in dealing with
diverse, diffuse "non-point" sources of pollution
such as runoff from farms and forests and streets,
leaky pipes and valves, and motor vehicles. As has
been all too clearly demonstrated, treating pollution
at the "end of the pipeline" is no longer enough.
Pollution can often be prevented at its point of
origin, using the full range of options—from greater
energy efficiency to incentives for producing less
harmful substances to expanded recycling to natural
resource conservation. In the certainty that
pollution prevention must become a fundamental
building block of the Agency's work, EPA is taking
steps to apply this approach to all of its programs.
Recent federal legislation echoes this theme. The
Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 establishes a
hierarchy, declaring that the first priority is to
prevent pollution or reduce it at the source
wherever feasible. Pollution that cannot be
prevented should be recycled in an environmentally
safe manner. In the absence of feasible prevention or
recycling opportunities, pollution should be treated.
Finally, disposal or other release into the
environment should be used only as a last resort.
17 Priority Chemicals
under; 33/50 Project
Benzene
Cadmium
Carbon Tetrachloride
Chloroform
Chromium
Cyanide
Dichloromethane
Lead
Mercury
Methyl Ethyl Ketone
Methyl Isobutyl Ketone
Nickel
Tetrachloroethylene
Toluene
1,1,1-Trichloroethane
Trychloroethylene
Xylenes
The "33/50" Project-
Voluntary Toxics
Reductions
Cooperative initiatives with the private
sector offer great potential for stopping
pollution before it gets started. In 1989, at
Administrator Reilly's invitation, nine
major petrochemical manufacturers
voluntarily agreed to reduce toxic air
emissions substantially through changes
in processing and substituting different
materials at 40 chemical plants in 14
states. This collaborative effort, when
fully implemented by December 1993,
will annually reduce selected toxic air
emissions by almost 83 percent, or 9.5
million pounds.
Another toxics reduction initiative—the
33/50 project—is now underway for a
group of especially troublesome chemicals
nationwide. Administrator Reilly has
asked more than 600 U.S companies to do
their part to reduce voluntarily the
pollution caused by 17 high-priority
chemicals. These companies are
considered the largest contributors to a
The 33/50 Project -
Voluntary Toxics Reductions
Billions of pounds
•1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6.
•0.4
0.2.
1988 1992 1995
The 33-50 Project aims to voluntarily reduce emissions of 17
targeted chemicals a third by 1992 and a half by 1995. Chart
includes total releases to air, water, and land and shows the
anticipated reduction of toxic pollutants across all media given
full industry participation.
-------
Green Lights
universe of 1.4 billion pounds of toxic
wastes at over 11,000 facilities.
The goal: to reduce by one-third the
total releases and transfers of the
chemicals selected by 1992; and to reduce
them by one half by 1995. Meetings have
taken place with officials representing
industries including chemical, petroleum,
paper, and transportation. EPA officials
also are working on pollution prevention
plans with 150 companies identified as
having good potential for success under
this program. By April 1,1991, more than
100 companies had expressed interest in
the 33/50 project.
1988 Toxics Release Inventory
by Industry
300
200
100
Quantity released by media 1988 TRl data
(millions of pounds)
-5 3 E
Lighting, especially in industry, stores,
offices, and warehouses, accounts for
almost one-fourth of the electricity used
nationally. To help reduce air pollution
and other forms of pollution caused by
electricity generation, Administrator
Reilly has started the Green Lights
program.
This voluntary, non-regulatory program
set up in January of 1991 is based on a
simple premise: EPA works with major
U.S. corporations to make certain they
have the information and technical
support they need to install lighting
designs and technologies that are both
energy-efficient and profitable.
When a corporation joins the Green
Lights program, it signs an agreement
with EPA committing the organization to
survey all its facilities and install new
lighting systems that maximize energy
savings, to the extent that they are
profitable and do not compromise
lighting quality. EPA is compiling
databases of products and contractors and
working with manufacturers and
distributors to ensure product availability.
The Agency also will be promoting
upgraded education of lighting installers
and developing lists of financing sources
to assist in the upgrades.
The Green Lights program, if
implemented among all American
business and industry, would reduce
annual air pollution by 235 million tons,
that is, five percent of the national total.
By April 10,1991, 50 U.S. corporations
had become Green Lights partners—75
percent are in the Fortune 500.
What Can "Green Lights"
Accomplish?
12 % saving if fully implemented .. 1
•10^
•8 i
•6
•2
O
CL
I Electric consum
I "
!
-_i
"1
(Carbon Dioxide
emissions
i
i .«
1 e
Sulfur Dioxide e
.. .-.'.'
j-
j .4
• i
-7
c
-------
PREVENTING POLLUTION
Recycling
Green Lights Partners
Abbott Laboratories J
America West Airlines
American Express Company
American Standard, Inc.
Amoco
Atlantic Richfield 1
Automated Data Processing
Baxter Healthcare Corporation
Bechtel +
Bell Atlantic
Boeing
Browning Ferris, Inc.__
The Oliver Carr Compiany
Citicorp/Citibank
Continental Insurance^
Crestar Bank ;
Digital Equipment Corporation
Duracell U.S.A.
First Data Resources, inc.
First Wachovia Corporation
General Dynamics Corporation
Gerber Products Company
The Gillette Company
G.M. Popkey Company, Inc.
Hasbro, Inc.
IPS Electric and Midwest Gas
Divisions of Iowa
Public Service Company
Johnson and Johnson
Kerr-McGee Corporation
Eli Lilly and Company
Lone Star Steel
Maytag [
Memorex Telex
Fred Meyer, Inc.
3M = '.
Nike, Inc. I ;
Phillips Petroleum Company
Polaroid Corporation
Preston Trucking
Texaco Inc.
Thrift Drug Company, Inc.
Union Camp Corporation
University Corporation for
Atmospheric Research
US Bancorp
Warner-Lambert Company ;
Waste Management, Inc.
Whirlpool Corporation
Wolverine World Wide
Xerox Corporation
Yellow Freight System, Inc.
U.S.Recycling Rates -1960 to 1995
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Recycling rates are growing. EPA projects national recycling of
municipal solid waste to reach between 20 and 28 percent by 1995.
The recycling ethic is strong and
growing stronger. These past two years,
the volume of materials that were
recycled grew by more than 30 percent—
to 24 million tons. During 1989 alone,
more than 500 new curbside recycling
programs were begun across the nation.
More than 25 states now have established
minimum recycling goals.
EPA activities are helping to make
recycling a watchword of homes and
workplaces alike.
• Recycling Agenda. EPA's "Agenda for
Action" sets a national goal of reducing
municipal waste by 25 percent by 1992.
• "Green" Products. EPA has initiated,
with the U.S. Consumer Affairs Office
and the Federal Trade Commission, an
effort to develop guidelines for defining
marketing terms such as "recyclable," and
"recycled content" used on product labels.
The aim is to help consumers make more
informed shopping choices.
• Ad Campaign. In 1990, EPA co-funded
a recycling ad campaign with the
Environmental Defense Fund and the
Advertising Council that generated 90,000
public inquiries for recycling information.
Recycling Rates for Selected
Components of Municipal Solid Waste
40 Recycling rates in %
•30
20
10,
11
'*&
m
£
o>
-------
"For too long, -we've focused on cleanup and penalties after the
damage is done. It's time to reorient ourselves using technologies and
processes that reduce or prevent pollution—to stop it before it starts."
— President George Bush,
Washington, D.C., June 8,1989
Environmental
Education
Additional
Accomplishments
The quest for a new era of
environmental stewardship received a
strong boost with the passage of the
National Environmental Education Act,
signed into law by President Bush in
November 1990.
The new law establishes a non-profit
national environmental education and
training foundation to be funded through
government grants and private gifts. It
also authorizes and funds educational
activities nationwide, with a special focus
on students at elementary and secondary
school levels.
At White House ceremonies, President
Bush and EPA Administrator William
Reilly presented Presidential
Environmental Youth Awards for
community cleanup, wetlands protection,
recycling, and waste reduction projects in
both November 1989 and 1990. In 1990,
EPA and the National Governors'
Association co-sponsored the first-ever
national environmental youth forum in
Washington, D.C.; two young people
from each state participated.
In 1990, the Agency also formed a new
Office of Environmental Education, which
has been charged with helping to foster
science literacy as the core for
environmental education in elementary
and secondary schools.
Spotlight
Public Empowerment
EPA is taking steps to ensure
that individuals and groups
throughout our society have the
skills and knowledge they need to
work productively with us. We are
giving the public new tools-
information that communities can
use to work collaboratively with
their local industries to prevent
chemical accidents and reduce
pollution.
Several programs have been
especially effective in bringing
about this public empowerment.
The Emergency Planning and
Community-Right-To-Know Act,
passed in 1986, requires
communities across the country to
set up local committees to make
plans for responding to chemical
emergencies. EPA has helped to
establish these citizen committees,
which involve more than 50,000
people nationwide.
The same law requires certain
manufacturing plants and other
facilities to submit information
about the chemicals they use,
store, and emit into the
environment. EPA has compiled
this information into an annual
report called the Toxic Release
Inventory. Thus far, the Agency
has issued two of these reports,
which detail emissions of more
than 300 toxic chemicals
nationwide.
For the first inventory, which
documents 1987 emissions, 74,000
reports were submitted by 19,000
manufacturing facilities. The
second inventory is based on
83,000 reports submitted by 22,000
manufacturing facilities for 1988
emissions. Data for 1989 currently
are being evaluated.
Making this sort of information
public is yielding tangible results:
many companies have announced
voluntary reductions of emissions.
Monsanto Company, for example,
has pledged a SK)-percent reduction
in air emissions by 1992.
Moreover, new laws requiring
reductions in chemical releases
have been passed in several states
and are pending in several others.
• Information Clearinghouse. The
Pollution Prevention Clearinghouse
provides information on legislation,
research, and case studies and is linked to
an international data base of 43 nations.
Set up in 1990, the Clearinghouse has
received more than 6,000 calls from
federal agencies, states, universities, and
industries.
• Pollution Prevention Set-Asides. Two
percent of every EPA program budget for
1991 and 1992 has been set aside to fund
pollution prevention demonstration
projects.
• Model Community Plan. A model
community pollution prevention plan is
being developed for the Chesapeake Bay
area through a cooperative agreement
between EPA and Department of Defense
facilities—Langley Air Force Base, Fort
Eustis Army Base, and Norfolk Naval
Base.
• Sustainable Agriculture. EPA
contributed $1 million to a joint
competitive grant program with the
Department of Agriculture to support
sustainable agriculture projects.
-------
VIGOROUS ENFORCEMENT
"""""""" 8
f
; , JT
In 1989, EPA set new records in the enforcement of
environmental laws. Last year, we broke our own
records—including collecting a major increase in
responsible parties' contributions to clean up
hazardous waste sites—$1.4 billion, up almost
threefold from 1988. We also sent more criminal
and civil referrals to the Justice Department,
obtained more convictions, and levied and collected
more penalties than any previous Administration.
In fact, in 1990, EPA obtained 25 percent of all
civil judicial penalties imposed in the Agency's 20-
year history, and the $96 million levied in 1989-
1990 represents almost 40 percent of all civil
penalty dollars obtained since 1970.
Record-High
Results
Criminal Enforcement. The past two
record-breaking years have yielded new
criminal enforcement records. EPA seeks
criminal sanctions against responsible
corporate officers as well as the
corporation itself. Federal judges
increasingly have been willing to sentence
criminal defendants to large fines and
substantial prison or probationary terms.
One noteworthy criminal case last year
involved sentencing a Wall Street trader
to a $2 million penalty for filling wetlands
without a permit under the Clean Water
Act—the largest environmental monetary
penalty ever assessed against an
individual. Also, the first conviction
under the Clean Water Act's "Knowing
Endangerment" section was achieved
against the president of a metal finishing
company. The individual was sentenced
to 26 months' imprisonment, a $400,000
fine, and two years of supervised
probation for exposing employees to toxic
pollutants through illegal disposal
practices.
EPA Enforcement Budget
500 $ millions
•400
•300
200
jap.
) I11
81 82 83 84 85
90 91 92
-------
Other criminal enforcement highlights
for 1990 included the following:
• Record Referrals. EPA referred 65
criminal cases to the Justice Department,
surpassing the previous year's record
total of 60.
* Defendants Charged. One hundred
defendants (individuals and corporations)
were charged last year, the largest
number in EPA's history.
• Guilty Verdict. Thirty-two
investigations successfully resulted in
finding at least one defendant per case
guilty.
• Convictions. Fifty-five defendants were
convicted and sentenced for
environmental crimes in 1990; more than
half of those convicted were given prison
sentences, and three-quarters of those are
actually serving time. Jail terms averaged
a record 1.8 years; the longest term was
12 years.
• Fines. Fines imposed for all federally-
investigated environmental crimes
increased from $13 million in 1989 to $30
million in 1990.
Civil Enforcement. Record results were
achieved in civil enforcement as well.
They included the largest single
settlement for a US. suit against one
entity charged with violating a federal
environmental statute: Texas Eastern
Transmission Corporation paid a $15
million penalty and agreed to perform
$400 million in cleanup work at 89
polluted sites in 14 states.
Civil enforcement hig;hlights for 1990
include the following:
• Referrals. EPA referred 375 civil cases
to the Department of Justice, surpassing
1988's previous record total of 372 and
1989's total of 364 cases.
• Penalties. The Agency imposed $61.3
million in civil penalties, an all-time
record—this included $38.5 million in civil
judicial penalties and $22.8 million in
administrative penalties, both records.
EPA Civil Referrals to
Department of Justice - 1982 to 1990
New records also were set in enforcing
specific statutes:
•Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act. In 1990, Formosa Plastics
Corporation, Point Comfort, Texas agreed
to pay a $3.4 million penalty-the largest
ever collected by EPA for violations of the
federal hazardous and solid waste law—
and establish a $1 million trust fund for
environmental education.
• Clean Water Act. In one of the largest
clean water law civil penalty settlements
ever obtained against a privately-held
corporation, a $2.1 million penalty
settlement was reached in July 1990 with
a pulp and paper company for federal
pretreatment and permit violations.
In the largest civil penalty against a
municipality, EPA assessed the City of
Philadelphia $1.5 million in May 1990 for
polluting the Delaware River with illegal
discharges from the city's Southwest
Wastewater Treatment Plant.
82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
-------
VIGOROUS ENFORCEMENT
Enforcement First
at Superfund Sites
1 L ...... iirai A~.,i7 Z£ aJlii j aiiifiS
Additional
Accomplishments
. . itij. i -i il. i, , i-,., , L
Efficient, effective clean-up of a
hazardous waste site can be an extremely
expensive undertaking. To move ahead
steadily, given limited public funds, it is
critical that the parties responsible for
creating the pollution are also held
responsible for clean-up costs.
In June 1989, Administrator Reilly
established a new "Enforcement First"
priority for Superfund to maximize
private party contributions to clean up
Superfund sites. He created 500 new
Superfund enforcement positions
throughout the nation. In 1990, for the
second year in a row, EPA secured more
than $1 billion in private party
contributions, up almost threefold from
1988.
The President's 1992 budget request for
Superfund provides $1.75 billion, an
increase of $143 million—or 8 percent—
over the 1991 appropriated level. This
increase recognizes EPA's continuing
progress in addressing Superfund
problems and fuels its stepped-up
emphasis on enforcement.
Statistics on responsible party activities
show a renewed emphasis on "polluter
pays":
• Orders Issued. One hundred thirty-one
orders were issued requiring responsible
parties to perform cleanup activities in "
1990~a 31-percent increase over 1989.
• Clean-Up. Sites where responsible
parties have started cleanup work is up
from 46 percent in 1989 to 59 percent in
1990.
• Referrals. In 1990, EPA referred 79
cases worth an estimated $185 million to
the Department of Justice to r«>cover
government cleanup costs from
responsible parties. The Agency also won
the first jury trial of its type awarding
punitive damages of $2.3 million—triple
the cost of government cleanup—in a
federal court in Georgia.
Guidelines for Action
at Superfund Sites
The Administrator's Superfund
Management Review, which he
promised at his Senate confirmation
hearing, and unveiled in June 1989
spells out the enforcement-first theme
and calls far these actions:
• Enforcement First. Aggressively
use enforcement to compel more
private response.
• Make Sites Safer. Eliminate
quickly all immediate threats to public
health or the environment.
• Set Priorities. Address worst
problems at the worst sites. Pursue
incremental cleanup of problems
posing the greatest risk.
• Harness Technology. Bring new
technology to bear on cleaning up
hazardous waste contamination.
Dramatic Increase
in Responsible Party Payment
1400 Cost of work $ millions
•1200
1000
•800
•600
,400
-200
• Major Enforcement Initiative. In an
October 1989 enforcement initiative,
announced jointly by Administrator Reilly
and Attorney General Thornburgh, EPA,
the Department of Justice, and several
states brought actions against 61 cities
charged with violations of the Clean
Water Act's requirements for
pretreatment of industrial wastewaters.
• Federal Facilities Cleanup. The
Administration requested a 21-percent
increase in funds for 1992 for cleaning up
toxic waste at federal facilities.
Appropriation bills provide $440 million
for non-defense cleanups and $2.7 billion
for defense-related cleanups.
Compliance Agreements at Federal
Facilities. One hundred thirty-five
cleanup and compliance agreements
valued at over $60 billion have been
reached since 1987 with federal facilities.
Agreements were reached for 32 facilities
in 1989 and 45 more in 1990-including
agreements to clean up federal hazardous
waste sites and bring federal sites into
compliance with hazardous waste and
water quality regulations.
Hanford, Washington. In Hanford,
Washington a multi-billion dollar cleanup
agreement was reached in 1989 with the
Department of Energy and the State of
Washington to begin the thirty-year
chemical and radioactive waste cleanup
effort there. Similar agreements are in
place at DOE's Fernald, Ohio, Lawrence
Livermore National Labs, and Mound
facilities in Miamisburg, Ohio.
Rocky Flats, Colorado. EPA, the
Department of Energy, and the Colorado
Department of Health agreed io a cleanup
process for the Rocky Flats nuclear
weapons plant in Golden, Colorado.
1987
1988
1989
1990
10
-------
"The final principle is that existing environmental laws will be vigorously ana firmly
enforced....Our message about environmental law is simple: polluters will pay."
— President George Bush, Washington, D.C., June 8,1989
• EPA directed enforcement activities to
correct particular pollution problems:
Chesapeake Bay. EPA and the states of
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia
levied penalties in May 1990 totalling
$230,000 against public and private
facilities charged with violating water
discharge permits protecting the
Chesapeake Bay watershed.
PCB Contamination. In enforcing the
Toxic Substances Control Act, EPA and
the Department of Justice in 1990
negotiated a $66 million settlement for
cleanup of polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCB) contamination and restoration in
New Bedford Harbor.
s The Agency also achieved significant
results with administrative compliance
orders under federal statutes:
Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act. Imposed 331 administrative
compliance orders and $2.5 million in
penalties in 1989. In 1990, 302 orders were
issued with $2.8 million in penalties.
States also are increasing RCRA
enforcement activities—794 in 1988,1181
in 1989,1331 in 1990.
Toxic Substances Control Act. In 1989,
EPA issued 415 administrative actions
and collected $4.2 million in penalties; in
1990, 531 actions brought over $25 million
in penalties.
Community Right-To-Know. EPA issued
134 administrative complaints under the
Emergency Planning/Community Right-
To-Know Act (EPCRA) with proposed
penalties of $6.9 million in 1989. Last
year, the Agency filed 237 administrative
complaints with proposed penalties of
$12.5 million—representing a 77-percent
increase in filings and an 81-percent
increase in penalties.
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and
Rodenticide Act. In 1990, EPA began a
comprehensive program to enforce the
export provisions of FIFRA, the law that
regulates pesticide use. Twenty-six
pesticide producers were targeted for
inspection and complaints already have
been filed against nine for unlawful
export of pesticides.
Spotlight
New Approaches to Enforcement
The Agency is exploring new
strategies for enforcement to
obtain maximum environmental
benefits from each action taken.
For instance, rather than enforcing
a violation in only one
medium—such as water or
air—EPA is applying the concept
of multi-media enforcement. In
October 1990, the Agency
announced that it was establishing
a major initiative to consolidate
air, water, and hazardous waste
violations into a single complaint.
Moreover, its initial efforts would
be targeted at protecting a specific
ecosystem—the Great Lakes.
Lawsuits drawing on the Clean
Air Act, Clean Waiter Act, and
Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act were filed by EPA's
Chicago regional office as part of
the Great Lakes A.ction Plan. The
charges, against two steel
manufacturers and a metal
finishing company, were for air,
water, and land pollution affecting
the Grand Calumet River area near
Gary, Indiana.
The Agency also has begun a
new pollution prevention
enforcement initiative under the
Toxic Substances Control Act.
Here, too, there are results to
show: in August 1990, a company
paid a reduced penalty for new
chemical violations in exchange for
the purchase and installation of a
solvent recycling system that
halves emissions of an unregulated
stratospheric ozone-depleting
substance and a human
carcinogen. In another case, an
administrative penalty for failure
to report a new chemical was
reduced in June 1990 in exchange
for installation of a pollution
prevention project for filtration
and recycling of wastes.
11
-------
REDUCING RISKS
Through the 1970s and 1980s, Congress passed a
number of important environmental laws—for air
and water, pesticides, radiation, medical waste,
Superfund, drinking water, and many more. Under
these laws, environmental progress has been
significant, measurable and indisputable.
The limits to this piecemeal approach to
environmental protection were less apparent during
the early years of EPA. Then the problems were
belching smokestacks, dirty cars, filthy streams and
rivers. Progress could readily be achieved, for
example, by targeting facilities with obvious
problems.
Today the environmental challenges are more
daunting and the sources of pollution more diffuse,
from pollution in the household to pesticide residues
in food to growing threats to the planet's
atmosphere, climate, and natural systems. These
challenges call for neiv approaches that target scarce
resources to the greatest risks to natural systems
and to human health.
Relative Risk
Report
Shortly after he took office early in 1989,
EPA Administrator Reilly asked the
Agency's independent Science Advisory
Board to take on a seminal task: assess
the problems that pose the most serious
threats to human health and the
environment using the risk concept.
Moreover, he asked the Board to suggest
how EPA can improve its efforts-with
Congress and the rest of the country~to
reduce these environmental threats.
The results are contained in Reducing
Risk: Setting Priorities and Strategies for
Environmental Protection, released in
September 1990. The report's first and
most basic recommendation is that we
must do a better job of setting priorities.
Other recommendations call for devoting
more attention to risk reduction and
pollution prevention and placing stronger I
emphasis on the protection of natural
systems. Because the report's findings
will help set the course for EPA action in
years to come, the Agency is conducting
an aggressive outreach program
nationwide to publicize its
recommendations.
12
-------
Clean Air Act
Amendments
Reducing Risk:
Setting Priorities and Strategies
for Environmental Protection
Recommendations to EPA
• Target environmental
protection efforts to opportunities
for the greatest risk reduction.
• Give as much importance to
reducing ecological risk as to
reducing human health risk.
• Improve methodologies that
support the assessment,
comparison, and reduction of
different environmental risks.
• Strategic planning and the
budget process should reflect
risk-based priorities.
• The nation as a whole should
make greater use of all the tools
available to reduce risk.
• Pollution prevention should be
emphasized as the preferred
option for reducing risk.
• Integrate environmental
considerations as well as
economic concerns into the
broader aspects of public policy.
• Improve public understanding
of environmental risks and train
a professional workforce to help
reduce them.
• Develop improved analytical
methods to value natural
resources and to account for
long-term environmental effects
in economic analyses.
Science Advisory Board
September, 1990
In the summer of 1989, President Bush
offered a sweeping legislative proposal to
clean the nation's air. Besides breaking a
13-year Congressional deadlock, the
proposal sought to integrate
environmental and economic objectives.
Approximately one and a half years later,
the President signed the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990 into law.
The new law is the most significant air
pollution legislation in our nation's
history. Its successful implementation is a
priority for the President and the Agency.
While the task is formidable, the benefits
are enormous: healthier air for all to
breathe, reduced respiratory illnesses and
cancer, cleaner factories, fuels, and cars,
unproved visibility, more efficient energy
use, and restored and preserved natural
systems.
Sulfur Dioxide Emissions Cut
by Ten Million Tons
30 Millions of tons S02
20
10
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000,
Acid Rain Program: Under the new Clean Air Act,
sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired electric
utilities, the main contributor to acid rain, will be cut
by 10 million tons by the turn of the century.
Highlights of the new
Clean Air Act:
Acid Rain. 10-million-ton annual
reduction of sulfur dioxide from 1980
levels, primarily from utilities; caps
annual utility SO2 emissions
permanently at approximately 8.9
million tons by 2000; reductions
accomplished in two phases—1995 and
2000; nitrogen oxides reduced by 2
million tons from projected year 2000
levels.
Urban Air Pollution. All areas of
the country with air quality
problems will have to show steady,
tangible progress on attaining air
quality standards. Most cities will
meet these standards in 10 years.
Autos, Light Trucks. New
restrictions to reduce tailpipe
emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon
monoxide and nitrogen oxides by
40 percent from current levels,
beginning with 1994 mode] year;
new carbon monoxide standards
required in cold temperature
conditions.
Clean Fuels. Pollution reductions
from gasoline and diesel fuels also
required. Cities with worst ozone
problems in 1995 to require cleaner
"reformulated" gasoline, with other
cities allowed to "opt in"; cities
with carbon monoxide problems
required to sell oxygenated fuels
such as gasohol during winter
months starting in 1992; pilot clean
fuels program in California and
other problem cities; requires
percentage reductions each year to
assure tangible progress.
Air Toxics. Toxic air reductions of
over 75 percent within 10 years;
EPA to establish technology
standards for 41 industrial source
categories by the end of 1992;
toughter standards required later if
significant residual risk remains.
13
-------
REDUCING RISKS
Regulations
to Reduce Risk
Asbestos Use Decline
265.000 (U.S. Asbestos Consumplion in Tons)
(1984)
In the last two years, EPA has built a
record of steady, far-reaching regulatory
decisions to reduce risk under almost
every environmental statute:
• Asbestos Ban. In 1989, EPA broke a 10-
year stalemate to ban almost all uses of
asbestos in the U.S., in stages, over the
next six years, including new product
manufacture, imports, and processing.
The action affects at least 94 percent of
U.S. production and imports of asbestos,
a known human carcinogen.
• Benzene Emissions. Two new rules
were issued in 1989 and 1990 to cut
29,000 tons of cancer-causing benzene
annually from industrial sources,
reducing their emissions by more than 90
percent.
• Gasoline Volatility. EPA set final rules
in 1990 to lower gasoline volatility levels
during summer months to reduce smog
formation. This single action will cut
emissions of volatile organic compounds-
prevalent in urban smog—by almost 7
percent nationally. Administrator Reilly
indicated his intention to require a second
reduction with similar benefits in 1992.
• Cutting Sulfur in Diesel Fuel. Last
year, the Agency required an 80-percent
reduction of sulfur in diesel fuel,
beginning in 1993, to make diesel vehicles
including buses and trucks operate more
cleanly.
• Dioxin in Paper. In April 1990, EPA
announced a program that would include
rulemaking to establish industrial
discharge standards for dioxin and
70,000 est
(1993)
Asbestos use has declined dramatically In recent years and w« fall even 6,000.est
further as EPA has banned 94 percent of all future asbestos uses by 1996. (1996)
chlorinated organics and to restrict land
application of pulp and paper sludge.
• Pesticide Actions. In the past two
years, EPA built on progress already
initiated by industry to reduce risk from
pesticides and took additional steps:
Alar. In 1989, the Agency negotiated an
agreement to withdraw daminozide
(trade name, Alar) from the market
voluntarily. In 1990, EPA proposed
prohibition on all sales and distribution
of Alar products labeled for use on food
crops.
R-ll, Compound 1080, EBDC,
Diazinon. In June 1990, an active
ingredient in insect repellents—R-ll—
was canceled. All uses of Compound
1080 except livestock protection collars
were canceled in September 1990. EPA
proposed canceling 45 food crop uses
for three EBDC pesticides and all food
uses for a fourth in December 1989,
and, in July 1990, reaffirmed an .earlier
decision to cancel diazinon use on golf
courses and sod farms.
Lead Emissions
60 Thousands of metric tons
'X
40
20
14
1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Total lead emissions in thousands of metric tons
from all sources including transportation, fuel
combustion, industrial processes and solid waste.
-------
"Through millions of individual decisions—simple, everyday personal choices—we are
determining the fate of the Earth. So the conclusion is also simple: we are all responsible and it's
surprisingly easy to move from being part of the problem to being part of the solution."
— President George Bush, Spokane, Washington, September 1989
Spotlight:
Market Incentives
The traditional approach to
environmental protection has
brought us a long way; but by
themselves, technology-based
prescriptive regulations are no
longer sufficient to do the job at
hand. In some cases, they may
actually be counterproductive,
inhibiting innovation and
discouraging regulated industries
from going beyond minimum legal
requirements.
Incentives harnessing the
power of the marketplace on
behalf of environmental protection
can effectively complement
traditional regulations. The Bush
Administration is committed to
pursuing more integrated ways to
link continued economic growth
and environmental improvement.
Perhaps the clearest expression so
far of this link between
environmental protection and
economic health is the new Clean
Air Act.
The new 1990 law is largely
based on President Bush's
proposals, which were not only
sensitive to the costs of pollution
control; they also included
provisions to ssupplement
traditional command-and-control
regulations with flexible, market-
based programs. Under the law,
economic incentives are
encouraged such as marketable
permits to limit overall sulfur
dioxide emissions—a precursor of
acid rain. Thus, the nation can
achieve significant improvements
in air quality in the most cost-
effective way possible. Other
measures allow utilities the
flexibility to choose the most
economic means to reduce sulfur
dioxide emissions, and the ability
to bank and trade permits.
Another excellent example is
the excise tax placed on most sales
of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and
other chemicals which deplete the
ozone layer. The tax, which began
in 1990, limits production and
consumption by increasing the
costs of the substances. This, in
turn, offers incentives for firms to
shift away from these chemicals,
increases recycling activities, and
provides market incentive for the
introduction of alternative
chemicals and processes. EPA
believes the tax was in part
responsible for domestic
production of CFCs being 23
percent below the allowable level
in the first freeze-control period.
EPA will not shy from setting
societal goals and standards; but,
increasingly, the Agency will defer
to businesses, to company
executives and to plant managers,
to decide upon technologies and
the allocation of resources. These
are business decisions, and so long
as they are made with due regard
for the needs and constraints of
the environment, they should be
made by business executives.
Experienced technical people can
find ways to improve products,
cut waste, and achieve
environmental advantages at a
lower cost than anyone could
predict. That is the best way to
link competitiveness and economic
growth on the one hand, and
environmental quality on the
other.
Wells in the United States
Community Water System Wells
Without Nitrate or Pesticides
44.6%
With Nitrate
and Pesticides
7.1%
With Pesticides Only
3.3%
Rural Domestic Wells
Without Nitrate
or Pesticides
42.0%
With Nitrate and
Pesticides — 3.2%
With Pesticides Only
1.0%
15
-------
REDUCING RISKS
Additional
Accomplishments
• Urban Air Pollution. EPA took several
other actions to reduce urban air
pollution from industrial and
transportation sources:
Chemical Plants. Issued rules in June
1990 to reduce by 70 percent smog-
forming emissions from new or
modified synthetic organic chemical
plants.
Hazardous Waste Facilities. Issued
rules in June 1990 to reduce volatile
organic compound emissions from
process vents and equipment leaks at
hazardous waste treatment, storage, and
disposal facilities by over three-quarters,
or by about 29,000 tons per year
nationally.
Carbon Monoxide Emissions. Proposed
new auto emission standards in
September 1990 to reduce carbon
monoxide emissions from automobiles
in cold temperatures by up to 29
percent.
Volatile Organic Compounds.
Proposed new rules in January 1990 to
cut volatile organic compound
emissions by about 5 percent nationally
from autos and light trucks by reducing
running loss and evaporative emissions.
• Toxic Air Pollutants. EPA took several
actions to reduce public exposure to toxic
air pollutants:
Municipal Incinerators. Set new
standards in January 1991 to cut air
emissions by 90 percent from both new
and existing municipal waste
incinerators by placing limits on toxic
metals, toxic organics, and acid gases.
Radionuclide Emissions. Set new rules
in December 1989 for controlling
radioactive emissions from certain
industrial facilities, weapons plants, and
uranium mines.
Chromium Use Eliminated. In January
1990, EPA eliminated the use of
hexavalent chromium, a known
carcinogen, in an estimated 37,000
commercial air conditioning units;
preventing 34 tons of chromium air
pollution emissions annually.
• Leaking Underground Storage Tanks.
More than 5 million underground tanks
across the nation store petroleum and
other hazardous chemicals beneath gas
stations and other facilities. Leaking tanks
can cause fires and explosions and
contaminate drinking water supplies.
Corrective Actions. During 1989 and
1990, states and private parties began
corrective actions at over 30,000 sites
and completed them at almost 10,000
sites.
Funds for Cleanups. States spent $34
million in 1989 and $46 million in 1990
from the Leaking Underground Storage
Tank trust fund to pay for corrective
actions.
• Other Pesticides Actions.
Survey of Drinking Water Wells. In
1990, EPA completed the first national
survey of 127 pesticides and nitrates in
drinking water wells. This information
is being used to evaluate regulatory and
state-specific approaches to protect
drinking water from pesticide pollution.
New Rules Affecting Drinking Water.
In 1990, the Agency issued rules to
regulate 26 pesticides and 36 other
contaminants in drinking water. When
effective, the rules will more than
double the number of pollutants subject
to federal standards.
Cancellations, Dinoseb. During 1989
and 1990, EPA canceled approximately
20,000 pesticide products for failure to
pay new annual registration
maintenance fees or to supply required
scientific data. The Agency also
destroyed one-half million gallons of
dinoseb as well as the last remaining
stocks of EDB.
Alternatives. Registered 10 new
biologically-based pesticides in 1989 and
1990—representing almost one-third of
all new registrations within last two
years.
Certification and Training Regulations.
Proposed revisions in October 1990 to
strengthen rules governing certification
and training of "restricted use"
pesticides applicators.
16
-------
"The significant new progress zue need is zvith our selves—our lifestyles,
our energy use, the goods we buy and use, and the waste we generate."
- William K. Reilly, National Press Club, September 26,1990
« Food Safety Reform.
Food Safety Plan. EPA collaborated
with the Food and Drug Administration
and the Department of Agriculture on
the President's plan for food safety
reform. The plan would enhance EPA's
ability to take swift action to cancel
problem pesticides by cutting in half the
time it takes to cancel a bad pesticide;
imposing tougher penalties and
increased record-keeping requirements;
and establishing national uniformity for
new pesticide tolerances unless local
circumstances argued otherwise.
• 1990 Farm Bill. With the Department of
Agriculture and Congress, EPA
developed strategies to establish
landmark legislation that integrates
environmental and agricultural goals:
Wetlands. A wetlands reserve program
of one million acres providing long-
term and permanent easements on
farmland restored to wetlands;
Pesticide Registrations. Increased
funding for the program to support
registrations of pesticides used on
"minor" or specialty crops; and
Management Practices. A water quality
incentive program to provide funding
and technical assistance to farmers to
improve pesticide and nutrient
management practices and reduce run-
off and leaching problems.
• Reducing Exposure to Toxic
Substances.
Lead. In February 1991, EPA announced
a comprehensive strategy to reduce lead
exposure through a series of actions and
regulatory initiatives that will be phased
in over this next year.
Guidelines and training courses on lead
paint abatement are being developed
with the Department of Housing and
Urban Development.
Awarded $300,000 grant to Alliance to
End Childhood Lead Poisoning for
development of model community
primary prevention program.
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). EPA
put into effect new regulations in
December 1989 that establish a "cradle-
to-grave" tracking and reporting system
to ensure safe storage and disposal.
Asbestos. In the two-year period 1989-
1990, EPA awarded $88 million to help
495 needy primary and secondary
schools abate serious asbestos hazards.
Mercury in Paint. A voluntary
agreement was negotiated in June 1990
with the paints and coatings industry to
eliminate mercury from interior paints
and to label mercury-containing exterior
paints with a warning.
• Indoor Air Pollution. Growing
scientific evidence indicates that air
within homes and other buildings can be
more seriously polluted than outdoor air,
even in the largest and most
industrialized cities.
Environmental Tobacco Smoke.
Prepared risk assessment proposing
passive smoking as a known carcinogen
for review by Agency's Science
Advisory Board.
State Radon Surveys. Released survey
results in October 1990 for California,
Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Nebraska,
Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma,
and South Carolina showing elevated
radon levels in each of the nine states.
One in five homes has elevated
screening levels in the 34 states tested
so far.
Public Education. Set up national
hotline, 1-800-USA-RADON, and made
available a list of over 1,000 EPA-
approved radon contractors nationwide.
With the Advertising Council, EPA
organized a national media campaign to
urge homeowners to test and fix radon
problems.
• Managing Hazardous Wastes.
Restricting Land Disposal. Finalized
regulations in May 1990 that restrict
land disposal of hundreds of untreated
wastes. Treatment standards are
designed to reduce toxicity of wastes,
prevent future ground-water
contamination, and assure safe
management.
Corrective Action. New health-based
standards and corrective procedures
were proposed in July 1990 for
designing remedies and cleanup at
approximately 4,000 operating
hazardous waste faculties nationwide,
including federal sites.
Tracking Medical Wastes. EPA
continued the two-year pilot tracking
program to assure proper disposal of
medical wastes and awarded $2.5
million in grants to nine states for
implementing medical waste programs.
Blueprint for Superfund Cleanups.
Finalized the National Contingency Plan
in February 1990, emphasizing quick
action to control immediate dangers,
expanded use of in-place treatment
technologies, increased public
participation, and improved processes
for selecting cleanup remedies.
Evaluating Superfund Sites. In
November 1990, EPA revised the
Hazard Ranking System—the criterion
used to evaluate potential Superfund
sites—to include factors on biological
and soil contamination impacts.
Citizen Grants. EPA streamlined
procedures for awarding citizen grants
to community groups to help them
participate in Superfund cleanup
activities.
• Improving Water Quality.
Storm Water Permits. Finalized Clean
Water Act rules in November 1990
describing how 100,000 industrial
facilities, 173 cities and 47 counties can
obtain permits for discharging storm
water into municipal sewage systems.
Protecting Drinking Water Supplies.
EPA set new standards in June 1989 to
limit pollutants in public drinking water
through monitoring and application of
additional treatment technologies.
17
-------
PROTECTING
NATURAL RESOURCES
Protecting the nation's natural resources—estuaries
and wetlands, forests, soils, wafer bodies, and the
like—is a priority for the. Bush Administration. The
deterioration of these ecosystems became all too
apparent in the summer's of 1988 and 1989, when
newspapers and television carried stories of
swimmers fleeing beaches littered with medical
waste and contaminated with bacteria.
One-third of the nation's shellfish beds are closed
due to pollution, wreaking economic as well as
environmental hardships. Twenty-Jive percent of
monitored estuaries contain elevated levels of toxic
substances, and eutrophication—excessive plant
growth due to the presence of run-off nutrients—is
increasing the number of "dead zones" where fish
cannot survive. Coastal fisheries, wildlife, and
waterfowl populations have declined while
population and industrial growth along the coasts
have increased dramatically. More than 120 million
Americans now live within 50 miles of the shore.
Recognizing the grave and sometimes
irreversible price being paid, EPA has intensified its
efforts to safeguard these critical ecosystems. Within
its broad plan to institute policies and practices that
reflect respect for the fragility of ecosystems
everywhere, the Agency has targeted several
systems for special attention: the Great Lakes,
Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, and several
others. In these areas—which may become models for
actions elsewhere—we are working in partnership
with local government officials, businesses, and
concerned citizens to use our new risk-based, multi-
media approach to take action and get solid, lasting
results.
Wetlands
Approximately half of the wetlands
originally in the contiguous United States
have been lost since the time of the
European settlement. In the two decades
between 1955 and 1975 alone, more than
11 million acres were lost and other
wetlands have been so degraded by
pollution and hydrological changes that
they no longer perform many of their
natural functions.
Nebraska's Rainwater Basin, a vital link
in America's migratory flyway, has lost
over 90 percent of its wetlands. And in
North Dakota, the prairie potholes that
remain are crowded with ducks and.
geese battling for nesting sites, struggling
to survive against the onslaught of
disease and predators that find easy sport
in the cramped breeding grounds. Today
the terrible toll of generations of
uninformed, unthinking, and incremental
destruction of wetlands is all too clear.
This year, EPA has increased its
spending for wetlands programs 44
percent—for early identification of
valuable wetlands areas, for enhancing
state and local grassroots programs, and
for developing the knowledge and
Top Ten Pollutants in Estuaries
"50fz~l % impaired sq. miles affected by each pollutant
-30
-20
-10
CO
|
0
£ ffi
DC O
n
18
-------
technical know-how to prevent further
deterioration.
The Agency also is working with the
Army Corps of Engineers to better
administer Section 404 of the Clean
Water Act, the major federal program
protecting wetlands for which we share
responsibility. In February 1990, EPA and
the Corps signed an agreement aimed at
mitigating wetlands loss, and last
September, the Army Corps issued new
regulatory guidance removing "prior
converted" croplands from permitting
requirements.
EPA has veto authority to stop projects
moving ahead that could endanger
wetlands. This power is not exercised
lightly—when it has to be used, it is a sign
the system is not working. In fact, over
10,000 permits are issued each year, and
EPA has vetoed only 11 applications since
1972. But when it is a question of
protecting high-value wetlands from
irreparable harm or loss, the Agency will
not hesitate to use its statutory authority,
as Congress intended. Several recent
actions illustrate this resolve:
• Rhode Island. EPA prohibited the use
of Big River, Mishnock River, their
tributaries, and adjacent wetlands as a
site for the proposed Big River water
supply reservoir in Kent County. The
decision saved 575 acres of exceptional
wetlands, 17 miles of free-flowing cold
water streams, 10 ponds and 2,500 acres
of primarily forested uplands.
• Colorado. EPA vetoed the proposed
Two Forks dam and reservoir project on
the South Platte River, citing adverse
environmental effects and viable
alternatives. This action saved over 14
miles of a recognized world-class trout
stream and a prime recreation area within
one hour of downtown Denver.
• Florida. EPA negotiations led to
revisions of a proposed permit to fill
wetlands at the Old Cutler Bay site near
Biscayne National Park, preventing the
destruction of several acres of important
mangrove wetlands while allowing the
project to go forward.
EPA Coastal Initiatives
San Francisco Bay
Salinas River'
Santa Monica Bay
'asco Bay
issachusetts Bay
uzzards Bay
larragansett Bay
'econic Bay
mg Island Sound
IY/NJ Harbor
few York Bight
ilaware Bay
laware Inland Bays
Chesapeake Bay
Jbemarle-Pamlico Sounds
Indian River Lagoon
19
-------
PROTECTING NATURAL RESOURCES
Great Lakes
Additional
Accomplishments
A vast interdependent body of water, the
Great Lakes are an especially vulnerable
ecosystem. In this unsurpassed
watershed, EPA is pursuing restoration
through an assortment of methods. The
need for flexibility is dictated by the
immense variety and comple>ity of the
watershed itself: Lake Superior, for
example, is remote and relatively
underpopulated. Lake Erie, bordering
major urban areas and once choked by
excess vegetation resulting from runoff
nutrients, is now sporting a variety of fish
life. But now it is plagued by new
invaders such as the zebra mussel, an
exotic species with as yet no predator to
check its numbers.
In this region, a model approach based
on ecological perspectives is taking shape.
EPA is trying to use the most advanced
technology available, including satellite
imagery, to identify the hot Sjpots in the
Great Lakes ecosystem. Through crafting
solutions tailored to local circumstances,
it is addressing persistent problems such
as the deposition of toxic pollutants
through the air and runoff from
agricultural, urban, and other nonpoint
sources of pollution.
The new Clean Air Act will help to curb
a major problem the Great Lakes face-
toxic and acidic air pollutants. But EPA
also intends to go beyond traditional
regulatory control and enforcement,
fashioning voluntary agreements with the
major sources of air pollution to protect
these magnificent waters.
Cooperation is becoming stronger. EPA
has drawn up an action plan emphasizing
pollution prevention. The plan includes
targeted reduction in release of toxic
chemicals and conventional pollutants, in
the Great Lakes basin. The plan was
unveiled in Chicago in April 1991 with
support from Great Lakes governors.
• Oil Pollution Act of 1990. EPA and the
U.S. Coast Guard will be lead agencies for
implementing this August 1990 law to
facilitate oil-spill prevention activities,
improve federal and state preparedness,
set strict liabilities for cleanup costs, and
expand oil-pollution research and
development.
• Pesticides. EPA proposed a new
program in July 1989 to protect
endangered wildlife from effects of
pesticide use. With help from the Fish
and Wildlife Service and the Department
of Agriculture, the program ranks species
on status, vulnerability, and recover)'
potential.
Great Lakes Areas of Concern
More than 40 areas of concern have been identified in the Great Lakes
Region, including loss of habitat, beach closings and restrictions on fish and
wildlife consumption.
20
-------
"Pollution prevention has become the slogan for all EPA programs, from municipal wastewater
treatment to toxic air pollution to stronger, carefully targeted multi-media enforcement strategies to
integrated ecosystem-wide programs, such as our new initiative to clean up the Great Lakes."
William K. Reilly, National Press Club, September 26,1990
• Coastal and Estuary Initiatives.
National Estuary Program. On Earth
Day 1990, President Bush announced
the addition of Barataria-Terrebonne
Estuarine Complex in Louisiana, Casco
Bay in Maine, Indian River Lagoon in
Florida, Massachusetts Bay in
Massachusetts, and Tampa Bay in
Florida to EPA's National Estuary
Program. A cooperative process has
started to develop comprehensive
conservation and management plans.
Ocean Dumping. EPA secured 1989
consent agreements to end the practice
of ocean dumping of municipal waste
and debris. Six New Jersey
municipalities agreed to end the
practice by March 1991, two New York
areas by the end of 1991, and New York
City by June 1992.
Nonpoint Source Pollution. In 1990,
EPA awarded $40 million in first-ever
state grants to implement nonpoint-
source-management programs under
Section 319 of the Clean Water Act.
Chesapeake Bay Protection. In
December 1989, Administrator Reilly
became chairman of the Chesapeake
Bay Executive Council Significant
reductions in phosphorus discharges
have been reported and progress has
been made in restoring the striped bass
population.
The Chesapeake Bay Program's citizen
monitoring project has doubled in size
over the past two years. More than 150
trained volunteers collect data for over
100 sites.
In April 1990, Administrator Reilly and
Secretary of Defense Cheney signed a
cooperative agreement on the
Chesapeake Bay to institute pollution
prevention practices, improve training,
establish inspections, and to allocate $50
million in Defense Department funds
toward cleanup of facilities on the
Chesapeake Bay.
• Visibility in the Grand Canyon. EPA
proposed rules in 1990 to cut pollution
from a northern Arizona power plant that
contributes significantly to winter
pollution haze in the Grand Canyon. The
2,250 megawatt coal-fired plant, the
Navajo Generating Station, is one of the
largest electric utilities in the country.
This marks the first time that the Clean
Air Act was invoked to protect visibility.
• Contaminated Fish Advisories. In
November 1990, EPA provided
information about fish contamination to
health, fishery, and environmental
agencies in all states and territories.
Included were descriptions of federal
procedures for assessing risks, a
bibliography of fish contamination
reports, a list of advisories in effect, and a
draft EPA plan for assisting states with
fish consumption advisories.
Spotlight
Bioremediation
EPA achieved a breakthrough in
using bioremediation—
microorganisms that detoxify soil
or water—along the shorelines of
Prince William Sound, Alaska after
the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The
objective of its Alaska
Bioremediation Project was to
demonstrate the feasibility of
cleaning up shorelines through a
focused approach: accelerating the
degradation of oil by applying
fertilizers which, in turn, enhance
naturally occurring microbes.
Results on test plots were
significant: the time of degradation
was cut in half.
Microbial treatment also has
been successfully used both in the
United States and abroad for on-
site treatment of organic
contamination of soils at
hazardous waste sites. Use of
enzymes for detoxifying
organophosphate pesticides in
soils has also been demonstrated.
Research and actual cleanup of
soils and aquifers contaminated by
hydrocarbons, phenols, cyanides,
and chlorinated solvents such as
trichlorethylene have taken place.
In 1988, EPA established a
Biosystems Technology
Development program which
addresses groundwater and oil-
spill cleanup methodology. In
addition, several developers of
commercial-scale biological
processes have applied to the
Superfund Innovative Technology
Evaluation program for
demonstration evaluation on
Superfund wastes.
In 1990, the Agency established
the Bioremediation Action
Committee comprised of
government, industry, academic,
and other representatives to
remove barriers to and stimulate
opportunities for uses of
bioremediation. Administrator
Reilly spoke to the biotechnology
industry and convened a day-long
meeting with top EPA officials to
consider needs and opportunities
to use biotechnology for cleanups.
Reilly challenged the
biotechnology industry to place a
major new priority through
investment and other business
plans to "help clean this country
up" faster and more cost-
effectively than current treatment
achieves.
—..-*
21
-------
ji '"!""•"• IjjJJTj
INTERNATIONAL
LEADERSHIP
International leadership is urgently needed to solve
the most pressing global environmental problems.
Stratospheric ozone depletion, ocean pollution,
species extinction, habitat loss, and climate change
are only a few of the complex issues that transcend
national boundaries. Although no one country can
singlehandedly solve these problems, the United
States is helping lead the way.
The Bush Administration is working to safeguard
fragile natural resources at home and abroad by
providing much-needed technical assistance and
fostering regional and multi-lateral solutions.
Together with other nations and international
development organizations, this country is working
to fully phase out ozone-destroying CFCs, negotiate
a framework convention on climate change, and
establish a new East European environmental
center. These cooperative projects reach all corners
of the globe. At the same time, EPA is training
Peace Corps volunteers to do their part throughout
the world in appropriate pesticides management,
ground-water protection, and environmentally-
sound forestry practices.
Enterprise for the Americas,
Debt-for-Nature Swaps
Public debt renegotiation is a central
element of President Bush's Enterprise-
for-the-Americas initiative, an imaginative
undertaking that links reduction of debt
with investment, trade, and commercial
debt reform. A debt-for-nature component
of this project provides a key opportunity
to focus on the valuable and fast-
disappearing ecosystems of the region.
The initiative is premised on resuming
economic growth in Latin America and
the Caribbean, where countries owe the
United States some $12 billion. Linking
the environment to debt renegotiation
seeks to strengthen the basis for
sustainable growth in these nations.
Participating countries will be able to use
interest payments on the reduced debt to
fund environmental projects. EPA was
appointed the Secretary of the
Environment for the Americas Board,
which oversees the application of local
currencies generated from debt reduction
for environmental purposes.
Debt-for-nature swaps involve
converting—at a discounted rate—official
or commercial debt payable in foreign
currency into local currency obligations
and dedicating the resulting local
currency proceeds to environmental
projects. Swaps can involve projects such
as acquisition or management of land for
parks or nature reserves to protect fragile,
valuable, or endangered ecosystems. They
also may be used for pollution prevention
or cleanup..
To date, nongovernmental organizations
in the United States have successfully
negotiated 15 swaps in eight countries
involving commercial debt with a face
value of nearly $100 million—in Latin
America, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.
22
-------
Protecting
Stratospheric Ozone
Budapest Center <•
Addressing Problems of
Eastern Europe
In March 1989, President Bush proposed
that the United States .fully phase out
production and use of chemicals that
contribute to the destruction of the
stratospheric ozone layer, which shields
the earth from ultraviolet radiation's
harmful effects on humans and the
environment.
The United States is taking an active
part in international efforts to strengthen
the Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer. The Protocol
was adopted in 1987 and has been ratified
by almost 70 nations. During a June 1990
meeting in London, the Protocol Parties
agreed to phase out chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs), carbon tetrachloride, and
nonessential uses of halons by the end of
the century, and to phase out methyl
chloroform by 2005.
To help developing countries finance
the transition from ozone-depleting
chemicals, the United States is
contributing to the Montreal Protocol
Multilateral Fund. The U.S. contribution
will be 25 percent of the total $160 to
$240-million fund, more than double that
of any other country. EPA represents the
United States on the executive committee.
Global CFC Production 1931 - 2010
•1200
•1000
1400 Weighted CFC Production Million kg
800
600
400
200
_.. ,-?3-KpL._ -a^^^.
^H:M' A__^-i.ii_"'i'-.' 9
. Montreal. erotocof"
Environmental conditions in Eastern
Europe provide clear confirmation of the
relationship between a healthy
environment and a healthy economy.
Polish officials estimate that
environmental contamination represents a
drag on Poland's GNP of as much as 15
percent. That country's Vistula River is sp
corrosive it is useless over 80 percent of
its length even for cooling machinery.
Sulfur dioxide levels in Krakow are so
high that 500-year-old statues and
monuments have crumbled in just 40
years. The nation is plagued by high rates
of infant mortality, lung disorders, worker
absenteeism, and premature deaths, with
vast land areas contaminated by heavy
metal pollution.
Delivering on a commitment by
President Bush to take action on
addressing the environmental problems
not only of Poland but all of Eastern
Europe, EPA Administrator Reilly opened
an independent, nongovernmental
regional center in Budapest, Hungary in
September 1990. This project represents a
new venture in institution-building for
emerging East European democracies, and
it promises to strengthen greatly the
environmental policies of the region's
countries. Regional problems are being
dealt with through education, training,
data collection and dissemination, and by
strengthening existing environmental
protection networks.
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 ,2000 2010
•23,
-------
INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Spotlight
Global Forest Agreement
New data suggeslt tropical forests
are being lost twice as fast as had
been believed; nutny forests will
have disappeared, within 10 to 15
years at present rates of
destruction. Concern for the rapid
loss of the great forest systems
worldwide led the President to
propose an agreement on forestry
at the G-7 Economic Summit in
July of 1990. The agreement
addresses world deforestation of
both temperate and tropical
rainforests, mapping and
monitoring research, training, and
technical assistance.
EPA is working with the State
Department, the Department of
Agriculture, and other agencies to
carry the proposal forward with
the goal that the agreement be
signed at the United Nations
Conference on Environment and
Development in Brazil in 1992. At
a preparatory meeting for the
conference held in February 1991,
participants discussed the merits
of market incentives and debt-for-
forest swaps as possible tools for
forest protection.
Tropical Rainforests: A Disappearing Treasure*
"Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, 1988
24
-------
"President Bush has moved the environment from the margins to the mainstream. As a result,
opportunities for genuine environmental progress have never been greater than they are today.
Additional Highlights
— William K. Reilly, National Press Club, September 26,1990
• Basel Convention. In March 1990, the
United States signed the Basel Convention
on the Transboundary Movement of
Waste, sponsored by the United Nations
Environment Program. This 80-country
initiative requires notice of proposed
hazardous waste shipments and prior
written consent, thus helping to ensure
that waste will be managed in an
"environmentally sound manner" by the
receiving country.
• Canada. EPA helped the State
Department negotiate and finalize an air
quality accord that will fight acid rain by
reducing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen
oxide emissions. President Bush and
Prime Minister Mulroney signed this
historic agreement in March 1991.
• Mexico.
Environmental Issues a Priority. At
Secretary of State Baker's invitation,
EPA is now part of the annual
binational meeting with Mexico.
Mexico City. EPA participated in the
1989 Mexico City Metropolitan Zone
Agreement, which calls for EPA's help
in protecting and improving the
environment in Mexico City.
Border Issues. EPA is collaborating
with its Mexican counterpart, SEDUE,
on border issues including response to
chemical emergencies. The two
countries have proposed funding
construction of new wastewater
treatment plants for Tijuana, Mexico
and Nogales, Arizona.
• Eastern, Central Europe.
Technical Assistance. The United States
initiated technical assistance programs
to improve wastewater treatment and
air quality monitoring in Krakow,
Poland and helped establish energy
efficiency centers in Warsaw and
Prague.
Emergency Preparedness. A U.S.-
Hungarian Workshop took place on
Chemical Emergency Preparedness,
Response, and Prevention in Veszprem,
Hungary in September 1990. All Eastern
and Central European countries
participated.
Czech and Slovak Federated Republic.
EPA, the Agency for International
Development (AID), the World Bank,
and U.S. private-sector officials joined
the Czech government in a joint study
assessing environmental conditions in
the country. The goal is to determine
priorities for action.
• Thailand. EPA and AID released a
study comparing a number of
environmental health risks facing
Bangkok. The project was the first-ever
application abroad of EPA's comparative
risk technique—used to help set priorities
given limited resources.
• Morocco. Dispatched technical advisors
to Moroccan government to assist in
dealing with a February 1990 oil spill
threatening the Morocco coast.
• Soviet Union.
New Projects. During 1990, the
U.S./U.S.S.R. Environmental Agreement
was expanded to include more than 55
projects focusing on issues such as
pollution prevention, halon reduction,
and Arctic accumulation of air toxics.
Chemical Spill Assistance. The United
States dispatched hazardous-spill
experts to Latvia in quick response to a
chemical spill that threatened drinking
water supplies in November 1990.
Soviet officials called the EPA
assistance, "The most important
American visit since Lindbergh."
Conference. EPA helped support the
first-ever U.S.-Soviet conference for
non-governmental environmental
organizations in Moscow in March 1991.
• Brazil. Administrator Reilly and Brazil's
Secretary of Environment Lutzenberger
signed a Memorandum of Understanding
on Environmental Cooperation in
November 1990.
• Trade Initiatives and Global
Standards.
Pesticides Precautions Abroad. An
expanded EPA program was proposed
for notifying other countries of U.S.
pesticide regulatory actions. New
labelling requirements for exported
pesticides also were proposed.
Food Safety. Through negotiations
sponsored by the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade, the United States
helped develop an international
proposal to harmonize food safety
standards, and to work for both healthy
trade conditions and a safe U.S. food
supply.
• International Organizations.
OECD. The United States played a
major role in bringing about an
international cooperative effort to share
responsibilities for testing chemicals.
The agreement was signed by 24
member countries of the Organization
of Economic Cooperation and
Development in April 1990.
World Bank. In November 1990, the
United States announced its support for
the World Bank Global Environment
Facility, known as the "Green Fund."
The fund will help developing countries
address global environmental problems.
A contribution of up to $150 million
over three years has been pledged by
the Administration.
-------
* ;. \
JlSViK ^
SOUND SCIENCE
-- ass
": t'Jff-
: **«"" —r.-
"- IR*S--
jiSIL -~.
Science can lend much-needed coherence, order, and
integrity to the often costly and controversial
decisions that EPA must make. Science also can
offer solutions—technologies that achieve low
emission rates through the application of pollution-
prevention principles, or technologies that achieve
high levels of control at minimal energy and
economic cost.
EPA's research laboratories located throughout
the country perform research and development
activities across the environmental spectrum. The
Agency's research program is being strengthened to
ensure decisions are based on scientifically sound
data and analyses. Major budget increases are
planned for strengthening research into areas most
closely associated with reducing health and
ecological risk—indoor air pollution, electromagnetic
radiation, and bioremediation of wastes. Research is
also being intensified in other areas, such as
assessing exposure and determining neurotoxic and
reproductive effects of exposure to different types of
pollutants.
Climate Change Research
EPA has carried out some of the seminal
research on the effects of climate change
and possible responses to it. The Agency
is a major participant in the U.S. Global
Change Research program, set up to
provide a sound scientific basis for
developing national and international
policy on global change, including climate I
change. Together with the Department of
Energy and the Council of Economic
Advisors, EPA is analyzing possible
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
under existing federal programs.
The Agenc/s primary focus is on the
assessment, evaluation, and prediction of
ecological and environmental
consequences of global change. EPA
scientists evaluate processes and quantify
relative contributions of man-made and
biological sources of trace gases, quantify
and model the consequences of climate
change on ecosystems and their
Federal Funding
for Global Change Research
1200 S millions
1000
800
600
-400
200
1989 1990 1991 1992
Source: U.S. Office of Management & Budget
In Fiscal Year 1992, the Administration plans to
invest almost $1.2 billion in global change research,
doubling what was committed to the research
program in 1990. EPA plays a vital role in the overall
research effort.
26
-------
The Science Advisory Board -
EPA's Objective Advisor
subsequent feedback to the atmosphere,
and examine the interaction of these gases
in the atmosphere. This research will
assist in providing process-level
understanding and modeling capabilities
to predict effects on regional scales.
The United States has been spending
hundreds of millions of dollars a year to
learn more about the scope, causes,
effects, and responses to potential climate
change. EPA has invested $9.6 million in
1989 and $15 million in 1990-more than a
50-percent increase—in major research
efforts to examine the causes and effects
alone of climate change and the
implications for future policy. This year,
the Bush Administration will spend $1
billion in research and monitoring to
reduce scientific and economic
uncertainties relating to global change—up
57 percent from 1990 levels.
Nor is the Administration just waiting
for the science to jell. In February 1991,
President Bush hosted the opening.
session of international negotiations on a
framework climate-change convention.
Domestically, the Administration already
is committed to a series of actions that
make sense for a number of reasons and
will yield benefits whether or not climate
change proves to be a problem of serious
consequence.
By passing a new Clean Air Act,
phasing out CFCs, carrying out the
President's reforestation initiative to plant
a billion trees a year over the next
decade, and other measures, including
those in the National Energy Strategy-
thai is, as a result of actions already taken
or planned—the United States should hold
its greenhouse gas emissions
approximately at or below current levels
for the foreseeable future. In 2030, these
actions will reduce emissions by one-third
of what they would otherwise be.
The United States is taking a
comprehensive approach to potential
climate change, considering all
greenhouse gases, sources and sinks. Such
an approach is more effective and less
costly than focusing on a single
greenhouse gas or on a single set of
sources. It provides flexibility for each
nation to develop a diverse, innovative,
cost-effective mix of measures tailored to
its own domestic circumstances. It uses
scientific and economic knowledge
comprehensively, leaving no important
variable omitted.
For more than a decade, the Science
Advisory Board (SAB) of EPA has
provided the Agency with unbiased
critical thinking on a variety of scientific
issues related, to the environment. Its job
is to provide the best technical and
scientific knowledge available on the
relative risks posed by environmental
problems and the options available to
reduce these risks.
The Board is comprised of
approximately 60 full-time members and
250 consultants from outside the Agency
and the U.S. government—scientists,
engineers, and other experts. Its role has
become more essential as the number and
complexity of demands on EPA have
grown. Perhaps its most significant
undertaking in recent years was the 1989-
1990 study to determine which issues
should be environmental priorities for the
Agency. Results are published in a
capstone report, Reducing Risk: Setting
Priorities and Strategies for Environmental
Protection.
The SAB has played a critical role in
several other EPA initiatives during the
past several years. Based on Board
recommendations in the late 1980s, the
Agency reevaluated its environmental and
health research programs, which lead to a
major new "core research" approach in
1989 for building the Agency's
information base in four key areas-
ecological risk assessment; health risk
assessment; risk reduction; and
exploratory grants and research centers.
In 1990, the SAB reviewed an EPA
report on electromagnetic fields that
evaluates data on the relationship
between exposure to this phenomenon
and cancer in humans. In separate
projects, the SAB is reviewing reports on
the potential carcinogenicity of
perchloroethylene—a common dry
cleaning chemical—and the risks of
environmental tobacco smoke, or cigarette
smoke to nonsmokers.
Projected U.S.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
25001.. :....„;;/;..: ,..;_...
pillions of.rrietric tons carbon equivalents ' .
sop
1987 2000
Includes carbon dioxide, methane, volatile organics,
oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide
and chloroflorocarbons.
27
-------
SOUND SCIENCE
Spotlight
Harnessing Technology
EPA continues to play an
instrumental role in collaborative
efforts to develop technologies that
combat environmental problems.
To shorten the learning curve on
how and where technology can
best be applied, the Agency has
created a National Advisory
Council for Environmental
Technology Transfer (NACETT).
This diverse group of 37 members
offers expertise from government
agencies, business and industry,
academia, and public interest
groups.
The Agency's Center1 for
Environmental Research
Information complements the work
of NACETT. The Center publishes
information about technological
tools and presents seminars,
workshops, and training courses
across the United States. During
1989 and 1990, it responded to
125,000 requests for science and
engineering documents and
sponsored 104 seminars and
workshops for 17,000 participants
from state and local governments
and the private sector,
To promote new technology,
EPA has established cooperative
arrangements with industry
through the Federal Technology
Transfer Act and maintains close
links with federal, industrial, and
academic laboratories
demonstrating new technologies.
During 1990, the Agency entered
into 17 agreements with the
private sector to research and
commercialize innovative
environmental technology. Projects
included oil-spill remediation,
water purification, and controls on
emissions.
EPA's Superfund Innovative
Technology Evaluation (SITE)
demonstration program has been
especially effective in finding and
applying technological solutions to
a particular type of problem—the
elimination of hazardous waste
sites. At present, there are 56
Superfund sites in which an
innovative treatment technology is
being used for actual cleanup jobs.
Fifty-nine percent of all cleanup
remedies undertaken in 1990
employed innovative technologies.
Number of Innovative
Technologies Selected
50
40
30
20
•10
82—83 84 85 86 87 88 89
EPA's Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation program has grown
rapidly as new technological solutions are applied to eliminating hazardous
waste sites.
EPA Research Laboratories
RAGANSETT
ICH TRIANGLE PARK
Types of EPA Research Facilities
Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory - Cincinnati
Air and Energy Engineering Laboratory - RTF
Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessment
Laboratory - RTP
Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory - Cincinnati
Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory - Las Vegas
Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory - Ada
Environmental Research Laboratory - Athens
Environmental Research Laboratory -.Corvallis
Environmental Research Laboratory - Duluth
Environmental Research Laboratory - Gulf Breeze
Environmental Research Laboratory - Narragansett
Health Effects Research Laboratory - RTP
28
-------
"The surest path to protecting human health and the environment, and to gaining the
public's trust, lies in our ability to point to a steadily decreasing volume of, and exposure to,
hazardous substances in our environment."
— William K. Reilly, American Enterprise Institute, June 12,1990.
Additional
Accomplishments
• Pollution Prevention Research. The
Agency's pollution-prevention research
program has grown from about $2 million
in 1987 to more than $9 million in 1991.
Research covers how to prevent pollution
not only during production but also
during use, repair, and disposal.
• Clean-up at Federal Faculties. EPA is
working with the Departments of Defense
and Energy to develop cooperative
demonstrations of innovative treatment
technologies for cleanup and waste-
minimization assessments at sites in
Georgia, California, Texas, Colorado, and
Montana.
• Survey of Ecological System Health.
The Agency started a ground-breaking
project designed to create a
comprehensive, continually updated
survey of the status of ecological
resources in the United States. The
Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment Program (EMAP) works by
linking EPA's monitoring capabilities to
counterparts in the Department of
Agriculture, NOAA, and the Fish and
Wildlife Service. EMAP data make it
possible^o assess changes in specific
ecosystems and determine whether these
changes are human-induced stresses.
Already it is providing information on the
health of estuaries from Cape Cod to
Cape Hatteras and on stresses to
northeastern forests.
• Data Systems. EPA researchers are
developing better measurement
technology and designing new methods
to determine exactly what people breathe
and consume through food and water.
These data systems help the Agency focus
on the right questions—who is being
exposed to what, and what does that
mean in terms of health risk?
• Great Lakes Monitoring. To monitor
water quality and carry out pollution
surveillance in the Great Lakes, EPA
acquired the 180-foot research vessel, Lake
Guardian. It joins EPA's other vessel, The
Peter W. Anderson, which collects data and
performs analyses on ocean and coastal
activities.
• Technology to Fight Acid Rain. The
Agency successfully completed a
demonstration project on the Limestone
Injection Multistage Burner in May 1990.
The burner can be used as low-cost
retrofit sulfur dioxide control technology
for many coal-fired utility boilers, helping
users comply with the acid rain
provisions of new Clean Air Act.
• Biotechnology Research. EPA
continued its. research into finding
methods for assessing the potential risk
resulting from the introduction of
microorganisms into the environment.
This program supports regulation of the
products of biotechnology under federal
toxics and pesticides laws.
• Ecological Institute. Responding to an
SAB recommendation, EPA has begun
efforts with the National Research
Council and the academic community to
explore the benefits of a National
Institutes of Health-like organization for
basic research in the environmental
sciences.
-------
STRENGTHENING
AGENCY RESOURCES
The United States as a whole now spends more
than $100 billion a year on environmental
protection, over triple tite amount the nation spent
in 1972. That figure will continue to grow in the
next 10 to 15 years as ihe new Clean Air Act
Amendments take effect and the nationwide cleanup
of hazardous waste sites proceeds—reaching about
2.7 percent of the GNP by the year 2000. Given
this level of expenditure—and its implications for
productivity and international competitiveness—the
nation must pay more attention than it has in the
past to meeting its environmental commitments in
the most cost-effective ways.
EPA is promoting cost-effectiveness by
strengthening its own workforce, using tools such
as Total Quality Management and strategic
planning methods. And thanks to President Bush's
commitment, EPA's numbers and financial base are
growing. Staff has increased 15 percent and
operating funds have increased 26 percent in the
past three budgets. In 1991, EPA was appropriated
$6.1 billion, a 9 percent increase over 1990. If the
1992 budget request is approved, the Agency's
budget for operating programs and trust funds will
have increased by $1 billion and the Agency
workforce will have grown by more than 2,900
workyears during the Bush Administration.
To provide expertise from outside the Agency,
EPA has set up a financial advisory board whose
members include senior executives from business,
industry, finance, banking, and government. At the
same time, the Agency has set up a special team to
explore alternative financing mechanisms. Essays
exploring a range of ideas and possible models—for
instance, the role of banks in environmental
protection and California's approach to managing
waste—were published in a November 1990 EPA
report, Paying for Progress: Perspectives on
Financing Environmental Protection.
Pollution Control Costs
200
Billions of 1986 Dollars
150
•100
50
72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 2000
30
-------
Working with States,
Tribes, and Localities
Much of the burden of environmental
management falls upon state and local
governments. To help lighten the load,
EPA is building environmental
partnerships with these other levels of
government and with Indian tribes. The
goal is to help boost limited financial and
human resources and allow the Agency to
leverage its own limited federal funding
into more effective environmental
programs.
State grant programs are an integral
part of this process. Despite severe federal
fiscal constraints, grants to states during
the Bush Administration have risen by 58
percent. In Fiscal Year 1989, EPA
awarded $315 million in grants to states.
By 1991, that figure had grown to $498
million.
Small communities may face a
particularly difficult challenge meeting
environmental mandates. To address
these circumstances, EPA set up a Small
Communities Coordinator project in 1989.
The aim is to ensure that the particular
burdens EPA actions may place on small
communities are borne in mind during
regulatory decision-making. Technological
assistance to small communities was
bolstered during 1990, when the Agency
established a subcommittee for small
communities under the National Advisory
Committee on Environmental Policy and
Technology.
. EPA has moved forward aggressively
with implementing President Bush's
policy of dealing with federally-
recognized Indian tribes on a
government-to-government basis. In 1989
and 1990, $27 million was awarded to
tribal governments for constructing or
modifying 30 wastewater-treatment
systems to serve reservations and Alaskan
native villages. Clean lakes grants
increased from three grants totalling
$200,000 in 1989 to 12 grants totalling $1
million in 1990.
Growing EPA Dollars
•5
7 $ billions
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992
EPA Workforce is Growing
20
•15
•10
•5
workyears lin Thousands
ff'f *
i-
j
!
1989
1990
1991
1992
The Agency's workyear ceilings continue to grow to
meet the President's commitment to improving
environmental protection. EPA's 1992 request
represents a workforce growth of 2,900 workyears
during the Bush Administration.
State and Local Grants
500 $millions
'400
•300
200
100
1989 1990 1991 1992
-------
STRENGTHENING AGENCY RESOURCES
Other Accomplishments
•••••iiiaiag ««-.««• K'W't Wi
Icais
Spotlight
Public—Private Partnerships
Public—private partnerships offer a
promising, alteririative-financing
mechanism to help state and local
governments co:nstruct and operate
environmental facilities. In such
partnerships, EPA and state
governments facilitate the activities
and provide technical support.
Communities ate the implementers
of the partnerships, with banking
and business interests offering
financial and ta:hnical resources.
Associations, foundations,
academia, and interest groups
provide expertise and support for
outreach to the public.
EPA's Public-Private
Partnerships Initiative provides
information and assistance to local
governments on how they can
work with the private sector to
finance environmental protection.
Demonstration projects are being
carried out to illustrate how
communities can successfully
initiate public—jprivate
partnerships. Special emphasis has
been placed on projects that help
small communities achieve
compliance with environmental
standards and regulations.
• Strategic Planning. EPA is putting into
place a four-year strategic planning and
budgeting process. The goal is to focus
attention and resources on the areas of
greatest risk and identify the greatest
potential for risk reduction.
• Focus on Minorities.
EPA Workforce. Within EPA, 69
percent of the net growth of 1990
professional and administrative
positions were women and minorities,
with minorities approximately half the
total. At management levels, minorities
and women made up two-thirds of
EPA's net growth. Hispanic and Asian-
Pacific Americans both increased by
over 50 percent in this category during
1990.
Environmental equity workgroup. The
Agency established an environmental
equity workgroup to address the
concern that minority and low-income
communities may bear a
disproportionate share of environmental
risk. The group is working with a
university-based equity organization as
informal advisor to gather data and
draw up a plan for action.
Business contracts. EPA awarded a
record number of small-business
contracts to minority-owned businesses
during the past two years. Direct
contract and grant awards totalled $485
million for Fiscal Year 1989 and $492
million for Fiscal Year 1990.
"We must go beyond compulsion and laws and incentives to ensure the environmental
integrity of our nation and our planet....we must engage the heart, which is seldom reached
by appeals to law or economics, in the task of bringing our habits, our choices, and our
lifestyles into harmony with the needs of nature,"
- William K. Reilly, Shipley Commencement, June 15,1990
32
------- |