STRENGTHENING EPA'S
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS
A Report to Congress
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, DC
March 1997
EPA
160
R
97
OOlx
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction Page 1
II. Achieving EPA's Mission Page 1
in. Setting Clear Priorities
A. Criteria Page 4
B. Evaluation and Monitoring Page 4
IV. Cooperation with Other Federal Agencies Page 5
V. Benefits to the American People
A. Reducing Environmental Threats Along Our
Borders Page 8
B. Reducing Global and Regional Environmental
Risk Page 10
C. Elevating the Quality and Reducing the Cost
of Environmental Protection in the United States Page 12
D. Serving Broader National Objectives Page 14
VI. Conclusion: Strengthening EPA's International Programs
A. Emphasizing Risk Reduction Page 15
B. Improving Internal Coordination Page 16
C. Improving External Coordination Page 17
VH. Endnotes Page 19
Vm. Members of EPA Drafting Group Page 20
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/. Introduction
In the Report accompanying EPA's FY 1997 appropriations bill, the Senate stressed the
important role EPA's international programs play in fulfilling the Agency's environmental mission:
The Committee recognizes that the protection of the U.S. environment depends in part
on the environmental protection efforts of other countries... The Committee encourages the
integration of EPA's international goals more coherently into its principal mission and
objectives.
To this end, the Senate Appropriations Committee directed EPA to report to Congress by
March 1, 1997 on its measures to strengthen its international program. The Committee specified that
EPA's report should address: (a) the integration of international considerations into EPA's primary
objectives (Section n); (b) the prioritization of international activities (Section III); the role of other
Federal agencies in international environmental activities and their relationship to EPA's Office of
International Activities (Section IV); and (d) the value to the American people of EPA's international
programs (Section V).
This report responds to that Congressional directive. Structured according to the specific
request from Congress, the report contains a separate section for each of the four elements identified
by the Committee. It concludes with a section describing measures EPA is taking to strengthen the
Agency's international programs.
//. Achieving EPA's Mission
EPA leads the nation's efforts to protect and preserve public health and the vitality of natural
ecosystems in this country. The Agency is committed to achieving these goals by reducing risks to
human health and the environment, preventing pollution, and fostering environmentally sound and
sustainable economic development in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
International cooperation is a key element in EPA's ability to achieve this mission. The U.S.
faces significant challenges in protecting the health of its citizens and its natural resources from
environmental hazards. In today's world, since pollution does not honor national boundaries,
overcoming these challenges requires the cooperation of other countries. Some examples:
>• Cross-border air, water and waste pollution from Mexico, Canada and other areas
affect the health, environment and well-being of American citizens living along
borders as well as other areas of the United States.
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»• Improper use of chemicals abroad can affect the safety of food and other products
imported into the United States.
»• Health and environmental benefits resulting from the multi-billion dollar U.S.
investment by industry under the Clean Air Act to reduce emissions of stratospheric
ozone depleting compounds could be undermined by failure to control production or
use of these chemicals in other countries, such as China, India or Russia.
> Pollution of the marine environment in the Wider Caribbean Region1 can damage U.S.
fisheries and coral reefs and jeopardize tourism and other livelihoods.
>• Pollution of the oceans and irreversible loss of species and habitat worldwide damage
natural systems critical to our well-being and quality of life, and deprive us of
commercially valuable and potentially life-saving genetic materials.
»• The long-range transport of persistent organic pollutants like DDT, chlordane and
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can adversely affect health and environment in the
United States.
Every major EPA program area has an important and indispensable international component.
The Air Office must concern itself with the transboundary fluxes of pollutants such as sulfur dioxide;
the Pesticides Office must establish safe tolerances for the import of food to ensure food safety and
share information on certain pesticide exports and regulatory decisions; the Office of Solid Waste
must ensure the safe import and export of waste; the Office of Enforcement and Compliance
Assurance must work with foreign countries, for example, to stop the smuggling of ozone-depleting
chemicals; the Office of General Counsel works with USTR on such issues as reformulated gasoline
and to defend EPA's regulations when these are challenged at the World Trade Organization (WTO);
the Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation must examine how non-environmental policies, such
as trade policies, affect EPA's regulations; and the Office of Water must deal with ocean dumping
and pollution of international watercourses such as the Great Lakes. It is absolutely clear, therefore,
that EPA's work to protect human health and the environment in the United States has an essential
international component that cannot be considered independently from EPA's other work.
Within EPA, the Office of International Activities (OIA) leads these international efforts
working in close cooperation with other parts of the Agency. As described by the General
Accounting Office in its report of September 1996,2 OIA "serves as the focal point and catalyst for
the agency's international agenda, providing leadership and coordination on behalf of EPA's
Administrator." OIA is essential to a strong and efficient international program at EPA. Centralizing
certain core international functions prevents costly duplication and facilitates the mobilization of
Agency program and regional office resources in support of U.S. environmental goals and objectives.
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As chief advisor to the EPA Administrator on international issues, OIA plays a particularly important
role with respect to cross-cutting programs and projects and ensures that the Agency speaks with one
voice on critical policy matters. OIA also serves as EPA's principal point of contact on international
environmental matters with the
Department of State, the U.S. Agency for
International Development, the
Department of Commerce and other
[ "EPA is the nation's chief technical and
| regulatory (tgency for environmental matters,
| As such, it plays a major role not only in
\ domestic environmental protection activities but
! in international environmental programs and
| activities as well...EPA 's international
| programs also serve important U~£ economic,
\ foreign policy, and security interests."
t
t
i
! — U.S. General Accounting Office,
i September 1996
federal departments, and oversees the
Agency's international travel and visitors
programs.
Consistent with EPA's Five-Year
Strategic Plan3 and the National
Environmental Policy Act, EPA has
taken steps to incorporate essential
international activities into the Agency's
programs. Program and regional offices
now have a point of contact for
international activities. OIA also
facilitates a network of regional coordinators to better mobilize the scientific and technical expertise
available through the Agency's regions and laboratories. The reduction of global and regional
environmental risks is one of twelve environmental goals identified in EPA's draft "National
Environmental Goals for America" report. In addition, corresponding goals, objectives and measures
for international activities are being developed as part of the "planning, budgeting, analysis, and
accountability" process that is currently being introduced in the Agency. The Agency's goal is to link
budget decisions with priorities in a more formal, structured way, and to measure results.
EPA has been very successful in advancing the U.S. international environmental agenda. With
new planning and management tools, and enhanced cooperation with the Congress and other partners,
the Agency can do an even better job in meeting today's challenges. This will require, among other
things, developing well-targeted international activities within major programmatic areas.
///. Setting Clear Priorities
The Agency recognizes the importance of ensuring that its international activities contribute
to its primary mission. To that end, the Agency has developed a set of criteria to help determine the
relative priority of EPA's proposed international efforts for planning and budgeting purposes. As part
of its implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act (P.L. 103-62) and the
restructuring of its planning, budgeting, analysis, and accountability processes, the Agency is also
developing a results-oriented process for evaluating the effectiveness of its international programs.
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A. Criteria
EPA has identified the following criteria to better determine the relative priority of
international efforts within the Agency. Proposed programs and activities are weighed according to
the degree to which they:
1. protect U.S. public health and the environment from transboundary or global
environmental risks;
2. fulfill statutory and treaty obligations and respond to congressional mandates and
court-ordered deadlines;
3. contribute directly to U.S. domestic environmental programs by increasing the
effectiveness or lowering the cost of environmental protection in the United States
(e.g., through the acquisition of new research, data or technology);
4. advance broader U.S. foreign policy, economic or national security objectives as
defined by Congress and the Administration; and
5. take advantage of EPA's unique expertise and experience in the most cost-effective
manner possible.
B. Evaluation and Monitoring
Responding to the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, EPA is increasing its
efforts to measure the environmental results of its activities, including those in the international arena.
The Agency has begun to develop measurable outcomes for environmental programs at the national
and programmatic levels. The "National Environmental Goals for America" report, released recently
in public draft form, defines broad goals to improve the nation's environment. Included in this report
are a series of proposed milestones to indicate progress toward achievement of the proposed national
environmental goals. To achieve the milestones, Federal agencies, states, tribes, communities,
industries and individuals must work collectively to implement programs, monitor results and report
successes and deficiencies. The draft Goals Report includes a chapter on the global environment that
proposes specific, measurable milestones within defined time frames for achieving international
environmental objectives. EPA will implement programs to help achieve the global environmental
goal and related milestones and will monitor the progress of these programs.
EPA is developing specific goals, objectives and outcome measures to indicate environmental
achievements across the Agency. Each major program of the Agency, including international
activities, is required to define subordinate programmatic goals and measures and employ monitoring
and evaluation techniques for positive environmental results. If these evaluation and monitoring
efforts suggest that statutory changes would be beneficial, EPA will report these findings to Congress
for its consideration. Our overriding objective is to provide the best protection possible for U.S.
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citizens and natural resources, consistent with the full range of U.S. political, economic and
environmental interests.
IV. Cooperation with Other Federal Agencies
EPA's environmental mandate and expertise make it uniquely qualified to represent the
nation's environmental interests abroad. While the Department of State is responsible for the conduct
of overall U.S. foreign policy and other agencies are also involved in the international environmental
Major Global Environmental Treaties
1996 Protocol Relating to the London Dumping Convention*
1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change*
1992 Convention on Biological Diversity
1989 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous
Wastes and Their Disposal
1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer*
198 5 Vienna Convention on the Protection of the Ozone Layer*
1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
Principal North American Environmental Agreements
1992 North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation*
1991 Canada-United States Air Quality Agreement*
1983 Agreement Between the United States and Mexico on Cooperation for the
Protection and Improvement of the Environment in the Border Area*
1983 Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of
the Wider Caribbean Region*
1978 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement*
*ratified/given final approval by U.S.
arena, only EPA has environmental expertise as its primary mission and focus of expertise. The
following summarizes EPA's cooperative relations with other U.S. agencies.
Under the Foreign Relations Act of 1979 (P.L. 95-426), as amended, the Department of State
is given primary coordination and oversight responsibility for all major science and technology
agreements and activities between the United States and foreign countries, international
organizations, or commissions of which the United States and one or more countries are members.
Relations between EPA and the Department of State cut across several offices/bureaus in both
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organizations. For example, EPA works closely with the Bureau for Oceans, Environment and
Scientific Affairs (OES), the offices of the Legal Adviser, International Organizations, Economic
Affairs, and regional bureaus. OIA at EPA and the OES at State serve as principal points of contact
for overall coordination.
EPA plays a large role in the negotiation of international environmental agreements and
programs and, at the request of the State Department, sometimes leads U.S. delegations. The degree
and level of responsibility for policy development and treaty negotiation on environmental agreements
varies by issue between EPA and the Department of State. The policy development necessary for
negotiation and implementation of these agreements is invariably dependent upon EPA expertise and
support. This expertise is especially critical with respect to ensuring consistency with our domestic
environmental policies and regulatory programs.
Recognizing that international agreements are only as effective as their implementation, the
Agency also draws on its statutory authority and unique technical and policy expertise to assure the
effectiveness of these agreements, both within the United States through the promulgation of
appropriate regulations and abroad through technical assistance and training. EPA's policy leadership
and technical cooperation programs under the Montreal Protocol, London Ocean Dumping
Convention and Framework Convention on Climate Change, for example, have been critical to the
success of those international agreements. The Agency is now playing a similar role in preparing for
negotiations on a global convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and existing negotiations
on prior informed consent (PIC) for the export of certain banned or severely restricted chemicals.
EPA recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Defense and
Department of Energy to formalize on-going cooperation in the area of "environmental security".
Responding to the recommendation of EPA's Science Advisory Board that EPA "recognize that
global environmental quality is a matter of strategic national interest,"4 the agreement will facilitate
inter-agency cooperation in responding to emerging environmental threats to the health and safety
of U.S. citizens, U.S. foreign policy interests and environmental problems associated with the legacy
of the Cold War. EPA is offering its unique technical expertise in such areas as environmental
monitoring and assessment, emergency planning and response, risk assessment, environmental
technology development and transfer, and the investigation of international environmental crimes.
EPA has often been asked by the State Department and Defense Department to provide
leadership on critical political and security issues. For example, EPA officials and experts were an
important part of the U.S. team that promoted scientific and technical cooperation as an effective tool
for reducing Cold War tensions with Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. EPA chaired the U.S.
delegation to the historic NATO environmental conference in 1993 that included former Soviet bloc
countries for the first time.
EPA and the many components of the Department of Commerce work together closely on
a range of different issues, including many science and technology issues. OIA has the lead for
coordinating with the Department of Commerce on international issues, including responsibility for
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carrying out EPA's activities under the Export Enhancement Act of 1992. The Act mandated EPA
participation on the Environmental Trade Working Group (ETWG) of the Trade Promotion
Coordinating Committee (TPCC), an inter-agency working group chaired by the Secretary of
Commerce to coordinate the government's overall trade promotion activities. OIA represents EPA
on the sub-cabinet TPCC Deputies' Committee and, along with the International Trade
Administration at Commerce, co-chairs both the ETWG and the ETWG "Advance Team".
The Department of Commerce and other trade promotion agencies often look to EPA for
information on international environmental needs and market opportunities. Cooperative activities
among these agencies have also led to joint economic and environmental benefits for the United
States. Joint funding for
environmental training of foreign
officials, for example, has helped
strengthen environmental
management capabilities worldwide
while leading to over $150 million
in sales for small and medium-sized
companies in the U.S.
EPA also works extensively
with the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
"Recognizing that the United States is part of a global
ecosystem that is affectedly the actions of all
countries* EPA should begin working with relevant
agencies and organizations to develop strategic
national policies that link national security, foreign
relations, environmental quality, and economic
growth."
— EPA Science Advisory Board, January 1995
(NOAA) and the U .S. Coast
Guard on international
environmental scientific and policy
issues related to the protection of our coasts, marine environment and atmosphere. At the Coast
Guard's request, for example, EPA's international office chairs an inter-agency work group tasked
with negotiating an international agreement on air pollution standards for ships through the
International Maritime Organization. EPA provides technical and policy guidance to the Coast Guard
on other vessel safety and pollution prevention matters, for example, problems associated with anti-
fouling paint used on ship hulls.
OIA serves as EPA's primary point of contact and liaison with the U.S. Agency for
International Development (U.S. AID). Specifically, drawing on expertise from throughout EPA,
OIA administers a number of inter-agency agreements for environmental assistance. Under the
Support for Eastern European Democracy Act and the Freedom Support Act, for example, OIA
coordinates the provision of technical assistance, training, information exchange, and demonstrations
in building environmental institutions and human resource capabilities in Central and Eastern Europe,
Russia and the New Independent States. OIA also coordinates similar inter-agreements with respect
to capacity-building in Central America and Asia.
EPA works extensively with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), particularly
its Office of Environment and Natural Resources, to ensure that U.S. international trade policies are
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mutually supportive, reflecting the Administration's continuing commitment to sustainable economic
growth. For example, through the Agency's participation in the negotiation of both the North
American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization and in the Committees created
by both sets of agreements, EPA has worked with USTR to ensure that U.S. obligations under
international trade agreements do not hamper
the ability of federal and state governments to
maintain high levels of domestic environmental
protection. The two agencies also work
together to ensure that EPA's rules,
regulations and other programs are consistent
with U.S. obligations under international trade
agreements. EPA is represented on the sub-
cabinet Trade Policy Review Group (TPRG)
and the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC),
coordinated by USTR and responsible for the
development of U.S. international trade policy.
The Murmansk Initiative: Successfully
Applying the Concept of "Environmental
Security"
EPA, the Department of Defense
and other agencies are working with Russia
and Norway to upgrade and expand a low-
level liquid radioactive waste (LLW)
processing facility in Murmansk, Russia.
Designed to halt possible sea disposal of
LLW from the decommissioning of Russia's
nuclear submarine fleet, the project is
introducing an innovative U.S. technology
employing special filtering, containment and
processing techniques.
EPA has participated in all of the work
leading up to the Report of the WTO
Committee on Trade and Environment
(WTO/CTE) to the Singapore Economic
Ministerial in December 1996. The
WTO/CTE was created with strong support
from the U.S. in order to provide, among
other things, a mechanism to help ensure that the international trade rules are environmentally
sensitive. EPA, together with State and USTR, also leads U.S. delegations to meetings of the OECD
Joint Experts Group on Trade and Environment.
Finally, EPA works closely with a number of other agencies with environmental, health or
safety mandates , including the departments of Labor, Transportation, Agriculture, Interior, Health
and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration.
V. Benefits to the American People
EPA's international environmental programs help protect the health and environment of
American citizens. They enlist the cooperation of other nations in reducing transboundary and global
environmental threats to the United States and reduce the cost of the nation's environmental
protection. They also serve the nation's broad foreign policy, economic and national security
interests.
A. Reducing Environmental Threats Along Our Borders
Over half of the U.S. population lives in the 19 States that form our borders with Mexico and
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Canada. Nowhere are the benefits of EPA's international programs more apparent than along our
common borders with Mexico and Canada and in the Arctic and Wider Caribbean Region.
EPA's cooperative programs with Mexico, along with the Agency's role in negotiating the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), have led to specific environmental gains in both
countries. The construction of wastewater treatment facilities in Mexico is helping solve decades-old
problems affecting human health and the environment in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and
Texas. Joint air pollution efforts under the 1983 Border Environment Agreement will help reduce
respiratory and other health problems .in U.S. cities along the border, as well as their Mexican "sister"
cities (e..g., Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana). Coordinated enforcement efforts are reducing illegal waste
dumping and other pollution on both sides of the border. Working closely with the Department of
Health and Human Services, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, EPA
will play a leading role in implementing "Border XXF', a new five-year program for protecting health
and environment along the border (See box).
Long-standing cooperation with Canada has resulted in corresponding environmental gains
along our northern border. Benefitting from the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and other
cooperative agreements, mercury levels in fish in Lakes Michigan, Huron and Erie have dropped by
more than 75 percent since 1970. Phosphorous loadings into Lake Erie decreased by more than 50
percent over the same time period, improving water quality and raising fish stocks. EPA and
Environment Canada are working closely with public and private interests on both sides of the border
to eliminate health and environmental risks from persistent organic pollutants in the Great Lakes.
U.S. and Canadian efforts to achieve the goals of the U.S.-Canada Air Quality Agreement
resulted in reductions of sulfate wet deposition over eastern North America by over 20 percent of
1979 levels. U.S. and Canadian federal, British Columbia provincial and Washington state agencies
are cooperating to achieve shared goals for the Puget Sound-Straits of Georgia Basin eco-region.
Their top four priorities are minimizing habitat loss, protecting marine plants and animals, minimizing
introduction of non-native species, and creating marine protected areas. Joint contingency planning
with Mexico and Canada is helping prevent and ensure appropriate response capabilities for chemical
accidents or other hazardous spills along inland borders.
Finally, the U.S. and its NAFTA partners have determined that some transboundary issues
related to Mexico and Canada are better addressed on a regional scale through the Commission for
Environmental Cooperation (CEC), which was established under the North American Free Trade
Agreement side agreement. For instance, the three parties have developed regional actions plans for
DDT, mercury, PCBs and chlordane, and are negotiating procedures to notify and mitigate
transboundary environmental impacts. They are also considering a conservation strategy for North
American migratory songbirds. The CEC has facilitated cooperation among the North American
nations on other issues such as environmental enforcement; development of a North American
pollutant release inventory; regional greenhouse gas emissions trading; and regional implementation
of global environmental agreements.
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B. Reducing Global and Regional Environmental Risk
Global threats have local effects since they can affect the health and well-being of every U.S.
citizen. Depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer increases the amount of the sun's ultraviolet
radiation reaching the earth's surface, thereby increasing risk of skin cancer, cataracts and suppression
of human immune systems. Pollution of the oceans originating in other countries threatens health and
environment along U.S. coasts. Similarly, the United States is vulnerable to the impacts of climate
change caused by global greenhouse gas emissions. Even with stabilization of emissions by the year
BORDER XXI: Protecting U.S. Health and Environment along the U.S.-Mexico Border
EPA will play a leading role in implementing "Border 21", the next five-year phase of the
binational program program to address environmental, public health and natural resource issues
along the US-Mexico border. EPA's goal is to make border communities safe and cleaner for
the more than 10 million people who live there. Underlying principles for the plan include
enhanced public participation, greater involvement of tribal nations and state agencies, and
enhanced coordination and integration of effort among federal agencies and between federal and
state agencies.
Objectives of the plan include: (1) reducing and responding to health problems from exposure
to chemical, physical and biological agents; (2) building or upgrading wastewater and drinking
water systems; (3) reducing air pollution in innovative ways, including expansion of monitoring
and control programs; (4) expanded tracking of trans-border shipments of hazardous and toxic
substances; (5) expanded use of pollution prevention and recycling practices; (6) improved
emergency response procedures; (7) intensified enforcement of environmental and health
protection laws in both countries; and (8) increased public access to information, including
environmental data.
To achieve maximum environmental results under this program, EPA is using implementation
of Border XXI as a pilot under the Government Performance and Results Act.
2100, global temperatures would continue to rise for several decades and sea level for centuries.
Loss of biological diversity is damaging the health of ecosystems and depleting the world's
commercially valuable and potentially life-saving genetic materials. The global ramifications of the
nuclear accident at Chernobyl underscored U.S. vulnerability to the results of environmental
mismanagement in other countries. Environmental problems like ozone depletion and water pollution
also have adverse economic effects for industries like agriculture and fishing.
Drawing on its policy and technical expertise, and in accordance with its statutory authority,
EPA plays a leading role in negotiating and implementing international agreements and programs on
global and regional environmental problems directly affecting the United States. The Agency was
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a leading policy and technical voice in the international negotiations on the Montreal Protocol on
Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. EPA was a key participant on the U.S. delegation to many
technical working group meetings, and had lead responsibility for domestic implementation of the
Protocol through the promulgation of regulations under the Clean Air Act. The Agency is also
instrumental in carrying out U.S. responsibilities related to the provision of technical assistance to
developing-country Parties to the Protocol. EPA is now leading the inter-agency effort to reduce
illegal exports and imports of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) through enforcement cooperation with
other countries.
EPA also provides policy and technical leadership in international efforts to implement the
Framework Convention on Climate Change, particularly through the President's Climate Change
Action Program, and international agreements to prevent and reduce pollution of the marine
environment from dumping, vessels and land-based sources. The recent agreement under the London
Convention to ban the sea disposal of radioactive and industrial wastes, for example, helps protect
U.S. coastal areas, fisheries and human health. Through U.S.G. activities like the U.S. Country
Studies Program and the United States Initiative on Joint Implementation (USIJI), EPA assists
developing countries in identifying innovative, cost-effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. Increasing private sector investment in developing countries while enhancing
environmental and human health benefits are goals of the USIJI, the Country Studies Program and
related programs. The Country Studies Program is expanding its analytic activities with the fifty-five
participating countries to support the negotiations, including assisting up to ten additional countries
in assessing the extent of emissions reductions achievable through implementation of "win-win" or
"no regrets" measures. These activities
stimulate the development and diffusion of
clean, energy-efficient technologies in
"EPA's role asprotector of the national interest
in environmental matters would require it to work
with other nations on problems affecting the
United States and the world."
— The National Academy of Public
Administration, April 1995
developing countries and reduce the need
to achieve the same greenhouse gas
reductions in the United States.
EPA has been a global leader in
international efforts to control the long-
range transport of persistent organic
pollutants, such as DDT, chlordane and
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The
Agency recently helped secure international
consensus on the need for a legally binding convention on these pollutants. Such a convention will
enlist the cooperation of nations in limiting the production of chemicals long banned or restricted for
use in the United States and whose continued use abroad poses a threat to health and environment
in this country. EPA has also played a major role in international agreement on prior informed
consent (PIC) for the transboundary movement of certain toxic chemicals and pesticides, and for a
Biosafety Protocol to the Biodiversity Convention seeking to construct an international regime for
trade in living modified organisms.
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Similarly, EPA has a key role on implementing the Global Programme of Action on Land-
Based Sources of Marine Pollution adopted at the Washington Conference in 1995, and in
negotiations on a Land-Based Marine Pollution Protocol under the Cartagena Convention for the
Wider Caribbean Region. The development and implementation of effective controls on land-based
sources of marine pollution such as outfalls and runoff will go far toward advancing important U.S.
environmental and economic interests. Clean beaches and healthy coral reefs, for example, are very
important to the tourist, fishing and recreation industries.
EPA's international programs on safe pesticide use are helping to improve the quality of the
U.S. food supply. Many off-season fruit and vegetables are imported from developing countries
whose environmental inspection and regulatory systems are considerably less stringent than those in
the U.S. By working with foreign environmental protection agencies and agricultural producers,
EPA is able to promote safer pesticide use and food production practices in countries producing a
significant amount of export crops for the U.S. market. Since 1991, for example, EPA has provided
technical assistance on pesticide management to many countries in Central America. Much of the
produce grown in Central America is intended for the U.S. market.
C. Elevating the Quality and Reducing the Cost of Environmental Protection in the United
States
The United States is a world leader in environmental protection, with significant expertise
residing in both the public and private sectors. Cooperative research and regulatory development
enables the United States to share the costs of environmental protection efforts and to benefit from
scientific and technological breakthroughs in other countries, thereby elevating the quality and
reducing the cost of environmental protection in the United States.
Learning Lessons from Abroad: The Polish Biosolids Project
EPA's international technology and assistance projects not only help solve pressing
environmental problems abroad; they can also identify innovative approaches for use in the
United States. Over the last three years, for example, EPA has used ADD-funding to work with
the Government of Poland in demonstrating the use of biosolids (sewage sludge) in
revegetating and detoxifying land contaminated by coal mining and smelter wastes. The
successful results of this small-scale demonstration could help introduce the use of this low-
cost and effective technique in the U.S.
Cooperative research with several countries, including Canada, Germany, Sweden, Japan,
China, and India, has yielded valuable information to the United States at a fraction of the cost of
collecting and analyzing the data here. In a cooperative study with China, for example, EPA was able
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to assess the loss of lung function in children due to their exposure to coarse and fine air-borne
particulate matter. Joint testing with Germany on the development of thermal destruction techniques
for hazardous waste saved the U.S. taxpayer millions of dollars and accelerated the U.S. domestic
program in this area three to four years. Shared testing through the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) of over 700 high production volume chemicals greatly
reduces the cost and administrative burden of chemical testing in the United States. OECD's long-
standing Test Guidelines harmonization program for toxic chemicals data has been expanded to
RUSSIA: Protecting Our Shared Environment
Environmental cooperation with Russia plays a critical role in reducing global and transboundary
risks affecting health and the environment in the United States. Russia is the largest source of
industrial and radioactive pollution in the Arctic. It possesses the world's largest forested area and
a considerable share of the world's biological diversity. It is also the world's third largest emitter
of greenhouse gases and the largest remaining producer of ozone-depleting substances. EPA's
cooperative programs with Russia have helped:
»• leverage the funding needed to achieve significant emission reductions of CO-2 and other
greenhouse gases over the next few years;
*• cease Russia's dumping of low-level radioactive waste in the Arctic, thereby enabling
Russia to comply with the London Dumping Convention (see related box on Murmansk);
>• reform major components of Russia's environmental management system, particularly for
air pollution;
>• introduce low-cost, innovative technologies to reduce and prevent pollution; and
*• achieve measurable improvements in environmental quality in the Moscow area and in
several other Russian cities, including Volgograd and Nizhnii Tagil.
EPA's cooperative programs have helped strengthen U.S. ties with this strategically vital nation.
explicitly consider pesticides data, thereby leading to even greater resource savings for national
regulatory agencies and industry as well as more consistent scientific and regulatory conclusions.
Cooperation with the European Union is helping to enhance the effectiveness of ecolabeling as a
market-based, environmental policy tool.
EPA is also working with many developed countries in sharing environmental management
expertise on new, non-regulatory mechanisms for protecting the environment. Other countries are
extremely interested in our experience with voluntary, non-regulatory programs like the Common
Sense Initiative, an industry sector approach to environmental protection. In addition, as EPA moves
away from the medium-by-medium approach of the past toward a more integrated view of the
environment, it can learn much from the experience of other countries that have already applied such
techniques. Swedish and Dutch authorities, for example, have been implementing multi-media
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systems of environmental protection for many years. Similarly, experience in Germany and other
countries in rehabilitating derelict industrial sites offers valuable lessons for the "Brownfields"
program in the U.S.
EPA "know-how" and experience is in great demand throughout the world. One very cost-
effective way to assist other countries in designing and implementing environmental protection
strategies is through EPA's international visitors program. In 1996, for example, EPA hosted over
1200 visitors from 109 countries. These typically brief stops at EPA enable environmental
professionals from other countries to meet and exhange ideas with their counterparts in the United
States. Such visits often serve as a springboard for building or strengthening environmental
institutions abroad and set the foundation for mutually beneficial future exchanges.
D. Serving Broader National Objectives
As emphasized by the General Accounting Office in its recent review of international
environmental programs across the U.S. government, "EPA's international programs also serve
important U.S. economic, foreign policy, and security interests."5 Working closely with other U.S.
agencies, for example, EPA has actively supported regional cooperation under the auspices of the
Middle East Peace Process | i
Multilateral Working Group,
including bringing together "Widely recognized as the hading source of
regional parties to cooperate environmental regulatory and management expertise
worldwide, EPA is frequently approached by foreign
governments and organizations for assistance in
establishing the environmental regulatory and
management capabilities that can drive the demand for
U.S, technologies".
on reducing risks from
pesticides, small community
wastewater, and preventing
and responding to chemical
accidents or oil spills.
— Environmental Technologies Trade
Advisory Committee, June 1996
The Agency's emphasis
on community-based
environmental management
plays an important role in
encouraging the development
of more responsible, participatory decision-making in countries around the world. Reduced
environmental problems can relieve pressures for illegal immigration, promote economic and political
stability, and serve other national security interests.
Technical cooperation has also played an important role in foreign policy initiatives in Latin
America and with Mexico, China, India, Russia, and South Africa. Finally, EPA's technical assistance
and training programs create demand - and markets — for environmental technologies and expertise,
thereby enhancing commercial opportunities for U.S. business and industry and creating high-wage
jobs for American citizens.
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Senior private sector individuals and groups have recently reaffirmed the key role EPA's
international technology and capacity-building programs play in creating commercial opportunities
for U.S. suppliers of environmental technologies and expertise. In so doing, they have differentiated
the export assistance (supply-side) role of the Department of Commerce, Export-Import Bank and
other export promotion agencies from EPA's role in creating demand for U.S. technologies and
expertise through the development of environmental standards, institutions and human resource
capabilities. EPA's short-term technical assistance to the Royal Thai Government, for example, not
only helped solve a pressing health and environmental problem in the Mae Moh Valley, it also led to
the sale of almost $200 million for U.S.-made air pollution monitoring and control equipment.
International harmonization of good laboratory practices, test guidelines and mutual
acceptance of data for industrial chemicals and pesticides means more efficient data development by
industry and greater assurance of the quality of data EPA uses in responding to statutory requests for
risk and risk benefit assessments. The mutual acceptance of data for risk assessment purposes must
now be expanded beyond countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
to include emerging markets in Asia and Central and Eastern Europe. EPA's efforts to promote the
upward harmonization of environmental standards also protect U.S. business and industry from unfair
trade advantages through lax or non-existent environmental controls in other countries.
VI. Conclusion: Strengthening EPA's International Programs
EPA has long been a central player in the formulation and implementation of U.S.
international environmental policy. The direct benefit to U.S. citizens and natural resources resulting
from this involvement underscores the importance of ensuring an active and continuing international
presence. EPA is working to strengthen its ability to lead and support U.S. efforts to prevent and
control environmental pollution at the regional and global level. In addition to the priority setting,
evaluation and monitoring measures described earlier, EPA is undertaking the following steps to
strengthen its international programs.
A. Emphasizing Risk Reduction
Consistent with recommendations of the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB)6 and the
recommendations of the National Academy for Public Administration (NAP A),7 EPA is putting much
greater emphasis on the potential for risk reduction in setting priorities. The SAB called particular
attention to top-ranked risks to the natural ecology and human welfare, all of which have significant
international implications. By making better use of good science and balancing numerous
environmental, social, economic, political and scientific considerations, the Agency is working to
ensure that its limited resources are devoted to the areas of greatest risk.
Responding to the NAPA recommendations, the Agency is also making better use of science,
strategic planning, budgeting, and accountability in the planning and implementation of its
international programs. The following steps will ensure more rigorous evaluation of the risks
associated with different international environmental problems as well as better use of this information
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in making Agency decisions:
(1) evaluation of all existing international commitments in light of the relevant risks to
U.S. health and ecosystems;
(2) establishment of a more formal mechanism for evaluating future international
involvements against the criteria outlined in section III. A of this report; and
(3) comparative examination of the Agency's international activities, with accompanying
investments and disinvestments.8
B. Strengthening Internal Coordination
EPA is committed to improve internal coordination within the Agency in planning and
implementing its international activities. The Agency currently uses a variety of mechanisms to tap
the best expertise available within the Agency and to ensure effective integration between domestic
and international programs. Overall coordination of programs through the Office of International
Activities ensures policy coherence, integration and efficiency, particularly on cross-cutting
environmental issues and programs.
Consistent with the overall restructuring of the Agency's planning, budgeting and
accountability procedures, EPA will institutionalize an annual planning process for its international
activities. Under this process, OIA will
coordinate an agency-wide effort to
"EPA '$ Office of International Activities serves as the
focal point and catalyst for the agency Js international
agendar, providing leadership and coordination on
behalf of EPA's Administrator".
— General Accounting Office, September
1996
develop an annual activity plan
describing the various project areas for
the coming fiscal year. These activities
will include short-term and long-term
projects and major upcoming events.
This process will ensure that
international activities are reflected
adequately in the Agency's overall
strategic plan, and incorporated into the
specific workplans of the various program and regional offices. This process will help EPA prioritize
its international activities and provide a forum for assessing the results of the previous year's
activities. It will also lead to the necessary disinvestments.
In addition to the international contact points for many program and regional offices, OIA has
recently: (1) created a strategic planning team of senior managers and staff, (2) undertaken a program
to identify specific milestones for EPA's international work, and (3) reassigned one of its senior staff
to work full-time on strategic planning. The person is working with program and regional offices in
developing appropriate goals, objectives and milestones for international activities under the Agency's
new planning, budgeting, accountability and analysis system. OIA will also lead an EPA-wide
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strategic planning process to apply the criteria described earlier to prioritize among existing and new
activities and to begin the process of linking budget decisions to priorities.
Finally, with respect to internal coordination, EPA is taking steps to ensure greater
accountability and streamline the international travel process for Agency officials traveling abroad and
to improve the efficiency of its international technical cooperation programs. The Agency has begun
developing, for example, a set of generic "technology diffusion" modules to disseminate information
and training on selected U.S. environmental management techniques. Coordinated closely with
complementary programs in the non-profit and private sector, and building on the success of existing
domestic programs, the modules will cover priority environmental management techniques (e.g., risk
assessment, pollution prevention), sectors (electronics, pulp/paper) and problems (chemical safety,
urban air pollution).
C. Improving External Coordination
EPA cannot achieve its environmental mission on its own. One of the most effective ways
of strengthening EPA's international program is through building and maintaining effective
partnerships with its many stakeholder organizations. It must also leverage its limited resources
through closer cooperation with other federal agencies, state and local governments, foreign
governments, and international organizations. Such collaborative efforts will bring benefits to the
American people through wise allocation of funds that avoid duplication of effort and tap into the
wealth of expertise that other organizations offer.
EPA is working to leverage resources for environmental purposes (e.g., lead abatement,
methane recovery) and improve the lending practices of the World Bank and other multilateral
funding and development institutions. Accounting for approximately $35 billion of development
assistance in developing and transition countries, lending institutions play an influential role in shaping
international financial practices.
EPA is looking for additional ways to better enlist the expertise, creativity and resources of
the U.S. private sector in achieving U.S. environmental objectives abroad. The private sector can
benefit, for example, from EPA's extensive network of contacts and detailed understanding of
environmental needs and market opportunities worldwide. To protect EPA's credibility and
international reputation for objectivity and to ensure that EPA's activities in this area are carried out
in a way consistent with the Agency's domestic environmental mandate, EPA has developed the
following set of operational guidelines for ensuring that this work is carried out consistent with the
Agency's statutory authority and environmental mission:
(1) What is the environmental rationale for the activity?
(2) Is the program or project an appropriate activity for public sector involvement?
(3) Is the activity appropriate for EPA as opposed to another federal agency?
(4) Does EPA's involvement imply endorsement or favoritism for participating private
sector parties?
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(5) Can EPA's participation in the activity be conducted professionally, impartially and
objectively?
(6) Does EPA's role in the activity jeopardize the Agency's ability to fulfill its domestic
regulatory or enforcement responsibilities?
(7) How were private sector parties selected for participation in the project?
Finally, EPA is making better use of regional offices and their international program managers
to enlist greater cooperation of States and other public and private sector groups in the international
arena. State and city-based managers and organizations often have more to offer to foreign groups
seeking to benefit from U.S. expertise and experience. The Agency is also working to strengthen its
ties with environmental, conservation and consumer organizations and other non-governmental
organizations (NGOs). EPA's Office of Communication, Education and Public Affairs maintains
ongoing dialogue with a wide variety of these organizations, including those working on international
issues.
* * *
Taken together, the steps discussed in this report should strengthen EPA's commitment to
international cooperation, and ensure that the Agency's international goals are pursued in the most
efficient and cost-effective way possible. Most importantly, active EPA international engagement will
result in greater protection against pollution for U.S. citizens and natural resources. These measures
should also serve broader U.S. foreign policy, economic and security interests well. Working closely
with the Congress, federal agencies, the private sector, and other partners, EPA leadership can
continue to make a difference in the United States and around the world.
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ENDNOTES
l.The Wider Caribbean includes the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida and the Caribbean Sea.
These shared waters are bordered by the United States, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua,
Costa Rica. Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and all of the
Caribbean islands.
2."International Environment: U.S. Funding of Environmental Programs and Activities," Report
to the Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, United States General
Accounting Office, GAO-RCED-96-234, September 1996, Page 22
3. The New Generation of Environmental Protection: EPA's Five-Year Strategic Plan, Office of
the Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 200-B-94-002, July 1994
4.Beyond the Horizon: Using Foresight to Protect the Environmental Future, Science Advisory
Board, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA-SAB-EC-95-007, Page 6
5.GAO Report, Page 22
6.Reducing Risk: Setting Priories and Strategies for Environmental Protection, Science Advisory
Board, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, SAB-EC-90-021, September 1990
1 .Setting Priorities, Getting Results: A New Direction for EPA, ANational Academy of Public
Administration Report to Congress, April 1995, Page 12
8. Coordinated by EPA's Office of International Activities, this effort will review all program and
regional office involvements internationally.
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Report to Congress on "Strengthen...fe
EPA's International Programs"
Members of EPA Drafting Group
Alan Sielen (Chair), Office of International Activities
George Alapas, Office of Research and Development
Michael Alushin, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
Patricia Courtney, Region 8
Francesca Dicosmo, Region 3
JoanFidler, Office of International Activities
Pep Fuller, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances
Jon Grand, Region 5
John Haederle, Region 1
SaritaHoyt, Office of International Activities
Melissa Jaeger, Region 2
Tim Kasten, Office of Water
Jamison Koehler, Office of International Activities
Elaine Koerner, Office of Communication, Education and Public Affairs
AlKorgi, Region 4
DanMagraw, Office of General Counsel
Rick Martin, Office of Administration and Resources Management
Stacy McVicker, Region 7
AnneMetcalf, Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs
David Mowday, Region 9
Ellen Spitalnik, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
Kathy Stryker, Region 10
David Van Hoogstraten, Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation
Gina Weber, Region 6
Steve Wolf son, Office of General Counsel
Bryan Wood-Thomas, Office of International Activities
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