STRENGTHENING EPA'S INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS A Report to Congress U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC March 1997 EPA 160 R 97 OOlx ------- ------- 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 ------- ------- /. 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. ------- »• 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. ------- 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. ------- 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. ------- 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 ------- 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 ------- 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 ------- 8 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 ------- 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. ------- 10 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 ------- 11 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. ------- 12 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 ------- 13 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 ------- 14 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. ------- 15 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 ------- 16 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 ------- 17 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? ------- 18 (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. ------- 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. ------- ------- 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 ------- ------- ------- ------- |