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Washington, DC 20460
202-566-0556
National Strategy for Agriculture
I., Introduction:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is committed to protecting
the Nation's food,-water, land and air for generations to come. These are
goals that are important to American farmers, as well. This National
Strategy for Agriculture sets forth a framework in which to accomplish
these important goals by:
I) Increasing the awareness and understanding within EPA of agricultural
impacts and benefits to human health and the environment and working
across media in a more systems approach to environmental protection;
2) Working with the agricultural sector - including production, processing
and distribution - in developing and demonstrating environmental
protection solutions that express the value of farmland environmental
stewardship activities to the public;
3) Coordinating research and technology development and transfer so the
needs of agriculture and EPA can be more efficiently met; and, -
4) Identifying existing environmental measures and developing new ones,
where appropriate, to demonstrate environmental improvement related to
agriculture.
! EPA's interaction with the agricultural sector will occur within the current
| programs and organizational structure of the Agency. Because agricultural
>f operations tend to be multi-unit operations functioning as a system, their
problems and solutions are often multi-media in nature. Our challenge
i.. will be to use existing authorities while crossing programmatic and
I organizational boundaries to help the industry address environmental
J protection concerns. A sampling of performance measures from the
•• Agency's Strategic Plan have been attached at the end of this document to
I? demonstrate the role that agriculture can play in protecting the
1 . , environment.
•- Through this National Strategy for Agriculture, EPA will work in
•jfii. • i- /in cooperation and collaboration with many stakeholders to encourage
environmental protection solutions in agriculture.
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II. Vision
An environment where the agricultural sector is a source of environmental
solutions and benefits contributing to and recognized for improvement of
the Nation's environmental quality; where the Nation's agriculture is
sustainable, economically viable and global in nature; and, where non-
traditional, innovative and voluntary approaches are given equal
opportunities for success with traditional regulatory approaches.
III. Implementation of Goals
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A: The EPA Administrator, Assistant Administrators, and Regional
Administrators will identify the impact of EPA's rules, policies,
guidance, grants and other activities on agriculture as part of routine
practice and, where appropriate, will coordinate these activities with
USDA and/or other relevant parties. In the context of these rules and
policies, senior EPA managers will work together across media and
will identify the roles and contributions by agriculture for solutions to
achieve greater environmental protection. The following objectives
will be implemented to achieve this goal:
a. Create a greater understanding of the Federal infrastructure for dealing
with agriculture including production, marketing, economics,
management, trade and other international agreements.
b. Foster a holistic multi-media approach to environmental protection
and public health relative to agriculture.
c. Emphasize innovative and cost effective approaches to environmental
protection.
d. Use traditional approaches to environmental protection relative to
agriculture where they are working effectively or where innovative,
collaborative programs don't prove successful.
B. Work toward and demonstrate environmental protection with the
agricultural sector through collaboration, innovative and voluntary
programs, financial incentives, and traditional regulatory approaches.
The following objectives will be implemented to achieve this goal:
a. Develop a greater understanding of EPA's mission and programs and
their impact upon production agriculture.
b. Consider market strategies for conservation to bring about larger scale
environmental protection and resource enhancement.
c. Increase education, incentives and funding opportunities for
agricultural compliance with environmental protection goals.
d. Consider input from the agricultural sector in EPA rulemaking and
strategic plans, in addition to other stakeholders already routinely
involved.
e. Enhance awareness in the agricultural community about agriculture's
impact on the environment, EPA's program and regulatory activities,
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and opportunities to interact with the Agency on issues of mutual
concern.
f. Continue development and maintenance of mechanisms and fora for
improved communication with the agricultural community on all
relevant agency actions at the national, state and local levels.
g. Strive for greater use of collaborative efforts among state, local and
other federal agencies for identifying and addressing agricultural and
environmental priorities.
h. Provide results, in collaboration with the research community, to the
agriculture sector through outreach and web site publications.
i. Embrace demonstrated innovative approaches to compliance (i.e.,
performance based programs) and demonstrate the effectiveness of
these approaches, assisting with technology transfer as appropriate.
j. Support research and development for technologies that will assist
with environmental protection.
Develop an effective communication strategy and marketing network
to better communicate with agriculture, assist with technology
transfer and show environmental results. The following objectives
will be implemented to achieve this goal:
a. Increase communication on issues related to agriculture and the
environment.
b. Centralize and disseminate results from EPA funded projects and
agreements so that research and technology development results are
- readily available to the public.
c., Communicate proactively with the agricultural industry on emerging
issues.
Identify existing environmental measures (see Attachment A for
examples) and, where needed, modify them or develop new ones to
demonstrate environmental improvements that are can be achieved
through new practices or technologies. The following objectives will
be implemented to achieve this goal:
a.
b.
Identify and assess environmental improvements related to agriculture
and, where appropriate, use performance measures similar to or in
harmony with those used by USDA.
Develop or improve environmental outcome measures which better
capture all work related to agriculture or better reflect the
environmental improvement the Agency needs to demonstrate. Such
measures should include partnerships and collaborations such as cross
media performance measures and measures which address the goal of
coordinating research and technology development and transfer.
Incorporate national and regional agricultural priorities into EPA's
^ strategic planning processes while maintaining opportunities for local
\and flexible solutions for local challenges.
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Attachment A - Sample Performance Measures
Goals listed in the Agency Strategic Plan include contributions from all industrial
sectors of which agriculture is one. Below are some examples of goals from the
strategic plan whose accomplishment agriculture has the potential to contribute to
and performance measures by which to measure them. Development of additional
goals may be necessary to fully address contributions from agriculture to
environmental protection.
Each of these performance measures has a component for which agriculture can
contribute to attaining the goals. This can happen through a variety of EPA,
USDA and other programs. Notable examples include the use of 319 funds to
decrease nutrient loading on the Chesapeake Bay and Gulf of Mexico,
development and implementation of nutrient management plans under the CAFO
Rule, and the retrofit and electrification of diesel engines as part of the Agency's
National Clean Diesel campaign.
Water Quality/Quantity Activities:
Performance measure: EPA will make water safer for swimming by
implementing a three-part strategy to protect the quality of the Nation's
recreational waters. P. 40. Objective 2.1: Protect Human Health. Sub-
Objective 2.1.3: Water Safe for Swimming.
Performance measure: By 2008, reduce levels of phosphorus contamination
in rivers and streams so that phosphorus levels are below levels of concern
established by USGS or levels adopted by a state or authorized tribe'm a
water quality standard in 30 percent of test sites for farmland streams (1992-
98 Baseline: 25%). P.41. Objective 2.2: Protect water quality. Sob-Objective
2.2.1; Improve Water Quality on a Watershed Basis. / .
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Performance measure: By 2008, working with partners, achieve a net
increase of 400,000 acres of wetlands with additional focus on biological and
functional measures. P.94. Objective 4.3: Ecosystems. Sub-Objective 4.3.2:
Increase Wetlands
Performance measure: By 2008, reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment
loads entering the Chesapeake Bay from 1985 levels. P. 95 Objective 4.3:
Ecosystems. Sub-Objective 4.3.4: Improve the Aquatic Health of the
Chesapeake Bay /
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Performance measure: By 2015, reduce releases of nutrients throughout the
Mississippi River Basin to reduce the size of the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of
Mexico to less than 5,000 km2, as measured by the 5-year running average of
the size of the zone. P.95. Objective^. 3: Ecosystems. Sub-Objective 4.3.5:
Improve the Aquatic Health of the Gulf of Mexico
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Air Quality Activities: '' •
' Performance Measure: By 2010, reduce mobile source emissions of
nitrogen oxides by 3.4 million tones from the 2000 level of 11.8 million tons;
volatile organic compounds by 1.7 million tons from the 000 level of .7
million tons; and fine particles by 122,400 tons from the 2000 level of
510,550 tons. P. 13. objective 1.1: Healthier Outdoor Air. Sub-objective 1.1.1:
More People Breathing Cleaner Air.
Performance Measure: By 2010, working with partners, reduce air toxics
emissions and implement area-specific approaches to reduce the risk to public
health and the environment from toxic air pollutants. P. 13. objective 1.1:
Healthier Outdoor Air. Sub-Objective 1.1.2: Reduced risk from Toxic Air
Pollutants. " "
Performance Measure: Outside the regulatory arena, work to reduce smog
and greenhouse gas emissions by developing new cleaner technologies and
promoting the use of those developed by others. P. 142. Cross.Goal Strategies.
Innovative Approaches for Achieving National Goals
Prevent/Reduce Pesticide Risks
Reduce exposure to toxic pesticides.
Performance Measure: Through.2008, systematically review pesticides in
the marketplace to ensure that they meet the most current safety standards:
reregistration, tolerance reassessment and registration reviews. P. 80.
Objective 4.1: Chemical, Organism, and Pesticide Risks. Sub-Objective 4.1.1:
Reduce Exposure to Toxic Pesticides
Performance Measure: Each year through 2008, protect endangered and
threatened species by ensuring that none of the 15 species on the .
EPA/USD A/FWS priority list of threatened or endangered species will be
jeopardized by exposure to pesticides. P. 80. Objective 4.1: Chemical,
Organism, and Pesticide Risks. Sub-Objective 4.1.1: Reduce Exposure to
Toxic Pesticides
Performance Measure: By 2008, decrease by 30 percent the occurrence of
residues of carcinogenic and cholinesterase-inhibiting neurotoxic pesticides
on foods eaten by children from their average 1994-1996 levels. P. 80.
Objective 4.1: Chemical, Organism, and Pesticide Risks. Sub-Objective 4.1.1:
Reduce Exposure to Toxic Pesticides
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License pesticides meeting the latest safety standards.
Performance Measure: By 2008, at least 11 percent of acre treatments will
use applications of reduced-risk pesticides. P. 81. Objective 4.1: Chemical,
Organism, and Pesticide Risks. Sub-Objective 4.1.2 License Pesticides •
Meeting Safety Standards
Performance Measure: Each year through 2008, expedite the registration of
4-6 new active ingredients that meet the criteria for reduced-risk pesticides or
organophosphate alternatives to make safer pest management tools available
sooner. P. 81. Objective 4.1: Chemical, Organism, and Pesticide Risks. Sub-
Objective 4.1.2 License Pesticides Meeting Safety Standards
Performance Measure: Each year through 2008, maintain the timeliness of
Section 18 emergency exemption decisions. P. 81. Objective 4.1: Chemical,
Organism, and Pesticide Risks. Sub-Objective 4.1.2 License Pesticides
Meeting Safety Standards .
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