March 1992 Strategic Direction for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 200/F-92/001 "EPA... Preserving Our Future Today" Prinlod On Recycled Paper •tril.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: l»»2 - 650-225 ------- MISSION The people who work at the Environmental Protection Agency are dedicated to improving and preserving the quality of the environment, both national and global. We work to protect human health and the productivity of natural resources on which all human activity depends. Highly skilled and culturally diverse, we are committed to using quality management processes that encourage teamwork and promote innovative and effective solutions to environmental problems. In particular, we are committed to ensuring that: H Federal environmental laws are Implemented and enforced effectively. g| U.S. policy, both foreign and domestic, fosters the Integration of economic development and environmental protection so that economic growth can be sustained over the long term. p| Public and private decisions affecting energy, transportation, agriculture, industry, International trade, and natural resources fully integrate considerations of environmental quality. £3 National efforts to reduce environmental risk are based on the best available scientific Information communicated clearly to the public. 13 Everyone in our society recognizes the value of preventing pollution before it is created. UP People have the Information and incentives they need to make environmentally responsible choices in their dally lives. Schools and community institutions promote environmental stewardship as a national ethic. ------- Effectively cafrylflS 6ut 6Ur ^tern's and policies. We are committed to: — Meeting Federal statutory obligations while retaining sufficient flexibility to address priority risks in different parts of'the country; — Maintaining a vigorous and credible enforcement program, with emphasis on multi-media and criminal violations; initiatives, such as Promoting cross-media and interstate multi-media permitting and enforcement; Enabling state and local governments, as partners, to implement and enforce environmental programs; Conveying clear, accurate, and timely information to the public, and incorporating information from the public in EPA activities; and Involving other government agencies, public interest groups, the regulated community, and the general public in achieving national and global environmental goals. We are committed to: — Maintaining and strengthening U.S. leadership to protect and improve the global commons; — Working with other government agencies and nations, the private sector, and public interest groups to identify and solve transboundary pollution problems; — Ensuring that environmental concerns are integrated into U.S. foreign policy, including trade, economic development, and other policies; and — Providing technical assistance, new technology, and scientific expertise Jo other nations. £ 5 o SB \ 01 C3 April 1991 ------- GOALS AND OBJECTIVES EPA's unique role in protecting the environment includes: Providing leadership In the nation's environmental science, research, and assessment efforts. We are committed to: — Gathering and analyzing the data needed to evaluate environmental risks and trends, measure environmental results, and inform the choices of institutions and individuals throughout society; — Promoting and supporting innovative technological solutions to environmental problems; — Encouraging and conducting research that improves our understanding of health and ecological risks; — Providing objective, reliable, and understandable information that helps build trust in EPA's judgment and actions; and — Sharing research findings and innovative technologies with other nations. Making sound -ftgulatoly.dfiti pfogteinldecisions, We are committed to: — Implementing current environmental laws effectively, and helping to improve those laws as they are reauthorized in the future; — Evaluating health and ecological risks, and targeting our environmental protection resources at the problems and the geographical areas posing the greatest risks; — Promoting public and private actions that prevent pollution at the source before it becomes a problem; — Protecting the environment as a whole by developing programs that control the movement of pollutants across environmental media; — Devising innovative, integrated solutions to environmental problems, especially when they are concentrated in specific geographic areas or industries; — Improving the economic analyses that promote efficiency and cost-effectiveness in our decisions; — Applying market mechanisms and economic incentives when they are appropriate and effective; and — Working with other government agencies to ensure they consider the environmental implications of their actions. ------- |