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Note to the Reader
The attached draft report is a draft report of the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB)
The draft is still undergoing final internal SAB review Once approved as final, the report will
be transmitted to the EPA Administrator and will become available to the interested public as a
final report
This draft has been released for general information to members of the interested public
and to EPA staff The reader should remember that this is an unapproved working draft and that
the document should not be used to represent official EPA or SAB views or advice Draft
documents at this stage of the process often undergo significant revisions before the final version
is approved and published
The SAB is not soliciting comments on the advice contained herein However, as a
courtesy to EPA client offices for this review, it is appropriate for them to consider and advise
the Board on the questions listed below
1	Has the Committee adequately responded to the questions posed in the Charge?
2	Are any statements or responses made in the draft unclear?
3	Are there any technical errors?
For further information, please contact
Mr Thomas Miller, Designated Federal Officer
EPA Science Advisory Board (HOOF)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460-0001
(202) 343_9982 Fax (202)233-0643
E-Mail miller tom@epa gov
WEBSITE www ena gov/sab/

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March	, 2005
EPA-SAB-ADV-05-00	
The Honorable Stephen L Johnson
Acting Administrator
U S Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
Subject Science and Research Budgets for the U S Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) for Fiscal Year 2006, An Advisory
Report by the EPA Science Advisory Board
Dear Administrator Johnson
This letter transmits the advice of the U S EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) on
EPA's science and research budget request for Fiscal Year 2006 The report was developed by
the Board as a result of its meeting and discussions with EPA representatives on February 17 and
18, 2005 in Washington, D C The Board also held an informational introductory session with
Agency representatives on November 30, 2004
In conducting this advisory interaction, the Board focused on items in its charge that ask
for advice on a) the extent to which the science and research programs described by EPA align
with the Agency Strategic program priorities, b) how well EPA's science and research programs
reflect coordination among EPA's own offices, c) how well EPA's science and research
programs complement and make use of environmental science programs conducted outside EPA,
and d) whether EPA's science and research programs are positioned to address the nation's
emerging environmental issues in the coming years7
The Board's conclusions about the science and research budget request reflect a
fundamental belief that an effective approach to science-based actions at EPA can not be
achieved without a continuing, credible investment in developing the needed scientific
understanding of issues that are at the core of EPA's mission to protect human health and the
environment Failure to fund a credible science and research program will lead to greater, not
reduced, regulatory burdens Science is the basis for the effective and efficient implementation
of EPA's mission components irrespective of whether they are based on partnerships, market-
based approaches, or command and control regulations Thus, the Board again calls on EPA to
end the erosion of its science and research budget so that the knowledge necessary to support
refinement of the nation's human health and environmental protection actions can be developed
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ADD OTHER SPECIFICSSHERE — »»>
We appreciate the opportunity to review, and to provide you with advice on, the science
and research investments in the FY 2006 budget request The Board will be pleased to expand
on any of the findings described in this report and we look forward to your response
Sincerely,
Dr M Granger Morgan, Chair
EPA Science Advisory Board
Dr Genevieve Matanoski, Chair
Science and Research Advisory Panel
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NOTICE
This report has been written as part of the activities of the EPA Science Advisory Board, a public
advisory committee providing extramural scientific information and advice to the Administrator
and other officials of the Environmental Protection Agency The Board is structured to provide
balanced, expert assessment of scientific matters related to problems facing the Agency This
report has not been reviewed for approval by the Agency and, hence, the contents of this report
do not necessarily represent the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor
of other agencies in the Executive Branch of the Federal government, nor does mention of trade
names or commercial products constitute a recommendation for use Reports of the EPA
Science Advisory Board are posted on the EPA website at http //www epa gov/sab
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Science Advisory Board
Participants in the February 17-18, 2005
Science and Research Budget Advisory
BOARD CHAIR
Dr. M. Granger Morgan, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
ADVISORY PANEL CHAIR
Dr. Genevieve Matanoski, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
SAB MEMBERS
Dr. Henry Anderson, Wisconsin Division of Public Health, Madison, WI
Dr. James Bus, The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI
Dr. Trudy Ann Cameron, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
Dr. Kenneth Dickson, University of North Texas, Denton, TX
Dr. Baruch Fischhoff, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Dr. A. Myrick Freeman, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
Dr. James Galloway, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Dr. Domenico Grasso, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Dr. Rogene Henderson, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM
Dr. Philip Hopke, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY
Dr. Catherine Kling, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Dr. George Lambert, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School/ University of Medicine and
Dentistry of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ
Dr. Jill Lipoti, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Trenton, NJ
Dr. Michael J. McFarland, Utah State University, River Heights, UT
Dr. Rebecca Parkin, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
Dr. David Rejeski, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, DC
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Dr. Kristin Shrader-Frechette, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
Dr. Deborah Swackhamer, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Dr. Thomas Theis, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Dr. Robert Twiss, University of California-Berkeley, Ross, CA
Dr. Terry Young, Consultant to Environmental Defense, Oakland, CA
Dr. Lauren Zeise, California Environmental Protection Agency, Oakland, CA
SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD STAFF
Mr. Thomas Miller, Washington, DC
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION	Error! Bookmark not defined.
1. INTRODUCTION	1
1.1 Background	Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.1	Background	1
1.2	Charge to the Science Advisory Board	1
13 Format of this Report	1
RESPONSE TO THE CHARGE	Error! Bookmark not defined.
RESPONSE TO THE CHARGE	2
2.1 Summary Conclusions and Remarks	2
2.1	General Conclusions and Remarks	Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.2	Cross-Goal Issues: Identifying Critical Needs and Opportunities	9
23 Goal 1 - Clean Air and Global Climate Change	15
2.2 Goal 1 - Clean Air and Global Climate Change	Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.3.1 Alignment:	15
23.2 Coordination	16
2.3.3 Collaboration	17
23.4 Emerging Issues:	18
2.4 Goal 2 - Clean and Safe Water	19
23 Goal 2 - Clean and Safe Water	19
2.4.1	Alignment	19
2.4.2	Coordination	21
2.4.3	Collaboration	21
2.4.4	Emerging Issues	22
2 5 Goal 3 - Land Preservation and Restoration	22
2.5.1	Alignment	22
2.5.2	Coordination	23
2.5.3	Collaboration	23
2.5.4	Emerging Issues	24
2.6	Goal 4 - Healthy Communities and Ecosystems	25
2.6.1	Alignment	25
2.6.2	Cooperation	28
2.6.3	Collaboration	28
2.6.4	Emerging Issues	29
2.7	Goal 5 - Compliance and Environmental Stewardship	30
2.7.1	Alignment	30
2.7.2	Cooperation	32
2.7.3	Collaboration	33
2.7.4	Emerging Issues	34
REFERENCES	35
IV

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SCIENCE AND RESEARCH BUDGETS FOR THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006; AN ADVISORY REPORT
BY THE EPA SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1	Background
This report transmits the advice of the U S EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) on the
Fiscal Year 2006 budget request for EPA's science and research activities This report was
prepared by the Board after two meetings (one on November 30, 2004 and the other held from
February 17 - 18, 2005) during which discussions were held between the Board and EPA
representatives These meetings were announced in the Federal Register (see 69FR65427 and
70FR4848)
1.2	Charge to the Science Advisory Board
The following four charge questions were given by the Agency to focus the Board's
attention during its evaluation
a)	Based upon the SAB's knowledge of EPA's science programs, do the planned
science and research activities included in EPA's FY 2006 budget align with the
Strategic program priorities identified by EPA's Research, National Program, and
Regional Offices7
b)	Do the science programs of EPA's National, Regional, and Research Offices
reflect coordination among EPA organizations and do they complement one another7
c)	Based on EPA's presentations to the SAB, and Board members' own knowledge of
efforts in the broader scientific community, how well does EPA's science program
appear to complement environmental science programs elsewhere7 Is there evidence
that EPA's efforts are coordinated with the science efforts of other governmental
organizations and relevant organizations outside of government7 Is there evidence
that EPA has an approach for capturing the science products from these other
organizations7 Are there ways the Board could suggest that will enhance this
coordination7
d)	Based upon the SAB's knowledge of EPA's science programs, are those programs
positioned to address the nation's emerging environmental issues in the coming years7
1.3	Format of this Report
Following this Introduction, the report provides specific responses to the questions
contained in the Agency's charge to the Board
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2. RESPONSE TO THE CHARGE
The Board annually conducts an evaluation of EPA's science and research budgets The
report of this activity is used by the EPA Administrator and Congressional Staff in their budget
and planning activities In recent years, this advisory function has been moved to the larger,
chartered Board from a smaller SAB standing committee This enhanced the visibility of the
activity and significantly increases the resource and types of expertise available to conduct the
activity The Board has organized itself into six Teams to carry out this advisory Five of these
correlate with specific EPA strategic Goals and one is a Cross Goal Team The report below was
developed by the Teams, and Board staff, as a result of meetings to discuss EPA's science and
research activities The summary in section 2 1 has been prepared from the individual Team
contributions that are contained in sections 2 2 through 2 7 of this report
2.1 Summary Conclusions and Remarks
Comments in this report are the result of the SAB's evaluation of the FY 2006 science
and research budget request The Board recognizes that this budget is now final and that the
major opportunity for EPA to adjust its science and research program for the future is to
incorporate needed changes as it conducts the planning phase in support of developing its FY
2007 science and research budget request In addition, EPA might, with the help of Congress, be
able to implement some critical adjustments while it implements its FY 2005 program and
develops its FY 2006 operating plan
The SAB evaluated various aspects of the Agency's FY 2006 Science and Research
budget request It considered 1) how well the science and research aligned with the Agency's
strategic priorities, 2) whether there was effective internal coordination of the science and
research programs among EPA's offices, 3) the extent of EPA's external coordination in the
planning and conduct of its science and research programs, and how well the Agency was
positioned to identify and to developed knowledge on emerging human health and environmental
issues that are within EPA's mission The Board's general conclusions about each of these
topics are summarized below Additional issues identified by the Board are also discussed
a)	Alignment of Science and Research with Strategic Priorities EPA's proposed science and
research programs appear to align well with the Agency's strategic priorities in all goals
However, the true issue here is not merely about this type of alignment, rather it is one of
resource constraints that preclude EPA from conducting science in all the areas that are
necessary for supporting effective environmental policy development A number of specific
examples of research needs that compromise the science-research-program priority alignment
are highlighted in the document (e g , mercury and ammonia monitoring, drinking water
distribution systems research, aquatic system assessment, protection and restoration,
ecological indicators, human behavioral response to environmental pollution)
b)	Internal Coordination of EPA Science and Research The Board recognizes that EPA's
internal coordination of science and research programs has steadily improved in recent years
The ORD research planning process is credited with much of this improvement This report
cites two examples of multi-year plans that exemplify this coordination (contaminated sites
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and RCRA research plans) The development of the complex 3MRA model was cited as an
example of a work product that demonstrates such coordination EPA cooperation in this
regard was suggested as a model for other agencies, even though the Members acknowledge
that there is a need for more transparency in EPA's conduct and documentation of these
interactions There is also a sense among some members that additional attention should be
given to satisfying Regional Office needs in this process
c)	External Coordination of EPA Science and Research The SAB sees evidence of progress in
EPA's coordination of its science and research with other federal partners A complete and
quantified representation of EPA's coordination and leveraging is not available for the Board
across all programs, however, it is clear that in some programs there is now, and has been for
a considerable time, extensive and effective coordination (e g , the drinking water research
program is coordinated nationally and more recently international cooperation has been
pursued) Other areas showing good coordination include contaminated sites and RCRA
research, endocrine disruptors, children's health, CAFOs, Advanced Monitoring Initiative,
Computational Toxicology Center, and the Pollution Abatement Control Expenditures
survey) Other areas show room for additional cooperation and partnering (e g , risk
assessment for air toxics, ecosystem endpoints associated with air pollution, water quality
research)
Information on the amount of leveraging can be helpful in showing the degree to which
environmental research portfolios across the government intersect, the extent of coordination
of the various portfolios, and the nuanced differences in the research being conducted in one
agency versus another Therefore, the Board encourages EPA to expand its quantification of
the leveraging and cooperative efforts it has going on with other agencies and organizations
In addition, in the face of resource constraints that are likely to continue to be the situation
faced by EPA in the near term, the Board strongly encourages EPA to pursue collaborative
ventures with organizations beyond those associated with the Federal government
Opportunities for such partnerships exist with governmental agencies other than at the
Federal level, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector
d)	Emerging Issues EPA's very limited, and worsening, ability to conduct research that
identifies, as well as builds necessary knowledge and understanding of emerging issues, is a
significant concern to the Science Advisory Board The Board noted that, in each of the Goal
areas, EPA science and research is largely focused on legacy issues, i e , short-term, mission-
specific topics Conducting anticipatory research would allow EPA to take advantage of
current windows of opportunity to understand and work in the social and technological
systems that are now developing in the United States and in the world This will not only
affect EPA's ability to meet its mission of protecting human health and the environment, it
also risks influencing the future U S economy by opening our products to safety and other
challenges from other nations when they compete for a place in the international market
The decreased ability to anticipate future environmental issues was linked by the Board
to decreases in science and research resources at EPA in general as well as the increased
demands of programs for short-term information Government accountability systems were
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thought to contribute to the problem because of their perceived focus on short-term program
outcomes
The Board recommends that EPA develop ways to identify and focus on opportunities for
major innovations or new approaches needed to improve our understanding of increasingly
complex, emerging, environmental issues The Board believes that EPA is well positions to
serve as a catalyst for collaborative research that anticipates the future
e) Aspects of STAR The EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program embodies many
aspects that are of significant importance to the science and research that are necessary for
EPA's development of policies that will protect human health and the environment, and at
the same time contribute to the economy of the US as well as benefit the world STAR can
be viewed from a number of perspectives in this regard, including 1) its contribution to a
total EPA science and research program that makes effective use of a variety of research
assets inside and outside the Agency, 2) its contribution to a balanced research program that
has a core component that looks to the mid- and long-term needs of EPA as well as the needs
of EPA for near-term problem-driven information, and 3) its contribution to specific research
needs that have a diffuse constituency with less immediate information needs
i) Complimentary Science and Research Assets EPA has a variety of assets that make
up its total science and research program On the near-term policy development
side, existing science is often assessed and predictions of risk and risk reduction made
by organizational components that reside in, or who are contracted to, EPA's program
and regional offices Some major assessments, and much of the assessment methods
development activity, also occur in the EPA Office of Research and Development
On the research side, much of EPA's activity is conducted by, or in association with
the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) ORD conducts this work
either internally using its own scientists, or through a vanety of extramural
approaches (e g, grants, co-operative agreements, contracts) that engage academic or
other institutions that conduct research
Continued cuts to the STAR program degrade an important part of this total
science and research program - the extramural component Historically, extramural
research has provided EPA with four essential functions a) access to expertise
outside of the Agency, b) invigoration of EPA science and prevention of stale
research from taking hold, c) a flexible mechanism to identify and address emerging
issues, and d) leveraging of funds with other agencies or partners Reducing
extramural funds has both direct and indirect effects, and is equivalent to spending
one's investment principal This will have significant long-term costs to the Nation's
need for knowledge to inform policy development and help U S producers to
compete in the international market place
n) Balanced Research Program For many years, consideration of EPA's total research
program has grappled with the need for EPA to conduct both "core research" and
"problem-driven research " Though fitting specific science and research components
into two such categories is difficult, the SAB has routinely in its reports to the
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Administrator advised that both types of research are necessary and has
recommended that an approximate split of 5o% core and 50% problem-driven
research is reasonable The core component of this program helps EPA develop
knowledge that is necessary to understanding current issues and to identifying and to
be more prepared to deal with issues that will be on tomorrow's agenda The
problem-driven component allows EPA to develop methods and generate information
that is needed by EPA program and regional offices to carry out the day-to-day
activities that support the development of sound environmental policies Cuts to the
STAR program thus degrade EPA's ability to conduct the core research needed to
maintain EPA scientists at the cutting edge of their disciplines and degrades EPA's
overall science capability
The need for EPA's conduct of different types of research has been considered
many times in the past The National Academy of Sciences, the EPA Science
Advisory Board, and others have noted the importance of EPA's core and problem-
dnven research to the attainment of the nation's environmental goals Effective
science and research planning requires the full cooperation across EPA offices to
attain an appropriate balance among the various research types This coordinated
planning must be a multi-directional activity in which EPA's Office of Research and
Development openly discusses its core and applied research plans with program
offices and program offices openly discuss their own science and any existing
research activities with ORD Without this interaction, the development of an overall
cohesive and complimentary EPA science and research program is not possible
Thus, the SAB considers the issue of cooperative research planning each year during
its science and research budget review
111) Research Areas Having Diffuse Constituencies and Uncertain Time Horizons Two
aspects of this component are best exemplified by emerging issues and ecosystem
research Both share the common problems of focusing on complex and uncertain
issues and their long-term time honzons
EPA often must look at legacy issues that are on its active agenda Though
desiring to look at longer term, emerging issues, it is often forced by resource and
time constraints to keep its focus short The Agency has thus not been able to give
significant attention to exploratory research that would allow it to take advantage of
current windows of opportunity to understand and work in the social and
technological systems that are now developing in the United States and in the world
In fact, EPA has further diverted funds from exploratory research in the FY 2006
budget thus exacerbating the problem This will not only affect EPA's ability to meet
its mission of protecting human health and the environment, it also risks influencing
the future U S economy by opening our products to safety and other challenges from
other nations when they compete for a place in the international market
Ecosystem health is an important aspect of the nation's environmental quality
Among the major elements of the Agency's strategic plan is a commitment to
"protect, sustain, and restore the health of natural habitats and ecosystems "
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Fundamental to this objective is creation of scientific tools to assess the current
condition of the nation's ecosystems, and then apply these tools to assemble a
coherent picture of the state of our ecological systems The importance of this
objective is underscored by the conclusions of the Agency's Report on the
Environment (EPA SAB, 2004b), as well as the independent "State of the Nation's
Ecosystems" report of the Heinz Center (The Heinz Center, 2003), that most of the
information required to characterize and track changes in ecosystem health is not
currently available nationwide
This research not only informs Goal 4 objectives, but also supports efforts under
EPA's other strategic Goals For example, the ecological indicators that were being
developed under ecosystems research were to be the next generation of integrated
indictors for use by the States to meet their assessment requirements under the Clean
Water Act (303 listings) The FY 2005 budget made deep cuts in the programs related
to ecosystem assessment (e g ecological indicators) and the FY 2006 budget request
makes even deeper cuts, including nearly $5M from Western EMAP, National
Coastal Assessment, and Regional Vulnerability Assessment programs
These cuts appear emblematic of a broader trend to cut ecosystem research,
despite its fundamental importance to the Agency's mission Ecosystem research has
long received too little attention at EPA, and the situation is getting worse Important
parts of EPA's mission of environmental protection can not be efficiently and
adequately addressed if the Agency does not have a strong base in ecosystem
research Part of the problem seems to be that ecosystem health does not have the
same immediate constituency within EPA that human health does even though
American's have clearly demonstrated their concern for the quality of their wild and
managed lands and waters and expect government to provide adequate protection If
the Agency does not improve its research capabilities in this area, it will not be able
to meet public expectations nor its regulatory responsibilities for protection of the
environment
The Board strongly urges the Agency to reverse the erosion in ecological
research, determine the most effective ways to proceed with ecological assessment,
and reinstate funds to pursue them In addition, EPA, while continuing to look at
legacy issues, needs to work on developing strategies for identifying and focusing on
opportunities for major innovations or new approaches which could have large
impacts on improving our nation's future understanding of environmental issues and
regulatory performance, especially new and emerging environmental problems
f) Pilot Research Program EPA will begin a $20M pilot program devoted to research needs
determined by EPA's regulatory offices and ORJD In this program, OAR, OW, OPPTS, and
OSWER will each be provided with $4 5M, and OPEI $2 0M, to use in a fee-for-service
arrangement with the Office of Research and Development to obtain additional research
focusing on their own office's specific highest priority research needs A number of topics
have been identified as the focus of this research in FY 2006 (e g , improved understanding
of air toxics sources, distnbution and effects, identifying the most significant exposures, risks
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and uncertainties for criteria pollutants, epidemiological studies for drinking water
contaminations, test methods research and implementation for water quality and drinking
water, site remediation, resource conservation, risk analysis and reduction, and waste
minimization, aggregate exposure, cumulative risk, and hazard characterization, and
environmental economics research and analysis needs)
The Board believes that the new pilot research program is a very interesting development
which holds the potential to better serve the immediate research needs of programs and
regions It is innovative and appears to be a good investment that will allow the program
offices to purchase research internally from ORD for specific needs
However, EPA is in the early stages of developing the program and it should carefully
consider how it allocates specific funds On this issue, Board members have a range of
views On the one hand, some members encourage the Agency to implement this as a
"customer-driven" initiative, allowing program office needs to clearly drive the process to fill
knowledge gaps They suggest the Agency use peer-review in selecting and awarding
specific projects that are funded through this mechanism and caution against potential
duplication of efforts and using the funds for operational expenses
On the other hand, some members question the prior allocation of "office-specific-
shares" of the $20M available and suggest that some other strategy might be used to, within
some limits, adjust the allocations according to the quality of research questions identified
Members suggested one possible strategy that would make allocations based on submission
and evaluation of research proposals with the selection based on EPA-wide scientific merit
A number of factors were suggested to use in assigning preference These members noted
that in any case, it would be important to design the pilot program with specific objectives in
mind so that it could be evaluated and improved over time They also cautioned that it
would be important to not allow too large a proportion of ORD's research to become too
tightly tied to the day-to-day information needs of agency offices and regulatory schedules,
since that could begin to seriously erode the agency's science base and its ability to address
new problems and improve future performance
g) Social Sciences Research Research on economics and decision sciences within ORD and the
National Center for Environmental Economics (NCEE) supports the attainment of all EPA
strategic goals While the agency has made progress in the development of an internal
coherent economics research program, there is no evidence of such progress for any of the
other social sciences
EPA has long had insufficient expertise and research in social and behavioral research
research on how best to communicate about risks, on how to better evaluate intangible
impacts such as ecological damage, on how to improve the application of benefit-cost and
cost-effectiveness methods to setting environmental priorities, or how to develop effective
voluntary and participatory programs, etc In the current review several Board Teams noted
what appears to be a further erosion of support for what is already a very inadequate effort in
social and behavioral research If this process can not be reversed it will seriously damage
the efficiency and effectiveness of the agency's programs in the future
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One area where this problem is especially apparent is in EPA's new work on homeland
security for water and building systems Here EPA does not seem to recognize the need for
the systematic use of the research literatures in human factors and ergonomics Nor is there
any apparent commitment to rigorous empirical evaluation of performance under realistic
field conditions, with real people, under real time pressures, and, often, real fears Without
this, the Agency will not be able to demonstrate the efficacy or cost-effectiveness of its
solutions Nor will it be able to provide decision makers with the realistic estimates of system
performance that are essential to effective planning
The goals of increased compliance, pollution prevention, and environmental stewardship
elucidated in Goal 5 relate fundamentally to social science and/or interdisciplinary questions
EPA was once a leader in supporting risk communication research and has produced many
publications with risk communication guidance, however, the new generation of risk
communication knowledge is significantly underfunded and now appears to be undervalued
by much of the Agency To increase the impact of the agency's research on public policy, a
much broader view of risk communication and the sciences that underpin strategic
approaches is essential This cannot be achieved without greater recognition and
incorporation of social science knowledge and methods into the agency's research and
operating programs
A major theme running through all the strategic goal descriptions in the EPA 2003 -
2008 Strategic Plan is the need to move forward where possible from the largely command
and control regulatory regime that is now the cornerstone of U S national environmental
policy For example, the Strategic Plan calls for a move toward pollution prevention (Goals
4 and 5), development of innovative waste management practices (Goal 3), and development
of voluntary programs of materials management and resource conservation, under the
Resource Conservation Challenge (Goal 3) This proposed shift raises two important
questions The first is how to encourage such voluntary actions The second is determining
the proper mix of public sector and privately funded research on improved waste
management practices, innovative pollution control technologies, and pollution prevention
The behavioral, social, and decision sciences necessary to support environmentally
effective programs that rely on voluntary incentives are at an early stage of development In
particular, while the literature has identified some effective, targeted programs that have led
to real environmental improvement at small scales, there is little or no research supporting
the view that costly or major changes in the production processes of firms or individuals can
be expected to occur in the absence of major financial incentives There is also little research
to support the provision of guidance on the design of programs to encourage voluntary
actions Understanding incentives and constraints is important in explaining actions and
choices of people If the EPA is to try to increase its use of voluntary mechanisms to achieve
increased environmental improvement and compliance, it must significantly invest in the
appropriate disciplinary and interdisciplinary research that will provide the bases for the
approaches proposed
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There has been an increasing amount of consideration in the literature on the longer-run
consequences of environmental shocks to neighborhoods These effects have an implication
to environmental justice aspects of EPA's actions For example, a temporary
environmental shock can have effects on community dynamics that are completely reversed
when the shock is over, provided that perceptions of risk are not changed permanently by this
temporary environmental shock However, longer-term environmental hazards can set in
motion systematic shifts in neighborhood composition that can affect neighborhoods long
after the hazard has been removed (as in the case of the identification and clean-up of a
Superfund site) An example of sociological research that would be important to this issue is
the affect of shocks, and their resolution, on housing prices
Another example of an area in which additional research is needed is on valuing the non-
market ecosystem benefits of reducing pollution For this we need to be able to demonstrate
that people are able to perceive differences in ecosystem quality sufficiently to be able to
form values that can be measured and incorporated in benefit-cost analyses
h) Investments in Homeland Security Research While Homeland Security research should
address homeland security as its first priority, many of the issues involved have "dual use"
dimensions and can often also be approached so as to serve multiple Agency objectives (e g ,
the development of real time sensors will result in products that will have great potential for
chemical and microbial monitonng for issues beyond homeland security) Funds allocated to
Homeland Security research should address research issues and not be diverted to operational
program needs The dual nature of research applies to many other Agency research programs
that are nominally tied to supporting EPA's mission is a specific area (e g , SDWA, TSCA,
CERCLA, FIFRA, etc ) Exploring this dual applicability for activities is important The
Board believes that Homeland Security research should be approached in a manner that helps
EPA further develop its research programs in an integrated manner, and with an eye toward
obtaining broader utility from specific research efforts when that is possible
2.2 Cross-Goal Issues: Identifying Critical Needs and Opportunities
The Cross-goal Team of the SAB is interested in several types of issues that may not be
the sole focus of any one Goal-specific Team as it addresses the FY 2006 science and research
budget plans of EPA One type is the group of issues shared by several programs ("in-common
issues") For these issues, the sum of current science efforts and planning for the future are not
able to be adequately addressed by any one program (e g , information technology, sensing and
monitonng networks, linkage to external science programs, the science-policy interface itself)
A second type is the group of issues that may serve to connect separate programs ("bridging
issues") Examples of bridging issues include, models, tools, and emerging research and
technology that would enable cross-media or multi-program efforts (increasingly, problems in
human health and environmental degradation are of this kind) A third type is a group of issues
that may "fall through the cracks" ("unnoted issues") These issues, especially emerging ones,
may lie beyond the scope of any one program and may go unseen or be given insufficient
attention and investment Here, time can be important Although, it is not exclusively "cross-
goal," attention to time horizons of planning across all programs is needed The hope for many
of these issues is that they may identify opportunities for science input that might solve problems
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at their inception, and thus avoid costly reengineenng and control Failure to notice, inform and
invest can create bottlenecks in our nation's advancement of technology and economic growth
The Board notes a number of each of these issues in the following paragraphs
a)	Preparing for Tomorrow While the agency has been making good progress in
developing a more systematic approach to identifying research needs for its normal operations
(often referred to as "legacy" issues), it still needs to work on developing strategies for
identifying and focusing on opportunities for major innovations or new approaches which could
have large impacts on improving our nation's future understanding of environmental issues and
regulatory performance, especially new and emerging environmental problems The Agency has
not demonstrated any significant attention and investment in the types of exploratory research
that would allow it to take advantage of current windows of opportunity to understand and work
in the social and technological systems that are now developing in the United States and in the
world This will not only affect EPA's ability to meet its mission of protecting human health and
the environment, it also risks influencing the future U S economy by opening our products to
safety and other challenges from other nations when they compete for a place in the international
market The agency must be more forward looking in its preparation for tomorrow
b)	Cross Cutting Issues The agency should also increase its attention to cross-cutting
issues which now seem to receive too little attention because they "fall between the cracks" in
the media-by-media organization of the agency In calling for increased attention to these issues,
the Board is not calling for a massive new agency-wide strategic planning effort Rather, it is
urging the agency to put in place a process by which, at any given time, two or three topics of
this sort have been identified and are receiving serious analytical attention While we do not
want to prescribe any specific topics for such attention, we can illustrate this need with a few
examples
1)	Are the networks, instruments and programs of routine nation-wide monitoring of
pollutants in air and water producing time series data which are adequate for the
research and regulatory needs which the agency will likely face over the next couple of
decades 1
2)	If an influence diagram was constructed to illustrate all the elements of the processes by
which nano-particles and materials could lead to beneficial or negative impacts, which
links in that diagram are most critical in understanding the potential health and
environmental factors that may be involved7 How adequately is ongoing research (in
the agency or elsewhere in or outside of the government) likely to be able to address
these links in the future as EPA begins to address and deal with these issues
3)	Is the science base that the Department of Energy is currently developing on deep
geological sequestration of CO2 likely to produce the understanding that the EPA will
need to implement science-based regulation of this technology if and when that need
arises^
4)	Can traditional risk assessment methods based upon multiplicative factors now,
sometimes, be effectively replaced with probabilistic methods7
We know that something like this has been done in air, it is less clear if it has been done in water where
routine monitoring has been far more spotty, or for cross-media issues
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While the need for EPA to look beyond its immediate agenda has existed for some time,
it has become more pressing because shrinking budgets tend to force the Agency to concentrate
on traditional legacy issues New and cross cutting issues thus become disadvantaged (e g ,
nanoparticles, pollution prevention, ecosystems) Without an ongoing effort to identify
important neglected needs and a process for focusing attention on emerging issues, the EPA will
not be able to adequately meet its mission of protecting the nation's environmental components,
including humans, in the coming years
c) New Research Pilot on Programmatic Research Needs The new EPA program to set
aside $20-million to support research needs identified by EPA's regulatory offices and ORD is a
very interesting development which holds the potential to better serve the immediate research
needs of programs and regions However, it appears that the agency is still in the early stages of
figuring out how those funds should be allocated
Current plans call for $4 5-million for each of several specific programs air (l e , OAR),
water (i e, OW), pesticides and toxic substances (i e , OPPTS), and waste (i e, OSWER) and $2-
million for policy and economics (i e , OPEI) The agency might do well to think about whether
prior allocation of "office-specific shares" is the best strategy or whether, within some limits, the
allocation might be adjusted in response to the quality of research questions identified In the
Board's view it is important to design this pilot program with specific objectives in mind so that
it can be evaluated and improved with time
One strategy that might warrant consideration for application to a pilot research program
would be to use an allocation scheme based on EPA-wide scientific merit This could begin with
a request for proposals to be developed by regulatory offices, move to an initial screen with an
internal ORD peer review, and then go on to run quick external mail reviews of proposals Then
in making funding decisions the agency would be well advised to give preference to proposals
which
1)	Make a strong case that the proposed work involves research, not funding for ongoing
operations,
2)	Addresses an important programmatic problem for which funding is currently scarce and
is receiving too little attention,
3)	Provides a specific discussion of how the proposed activity will be evaluated so as to
contribute to the overall evaluation of the pilot program,
4)	Shows how the proposed research is related to policy development or program decision
making, and/or
5)	Involves multi-media, cross program and/or multi and cross regional dimensions
We believe that this program could be very valuable to improving the ability of agency
R&D to contribute to the ongoing needs of the agency's programs At the same time, we caution
that it is important to not allow too large a proportion of ORD's research to become too tightly
tied to the day-to-day information needs of agency offices and regulatory schedules, since that
could begin to seriously erode the agencies science base and its ability to address new problems
and improve future performance
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d)	The Importance of Ecosystems Ecosystem health is an important aspect of the nation's
environmental quality Unfortunately ecosystem research has long received too little attention at
EPA, and this review produced strong evidence that the situation is getting worse Issues such as
how best to deal with invasive species, how to protect valuable wetlands and the services they
provide to society, and how to protect important ecosystems in the face of changing climate, can
not be efficiently and adequately addressed if the Agency does not have a strong base in
ecosystem research
Unlike environmental health, ecosystem health does not have the same level of
immediate constituency But American's have clearly demonstrated that they care about the
quality of their wild and managed lands and waters and expect government to provide adequate
protection If the Agency does not improve its research capabilities in this area, it will not be
able to meet that public expectation Nor will it be able to meet its regulatory responsibilities
Cuts in funding ecosystem research programs, such as EMAP, will also have an impact on EPA's
ability to meet objectives to protect water quality
e)	Sustaining and Building Social and Behavioral Research The EPA has long suffered
from a deficiency of expertise and research activity in social and behavioral research research on
how best to communicate about risks, on how to better evaluate intangible impacts such as
ecological damage, on how to improve the application of benefit-cost and cost-effectiveness
methods to setting environmental pnonties, or how to develop effective voluntary and
participatory programs, etc
In the current review several Board Teams noted what appears to be a further erosion of
support for what is already a very inadequate effort in social and behavioral research If this
process can not be reversed it will seriously damage the efficiency and effectiveness of the
agency's programs in the future This is especially true in the area of homeland security
The agency does have expertise in economics but it has very limited expertise in other
fields of social and behavioral science As a consequence, when a program realizes that it needs
a social dimension in its work, it often does not understand the current state of expertise in the
relevant fields, does not know what to ask for, and ends up with less than adequate research
designs
This problem is especially apparent in the Agency's new work in improving homeland
security for water and building systems The descriptions we heard of plans to design and
evaluate options (e g , sensor arrays, decontamination procedures) did not seem to be making any
systematic use of the research literatures in human factors and ergonomics Nor did they seem to
have any explicit commitment to rigorous empirical evaluation of performance under realistic
field conditions, with real people, under real time pressures, and, often, real fears If so, then the
Agency will not be able to demonstrate the efficacy or cost-effectiveness of its solutions Nor
will it be able to provide decision makers with the realistic estimates of system performance that
are essential to effective planning
The options being developed will provide imperfect signals regarding risks (e g , has an
attack occurred, what is the residual after decontamination) Recommended practice is to couple
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risk analysis and nsk communication, so that systems produce the information that people need,
which is then communicated to them in a cogent, authoritative, and comprehensible way The
program's approach to these issues did not seem to involve either using or conducting research
Communication outward will, apparently, be approached by drafting common sense procedures,
without accessing the research relevant to their feasibility and without commitment to empirical
evaluation There was no expressed intention to involve the public and its representatives in
questions like acceptable decontamination standards These were deferred to some other body,
which could not be described to us If this is the case, then the Agency will be producing
incomplete, possibly counterproductive solutions, without increasing its own research capacity
for topics that arise in many areas of its operations (e g , water contamination from non-terror
sources)
f)	The Importance of Sustaining and Nurturing Extramural Research As EPA's research
needs continue to grow and the resources to support this research either remain constant or
contract, it is not surprising that the agency may consider moving support out of extramural
programs to sustain internal programs During the course of our review we have seen several
indications that such erosion is indeed occurring
The STAR program and other programs of extramural support operated by the Agency
have provided an essential source of new scientific understanding and have played an important
role in growing the next generation of environmental scientists all across America We are
troubled that support for these extramural programs has been significantly reduced and urge the
agency and the Congress to work hard to protect, restore, and sustain them
Extramural research programs are not elastic programs, as is often suggested
Interruptions and steep reductions in extramural research weaken relationships EPA needs with
scientists outside Agency for a strong research program
g)	Investments in Homeland Security Research While Homeland Security research
should address homeland security as its first priority, many of the issues involved have "dual
use" dimensions and can often also be approached so as to serve multiple Agency objectives
Also, funds allocated to Homeland Security research should address research issues and not be
diverted to Homeland Security operational programmatic needs The dual nature of research also
applies to many other Agency research programs that are nominally tied to supporting EPA's
mission under a variety of media- and program-specific statutes (e g , SDWA, TSCA, CERCLA,
FIFRA, etc) Homeland Security should not undermine the basic research supporting Agency
activities, rather it should help EPA further develop its research programs in an integrated
manner, and with an eye toward obtaining broader utility from specific research efforts when that
is possible
The analysis presented to the Cross-Goal Team on options for the planned research in this
area did not seem to involve any systematic, formal analysis, sufficiently transparent as to be
open to peer review Rather, "analysis" seemed to connote information gathering, followed by
an internal deliberative process If so, then there will be no way to tell if the Agency has fulfilled
its homeland security assignments in the best way possible Nor will there by any growth in the
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Agency's core analytical capacity Such consultative processes may be subject to internal
processes and vendor push
h)	Needs for investments in computing hardware, information infrastructure, and
management support for science EPA needs information resources both for internal research
support and for participation at a high level in cross Agency and international programs such as
GEOSS ispeil out] EPA scientists need access to 21st century information resources to
collaborate with scientists in other agencies and universities, make use of models, and take
advantage of converging technologies
The Board believes that EPA must strengthen both its high performance computing
abilities for modeling and networking and the more mundane, but still critical, day to day
computing needs of the science community In both cases, the high level of connectivity to the
outside world is essential EPA currently has a low level of access to electronic journals,
analytical and other special purpose software, and data-sharing resources, compared to scientists
at universities
i)	Morbidity Data With just a few isolated exceptions, most estimates of the human
health benefits of environmental protection have focused on reductions in life expectancies
There has not been sufficient attention to benefits in the form of reduced non-fatal morbidity and
reductions in pre-mortality morbidity People care about their quality of life and about how they
die Research on society's willingness to pay to prevent or limit different types of health
consequences through environmental protection has been hampered by the absence of data on the
prevalence of different types of illnesses Mortality data, by cause of death and at a relatively
fine level of geographic disaggregation, have been available through the National Center for
Health Statistics Since few diseases are reportable, however, it has been more difficult to
assemble comparable data on morbidity in terms of hospital admissions or emergency room
visits Such data are important in risk assessments used in support of standard setting In terms
of collaboration with other agencies, the EPA's efforts to better understand the health inventory,
and to make causal connections between environmental quality and this health inventory, are
vitally important Willingness to pay for environmental protection will depend on the types of
illnesses prevented, their latencies and endpoints, as well as on the characteristics of the
population that would be affected Research that extends the health benefits estimation effort
beyond reliance on just a single one-size-fits-all value of a statistical life (VSL) estimate will be
greatly enhanced by the availability of detailed morbidity information
j) Environmental Justice On the topic of hot spots and environmental justice issues, there
has been an increasing amount of consideration in the literature on the idea of locational
equilibrium and what it means for the longer-run consequences of environmental shocks to
neighborhoods A temporary environmental shock can have "impact" effects that are completely
reversed when the shock is over, provided that perceptions of risk are not changed permanently
by this temporary environmental shock However, longer-term environmental hazards can set in
motion systematic shifts in neighborhood composition that can affect neighborhoods long after
the hazard has been removed (as in the case of the identification and clean-up of a Superfund
site)
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In the case of air quality, there has been some interesting work on the general equilibrium
consequences of improved air quality, when such improvements set in motion an adaptation
where sensitive populations who previously avoided more polluted areas now find them
attractive, moving back in and driving up housing prices in those areas in a manner that will tend
to offsets the initial welfare gains to populations that previously suffered more from pollution but
were compensated to some extent by lower housing prices If the Agency's goals are strictly to
improve environmental quality, then the subsequent increase in housing pnces is of no concern,
but in environmental justice cases, one needs to be careful about "giving with one hand while the
other one takes away " While it is unlikely that housing price increases that occur upon
environmental improvements will be sufficient to completely offset the initial welfare gains from
a cleaner environment, the extent to which this happens is an empirical question Behavioral
adaptations to cleaner environments are very important to a complete understanding of the
environmental justice consequences of Agency activities
k) Accountability Budget items that go toward accountability are important It is prudent
for the Agency to continue to invest in an improved understanding of the actual benefits of its
programs and policies In terms of benefit-cost analysis, these efforts serve to reduce uncertainty
about the benefits of environmental management strategies, which in turn reduces uncertainty
about the net social benefits of these policies (after social costs are subtracted) and about whether
specific policies pass the benefit-cost test In a budgetary climate where all forms of government
expenditure have come under increasing scrutiny, it is more important than ever to be confident
that those programs which will inevitably need to be cut are the right ones to cut, and that those
to be kept are the nght ones as well
There is also the ever-present need to improve our understanding of discounting and the
extent to which it should be employed, especially with stock pollutants Last year, the SAB
commented more extensively on the fact that research providing short-term results was funded
preferentially over research with long-term implications
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2.3.1 Alignment: Based upon the SAB's knowledge of EPA \v science programs, do the
planned science activities included in EPA's FY 2006 budget align with the Strategic
program priorities identified by EPA's Research, National Program, and Regional offices?
EPA managers made an important change this year by expanding the position of National
Program Manager for Particulate Matter Research to become the National Program Manager for
Air Quality Research An appointment has been made to this more broadly defined position
This is an important step toward a more planning and conducting a more integrated research
program to improve air quality The Board commends EPA for taking this step to develop a more
integrated air pollutant research program
The planned science and research activities reflected in the FY 2006 budget align with
the Agency's strategic pnonties in Goal 1 While the planned science activities do align with the
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strategic priorities for Goal 1, there are unmet needs in the proposal These are discussed in the
paragraphs below
a)	Mercury Monitoring There is an urgent unmet need for monitoring programs that will
provide an appropriate set of background data on mercury The agency will need to
evaluate the effectiveness of the mercury controls on airborne concentrations during its
implementation of the Utility Mercury Reductions Rule There are monitoring systems in
place (CASTNet, IMPROVE, NADP) that will permit the evaluation of the changes in
sulfate and nitrate concentrations that are expected to change with the implementation of
the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) which is expected to be promulgated soon
However, there are currently no systematic measurements being made on gas phase
mercury species Mercury in wet deposition is being measured in a small supplemental
network to the NADP Monitoring will ensure that the implementation of the cap and
trade program is not producing disproportionate benefits to different downwind regions
Even if these regulations are superseded by legislation like Clear Skies, additional
coordinated monitoring will be needed to assess the long-term benefits of the legislation
b)	Ammonia Monitoring Another pollutant for which there is an urgent need for
improved monitoring is ammonia Ammonia has a significant effect on the formation of
particulate matter through nucleation of sulfunc acid and water or the formation of
ammonium nitrate Existing emissions inventories for ammonia are poor There are
currently limited measurements being made and the need for improved ammonia
monitoring is noted in the National Ambient Air Monitoring Strategy The SAB
encourages EPA to begin this effort soon This monitoring should occur within the
context of the overall nitrogen cycle, and the other cycles with which nitrogen interacts
(e g , sulfur and carbon)
c)	Emissions Inventories Major gaps remain in our quantitative knowledge of emissions
and the quality of the resulting emissions inventories For example, in the case of
particulates, the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Research Pnonties for
Airborne Particulate Matter highlighted such problems However, EPA has been able to
mount only a limited effort and much of the focus to date has been on Concentrated
Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) A need remains for up-to-date chemical
characterization of emitted materials as well as better estimates of mass emission rates
2.3.2 Coordination: Do the science programs of EPA's National, Regional, and
Research Offices reflect coordination among EPA organizations and do they
complement one another?
Coordination is evident among EPA offices on Goal #1 issues However, it is difficult to
determine its extent EPA's organizational structure (i e , being divided into water, air and
research divisions, etc ), while useful for some purposes, creates barriers that make coordination
difficult While EPA staff clearly sees the need for more coordination, these barriers and the
increasing expectation that divisions have to do more work with fewer resources, increase the
difficulty in gaining greater coordination As a case in point, CAFOs are recognized as hot spots
for losses of nitrogen and other material to the atmosphere and to the water CAFOs produce
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significant quantities of biosohds However, EPA does not have a systems approach for research
on these losses This approach was recommended in a recent NRC study commissioned by the
EPA and the USDA (NRC 2003, Air Emissions from Animal Feeding Operations) Thus,
science and research activities among OAR, OW, OSWER, and ORD have the potential to be
less complementary than they might be due to the narrower needs of each party Additional
resources would greatly increase the potential for a coordinated and complementary science and
research program for this issue
An example of a data-gathering effort demonstrating good coordination among EPA
organizations is the redeployment of monitoring resources in the National Ambient Air
Monitoring Strategy program This effort has the potential for providing the long-term data
needed to support health studies on chronic exposure to air pollutants Part of the plan is to
move monitors from urban areas where they are duplicative to rural areas where they can provide
additional data on transport, as well as serve as the basis data sources for the more extensive
assessment of ecosystem risk This is an OAQPS endeavor, but the data produced can support a
number of possible ORD research initiatives
2.3.3 Collaboration: Based on EPA'spresentations to the SAB, and Board members'
own knowledge of efforts in the broader scientific community, how well does EPA's
science program appear to complement environmental science programs elsewhere? Is
there evidence that EPA's efforts are coordinated with the science efforts of other
governmental organizations and relevant organizations outside of government? Is
there evidence that EPA has an approach for capturing the science products from
these other organizations? Are there ways the Board could suggest that will enhance
this coordination?
Within the Goal 1 objectives, the SAB sees evidence that coordinated work with other
federal partners is progressing EPA has made a reasonable effort to look for opportunities to
partner with other agencies and they have utilized science products from other organizations
Examples of existing cooperation and collaboration, as well as a few examples of additional
needs for collaboration, are noted in the following paragraphs
A good example of collaboration has been the work on CAFOs Here, the air program
has coordinated its efforts with USDA in air quality There are opportunities to improve
coordination with EPA's counterparts in agencies beyond USDA, and as mentioned above within
EPA
Another example of partnering is EPA's contribution to the Advanced Monitoring
Initiative (AMI) EPA decided to combine the Troposphenc Ozone and PM Research Program
projects into the NAAQS Research Program to allow better integration and coordination of their
research EPA completed work on the development of tools to specifically implement the
NAAQS on troposphenc ozone and reallocated funding to the multi-agency AMI effort with
NOAA, NASA, DOE and others
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In the area of risk assessment for air toxics, EPA has undertaken a near-roadway
exposure health effects assessment The Department of Transportation has a major role but the
partnership between DOT and EPA has not been strong
A different kind of cooperation has been shown by EPA in the establishment of its
Computational Toxicology Center This Center has been recognized by other agencies as a
center of excellence Genomics and proteomics researchers need this type of center for
interpretation of data for risk assessment The Computational Toxicology Center is important for
making progress in developing biomarkers of exposure and effect that will be necessary to link
environmental changes to subtle changes in biological systems (people and the environment)
EPA's leadership in establishing the Center has benefited other agencies and enhances cross-
agency cooperation on this topic
An example of an area in which additional cooperation is needed is in the area of
quantifying ecosystem endpoints associated with air pollution Little progress can be made on
valuing the non-market benefits of reducing air pollution until we can demonstrate the
connections between air pollution and ecosystem structure and functioning We then need to be
able to demonstrate that people are able to perceive differences in ecosystem quality (or at least
understand their implications) sufficiently to be able to form values that can be measured and
incorporated in benefit-cost analyses
It is important to keep in mind that giving people more of something than they would
choose for themselves, and requiring them to pay for it, does not really improve their welfare
However, if we are paternalistic about the bundle of goods and services (including environmental
services) that they consume, we may feel better if they are consuming more environmental
quality, even if this forces them to consume less of other things (such as food, clothing, health
care, etc ) At a superficial level, it is very easy to think that improved environmental quality for
low-income and minority populations will be desirable from an environmental justice standpoint
What is missing from that superficial impression is that there can be important behavioral
responses in housing markets that can offset or even overwhelm these initial benefits, especially
for disadvantaged groups for whom willingness to pay for environmental quality falls short of
what they are forced to pay through higher housing prices Additional insights into this issue are
discussed in section 2 2 j above
2.3.4 Emerging Issues: Based upon the SAB's knowledge of EPA's science programs,
are those programs positioned to address the nation's emerging environmental issues
in the coming years?
EPA's ability to identify emerging issues in Goal 1 is hampered by funding decreases and
inflationary erosion Over the long-term continued decreases will have serious consequences on
EPA's ability to both identify and address emerging issues Additionally, Congress has not
removed any of its regulatory mandates, so EPA must continue all of its statutory responsibilities
with legacy environmental issues
A long-term newly recognized issue that needs to be considered is the intercontinental
transport of pollutants It is now clear that such transport from Asia, Africa, and Central America
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affect air quality in the United States This transport can produce a background concentration,
especially at continental margins, that reduces the ability of controls to achieve the increasingly
stringent air quality standards that are being promulgated to protect public health and welfare
There needs to be additional efforts to quantify the extent of such transport The use of remote
sensing such as is incorporated in the Advance Monitoring Initiative (AMI) is a promising
starting point for such efforts A more comprehensive effort should be mounted to provide the
critical information relevant to EPA policy development and as the basis for enabling the United
States government to negotiate emissions reductions in pollutants in source areas
The rapidly growing use of nanotechnologies for a variety of purposes is a potential
emerging environmental issue There is already concern about the presence of ultrafine
nanoparticles in ambient air arising from combustion sources or through new particle formation
in the atmosphere The current PM program is positioned to address this issue as an extension of
its studies on ultrafine particles Initial toxicological studies at universities are currently being
conducted with support from other agencies The SAB recommends that the EPA consider
partnering with other agencies (e g , NIOSH, NIH, NSF) to ensure that there is sufficient
toxicological testing of nanoparticles to support future statutory evaluations of the need for EPA
action In terms of ambient ultrafine particles, EPA should be deploying particle size monitoring
systems in major urban areas to provide the input data for time series epidemiological studies
that could inform the Agency about the need of a particle number ambient air quality standard
2.4 Goal 2 - Clean and Safe Water
2.4.1 Alignment: Based upon the SAB's knowledge of EPA's science programs, do the
planned science activities included in EPA's FY 2006 budget align with the Strategic
program priorities identified by EPA's Research, National Program, and Regional offices?
The Board found good alignment between EPA's science and research activities and the
priorities reflected in the Agency Strategic Plan for Program and other offices involved in Goal
2 However, the Board believes that some adjustments should be considered as the Agency plans
for its FY 2007 program Some of the recommendations could also be considered as the FY
2005 and 2006 programs are implemented
The Board wants to emphasize that there are many research areas in support of EPA's
Clean and Safe Water programs that can only be addressed through long-term research These
research areas will suffer in the future if they are held only to short-term criteria and long-term
performance criteria are not considered to be important EPA is the only federal Agency focused
on certain water quality and water resource protection topics, such as watershed-based water
quality control approaches and tools (e g, TMDL) If long-term research of this kind is not
supported by EPA, it will receive no attention at all in the country
a) Safe Drinking Water The Drinking Water research funds are allocated as follows 1)
Regulated Contaminants - 40 percent, Unregulated Contaminants - 52 percent, and
Distribution and Source Water Protection - 8 percent The Board believes that a greater
allocation of resources to unregulated contaminants is warranted, particularly for emerging
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contaminants (e g , pharmaceuticals and personal care products that are widely found in
surface waters) The Board also believes that resources for Distribution and Source Water
Protection are inadequate, particularly for research directed toward microbial growth and
corrosion
b)	Water Quality The Water Quality program is a well established and highly developed
component of the EPA research agenda It focuses on Aquatic Stressors, Sources of
Impairment, Restoring and Protecting Aquatic Systems and Biosolids The criteria
development section of the program is mature, and the Board believes it would be prudent to
consider advancing the newer areas of the program more aggressively
The Agency is currently facing a major challenge under the Clean Water Act on Total
Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) allocations associated with impaired water bodies Therefore,
the Board believes it would be prudent for the Agency to increase its emphasis on TMDL
scientific and engineering research associated especially in the areas of diagnostics for
Sources of Impairment and acceptable ln-stream conditions Experience has shown that
developments in impairment assessment and protection and restoration inform the process of
criteria development The board believes that the apparent Agency shift from chemical to
habitat and biological cntena is appropriate The board also recommends that EPA consider
a greater allocation for restoring and protecting aquatic systems in Goal 2 As an example,
the Board noted that Goal 4 research funds allocated to mature Big Water Programs (e g,
Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, etc) are large There may be merit in reallocating some Big
Water resources to research to adapt the science developed from such programs to other
regions and localities around the country Results and lessons learned from these programs
need to be leveraged and better disseminated for water quality planning and management
across the country
Given the scope and scale of biosolids treatment, disposal, and land application on a national
basis, the biosolids allocation is inadequate and the Board recommends that it be increased
The Office of Water (OW) Science and Technology Funds for Homeland Security, are
propsed to be $47M in FY 2006 The dual nature of this research has been noted earlier m
this report The development of real time sensors under Homeland Security is a good
example of this duality and the products from this program will have great potential for
chemical and microbial monitoring However, the remaining Science and Technology funds
are meager
c)	Ecosystem research Cuts in funding Clean and Safe Water Research areas (e g , EMAP)
and extramural STAR grants in Goal 4 (healthy communities and ecosystems) will have a
negative impact on Goal 2's water quality research and will adversely affect the available
data to support environmental management decisions Results of the EMAP program
provide quantitative information on the condition of the Nation's aquatic and terrestrial
resources and information on causes of impairments This information is essential to inform
the planning and design of water quality research Extramural grants programs, such as
STAR, provide a unique vehicle for rapidly delivering scientific advancements and
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capabilities for better environmental management as EPA carries out its mission For
example, the Agency has used the STAR grants program to explore the integration of
economics, the social sciences, and the natural sciences Research results developed in this
program have rapidly moved to the applied arena and have been used to advance more
effective decision-making on water quality at the watershed level
2.4.2	Coordination: Do the science programs of EPA's National, Regional, and Research
Offices reflect coordination among EPA organizations and do they complement one
another?
Clearly, the science developed by ORD complements other EPA Regional and National
efforts This reflects ORD's planning process and responsiveness to the strategic and
implementation needs of National and Regional programs Nevertheless, there may be regional
needs that are not being fully addressed Examples of Region-specific problems that deserve
greater representation in the research budget are 1) invasive species and 2) the impacts of urban
development (sprawl) The Board recommends that these issues be incorporated into future
agency planning for water quality and that funding efforts in this area be considered for earlier
implementation as well Within the Goal 2 budget there is also a need for identification and
exploitation of opportunities for research synergies For example decision tools developed for
the Drinking Water area could also have application in the Water Quality area
2.4.3	Collaboration: Based on EPA's presentations to the SAB, and Board members' own
knowledge of efforts in the broader scientific community, how well does EPA's science
program appear to complement environmental science programs elsewhere? Is there
evidence that EPA's efforts are coordinated with the science efforts of other governmental
organizations and relevant organizations outside of government? Is there evidence that
EPA has an approach for capturing the science products from these other organizations?
Are there ways the Board could suggest that will enhance this coordination?
a)	Drinking Water In the area of Safe Drinking Water, ORD research is generally well
coordinated with other national and international research programs Significant
coordination in drinking water research within the U S has been in place for some time
More recently, a global effort has been made through the auspices of the Global Drinking
Water Research Coalition This effort has reduced duplication of effort in drinking water
research Areas of collaboration that deserve attention include better coordination between
OW, OSWER, and OAR for contaminants that impact several environmental media, better
coordination between drinking water and water quality programs, and better collaboration
with FDA on pharmaceuticals and personal care products in source waters
b)	Water Quality The Water Quality research agenda is more difficult to coordinate Unlike
drinking water, where the EPA is the only federal agency, there are multiple federal agencies
addressing this issue Coordination across these federal agencies does occur There has been
significant coordination between EPA and USDA on Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operations However, there are significant opportunities for additional leveraging of aquatic
ecosystem restoration research with USDA and DOl that should be pursued EPA also
coordinates with US Industry through the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF)
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and the American Water Works Association Research on water quality in the Great Lakes is
also a good example of international coordination, but this is at a much lesser level of
coordination than that in drinking water The Board recommends that the Agency take the
lead in establishing an organization to coordinate water quality research both at the national
and global level following the model that has been used in the drinking water arena
2.4.4 Emerging Issues: Based upon the SAB's knowledge of EPA '.v science programs, are
those programs positioned to address the nation's emerging environmental issues in the
coming years?
The Goal 2 budget seems to be relatively inflexible As a result there appears to be no
Agency wide focus on emerging issues Examples of emerging issues that do not seem to have
adequate funding include 1) Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in water, 2) watershed
ecosystem/landscape research, 3) the need for new, cost effective approaches for water and
wastewater infrastructure renewal, and 4) urban sprawl impacts and control EPA appears to be
well positioned to serve as a catalyst for collaborative research in these areas From discussions
with ORD and program office staff, it is evident that horizon scanning for emerging issues is
given a low priority The SAB could play a role in providing advice to the Agency on horizon
scanning and priority setting
2.5 Goal 3 - Land Preservation and Restoration
2.5.1 Alignment: Based upon the SAB's knowledge of EPA's science programs, do the
planned science activities included in EPA's FY 2006 budget align with the Strategic
program priorities identified by EPA's Research, National Program, and Regional offices?
The EPA Contaminated Sites and RCRA Multi-Year Plans, which describe the research
needs under Goal 3, were reviewed by a Panel of the Science Advisory Board during FY 2004
The Board agrees that research proposed in the FY 2006 budget for Goal 3, largely aligns with
the strategic program priorities relating to legacy issues in waste management (i e issues related
to site remediation, USTs, and oil spills) While the Board acknowledges that there is much
important relevant research that needs to be addressed in these areas, it is dismayed at the lack of
research proposed for non-legacy issues In particular the Board endorses the Agency's long-
term vision for transforming environmental policy from a waste-centered to a materials-centered
approach Although the EPA Strategic Plan, and the Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC)
Strategic Plan, articulate this vision in a highly inspirational manner, science and research issues
important to "transformation of the Nation's current waste handling system and approach
towards materials management," is proposed to receive the smallest allocation of S&T dollars
The Strategic Plan calls for a move toward pollution prevention (Goals 4 and 5),
development of innovative waste management practices (Goal 3), and development of voluntary
programs of materials management and resource conservation, under the Resource Conservation
Challenge (Goal 3) The demise of the economics and decision sciences (EDS), STAR, and
overall sustainability budget decreases are inconsistent with such goals The Board believes it
would be desirable to increase funding for research in support of the RCC initiative, even if that
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requires reprogramming of current research funds within Goal 3 The areas of needed research
are many and varied, and range from material flow studies and data certification, to cooperative
ventures with industries (the Board notes and encourages the planned effort with the electronics
industries), to appropriate policy instruments to create incentives for materials
recychng/reuse/and remanufactunng (this is treated more extensively under the Board's
comments under Goal 5)
2.5.2 Coordination: Do the science programs of EPA's National, Regional, and Research
Offices reflect coordination among EPA organizations and do they complement one
another?
The science programs in Goal 3 reflect coordination among EPA organizations and these
programs do complement one another The SAB review of the Contaminated Sites and RCRA
Multi-Year Plans demonstrated that the regions, program offices and the Office of Research and
Development have worked closely with one another The SAB panelists observed that
researchers had an intimate understanding of the problems faced by their colleagues in the
regions and the program offices and the research needed to assist them In addition, their clients
were well informed of the research completed and underway that was intended for their benefit
Also, a separate review of the 3MRA modeling system by the SAB demonstrated close
coordination across EPA offices (ORD and OSWER)
2.5.3 Collaboration: Based on EPA'spresentations to the SAB, and Board members'
own knowledge of efforts in the broader scientific community, how well does EPA's
science program appear to complement environmental science programs elsewhere? Is
there evidence that EPA's efforts are coordinated with the science efforts of other
governmental organizations and relevant organizations outside of government? Is
there evidence that EPA has an approach for capturing the science products from
these other organizations? Are there ways the Board could suggest that will enhance
this coordination?
There is considerable evidence, albeit anecdotal, that the Agency greatly values
cooperative research with other government agencies and organizations outside of government
In the review of the Contaminated Sites and RCRA Multi-Year Plans the Agency documented
that they engaged in extensive coordination with other agencies and organizations Still, the
exact amounts of leveraging of Agency S&T dollars, the nature of the cooperative research, and
trends over time have not been reported The Board believes there is a need to quantify the type
and amount of support received from other agencies and organizations both inside of and outside
of government for specific research Such information should be made available to the Board
routinely as part of the science and research budget advisory and for each such review It would
be helpful if this information would include trends over the preceding 5 fiscal years
Information on the amount of Agency resource leveraging can be helpful in showing the
degree to which environmental research portfolios across the federal government intersect and
how well they are coordinated As noted during the meeting, the EPA S&T research budget
accounts for about 7% of the total federal environmental funding Without a more detailed
knowledge of research supported by other agencies, it is difficult for the Board to assess the
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impacts of EPA's programmatic cuts and reallocations, in this and other Goals, and how they
impact overall Federal research on specific topics (e g , the de-emphasis of EPA's ecosystem
research funding and its impact on other agencies having complementary programs) The Board
understands that its purview is limited to EPA's science and research budgets, and it does not
suggest that its review be extended to the entire federal environmental research budget, but it is
concerned that lack of this additional information might cause it to underestimate the overall
national impact of resource changes in EPA's science and research program The Board also
understands that research conducted with other agencies' support, although similar in topical
area to EPA's, may lack the nuance needed for EPA which is charged with the responsibility of
regulating environmental risk However, this underscores the need for the Agency to present the
Board with much more information on the type of cooperation on research in which they interact
across and beyond the government
2.5.4 Emerging Issues: Based upon the SAB's knowledge of EPA's science programs,
are those programs positioned to address the nation's emerging environmental issues
in the coming years?
The SAB believes that EPA's science programs in support of strategic Goal 3 are not
well positioned to address the nation's emerging waste management issues The distribution of
Goal 3 funds is heavily weighted towards legacy problems, in part because this is a requirement
of the trust funds that have traditionally supported many of these programs This is inconsistent
with the visionary environmental plan presented in the Resource Conservation Challenge, which
is an effort within the Agency that engages various stakeholders in voluntarily examining their
material flows with the aim of identifying opportunities to limit waste without diminishing
profits Currently, few resources exist to address emerging environmental issues relating to waste
management One possible use of a portion of the $20 million set aside in the new pilot project
to support Program Office initiated research within ORD, would be to invest in structuring a
framework for identifying and addressing emerging environmental issues across all five goals
The Board believes that the transformation of environmental policy will require
significant investment in education, as specified in the RCC The Agency may wish to consider,
as part of its research portfolio, the funding of innovative environmental education programs
beyond the STAR graduate fellowships, perhaps in partnership with the Department of
Education or National Science Foundation
Finally, in support of emergent Goal 3 research needs, the Board recommends that the
Agency undertake a long-term project on the establishment of National Material Flow Accounts,
and relate this information to existing national income accounts (GDP, etc) and/or economic
input/output tables Such information could provide benefits to the Nation in three essential
areas
a)	Improvement of economic, trade and national security, and technology development policy
by enhancing our understanding of the material basis of the economy
b)	Improvement of natural resource policy (minerals, forest products, fuel, etc ) by enriching
system-wide, life-cycle information on the status and trends of materials sources and uses,
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final disposition and other aspects of supply/demand
c) Improvement of environmental policy by helping to identify categories of pollution
sources, develop materials-based and product-based environmental strategies and promote
reuse of what is currently discarded
Allocation of resources for such a project would be an important advance and represent a
tangible commitment toward the stated goal (Goal 3) of transitioning US environmental policy to
a material flow basis Many countnes (including the U S ) already collect most of the
information necessary for MFA (for various other purposes), but most do not routinely assemble
the information into material flow accounts
2.6 Goal 4 - Healthy Communities and Ecosystems
2.6.1 Alignment: Based upon the SAB's knowledge of EPA's science programs, do the
planned science activities included in EPA's FY 2006 budget align with the Strategic
program priorities identified by EPA's Research, National Program, and Regional offices?
The FY 2006 science and research budget aligns with many of EPA's strategic priorities
However, there are some areas where this alignment fails, and the cause of this failure is largely
the continued erosion of EPA science and research resources that need to be applied to critical
areas of EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment
The request related to human and ecosystem health, in support of Strategic Goal 4, is
very similar to the President's requested budget for 2005 (US EPA SAB, 2004) Thus most of the
Board's comments on that budget apply to the current request While the Board recognizes the
limited resources available for domestic spending, this budget continues the pattern of essentially
level-funding for most programs, resulting in a gradual erosion of EPA research capacity due to
inflation As in the 2005 budget request, there is significantly reduced funding for ecosystems
science and research, in particular in the Agency's extramural funding (STAR program) The
fact that the funding for STAR extramural grants in the area of ecosystems health was not
included in this year's request continues to be troubling, for reasons that are discussed later in
this section Below, we also discuss some aspects of significant programs that are identified in
the FY 2006 science and research budget
a) The Advanced Monitoring Initiative (AMI) The FY 2006 request includes a new
program, the AMI Initiatives proposed such as the AMI and the nanotechnology program
are laudable and address EPA strategic priorities and hold great potential to advance
environmental health science (see additional discussion of the AMI in section 2 3 3
above) Integrating EPA AMI activities into a recognizable program will strengthen the
ability of EPA to leverage the use of other agencies' data to address EPA needs
Unfortunately the EPA AMI is clearly funded by realignment of funds currently
supporting other EPA strategic pnonties such as mercury, air quality standards and
persistent, bioaccumulative toxic chemical (PBT) research
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The AMI leads a trend toward more observational and less basic research
activities Although the overall funding in Goal 4 is nearly level, the goal includes
considerable programmatic change implemented via a budgetary strategy of funding
realignments This strategy allows the agency to propose new or expanded initiatives
without new funds However, the Agency should carefully consider whether an extensive
realignment strategy may have unintended negative consequences The SAB cautions that
there may be little or no net gain as the potential utility of any scientific advances may be
offset by the loss of the activities previously supported by the realigned funds Many of
the sources of realigned funds in Goal 4 come from core strategic priorities The
disruption of current programs by realignment may result in a net research activity loss,
especially as consolidation decreases diversity and creates additional imbalances in the
research portfolio
b)	Disparities Between the Budget and Pnonties. Mercury and Endocnne Disruptors
Some of the Agency's most important programs have been progressively reduced over
the last few years These programs include the mercury research program, the endocnne
disruptors program, and the STAR research program (including the exploratory research
program) Endocnne disruptors and mercury are among the agents that may have the
greatest impacts on ecosystem and human health and the SAB is concerned that the
reduction of the programs is not in accord with the Agency's stated goals These
programs have been progressively reduced in funding even though they are already
funded at relatively low levels Given the high pnonty of mercury as a contaminant, and
the fact that not enough is known about its sources, fate, transport, and health effects, we
caution the Agency to pnontize the research needs for mercury and continue to address
them aggressively (see section 2 3 1 above for additional comments on mercury
research)
c)	Ecosystems Research Among the major elements of the Agency's strategic plan is a
commitment to "protect, sustain, and restore the health of natural habitats and
ecosystems " Fundamental to this objective is creation of scientific tools to assess the
current condition of the nation's ecosystems, and then apply these tools to assemble a
coherent picture of the state of our ecological systems The importance of this objective is
underscored by the conclusions of the Agency's Report on the Environment (EPA SAB,
2004b), as well as the independent "State of the Nation's Ecosystems" report of the
Heinz Center (The Heinz Center, 2003), that most of the information required to
charactenze and track changes in ecosystem health is not currently available nationwide
This research not only informs Goal 4 objectives, but also supports efforts under EPA's
other strategic Goals For example, the ecological indicators that were being developed
under ecosystems research were to be the next generation of integrated indictors for use
by the States to meet their assessment requirements under the Clean Water Act (303
listings) Yet, the FY 2005 budget made deep cuts in the programs related to ecosystem
assessment (e g ecological indicators) and the FY 2006 budget request makes even
deeper cuts, including nearly $5M from Western EMAP, National Coastal Assessment,
and Regional Vulnerability Assessment programs These cuts appear emblematic of a
broader trend to cut ecosystem research, despite its fundamental importance to the
Agency's mission To some degree, the erosion in ecosystem research may be due to the
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unfortunate mismatch between governmental accountability evaluations that seem to
emphasize near-term results and the long-term nature of ecological research We strongly
urge the Agency to reverse the erosion in ecological research, determine the most
effective ways to proceed with ecological assessment, and reinstate funds to pursue them
d)	Extramural Research The Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grants programs
corresponding to ecological indicators, endocrine disruptors, and mercury that were
eliminated in the FY2005 EPA science and research budget are also not included in the
FY 2006 budget The Board restates its belief that the sacrifice of extramural research
programs comes at a significant and long-term cost to the Nation's need for knowledge
on important issues that will permit the development of environmental policy and that
will be necessary for informing international debates on U S products that compete in the
international market place
Extramural research provides four essential functions, which are lost when such
funding is diminished Extramural research a) allows access to expertise outside of the
Agency, b) invigorates the science being conducted and prevents in-bred or stale research
from taking hold, c) provides a flexible mechanism to identify and address emerging
issues, and d) allows EPA to leverage funds with other agencies or partners Thus
reducing extramural funds has both direct and indirect effects, and can be equated to
spending one's investment principal
e)	The Exploratory Research portion of the STAR program within Goal 4 (historically
funded at approximately 10% of the total STAR budget) provides a small but important
pool of funding for innovative and cutting-edge research that intends to provide EPA
programs with knowledge and understanding that anticipates issues of concern for the
future Exploratory grants have served as the Agency's long-term investment in exploring
future emerging issues, in contrast to the current STAR program, or the new Research
Pilot program efforts, which are both largely focused on nearer-term solutions to already
identified problems The Exploratory Research program has been cut in half in the FY
2006 budget, (about $5M), and the remaining $5M will be dedicated to research related
to nanotechnology While research on nanotechnology is a clear pnonty and at the
cutting edge of environmental science, there are severe limits to funds to explore other
emerging issues (some limited exceptions are discussed in section 2.6.4 below).
The Board believes that this situation makes the Agency more vulnerable to being
blindsided by future issues or challenges, and will place EPA further behind in its ability
to use and/or evaluate new technologies and new problems This gap in exploratory
research will not be filled by the private sector, in fact a recent survey showed that when
the government invests less in basic research, the private sector follows suit
f)	The Pilot Research Program The new Pilot Research program is innovative and
appears to be a good investment, allowing the program offices to purchase research
internally from ORD for specific needs We support the overall concept and encourage
the Agency to use peer-review in the selection and awarding of projects that are funded
by this mechanism We encourage the Agency to implement this as a "customer-driven"
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initiative, allowing the program office needs to clearly dnve the process to fill knowledge
gaps, and to not duplicate efforts or use the funding to replace operational expenses
g) Climate Change The Board applauds the continued support of the Climate Change
Science Program It is encouraged to learn that the CCSP program has done an internal
budget analysis across the participating agencies, including EPA, and note that while the
Climate Change program has been asked to expand their activities, there funding is
similar to last year
2.6.2	Cooperation: Do the science programs of EPA's National, Regional, and Research
Offices reflect coordination among EPA organizations and do they complement one
another?
Over the years that the SAB has reviewed the EPA science and research programs it has
seen a steady improvement in the coordination between EPA administrative units and the
alignment of the extramural research funding to complement research at EPA EPA science and
research coordination are a model other agencies should emulate This approach has allowed
EPA research to remain highly productive in the face of stagnant or decreasing funding
Examples of successful intra-Agency collaboration include the endocrine disruptors research
program, the computational toxicology program, and the genomics program The Board notes
that the leveraging of extramural research programs and partnerships can be readily quantified,
however, this has not been done and thus the full extent of intra-Agency cooperation is not as
transparent as it might be
The increased emphasis within the Agency on expressing research outcomes rather than
outputs also underscores the need for improved coordination within and outside of the Agency
For example, the Office of Water may need the results from specific Regional office REMAP
projects to demonstrate the effectiveness of an outcome measure, or evaluation of the NHANES
data from CDC may assist the Agency in assessing the effectiveness of a given rule aimed at
reducing exposures to pollutants
2.6.3	Collaboration: Based on EPA'spresentations to the SAB, and Board members' own
knowledge of efforts in the broader scientific community, how well does EPA's science
program appear to complement environmental science programs elsewhere? Is there
evidence that EPA's efforts are coordinated with the science efforts of other governmental
organizations and relevant organizations outside of government? Is there evidence that
EPA has an approach for capturing the science products from these other organizations?
Are there ways the Board could suggest that will enhance this coordination?
EPA has not only organized its programmatic and research efforts to align with the
agency strategic goals, but also is a leader in partnering with other federal agencies with shared
interests These highly successful partnerships have provided results of utility to EPA far
beyond what could have been anticipated had they attempted to build the programs alone The
proposed AMI effort and the EPA participation in the National Children's Study continue this
tradition
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The EPA's research program complements specific programs in many other federal
agencies (NIH, CDC, NASA, NOAA, and others), state agencies, University-based programs
and industrial research programs An excellent example includes the endocrine disruptors
program, which partners with other Federal agencies, industry, and funds extramural research
with academia These coordinated efforts allow the EPA to leverage their limited funds to
conduct more of the necessary research required to make science based regulatory decisions
Another excellent example of these coordinated activities is EPA's leveraging funds with
other agencies including NIH and CDC and universities in the support of the Children's Centers
for Environmental Health Disease Prevention programs and the National Children's Study In
addition, the Agency has begun to work with industry in establishing basic and clinical research
endeavors Other examples include the EMAP program, which collaborates with the States by
transferring statistical designs for probabilistic monitoring to their agencies, the collaboration of
EPA with NIOSH and NIST on nanotechnology research, and the collaboration of EPA with
NIEHS and DOE on computational toxicology Such programs, when conducted with the highest
scientific and ethical standards, provide an opportunity to leverage EPA research needs and
industry and other resources and research needs to protect the environment and human health In
complementing and coordinating their research programs the EPA captures a broad array of
scientific products (data and technology) The Agency understands that, with limited resources,
they must complement, coordinate, and encourage the entire community of stakeholders
including the Federal and State agencies, universities and local communities, and industry
The SAB recognizes that the cooperative efforts of all stakeholders will be greatly
facilitated with additional efforts to enhance the ability of the Agency and other stakeholders to
access and share data that each agency may have, such as EPA environmental data, CDC
NHANES data, and health disease tracking and local registries of cancer, autism or other
diseases The Board strongly encourages the Agency to pursue such collaborative ventures to
maximize leverage of limited resources, including joint extramural research programs,
cosponsored initiatives, and the like
2.6.4 Emerging Issues: Based upon the SAB's knowledge of EPA's science programs, are
those programs positioned to address the nation's emerging environmental issues in the
coming years ?
The Agency is losing ground in its ability to address emerging issues, and its current
efforts are at the margins In the past, EPA steadily improved its capacity to anticipate and
respond to emerging issues in part by maintaining a strong science program that included a
substantial commitment to "core" or long-range research The ability to outsource research on
emerging issues also helped the Agency to nimbly investigate new issues without permanently
building m-house capacity This positive trend appears jeopardized, however, by the current
budget environment in which significant cuts have been made to long-range ("core") research in
areas such as ecosystem condition and the outsourcing programs (i e competitive research grants
under STAR) The Board noted last year that cuts in the STAR program, particularly in the area
of ecological indicators, weakened the Agency's ability to address new issues and we reiterate
that concern again this year
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To its credit, the Agency has identified many emerging issues that are important (e g , the
promise and potential threats associated with nanomatenals, the ecological disruption caused by
invasive species, the non-linear dose response of low level exposures of endocrine disrupting
chemicals, and the effects of genetically modified organisms on natural systems) Activities in
these areas are ongoing within the Agency, although at a relatively low and static funding level
that is not conducive to developing a strategic response that ultimately can address the challenge
In the case of nanomatenals, the Agency has dedicated $5M in Exploratory Research grants to
the issue which we view as a minimally appropriate level of extramural funding, as with the
other emerging issues, the internal Agency effort in both science and strategic planning appears
inadequate to the challenge
The SAB stresses the need for the Agency to develop and support a mechanism for
addressing emerging issues, one that is integral to the Agency's operations The current budget
erodes, rather than enhances, this capability The SAB recommends that the Agency develop a
new strategy for addressing not only legacy issues, but also to addressing issues for the future
2.7 Goal 5 - Compliance and Environmental Stewardship
2.7.1 Alignment: Based upon the SAB's knowledge of EPA's science programs, do the
planned science activities included in EPA's FY 2006 budget align with the Strategic
program priorities identified by EPA's Research, National Program, and Regional offices?
A major reorganization of the science and research funding areas in Goal 5 is planned for
FY 2006, attributed at least in part, to the U S government's performance assessment system In
particular, funding for the pollution prevention (P2) and green chemistry programs (as well as a
few others) have been reassigned to "Economic and Decision Sciences" and "Sustainability "
Concurrent with this reorganization is a major cut in funding The S&T portion of this area is to
decrease from S50 5 million to S43 8 million The total science and research dollars attributed to
the goal is to decrease from $69 6 mdlion to $57 9 million Specific Board comments on Goal 5
science and research are in the following paragraphs
a) Voluntary Programs and Incentives A major theme running through all the strategic goal
descriptions in the EPA 2003 - 2008 Strategic Plan is the need to move forward where
possible from the largely command and control regulatory regime that is now the cornerstone
of U S national environmental policy For example, the Strategic Plan calls for a move
toward pollution prevention (Goals 4 and 5), development of innovative waste management
practices (Goal 3), and development of voluntary programs of materials management and
resource conservation, under the Resource Conservation Challenge (Goal 3) This proposed
shift raises two important questions The first is how to encourage such voluntary actions
The second is determining the proper mix of public sector and privately funded research on
improved waste management practices, innovative pollution control technologies, and
pollution prevention
The Strategic Plan expresses the hope that voluntary actions by individuals and industry can
be relied upon to improve the state of the nation's environment However, the behavioral,
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social, and decision sciences necessary to support environmentally effective programs that
rely on voluntary mcentives are at an early stage of development In particular, while the
literature has identified some effective, targeted programs that have led to real environmental
improvement at small scales, there is little or no research supporting the view that costly or
major changes in the production processes of firms or individuals can be expected to occur in
the absence of major financial incentives There is also little research to support the
provision of guidance on the design of programs to encourage voluntary actions
Understanding incentives and constraints is important in explaining actions and choices of
people A useful analogy is the volunteer army while it is true that volunteers can staff an
army, much higher incentives (wages and benefits) are needed than when the army is
conscripted The move to a voluntary army was undertaken only after a substantial body of
research on the labor market and the potential supply of labor to the military
If the EPA is to try to increase its use of voluntary mechanisms to achieve increased
environmental improvement and compliance, it must significantly invest in the appropriate
disciplinary and interdisciplinary research to provide the basis for this approach This
research would need to assess the magnitude and form of incentives, such as tax breaks,
direct payments, non-financial compensation, information provision, etc, necessary to
achieve increased environmental performance by a broad variety of private sector agents
(industnes, households, farmers, etc ) Previous STAR grant projects have made useful
contributions to our knowledge about these issues For example, studies that 1) identify the
sectors where voluntary programs will be most effective, 2) identify community actions that
effectively motivate firms to improve environmentally performance, and 3) develop
communication methods to improve the management of hazardous waste by households at
lower costs But, there is much to learn and more of this kind of research is needed
b)	Public vs private research funding The Goal 5 Team questions the appropriate mix of
private and public and spending on research for pollution prevention In designing both its
research programs the Agency should consider where and/or who is better placed to do
successful research leading to innovation and technological change for pollution prevention -
is it the private sector with its knowledge of its own production processes, or are others who
might know less about these processes able to do meaningful research on innovations7 The
Board believes that the need is for stronger incentives that will induce more private sector
research on pollution prevention There is a special need for market-based incentives that
reward pollution prevention with lower costs and higher profits These incentives could take
the form of cap and trade programs, taxes on pollution discharges, deposit-refund systems,
disposal fees, and so forth The Board believes that the Agency should devote more of its
own resources to research on market mechanisms and incentives aimed specifically at
rewarding pollution prevention This could be done by some combination of increased
support for the market mechanisms and incentives component of the Economics and
Decision Sciences program under ORD and additional support for the National Center for
Environmental Economics
c)	Strategic Approaches to Risk Communications A strategic approach to risk
communication is crucial to ensuring that the agency's investments in data collection and
research have public value The goals of increased compliance, pollution prevention, and
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environmental stewardship elucidated in Goal 5 relate fundamentally to social science and/or
interdisciplinary questions Yet, social science research and genuine interdisciplinary efforts
that span the social and hard sciences, and thereby yield new conceptualizations, remain
vastly underfunded and underutilized
Risk communication serves various purposes and takes on different forms throughout the
risk evaluation and management process (PCCRAM 1997, CSA 1997) It is integral to
defining a risk issue, gathenng the data to assess the technical and societal dimensions of the
issue, selecting the risk management option/s, and evaluating the impacts of the option
implemented Effective risk communication is more than applying a set of skills -eg,
crafting a message, segmenting an audience, and writing a brochure or public service
announcement Strategic nsk communication relies on a comprehensive systems orientation
and is based on scientifically derived facts - not guesses - about risk perception, social
dynamics, linked contexts, and cultural views The sciences that contribute to strategic risk
communication approaches include but are not restricted to the decision sciences,
psychology, behavioral sciences, sociology and anthropology Unfortunately, although EPA
was once a leader in supporting nsk communication research and has produced many
publications with risk communication guidance, the new generation of risk communication
knowledge is significantly underfunded and now appears to be undervalued by much of the
Agency To increase the impact of the agency's research on public policy, a much broader
view of nsk communication and the sciences that underpin strategic approaches is essential
This cannot be achieved without greater recognition and incorporation of social science
knowledge and methods into the agency's research and programs
d) Enforcement Another area in which EPA's research does not align effectively with EPA
pnonties is the enforcement area One of EPA's strategic objectives is to "strengthen the
scientific evidence and research supporting environmental policies and decisions on
compliance, pollution prevention, and environmental stewardship " Yet this strategic
objective is undercut by deficiencies in research funding regarding enforcement The first set
of research deficiencies results from inadequately framed objectives Subobjective 5 1 3, for
examples, calls for a 5% increase in "enforcement actions," but a recent article in
Environment Law Review (2000) indicates that agency enforcement actions in the previous
several years have decreased As a consequence, there is a resulting decrease in enforcement
related research The second set of research deficiencies are inadequate data For example, a
series of GAO reports indicate that inadequate enforcement activity is undertaken by the
Agency due to budget limitations This leads to less data for research on these problems
Third, deficient S&T research funding and transfer of about 18% of NEIC investigation
agents to homeland security issues has caused a drop in non-homeland security research at
the NEIC, and a drop in criminal referrals to NEIC Again, this limits the ability of the NEIC
to provide the necessary science and technology base for effective enforcement
2.7.2 Cooperation: Do the science programs of EPA's National, Regional, and Research
Offices reflect coordination among EPA organizations and do they complement one
another?
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The funding of the science and research supported by the NCEE as well as the
"Economics and Decision Sciences" within ORD supports the attainment of goals 1-4 as well as
goal 5 While the agency has made progress in the development of an internal coherent
economics research program by establishing the NCEE, there is no evidence of such progress for
any of the other social sciences Expanding EPA's science and research activities in social
sciences to include more than environmental economics, through enhanced collaboration and
program establishment is essential if EPA is to position itself to address emerging environmental
issues in our changing culture
Agency staff, across offices, described information sharing actions on research activities
during their discussions with the SAB at its February 2005 meeting However, it is difficult to
know the full extent to which offices coordinate their research programs for generating
knowledge, tools or methods Agency scientists, trained in different though complementary
disciplines, and who work on different pieces of the same problem and who have occasional
interactions to share their individual progress provides only a very limited cross-disciplinary
and/or cross-mission integration of EPA's scientific program The problem with this ad hoc
approach is briefly discussed in the following paragraph
The more complex the environmental issue the more urgent it is to address the related
problems using a comprehensive, systems-based approach and inter- or trans-disciplinary models
(pp 3-4 of Stokols et al, 2003) The number and complexity of emerging environmental
concerns (e g , global warming, ecosystem degradation, and water source protection) demands a
meaningful re-conceptualization of the agency's research enterprise to addresses these issues
Full integration of diverse sciences, with appropriate structures and incentives to sustain that
integration, is difficult but essential New knowledge about effective ways to initiate and
implement scientific collaborations should be utilized by the agency (Rhoten, 2004, Stokols et al,
2003) Without redesigning the agency's approach to such research activities, scientific progress
will be too slow to effectively address these combined legacy and emerging environmental
problems
2.7.3 Collaboration: Based on EPA's presentations to the SAB, and Board members' own
knowledge of efforts in the broader scientific community, how well does EPA's science
program appear to complement environmental science programs elsewhere? Is there
evidence that EPA's efforts are coordinated with the science efforts of other governntental
organizations and relevant organizations outside of government? Is there evidence that
EPA has an approach for capturing the science products from these other organizations?
Are there ways the Board could suggest that will enhance this coordination?
EPA should think in broader terms about ways to leverage their research resources within
the research community outside of EPA One approach may be to partner more extensively
with other public agencies and private, nonprofit entities to jointly fund research, especially
in the social sciences area Both the NIH and the CDC have followed such strategies EPA's
own ETV program is a good model, though it is limited to technology transfer Partnering
with private sector resources may be useful as well While it is important to recognize that in
some areas, EPA will be the exclusive source of science because of EPA's specific mandates
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and authorities, private research can be effective in developing cost saving methods for
pollution reduction and/or prevention
The Pollution Abatement Control Expenditures (PACE) survey is the sole source of
significant amounts of information concerning the costs of meeting environmental
regulations It is developed through the collaboration of the EPA's NCEE and the Bureau of
the Census and it has been responsible for developing a useful time series of data on this
topic It is critical that EPA's funding for this critical survey be continued.
2.7.4 Emerging Issues: Based upon the SAB's knowledge of EPA's science programs, are
those programs positioned to address the nation's emerging environmental issues in the
coming years?
With the growing U S population, increased demands for environmental resources,
changing standards of living, and performance expectations, as well as the increasingly complex
nature of emerging environmental issues (noted in section 2 7 2 above), there is a need to
increase our understanding of people's views and responses to environmental concerns Thus,
increased research in the social sciences is essential to understand organizational, individual, and
group concepts and behaviors associated with environmental issues
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REFERENCES
Barnes, K K, et al 2002 Water-Quality Data for Pharmaceuticals, Hormones, and Other
Wastewater Contaminants in U S Streams, 1999-2000 United States Geological Survey
Open File Report USGS OFR-02-94, Iowa City, Iowa
CSA 1997 Q850 Risk Management Guideline for Decision-Makers Canadian Standards
Association Toronto, Canada
National Research Center (NRC) 2003 The Measure of STAR A Review of the US
Environmental Protection Agency's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Research Grants
Program National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, Board of
Environmental Studies and Toxicology Washington, DC, 192 pp
PCCRAM 1997 Risk Assessment and Risk Management in Regulatory Decision-Making Final
Report, Vol 2 Presidential/Congressional Commission on Risk Assessment and
Management Washington, DC
Rhoten, D 2004 "Interdisciplinary research Trend or transition " SRRC Quarterly Items and
Issues 5(1-2)6-11
Stokols, D, et al 2003 "Evaluating transdisciplinary science " Nicotine & Tobacco Research
5(Supplement 1) S21-S39
The Heinz Center 2003 The State of the Nation's Ecosystems The H John Heinz III Center for
Science, Economics, and the Environment http //www heinzctr org/ecosvstems/report html
Washington, DC
US EPA SAB (2004) Advisory Report on the Science and Research Budgets for the U S
Environmental Protection Agency for Fiscal Year 2005, A Report by the EPA Science
Advisory Board EPA-SAB-ADV-04-003 March 19, 2004
US EPA (2004) Fiscal Year 2005 Justification of Appropriation Estimates for the Committee on
Appropriations EPA-205/R-04-001 Office of the Chief Financial Officer, U S
Environmental Protection Agency
US EPA (2004) Summary of EPA's 2005 Budget EPA-205-S-04-001 Office of the Chief
Financial Officer, U S Environmental Protection Agency
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