Strategic Direction
for the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
"EPA...
Preserving Our
Future
Printed On Recycled Paper
~ U.S GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1991-523-695

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MISSION
The people who work at the Environmental Protection Agency are
dedicated to improving and preserving the quality of the
environment, both national and global. We work to protect human
health and the productivity of natural resources on which all human
activity depends. Highly skilled and culturally diverse, we are
committed to using quality management processes that encourage
teamwork and promote innovative and effective solutions to
environmental problems. In particular, we are committed to
ensuring that:
g Federal environmental laws are implemented and
enforced effectively.
g U.S. policy, both foreign and domestic, fosters the
integration of economic development and environmental
protection so that economic growth can be sustained
over the long term.
g Public and private decisions affecting energy,
transportation, agriculture, industry, international trade,
and natural resources fully integrate considerations of
environmental quality.
g National efforts to reduce environmental risk are based
on the best available scientific information
communicated clearly to the public.
g Everyone in our society recognizes the value of
preventing pollution before it is created.
£ People have the information and incentives they need to
make environmentally responsible choices in their daily
lives.
g Schools and community institutions promote
environmental stewardship as a national ethic.

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GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
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EPA's unique role in protecting the environment includes:
Providing leadership in the nation's environmental science,
research, and assessment efforts.
We are committed to:
—	Gathering and analyzing the data needed to evaluate environmental
risks and trends, measure environmental results, and inform the
choices of institutions and individuals throughout society;
—	Promoting and supporting innovative technological solutions to
environmental problems;
—	Encouraging and conducting research that improves our
understanding of health and ecological risks;
—	Providing objective, reliable, and understandable information that
helps buiid trust in EPA's judgment and actions; and
—	Sharing research findings and innovative technologies with other
nations.
Making sound regulatory and program decisions.
We are committed to:
—	Implementing current environmental laws effectively, and helping to
improve those laws as they are reauthorized in the future;
—	Evaluating health and ecological risks, and targeting our
environmental protection resources at the problems and the
geographical areas posing the greatest risks;
—	Promoting public and private actions that prevent pollution at the
source before it becomes a problem;
—	Protecting the environment as a whole by developing programs that
control the movement of pollutants across environmental media;
—	Devising innovative, integrated solutions to environmental problems,
especially when they are concentrated in specific geographic areas
or industries;
—	Improving the economic analyses that promote efficiency and
cost-effectiveness in our decisions;
—	Applying market mechanisms and economic incentives when they
are appropriate and effective; and
—	Working with other government agencies to ensure they consider
the environmental implications of their actions.

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Effectively carrying out our programs and policies.
We are committed to:
—	Meeting Federal statutory obligations while retaining sufficient
flexibility to address priority risks in different parts of the country;
—	Maintaining a vigorous and credible enforcement program, with
emphasis on multi-media and criminal violations;
—	Promoting cross-media and interstate initiatives, such as
multi-media permitting and enforcement;
—	Enabling state and local governments, as partners, to implement
and enforce environmental programs;
—	Conveying clear, accurate, and timely information to the public, and
incorporating information from the public in EPA activities; and
—	Involving other government agencies, public interest groups, the
regulated community, and the general public in achieving national
and global environmental goals.
improving the global environment.
We are committed to:
—	Maintaining and strengthening U.S. leadership to protect and
improve the global commons;
—	Working with other government agencies and nations, the private
sector, and public interest groups to identify and solve
transboundary pollution problems;
—	Ensuring that environmental concerns are integrated into U.S.
foreign policy, including trade, economic development, and other
policies; and
—	Providing technical assistance, new technology, and scientific
expertise to other nations.
April 1991

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