Environmental Protection Chief Financial Offic
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United States Office Of The EPA-205-S-03-001
Environmental Protection Chief Financial Officer February 2003
Agency (271OA)
Photographs front /back covers courtesy of
Terry Woomer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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Table Of Contents
Introduction and Overview:
EPA's Mission and Goals iii
Annual Plan and Budget Overview iv
Goals:
Goal 1: Clean Air 1-1
Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water 2-1
Goal 3: Safe Food 3-1
Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces and Ecosystems 4-1
Goal 5: Better Waste Management and Restoration of
Contaminated Waste Sites and Emergency Response 5-1
Goal 6: Reduction of Global and Cross-Border Environmental Risks 6-1
Goal 7: Quality Environmental Information 7-1
Goal 8: Sound Science, Improved Understanding of Environmental Risk
and Greater Innovation to Address Environmental Problems 8-1
Goal 9: A Credible Deterrent to Pollution and Greater Compliance with the Law 9-1
Goal 10: Effective Management 10-1
Appendices:
Categorical Grants Program A-l
Infrastructure Financing B-l
Trust Funds C-l
Budget Tables
Agency Resources by Appropriation D-l
Agency Resources by Goal D-2
Agency Workforce by Goal D-3
Key Programs D-4
List of Acronyms E-l
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11
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EPA's Missions and Goals
The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to protect
human health and to safeguard the natural environment —air, water, and land
—upon which life depends.
EPA has developed a series often strategic, long-term goals in its Strategic
Plan. These goals, together with the underlying principles that will be used to
achieve them, define the Agency's planning, budgeting, analysis, and
accountability process.
Clean Air
The air in every American community will be safe and healthy to breathe. In particular, children,
the elderly, and people with respiratory ailments will be protected from health risks of breathing
polluted air. Reducing air pollution will also protect the environment, resulting in many benefits,
such as restoring life in damaged ecosystems and reducing health risks to those whose
subsistence depends directly on those ecosystems.
Clean and Safe Water
All Americans will have drinking water that is clean and safe to drink. Effective protection of
America's rivers, lakes, wetlands, aquifers, and coastal and ocean waters will sustain fish, plants,
and wildlife, as well as recreational, subsistence, and economic activities. Watersheds and their
aquatic ecosystems will be restored and protected to improve public health, enhance water
quality, reduce flooding, and provide habitat for wildlife.
Safe Food
The foods Americans eat will be free from unsafe pesticide residues. Particular attention will be
given to protecting subpopulations that may be more susceptible to adverse effects of pesticides
or have higher dietary exposures to pesticide residues. These include children and people whose
diets include large amounts of noncommercial foods.
Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in Communities, Homes, Workplaces,
and Ecosystems
Pollution prevention and risk management strategies aimed at eliminating, reducing, or
minimizing emissions and contamination will result in cleaner and safer environments in which
all Americans can reside, work, and enjoy life. EPA will safeguard ecosystems and promote the
health of natural communities that are integral to the quality of life in this nation.
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EPA's Missions and Goals
Better Waste Management, Restoration of Contaminated Waste Sites, and
Emergency Response
America's wastes will be stored, treated, and disposed of in ways that prevent harm to people
and the natural environment. EPA will work to clean up previously polluted sites, restore them
to uses appropriate for surrounding communities, and respond to and prevent waste-related or
industrial accidents.
Reduction of Global and Cross-Border Environmental Risks
The United States will lead other nations in successful, multilateral efforts to reduce significant
risks to human health and ecosystems from climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, and
other hazards of international concern.
Quality Environmental Information
The public and decision makers at all levels will have access to information about environmental
conditions and human health to inform decision making and help assess the general
environmental health of communities. The public will also have access to educational services
and information services and tools that provide for the reliable and secure exchange of quality
environmental information.
Sound Science, Improved Understanding of Environmental Risk, and Greater
Innovation to Address Environmental Problems
EPA will develop and apply the best available science for addressing current and future
environmental hazards as well as new approaches toward improving environmental protection.
A Credible Deterrent to Pollution and Greater Compliance with the Law
EPA will ensure full compliance with laws intended to protect human health and the
environment.
Effective Management
EPA will maintain the highest-quality standards for environmental leadership and for effective
internal management and fiscal responsibility by managing for results
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Annual Plan and Budget Overview
The EPA's FY 2004 Annual Plan and
Budget requests $7.6 billion in discretionary
budget authority and 17,850 Full Time
Equivalents (FTE). This budget request
supports the Agency's core programs and
implementation of critical components of the
President's Management Agenda.
Additionally, this request emphasizes the
importance of adequate resources and vision
necessary to reach our nation's environmental
goals. Resources also support the Agency's
efforts to work with its partners toward
cleaner air, purer water, and better-protected
land, as well as providing for EPA's role in
safeguarding the American people from
terrorist acts. The request also supports the
Administration's commitment to setting high
environmental protection standards, while
focusing on results and performance, and
achieving goals outlined in the President's
Management Agenda.
Implementation of the President's
Management Agenda is a major focus of the
Agency's FY 2004 budget request. EPA has
identified major efforts to accelerate its
progress in "getting to green" in all five
initiatives: Budget and Performance
Integration, Improved Financial Performance,
Expanding E-Government, Competitive
Sourcing, and Strategic Management of
Human Capital. The Agency's plans are
described throughout this justification. The
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
rated progress "green" in all five areas.
Strengthening Base Environmental
Programs
This Annual Plan and Budget submission
demonstrates EPA's commitment to our
principal objectives—safeguarding and
restoring America's air, water, and land
resources—by strengthening and refining our
base environmental programs. This budget
supports the President's Clear Skies Initiative,
an aggressive plan to cut power plant
emissions by 70 percent. Such emissions cuts
will be an essential component of improving
air quality and thus human health.
Additionally, EPA's budget request places a
strong emphasis on core water programs to
improve our water management framework,
program implementation, and information
sharing. To help States and Tribes fill critical
gaps in fulfillment of their Clean Water Act
responsibilities, this budget increases funding
to States, Tribes, and interstate agencies.
EPA's plan also requests a $150 million
increase for Superfund remedial cleanup
costs.
Fostering Stronger Partnerships
The Agency is committed to building and
enhancing effective partnerships. To do so,
this budget provides $210.7 million, $10
million above last year's funding, for
Brownfields. As one of the Administration's
top environmental priorities and a key to
restoring contaminated sites to productive
use, the Brownfields program will draw on
these additional resources to enhance State
and Tribal response programs. By protecting
land and revitalizing contaminated sites
throughout the US, EPA continues to expand
efforts to foster healthy and economically
sustainable communities and attract new
investments to rejuvenated areas. This budget
also requests increased funds over the FY
2003 President's Request for the Federal
enforcement workforce. The Agency will
maximize compliance and achieve
environmental results through targeted
inspections and enforcement, by responding
to public and other complaints, and enhancing
field presence to address environmental law
in
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Annual Plan and Budget Overview
violators. In FY 2004, EPA will conduct a
study to assess environmental service delivery
systems, including EPA's National
Environmental Performance Partnership
System.
Enhancing Strong Science
Sound science is a fundamental
component of EPA's work. The Agency has
long relied upon science and technology to
help discern and evaluate threats to human
health and the natural environment. Much of
our decision-making, policy, and regulatory
successes stem from reliance on quality
scientific research aimed at achieving EPA's
environmental goals. This budget increases
funding for modernization and expansion of
the Integrated Risk Information System
(IRIS)--a database of human health effects
that result from exposure to various
environmental substances. Our proposal also
allocates additional resources to research
America's sensitive populations, including
children and the elderly. In addition, EPA is
requesting resources for the newly established
Science Advisor. The Science Advisor will
be responsible for ensuring the availability
and use of the best science to support Agency
policies and decisions, as well as advising the
EPA Administrator on science and technology
issues and their relationship to Agency
policies, procedures, and decisions. EPA is
also taking a number of steps to attract and
maintain a high quality, diverse scientific
workforce and improve the use of science in
EPA's regional offices.
Cleaner Air
The Clear Skies initiative draws on EPA's
experience to modernize the Clean Air Act.
Using a market-based approach, the Clear
Skies Initiative will dramatically cut power
plants' emissions of three of the most
significant air pollutants—862, nitrogen
oxides (NOX), and mercury. Reductions in
SC>2 and NOX emissions will also reduce
airborne PM2.5. EPA's approach builds upon
the success of the acid rain cap-and-trade
program created by Congress in 1990. The
Clear Skies initiative will achieve
substantially greater reductions in air
pollution from power plants more quickly and
with more certainty than the existing Clean
Air Act. The initiative requires mandatory
cuts of SC>2, NOX, and mercury (Hg) by an
average of 70% from today's levels, and
ensures that these levels are achieved and
sustained through caps on emissions. Despite
these reductions, some States will need to
implement further measures to meet National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
To help States and localities develop cost-
effective strategies, EPA also will need to
provide assistance to States to implement
reductions.
Air toxics emissions nationwide from stationary and
mobile sources combined will be reduced by an
additional 2% of the updated 1993 baseline of 6.0
million tons for a cumulative reduction of 37%.
In FY 2004, EPA will assist States, Tribes
and local governments in devising additional
stationary and mobile source strategies to
reduce ozone, particulate matter, and other
pollutants.
The number of people living in areas with
monitored ambient ozone concentrations below the
NAAQS for the one-hour ozone standard will
increase by 1% (relative to 2003) for a cumulative
total of 20% Relative to 1992V
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Annual Plan and Budget Overview
The Agency will develop strategies and
rules to help States and Tribes reduce
emissions and exposure to hazardous air
pollutants, particularly in urban areas, and
reduce harmful deposition in water bodies. A
key to achieving the Clean Air Goal is $235.6
million included in this budget for air grants
that support States and Tribes.
EPA's air research program will continue
to provide a strong scientific basis for policy
and regulatory decisions and exploring
emerging problem areas.
Greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced from
projected levels by approximately 81 MMTCE per
year through EPA partnerships with businesses,
schools, state and local governments, and other
organizations.
Addressing Climate Change
This budget request includes $130.0 million
to meet the Agency's climate change
objectives by working with business and other
sectors to deliver multiple benefits - from
cleaner air to lower energy bills - while
improving overall scientific understanding of
climate change and its potential
consequences. The core of EPA's climate
change efforts are government/industry
partnership programs designed to capitalize
on the tremendous opportunities available to
consumers, businesses, and organizations to
make sound investments in efficient
equipment and practices. These programs
help remove barriers in the marketplace,
resulting in faster deployment of technology
into the residential, commercial,
transportation, and industrial sectors of the
economy. EPA's Global Change Research
Program supports one of six Administration
FY 2004 Interagency Research and
Development Priorities - Climate Change
Science and Technology. EPA will continue
research in this area in FY 2004 to address
Climate Change Science Program (CCSP)
needs.
Purer Water
Since enactment of the Clean Water Act
(CWA) and Safe Drinking Water Act
(SDWA) three decades ago, government,
citizens, and the private sector have worked
together to make dramatic improvements in
the quality of surface waters and drinking
water supplies. Despite improvements in
water quality nationwide, serious water
pollution and drinking water problems,
including nonpoint source pollution, still
exist.
Water quality will improve on a watershed basis such
that 625 of the nation's 2,262 watersheds will have
greater than 80 percent of assessed waters meeting all
water quality standards, up from 500 watersheds in
1998
• Strengthening Water Core Programs. In
FY 2004 the Agency will place a strong
emphasis on core water programs--
monitoring and assessment, standard
setting, watershed planning, and
implementation (i.e., NPDES and
drinking water). Through investments in
core water programs, EPA hopes to
remedy significant environmental
problems and boost environmental
performance by:
• Working with the States to enhance their
monitoring and assessment programs,
with an emphasis on a probabilistic,
science-based approach in assessing water
quality, increasing the number of waters
directly measured, and unifying Federal,
State, and local monitoring efforts.
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Annual Plan and Budget Overview
Assisting States and Tribes in ensuring
that water quality standards are effective
and appropriate for use in developing
Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs).
92 percent of the population served by the
community water systems will receive drinking
water meeting all health-based standards in effect
as of 1994, up from 83 percent in 1994. 85 percent
of the population served by community water
systems will receive drinking water meeting health-
based standards promulgated in or after 1998.
• Increasing the pace of TMDL
development and working with States to
assure implementation of already
approved TMDLs, including targeting
CWA Section 319 non-point source
funding.
• Assisting States in ensuring that facilities
required to have permits are covered by
current and effective permits that include
all conditions needed to ensure water
quality protection.
• Strengthening the drinking water
implementation program to maintain
effective State and tribal programs and to
achieve the enhanced level of public
health protection established in 1998 and
later drinking water rules.
• Enhancing regulation of vessel discharges
and pollution, developing ballast water
standards for aquatic nuisance species,
and bolstering its ocean dumping
responsibilities regarding site evaluation,
designation, monitoring, permit review,
and concurrence.
• Protecting Wetlands. In 2001, the
Supreme Court determined that some
isolated waters and wetlands are not
regulated under the Clean Water Act.
Millions of acres of waters are no longer
protected under Clean Water Act, Section
404. EPA is proposing to provide an
increase of $5 million in grants to States
and Tribes to help them protect these
waters as part of comprehensive programs
that will achieve no net loss of wetlands.
• Great Lakes Legacy Act. In support of
the Great Lakes Legacy Act, EPA is
requesting $15 million in funding for
contaminated sediment cleanup activities.
In 2004, the Agency plans to begin
cleanup on two to three new sites that will
lead to the remediation of over 100,000
cubic yards of contaminated sediments.
Some of this funding will also be used for
assessment and analysis, resulting in
additional cleanups.
• Helping States Address Non-point Source
Pollution. The new Farm Bill provides
EPA and the States an opportunity to
accelerate national efforts to control non-
point source pollution. EPA and State
water quality agencies will work closely
and cooperatively with USDA,
conservation districts, and others to
combine our strengths. Using CWA
Section 319 dollars, States will focus
more of their efforts on providing the
monitoring and watershed-planning
support needed by the agricultural
community to target their work most
effectively on the highest-priority water
quality needs. In addition, States will also
increase their focus upon non-point source
activities that are not funded under the
Farm Bill (e.g., urban runoff, forestry,
abandoned mines, and a variety of stream
and stream bank restoration activities).
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Annual Plan and Budget Overview
• Extending the Federal Commitment to the
Clean Water and Drinking Water State
Revolving Funds (SRFs). The President's
Budget proposes to fund the Clean Water
SRF at $850 million through 2011 and
increase the long-term revolving level by
$800 million to $2.8 billion, a 40percent
increase over the previous goal. This
extended funding of $4.4 billion is
projected to close the $21 billion gap
between current capital funding levels and
future water infrastructure capital needs
estimated by EPA. EPA also proposes to
fund the Drinking Water SRF at $850
million through 2018 so it can revolve at
$1.2 billion per year, an increase of 140%
over the previous goal of $500 million.
• Safe Drinking Water in Puerto Rico. Less
than 20% of the people in Puerto Rico
receive drinking water that meets all
health-based standards. As a first step
toward improved public health protection,
the Agency requests $8 million to design
necessary infrastructure improvements to
Metropolitiano, Puerto Rico. When these
infrastructure improvements are
completed, EPA estimates that about 1.4
million people will enjoy safer, cleaner
drinking water.
• Drinking Water Research. To strengthen
our ability to characterize and manage
risks to human health posed by exposure
to waterborne pathogens and chemicals,
the Agency has established an integrated,
multi-disciplinary research program in the
areas of exposure, health effects, risk
assessment, and risk management. The
FY 2004 budget request directly supports
SDWA priorities, including: 1) research
on sensitive subpopulations, adverse
reproductive outcomes and other potential
health effects of drinking water
contaminants; 2) studies on disinfection
by-products (DBFs), arsenic, complex
mixtures, and the occurrence of
waterborne disease in the U.S.; and 3)
development of methods to improve water
treatment and maintain water quality in
the distribution system.
• Water Quality Research. The water
quality research program will demonstrate
integrated and stakeholder driven
approaches to achieving water quality
goals, as well as: 1) focus on the
development of watershed diagnostic
methods; 2) focus on understanding the
importance of critical habitats; 3) focus on
the impacts of habitat alteration on
aquatic communities; and 4) support the
development of ecological criteria,
providing the scientific foundation to
support Total Maximum Daily Loads
(TMDLs).
Better Protected Land
Cleaning Up Toxic Waste
• Superfund at Work. This budget
continues a commitment to clean up toxic
waste sites with $1.39 billion for
Superfund. This budget request includes
$150 million over the FY 2003
President's Budget to address an
additional 10-15 construction projects at
Superfund sites across the nation. The
Agency will also work to maximize the
participation of responsible parties in site
cleanups while promoting fairness in the
enforcement process. EPA will continue
the progress we have made in cleaning up
toxic waste sites while protecting public
health and returning land to productive
use. As of December 29, 2002, EPA
completed all final cleanup plans at over
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Annual Plan and Budget Overview
1,000 Superfund National Priority List
(NPL) sites, undertaken over 7,300
removals at hazardous waste sites to
immediately reduce human health and
environmental threats, assessed over
44,400 sites, and removed more than
33,100 sites from the national toxic waste
site list to help promote the economic
redevelopment of these properties. The
waste research program continues to
support the Agency's objective of
reducing or controlling potential risks to
human health and the environment at
contaminated waste sites by accelerating
scientifically-defensible and cost-effective
decisions for cleanup at complex sites,
mining sites, marine spills, and
Brownfields in accordance with
CERCLA.
Revitalizing Local Economies and
Creating Jobs Through Brownfields
Cleanup and Redevelopment. The FY
2004 budget request includes $210.7
million for the Brownfields program. The
$10 million increase in State grants will
support the redevelopment and
revitalization of Brownfields communities
by providing funding for additional
assessments at hazardous waste and
petroleum-contaminated properties and
for voluntary State cleanup programs.
The Brownfields program will continue to
promote local cleanup and redevelopment
of industrial sites, returning abandoned
land to productive use and bringing jobs
to blighted areas.
Broad-Based and Multi-Media
Approaches
Strong Science
The FY 2004 budget supports EPA's
efforts to further strengthen the role of science
in decision-making by using sound scientific
The Agency will verify 35 commercial-ready air,
water, greenhouse gas, and monitoring
technologies, and provide this information to States,
technology purchasers, and the public.
information and analysis to help direct policy
and establish priorities. Using the
Administration's Research and Development
Criteria (relevance, quality, and performance),
the Agency will achieve maximum
environmental and health protections by
employing the highest quality scientific
methods, models, tools, and approaches. This
budget request includes $607 million to
develop and apply strong science to address
both current and future environmental
challenges. The budget request supports a
balanced research and development program
designed to address Administration and
Agency priorities, and meet the challenges of
the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Safe Drinking
Water Act (SOWA), the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the
Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA), and
other environmental statutes. Important new
or increased research efforts to reinforce
environmental decision-making include
computational toxicology (including
genomics and bioinformatics), childhood
cancer and asthma research, and
environmental indicators research. All of
these will allow EPA to measure progress in
achieving cleaner air, safer water, and better
protected land resources by assessing actual
impacts on human health and ecological
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Annual Plan and Budget Overview
quality and will provide the foundation for the
Agency's State of the Environment Report.
Agency-wide Information Technology
Advances
The FY 2004 Budget reexamines our
information technology challenges in order to
support E-Government, an element of the
President's Management Agenda.
Environmental information plays a
particularly significant role in EPA due to the
Agency's reliance on scientific and analytical
Performance across the Agency will benefit from
building and maintaining an Agency-wide
infrastructure in terms of support to:
• Sound science and environmental decision-
making;
• Web services addressing stakeholder and e-gov
priorities; and,
• Consistent desktop access.
data and its need for close collaboration with
external partners. EPA strives to provide the
right information, at the right time, in the
right format, to the right people. The Agency
is adapting to the explosion of emerging
technologies and the information management
revolution that are enabling organizations to
become more productive, more effective and
timely in decision making, and service
oriented. The challenge is to provide secure,
reliable, and timely access to data and tools
for internal and external stakeholders at the
lowest possible cost.
In FY 2004, EPA will continue its
development of the National Environmental
Exchange Network. The Exchange Network
is an electronic method of sharing
environmental data using secure points of
Forty-six States will use CDX as the means by
which they routinely exchange environmental data
with two or more EPA media programs or regions.
exchange, or "Nodes." The Primary
components of the Exchange Network are the
National Environmental Information
Exchange Network Grant Program and the
Central Data Exchange (CDX). The grant
program assists States and Tribes in
evaluating their readiness to participate in the
Exchange Network, enhances their efforts to
complete necessary changes to their
information management systems to facilitate
Exchange Network participation, and supports
State information integration efforts. The
grant program also will provide training and
other technical assistance programs to assist
States and Tribes in developing and
implementing the Exchange Network.
The CDX is the focal point for securely
receiving, translating, and forwarding data to
EPA's data systems—the electronic reporting
gateway to the Agency's information
network. The CDX satisfies the Government
Paperwork Elimination Act mandates by
providing the infrastructure necessary to
implement electronic signature and electronic
filing of mandated EPA reports. In FY 2004,
the CDX infrastructure, a key component of
the exchange network, will service 46 States
and at least 2,000 private sector and local
government entities. These facilities will use
it to provide data to EPA electronically. By
widely implementing an electronic reporting
infrastructure, the CDX will reduce reliance
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Annual Plan and Budget Overview
paper-based processes, thereby improving
data quality, reducing reporting burden, and
simplifying the reporting process.
In FY 2004 the Agency will continue the
development of its Environmental Indicators
Initiative (EII) in order to establish a set of
performance indicators that measure
environmental results. Environmental
indicators are an important tool for
simplifying, analyzing, and communicating
information about environmental conditions
and human health. EPA is in the process of
identifying environmental indicators that will
be used to produce a draft State-of-the
Environment Report in FY 2003. EPA is also
reviewing these indicators to identify gaps
and set long-term priorities for the EII. These
indicators are designed to measure the impact
of human activities on the environment and
associated health effects on communities and
ecosystems.
Working with States for Effective, Sensible
Enforcement
Many of the environmental improvements
in this country during the past 30 years can be
attributed to a strong set of environmental
laws and EPA's efforts to ensure compliance
A strong enforcement program identifies and
reduces noncompliance problems, assists the
regulated community in understanding
environmental laws and regulations, responds to
complaints from the public, strives to secure a level
economic playing field for law-abiding companies,
and deters future violations.
with those laws through enforcement,
compliance monitoring, compliance
assistance, and compliance incentives. The
combination of these tools, in cooperation
with our regulatory partners, provides a broad
scope of actions designed to protect public
health and the environment. State, Tribal and
local governments bear much of the
responsibility for ensuring compliance, and
EPA works in partnership with them and
other Federal agencies to promote
environmental protection. The FY 2004
request includes an increase of 100 workyears
over the FY 2003 President's Request to
implement enforcement for States without
delegated programs, for non-delegable
programs such as Superfund, or for
compliance assistance activities.
Increase the regulated community's compliance
with environmental requirements through their
expanded use of compliance assistance. The
Agency will continue to support small business
compliance assistance centers and develop
compliance assistance tools such as sector
notebooks and compliance guides.
The FY 2004 request will continue to
support the regulated community's
compliance with environmental requirements
through voluntary compliance incentives and
assistance programs. The Agency will
provide information and technical assistance
to the regulated community through the
compliance assistance program to increase its
understanding of all statutory or regulatory
environmental requirements, thereby reducing
risk to human health and the environment and
gaining measurable improvements in
compliance. The program will also continue
to develop strategies and compliance
assistance tools that will support initiatives
targeted toward improving compliance in
specific industrial and commercial sectors or
with certain regulatory requirements.
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Annual Plan and Budget Overview
Ensuring Safe Food
The FY 2004 request includes $151.6
million to meet implementation challenges of
the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of
1996 so that all Americans will continue to
enjoy one of the safest and most affordable
food supplies in the world. The Agency's
implementation of FQPA focuses on new
science-driven policies for pesticides review,
seeks to encourage the development of
reduced risk pesticides to provide an
By the end of 2004, EPA will reassess a cumulative
78% of the 9,721 pesticide tolerances required to
be reassessed over ten years.
alternative to the older versions on the
market, and to develop and deliver
information on alternative pesticides/
techniques and best pest control practices to
pesticide users. The Agency is also working
to help farmers' transit!on—without disrupting
production-to safer substitutes and
alternative farming practices. Reassessing
existing tolerances ensures food safety,
especially for infants and children, and
ensures that all pesticides registered for use
meet current health standards. This budget
request also supports FQPA research. That
research seeks to reduce uncertainties in risk
assessment by developing tools to reduce
reliance on default assumptions and support
the development of new assessment
methodologies.
Homeland Security
The Environmental Protection Agency's
FY 2004 Annual Plan and Budget requests
$123 million and 142 FTE to support the
Agency's Homeland Security responsibilities
in accordance with the Public Health Security
and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response
Act of 2002, the National Strategy for
Homeland Security, and Presidential
Directives (FDD) 39, 62, 63. This request
allows the Agency to continue providing
leadership for the protection of the nation's
critical water infrastructure while upgrading
and improving our emergency response
capabilities. In addition, EPA will conduct
research and provide guidance and technical
support for Federal, State and local
governments, and other institutions in the
areas of building decontamination, water
security, and rapid risk assessment.
A Commitment to Reform and Results
The Agency is committed to achieving the
Administration's management reform
priorities for a government that is results-
oriented, citizen-centered, and market-based.
This Annual Plan and Budget represents a
strong commitment to reduce regulatory
burdens and streamline Agency operations, so
that the Agency's focus is on positive and
measurable environmental results while
working more effectively with our partners
and stakeholders. Since FY 1999, EPA has
undertaken significant management reform by
restructuring its budget to match the strategic
goals and objectives of its strategic plan under
the Government Performance and Results Act
(GPRA). Since then, EPA has worked
consistently to improve its ability to manage
for results. The Agency's current
management reform agenda fully supports the
goals of the President's Management Agenda,
and EPA has made demonstrable progress in
carrying out the five government-wide
initiatives as reflected in Executive Branch
Scorecard updates and in delivering
environmental results to our ultimate
customer—the American people.
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Environmental Protection Agency's
Resources by Major Category
(Dollars in Billions)
• Infrastructure
D Trust Funds
D Operating Programs
$9.0
$8.0
$1.0--
$0.0
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
FY1994-2002 reflect EPA's final enacted operating plan
FY2002 does not include $175.6 million provided for Homeland security in the Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations Act
FY2003 excludes $107 million for proposed new pension and health benefits legislation. To make
columns comparable, FY 2001 and FY 2002 have also been revised for this change.
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Environmental Protection Agency Workforce
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FY 1993 through FY 2002 reflect actual FTE usage.
FYs 2003 & 2004 are workyears based on the President's budget submission.
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Environmental Protection Agency's
FY2004 Budget by Goal
Total Agency: $7,627 Million *
6.1% 8.1%
5.6%
4.7
24
4.5% 1-6%
38.7%
• Goal 1: Clean Air 8.1%
m Goal 2: Clean & Safe Water 38.7%
D Goal 3: Safe Food 1.6%
• Goal 4: Preventing Pollution 4.5%
• Goal 5: Better Waste Management 24.2%
D Goal 6: Reducing Global Risks 3.5%
D Goal 7: Quality Environmental Information 3.0%
• Goal 8: Sound Science 4.7%
D Goal 9: A Credible Deterrent to Pollution & Greater Compliance With the Law 5.6%
D Goal 10: Effective Management 6.1%
XIV
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Goal 1: Clean Air
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Goal 1: Cleaner Air
Strategic Goal: The air in every American community will be safe and healthy to breathe. In
particular, children, the elderly, and people with respiratory ailments will be protected from
health risks of breathing polluted air. Reducing air pollution will also protect the environment,
resulting in many benefits, such as restoring life in damaged ecosystems and reducing health
risks to those whose subsistence depends directly on those ecosystems.
Resource Summary
($ in 000)
v y
\- */
8.1% of Budget
Attain NAAQS
Reduce Air Toxics Risk
Reduce Acid Rain.
FY 2003
President's
Budget
$458,856
$118,023
$21,098
$597,977
FY2004
President's
Request
$468,437
$127,747
$21,231
$617,415
Difference
$9,581
$9,724
$133
$19,438
Workyears
1,820.0
1,823.3
3.3
Background and Context
The average American breathes over
3,000 gallons of air each day. Air pollution
contributes to illnesses such as cancer and to
respiratory, developmental, and reproductive
problems. Children are at greater risk
because they are more active outdoors and
their lungs are still developing. The elderly
also are more sensitive to air pollution
because they often have heart or lung disease.
Certain pollutants (such as some metals
and certain organic chemicals) that are
emitted from industrial and other sources can
be deposited into water bodies and magnified
through the food web, adversely affecting
fish-eating animals and humans. Air
pollution also makes soil and waterways more
acidic, reduces visibility, and accelerates
corrosion of buildings and monuments.
The air pollution problem is national and
international in scope. Air pollution regularly
crosses local and State lines and our borders.
This causes problems not only for the
population in urban areas, but also for less
populated areas and national parks. Federal
assistance and leadership are essential for
developing and implementing cooperative
programs to prevent and control air pollution;
for ensuring that national standards are met;
and for providing tools for States, Tribes, and
local communities to use in preparing their
clean air plans.
1-1
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Goal 1: Clean Air
Criteria pollutants
To protect public health and the
environment, EPA develops standards that
limit concentrations of six major pollutants
(known as criteria pollutants) that are linked
to serious health and environmental problems:
• Particulate matter (PM). PM causes a
wide variety of health and environmental
problems. When exposed to higher
concentrations of fine PM, people with
existing lung or heart diseases - such as
asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, congestive heart disease, or
coronary artery disease - are at increased
risk of health problems requiring
hospitalization or of premature death.
Similarly, children and people with
existing lung disease may not be able to
breathe as deeply or vigorously as they
normally would and they may experience
symptoms such as coughing and shortness
of breath. Fine PM can increase
susceptibility to respiratory infections and
can aggravate existing respiratory
diseases, such as asthma and chronic
bronchitis, causing more use of
medication and more doctor visits.
PM is also a major cause of reduced
visibility in parts of the U.S., including
many of our national parks. Particles can
be carried over long distances by wind
and then settle on ground or water. The
effects of certain species of PM settling
may include making lakes and streams
acidic, changing the nutrient balance in
coastal waters and watersheds, depleting
the nutrients in soil, damaging sensitive
forests and farm crops, and decreasing the
diversity of ecosystems.
• Ground-level ozone (smog). When
breathed at any concentration, ozone can
irritate and inflame a person's airways.
Health effects attributed to exposures to
ozone, generally while individuals are
engaged in moderate or heavy exertion,
include significant decreases in lung
function and increased respiratory
symptoms such as chest pain and cough as
concentrations rise. Exposures to ozone
result in lung inflammation, aggravate
respiratory diseases such as asthma, and
may make people more susceptible to
respiratory infection. Children who are
active outdoors are most at risk for
experiencing such effects. Other at-risk
groups include adults who are active
outdoors such as outdoor workers and
individuals with respiratory disorders such
as asthma. Ground-level ozone interferes
with the ability of many plants to produce
and store food, which reduces crop and
forest yields by making plants more
susceptible to disease, insects, other
pollutants and harsh weather. It damages
the leaves of trees and other plants,
affecting the appearance of cities, national
parks and recreation areas.
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2). Peak levels of SO2
can cause temporary breathing difficulty
for people with asthma who are active
outdoors. Longer-term exposure to a
combination of SO2 and fine particles can
cause respiratory illness, alter the defense
mechanisms of lungs, and aggravate
cardiopulmonary disease. People who
may be most susceptible to these effects
include individuals with cardiovascular
disease or chronic lung disease, as well as
children and the elderly. SO2 is also a
major contributor to acidic deposition.
1-2
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Goal 1: Cleaner Air
• Nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Exposure to
NO2 causes respiratory symptoms such as
coughing, wheezing, and shortness of
breath in children and adults with
respiratory diseases such as asthma. Even
short exposures to NO2 affect lung
function. NO2 also contributes to acidic
deposition, eutrophi cation in coastal
waters, and visibility problems.
• Carbon monoxide (CO). The health threat
from even low levels of CO is most
serious for those who suffer from heart
disease, like angina, clogged arteries, or
congestive heart disease. For a person
with heart disease, a single exposure to
CO at low levels may cause chest pain
and reduce that person's ability to
exercise. Even healthy people can be
affected by high levels of CO. People
who breathe higher levels of CO can
develop vision problems, experience
reduced ability to work or learn, reduced
manual dexterity, and have difficulty
performing complex tasks. CO is most
dangerous in enclosed or confined spaces
and will cause death.
• Lead. Lead causes damage to the kidneys,
liver, brain and nerves, and other organs.
Excessive exposure to lead causes
seizures, mental retardation, behavioral
disorders, memory problems, and mood
changes. Low levels of lead damage the
brain and nerves in fetuses and young
children, resulting in learning deficits and
lowered IQ^
Hazardous air pollutants
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs),
commonly referred to as air toxics, are
pollutants that are known or suspected to
cause cancer or other serious health problems,
such as reproductive effects or birth defects,
or adverse environmental effects. EPA is
working with State, local, and Tribal
governments to reduce air releases of 188
pollutants listed in the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990. Examples of air toxics
include mercury, benzene, toluene, and
xylene (BTX). HAPs are emitted from
literally thousands of sources, including
automobiles, trucks and buses. Adverse
effects to human health and the environment
due to HAPs can result from even low level
exposure to air toxics from individual
facilities, exposures to mixtures of pollutants
found in urban settings, or exposure to
pollutants emitted from distant sources that
are transported through the atmosphere over
regional, national, or even global airsheds.
Compared to information for the six
criteria pollutants, the information about the
ambient concentrations of HAPs and their
potential health effects is relatively
incomplete. Most of the information on the
potential health effects of these pollutants is
derived from experimental animal data. Of
the 188 HAPs, almost 60 percent are
classified by the Clean Air Act (section
112(f)(2)(A)) as known, probable, or possible
carcinogens. One of the often documented
ecological concerns associated with toxic air
pollutants is the potential to damage aquatic
ecosystems.
The Administration evaluated the Air
Toxics program this past year using the
Performance Assessment Rating Tool
(PART). This evaluation found that the
program's purpose is clear and the
management of the program is good;
however, the program has not clearly shown it
is maximizing the program's net benefits and
proposing the most cost-effective regulations.
Furthermore, linkages are insufficient
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Goal 1: Cleaner Air
between annual performance goals and the
long-term performance goal of protecting 95
percent of the U.S. population from
unacceptable risks of cancer and other
significant health problems from air toxic
emissions. A moving baseline and data gaps
for toxicity and actual population exposure
limit the assessment of the program's results.
In response to these findings, the
Administration is requesting $7 million in
increased funding for the Air Toxics program
in State grants for monitoring to help fill these
data gaps. In addition, the Administration will
focus on maximizing programmatic net
benefits, minimizing the cost per deleterious
health effect avoided, and establishing better
performance measures.
Acid rain
Emissions of sulfur dioxide (862) and
nitrogen oxides (NOX) react in the atmosphere
and fall to earth as acid rain, causing
acidification of lakes and streams and
contributing to the damage of trees at high
elevations. Acid deposition also accelerates
the decay of building materials and paints and
contributes to degradation of irreplaceable
cultural objects, such as statues and
sculptures. NOX deposition also contributes to
eutrophication of coastal waters, such as the
Chesapeake Bay and Tampa Bay. Before
falling to earth, 862 and NOX gases form fine
particles that are implicated in affecting
public health by contributing to premature
mortality, chronic bronchitis, and other
respiratory problems. The fine particles also
contribute to reduced visibility in national
parks and elsewhere.
Trends
The air in the U.S. is now the cleanest it
has been during the 20 years that EPA has
been tracking air quality. National air quality,
measured at thousands of monitoring stations
across the country, has shown improvements
for all six major criteria pollutants: PM,
ozone, SO2, NO2, CO, and lead. Over the
last three decades, air pollution has declined
by 25 percent, while our economy has grown
over 160 percent. These gains have provided
cleaner air for millions of people. There also
have been dramatic reductions (10 to 25
percent) in sulfates deposited in many of the
most acid sensitive ecosystems located in the
Northeastern U.S. since implementation of
EPA's acid rain program in 1995. This means
that during the past 20 years, Americans have
been able to breathe a little easier, see a little
better, and enjoy a cleaner environment.
Additional steps still need to be taken,
however, to bring remaining areas with
unhealthful air fully into compliance with
health-based air quality standards and to
protect sensitive ecosystems. Thus the nation
faces a significant challenge in maintaining
this historical trend of improving air quality,
given expectations for future growth in the
economy, the population, and highway
vehicle use.
EPA tracks trends in six criteria air
pollutants through an Air Quality Index that
reflects the number of days that any health-
based standard is violated. The percentage of
days across the country that air quality
violated a health standard has dropped from
almost 10 percent in 1988 to 3 percent in
2000. Even on those days, the standard was
generally violated only for a few hours,
although these violations tend to be in late
afternoon hours when many children and
adults are outside engaging in work and
exercise that increases the impact of exposure
to unhealthful air.
1-4
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Goal 1: Cleaner Air
Comparison of 1970 and 2001 Emissions
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Nationwide, levels of air toxics dropped
approximately 30 percent between 1990 and
2000. For example, perchloroethylene
monitored in 16 urban sites in California
showed a drop of 60 percent from 1989 to
1998. Benzene, emitted from cars, trucks, oil
refineries, and chemical processes, is another
widely monitored toxic air pollutant.
Measures taken from 95 urban monitoring
sites across the country show a 47 percent
drop in benzene levels from 1994 to 2000. In
addition, ambient concentrations of many
hazardous air pollutants remain high and
continue to impose significant health risks on
exposed individuals.
Although substantial progress has been
made, it is important not to lose sight of the
magnitude of the air pollution problem that
still remains. Despite great progress in
improving air quality, over 160 million tons
of air pollution was released into the air in
2000 in the U.S. Approximately 121 million
people lived in counties where monitored air
was unhealthy because of high levels of the
six principal air pollutants. Some national
parks, including the Great Smoky Mountains
and the Shenandoah, have high air pollution
concentrations resulting from the transport of
pollutants many miles from their original
sources. In 2000, for the third consecutive
year, rural 1-hour ozone (smog) levels were
greater than the average levels observed for
urban sites, but they are still lower than levels
observed at suburban sites.
Means and Strategy
Strategy
EPA's overall goals for the air quality
program include improving air quality and
addressing highest health and environmental
risks while reducing program costs, getting
better results in less burdensome ways, and
increasing the roles of State, Tribal, and local
governments. To help implement these goals,
the President has proposed the Clear Skies
Act. Clear Skies was proposed in response to
a growing need for an emission reduction plan
that will protect the environment while
providing regulatory certainty for the utility
industry. Clear Skies would create a market-
based program, with results guaranteed by
caps instituted over a period of time that
would dramatically reduce (about 70 percent)
power plant emissions of SC>2, NOX, and
mercury. Clear Skies expands the successful
Acid Rain program, which reduced pollution
faster and at far less cost than any other Clean
Air Act program. With guaranteed results,
and elimination of costly regulation,
litigation, inspection and enforcement actions,
industry compliance is expected to be nearly
100 percent, as it has been in the Acid Rain
program.
1-5
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Goal 1: Clean Air
Comparison of Growth Areas and Emissions
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Energy Consumption
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The Clean Air Act
The Clean Air Act currently provides the
principal framework for national, State,
Tribal, and local efforts to protect and
improve air quality and reduce risks. Under
the Clean Air Act, EPA has a number of
responsibilities:
• Ensuring continued protection of public
health and the environment through
regular review of National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the six
criteria pollutants and revision of the
NAAQS, if necessary, based on the latest
scientific information available.
• Ensuring that the NAAQS are met by
developing and carrying out national
regulatory and non-regulatory programs
that reduce air pollution from vehicles,
factories, and other sources, and by
working in partnership with State, Tribal,
and local governments on implementing
their clean air programs.
Assessing public health risks from air
toxics and reducing public exposure to
pollutants that cause or may cause cancer
and other adverse human health effects
through reduction of toxic emissions and
pollution prevention.
Reducing acid rain through a market-
based approach that provides flexibility to
electric utilities and other large sources of
SC>2 and NOX in how they meet emission
reduction requirements.
Protecting and enhancing visibility across
large regional areas, including many of
the Nation's most treasured parks and
wilderness areas, by reducing pollutants
such as PM, SO2, and NOX.
Providing a strong scientific basis for
policy and regulatory decisions and
exploring emerging problem areas
through a coordinated, comprehensive
research program.
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Goal 1: Cleaner Air
The air problems that now remain are
some of the most difficult to solve. EPA has
developed strategies to help address this
difficult increment and overcome the barriers
that have hindered progress towards clean air
in the past. The Agency will use flexible
approaches, where possible, instead of hard-
and-fast formulas or specific technology
requirements. Also, the Agency will work
with areas that have the worst problems to
develop strategies that address unique local
conditions and achieve real risk reductions
that matter to communities.
• Multi-pollutant strategies. The many
inter-relationships among ozone, fine PM,
regional haze, and air toxics problems
provide opportunities for developing
integrated strategies to reduce pollutant
emissions. Clear Skies provides a good
example of how to take advantage of these
opportunities. EPA also has encouraged
States, Tribes, and local governments to
coordinate the work they are doing to
maximize the effectiveness of control
strategies.
• Economic incentives. EPA has provided
increased flexibility to industry through
the use of economic incentives and
market-based approaches. Emissions
trading, averaging, and banking have
become standard tools in the Agency's air
programs. The acid rain program — which
is the prototype for Clear Skies — uses
allowance trading and early reduction
credits to cut control costs and reduce
pollution faster. The Tier II and diesel
programs allow manufacturers to produce
a mix of vehicles that collectively meet
emission reduction targets. EPA's
economic incentive programs include a
variety of measures designed to increase
flexibility and efficiency, while
maintaining the accountability and
enforceability of traditional air quality
management programs.
Integrated strategies. We will continue
working with States and local agencies on
air pollution problems on a regional basis.
We need to build on these relationships to
ensure that regional approaches become
institutionalized at the Federal, State and
Tribal levels. Regional haze and PM2.5
concentrations are often the products of
the same pollutants and precursors. For
this reason, we must coordinate the
technical and scheduling requirements for
the two programs to address both
environmental problems in a coordinated
fashion. Because many of the controls
that will be needed to achieve the NAAQS
for PM2.5 also may be needed to meet
reasonable progress targets for regional
haze, we called for the development of
strategies on a schedule which would
maximize States' opportunities to
establish a single set of requirements to
address both programs.
Systems approach. The Tier II and 2007
heavy-duty vehicle rulemakings
referenced above are good examples of
how the Agency looks at air quality
problems from a broader perspective and
takes advantage of the potential synergies.
As catalyst and other advanced vehicle
technologies require low-sulfur fuel, the
Agency is regulating fuels and vehicles as
one system, to give pollution control
manufacturers the incentive to develop
even cleaner technologies. This results in
a greater reduction in pollution — at less
cost —than by addressing fuels and
vehicles separately.
1-7
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Goal 1: Cleaner Air
• Innovative technology. EPA increasingly
incorporates incentives and performance-
based approaches into regulations to spur
new technologies that will help meet
ambitious goals more cost-effectively -
sometimes at even less cost than EPA has
predicted. The Agency also is building
partnerships that help develop and deploy
these new technologies. The report
prepared to meet the requirements of
section 812 of the Clean Air Act includes
a list of the technologies that have been
developed since the 1990 Amendments.
The advances have been remarkable.
Technologies like selective catalytic
reduction (SCR) on power plants, ultra-
low NOX burners, or advanced catalysts
now have entered the mainstream, at far
less cost than anyone predicted.
EPA's National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS) related research supports
the Agency's Clean Air Goal to protect
human health and the environment by
meeting national clean air standards for
carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2),
nitrogen oxides (NOx), lead, tropospheric
ozone, and particulate matter (PM). This
research provides methods, models, data, and
assessment criteria on the health risks
associated with exposure to these pollutants,
alone and in combination, focusing on
exposures, health effects, mechanisms of
injury, and identifying components of
particulate matter (PM) that affect public
health. In addition, this research provides
implementation tools to support efforts by
industry, State, Tribal, and local regulators, to
develop and improve State Implementation
Plans (SIPs) to attain the NAAQS.
Research
Research on air toxics investigates the
root causes of the environmental and human
health problems in urban areas related to these
pollutants. These efforts provide the
necessary health effects data, measurements,
methods, models, information, assessments,
and technical support to Federal, State, Tribal,
and local regulators and industry to estimate
human health effects and aggregate exposures
to hazardous air pollutants. Research also
supports atmospheric and emission modeling
in order to estimate fate, ambient
concentrations, and mobile source emissions
of air toxics at a more refined scale. With this
information, the Agency will be in a better
position to determine risk and develop
alternative strategies for maximizing risk
reduction.
Several mechanisms are in place to ensure
a high-quality research program at EPA. The
Research Strategies Advisory Committee
(RSAC) of EPA's Science Advisory Board
(SAB), an independently chartered Federal
Advisory Committee Act (FACA) committee,
meets annually to conduct an in-depth review
and analysis of EPA's Science and
Technology account. The RSAC provides its
findings to the House Science Committee and
sends a written report on the findings to
EPA's Administrator after every annual
review. Moreover, EPA's Board of Scientific
Counselors (BOSC) provides counsel to the
Assistant Administrator for the Office of
Research and Development (ORD) on the
operation of ORD's research program. EPA's
scientific and technical work products must
also undergo either internal or external peer
review, with major or significant products
1-8
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Goal 1: Clean Air
requiring external peer review. The Agency's
Peer Review Handbook (2nd Edition) codifies
procedures and guidance for conducting peer
review.
Strategic Objectives and FY 2004
Annual Performance Goals
Attain NAAQS
• The number of people living in areas with
monitored ambient ozone concentrations
below the NAAQS for the 1-hour ozone
standard will increase by 1% (relative to
2003) for a cumulative total of 20%
(relative to 1992).
• The number of people living in areas with
monitored ambient ozone concentrations
below the NAAQS for the 8-hour ozone
standard will increase by 3% (relative to
2003) for a cumulative total of 3%
(relative to 2001).
• The number of people living in areas with
monitored ambient PM concentrations
below the NAAQS for the PM-10
standard will increase by 1% (relative to
2003) for a cumulative total of 11%
(relative to 1992).
• The number of people living in areas with
monitored ambient PM concentrations
below the NAAQS for the PM2.5 standard
will increase by less than 1% (relative to
2003) for a cumulative total of less than
1% (relative to 2001).
• The number of people living in areas with
monitored ambient CO, NCh, 862, or Pb
concentrations below the NAAQS will
increase by less than 1% (relative to 2003)
for a cumulative total of 63% (relative to
1992).
• Increase the number of Tribes monitoring
air quality for ozone and/or particulate
matter from 42 to 45 and increase the
percentage of Tribes monitoring clean air
for ozone from 64% to 67% and
particulate matter from 71% to 72%.
Reduce Air Toxics Risk
• Air toxics emissions nationwide from
stationary and mobile sources combined
will be reduced by an additional 2% of the
updated 1993 baseline of 6.0 million tons
for a cumulative reduction of 37%.
Reduce Acid Rain
• Maintain or increase annual SC>2 emission
reduction of approximately 5 million tons
from the 1980 baseline. Keep annual
emissions below level authorized by
allowance holdings and make progress
towards achievement of Year 2010 862
emissions cap for utilities.
• 2 million tons of NOX from coal-fired
utility sources will be reduced from levels
that would have been emitted without
implementation of Title IV of the Clean
Air Act Amendments.
Highlights
Continue progress toward NAAQS
attainment.
For FY 2004, EPA will move forward
with the President's proposed Clear Skies
Act, implement the National Energy Policy,
continue the regular reviews of the various
1-9
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Goal 1: Cleaner Air
NAAQS, carry out programs to meet NAAQS
and regional haze requirements, and continue
the research, air quality monitoring, and
laboratory analyses that provide the scientific
and technical bases for the NAAQS program.
• PMg_^ and 8-hour Ozone Attainment.
Further emission reductions in this
country are necessary to achieve the Clean
Air Act PM2 5 and 8-hour ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
recently upheld in Federal court. EPA
will be moving forward with full
implementation of the standards. The
activities included in the President's
proposed Clear Skies Act are critical
elements for implementation.
• Review of NAAQS. By the end of FY
2002, EPA will make available to the
public a comprehensive assessment of
recent scientific findings on the health and
environmental risks associated with PM.
Following completion of this assessment
and a staff paper that evaluates the policy
implications of the scientific findings,
EPA will propose a decision on whether
to retain or revise the PM NAAQS. This
proposal is scheduled for late FY 2003 or
early FY 2004.
• Implementation of existing NAAQS. On
the national level, EPA will work with
States, Tribes, and local governments on
developing and implementing measures to
meet clean air standards. The Agency
will continue technical support for
implementing the 1-hour ozone NAAQS.
EPA also will support States and Tribes in
developing innovative, voluntary
programs that will help to achieve early
reductions in the transition to the 8-hour
ozone standard. In addition, the Agency
will develop a strategy and guidance for
transition from the PMio standard to a fine
particulate (PM25) 5standard. We will
work to promote and expand the use of
voluntary and other innovative approaches
to provide emission reductions.
Vehicle, engine, and fuels standards. EPA
will establish and/or implement Federal
standards to require cleaner motor
vehicles, nonroad equipment, and fuels
that are cost-effective and technically
feasible. The Agency will continue
implementation of the Tier II and gasoline
sulfur standards. The Agency also will
continue work on the 2007 heavy-duty
highway engine and diesel sulfur
requirements. In addition, EPA will
develop a rule establishing new standards
for heavy-duty nonroad diesel engines and
vehicles.
Certification and compliance. EPA will
continue to monitor industry compliance
with vehicle, engine, and fuels standards
and to proceed with advancements in
vehicle emission control technologies.
The capabilities to test vehicles at EPA's
National Vehicle and Fuels Emissions
Laboratory (NVFEL) is expanding greatly
to keep pace with the more stringent and
complex new regulations for cars, heavy-
duty diesel engines, and gasoline and
diesel fuels that take effect in FY 2004.
For example, EPA will establish a
credible compliance testing program to
certify that heavy-duty engine
manufacturers are meeting new emission
standards program requirements.
Sensitive Populations. EPA will expand
voluntary partnerships and outreach
efforts to reduce emissions from diesel
engines, as part of a comprehensive
strategy to address the risks that pollution
1-10
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Goal 1: Cleaner Air
poses to sensitive populations, especially
children. Through the Voluntary Diesel
Retrofit Program, EPA will develop a
public campaign on anti-idling, early
switching of buses to ultra-low sulfur
diesel fuel, and retrofitting or retiring
selected bus models. Because diesel
engines last for 30 years, EPA's new
heavy-duty diesel engine standards,
applicable in 2004 and 2007, will take
time to impact the fleet and achieve
emission reductions. Thus, voluntary
partnerships and outreach efforts, as part
of a comprehensive strategy, are the
primary ways to realize immediate air
quality benefits from the older, heavy-
duty diesel engines and protect the health
of today's children and other sensitive
populations.
Reduce public exposure to air toxics
In FY 2004, EPA will develop strategies
and rules to help States and Tribes reduce
emissions and exposure to hazardous air
pollutants, particularly in urban areas, and
reduce harmful deposition in water bodies.
The Agency also will target source
characterization work, especially
development and improvement of emissions
information that is essential for the States,
Tribes, and local agencies to develop
strategies to meet the standards. EPA will
look closely at urban areas to determine the
various sources of toxics that enter the air,
water, and soil, and determine the best
manner to reduce the total toxics risk in these
urban areas. Some specific activities and
initiatives in this program for FY 2004
include:
• Air toxics monitoring. EPA will work
with States to expand the air toxics
monitoring network operated by State,
Tribal, and local agencies. This
expansion will help assess the success of
EPA's comprehensive air toxics strategy,
as well as the multi-pollutant strategy.
Such monitoring data also will enable
EPA to benchmark its models and to track
ambient trends for inhalation-risk air
toxics and toxic components of particulate
matter such as BTX. In the long term,
assessments of ambient air toxics will
help achieve a reduction in the incidence
of cancer attributable to exposure to
hazardous air pollutants emitted by
stationary sources of hazardous air
pollutants of not less than 75 percent,
considering control of emissions of
hazardous air pollutants from all
stationary sources and resulting from any
measures implemented by EPA or by the
States.
Residual Risk. The 1990 Clean Air Act
Amendments require EPA to set standards
for 188 hazardous air pollutants on a 10-
year schedule. In addition, the
Amendments set detailed requirements for
an air toxics program that includes a two-
phased process consisting of technology-
based standards for mobile and stationary
sources, followed by a risk-based program
approach. In FY 2004, as the final
technology-based standards for stationary
sources are being completed, EPA will
work on a risk-based approach to protect
public health from the remaining air
toxics emissions. This approach includes
targeting particular problems such as
residual risks from already controlled
sources and elevated risks in urban areas.
The development of more stringent
residual risk standards will reduce cancer
and noncancer health risks in the vicinity
of major industrial sources where risks
from hazardous air pollutants are
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Goal 1: Cleaner Air
determined to be unacceptably high. This
will also help the Agency make progress
with respect to its long-term strategy goals
of reducing cancer risks from stationary
sources by 75% from 1990 levels and
significantly reducing noncancer health
risks.
• Mobile sources air toxics. In FY 2001,
EPA issued a rule to address emissions of
air toxics from mobile sources. In the
rule, the Agency identified 21 mobile
source air toxics and established new
gasoline toxic emission performance
standards. The rule established a
Technical Analysis Plan to conduct
research and analysis on mobile source air
toxics. In FY 2004, EPA will continue
gathering emissions data, conducting
exposure analyses, and evaluating the
need for additional controls. This
information will be used to support a
rulemaking in which EPA will revisit the
feasibility and need for additional controls
for mobile sources and their fuels. EPA
also will incorporate toxics emissions data
into the mobile source models.
Implement Market-based acid rain
program.
For FY 2004 EPA will continue to
carry out the market-based acid rain program,
tracking emissions, auditing and certifying
monitors, recording transfers of allowances,
and reconciling emissions and allowances.
Phase II implementation. EPA will
continue to implement the trading system,
tracking transfers of emission allowances
from the expanded number of electric
utility units covered by the Phase II
requirements of the Clean Air Act.
• Monitoring and assessment. EPA will
manage the operation of the Clean Air
Status and Trends Network (CASTNet), a
dry deposition network, and provide
operational support for the National
Atmospheric Deposition Program
(NADP), a wet deposition network. The
Agency will use the monitoring results,
along with other information, to help
assess the effectiveness of the acid rain
program in reducing health and
environmental risks.
Research
The Tropospheric Ozone and Particulate
Matter (PM) Research Programs will develop
new information and assess existing studies to
support statutorily-mandated reviews of the
NAAQS and will upgrade methods and
models to guide States in the development of
the State implementation plans (SIPs), used to
achieve the NAAQS. In FY 2004,
tropospheric ozone research will evaluate and
refine emissions and air quality models to
evaluate SIP attainment strategies. The PM
Research Program will continue work to
strengthen the scientific basis for the periodic
review of the PM NAAQS, including
conducting epidemiological and exposure
studies. The PM program will also develop
tools and methods to characterize PM sources
and health effects that will move the Agency
toward its objective of reducing Americans'
exposure to PM. Also included under this
objective will be research to support review of
NAAQS for lead, carbon monoxide, sulfur
dioxide, and nitrogen oxide NAAQS.
Air toxics research provides information
on effects, exposure, and source
characterization, as well as other data to
quantify existing emissions and to identify
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Goal 1: Cleaner Air
key pollutants and strategies for cost-effective
risk management. In FY 2004, research will
focus on completing health assessments for
some of the highest priority hazardous air
pollutants, and providing the science and
technical support to Agency, State, Tribal and
local regulators to estimate health effects and
exposures to hazardous air pollutants both
indoors and outdoors and to reduce risks.
New, related research efforts in Goal 8
supporting the Air Research program will
include a Clear Skies initiative focusing on
identifying tools to optimize mercury
emissions reductions in order to increase the
effectiveness of mercury reduction programs.
This research, which also supports the
President's multi-pollutant initiative, will
provide the science needed to reduce the
uncertainties limiting the Agency's ability to
assess and manage health risks from mercury.
It will also assist decision-makers in choosing
the best technology to reduce mercury
emissions to implement the mercury
Maximum Achievable Control Technology
(MACT) standard.
External Factors
Stakeholder participation
To achieve clean air, EPA relies on the
cooperation of Federal, State, Tribal, and
local government agencies; industry; non-
profit organizations; and individuals. Success
is far from guaranteed, even with the full
participation of all stakeholders. EPA has
significant work to accomplish just to reach
the annual targets that lead to the longer-term
health and environmental outcomes and
improvements that are articulated in the Clean
Air goal. Meeting the Clean Air goal
necessitates a strong partnership among all
the stakeholders, but in particular among the
States, Tribes, and EPA; the Environmental
Council of States; and organizations of State
and local air pollution control officials. EPA
will be working with various stakeholders to
encourage new ways to meet the challenges of
"cross regional" issues as well as to integrate
programs to address airborne pollutants more
holistically.
Environmental factors
In developing clean air strategies, States,
Tribes, and local governments assume normal
meteorological patterns. As EPA develops
standards and programs to achieve the Clean
Air goal, it has to consider weather as a
variable in the equation for implementing
standards and meeting program goals. For
example, even if an area is implementing a
number of air pollution control programs
under normal meteorological patterns, a hot
humid summer may cause an area to exceed
standards for days at a time, thereby exposing
the public to unhealthy air.
Litigation
In July 1997, EPA published more
protective NAAQS for ozone and PM. The
standards were litigated. After extensive
litigation in the Supreme Court and the Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit, both standards are still in effect. The
PM2.5 standard adopted in 1997 was
completely affirmed by the courts and is not
subject to further litigation. However, the
revised PMio standard was vacated, resulting
in reinstatement of the prior PMio standard.
The 1997 ozone standard was also largely
upheld by the D.C. Circuit's and the Supreme
Court's decisions although the Supreme Court
remanded ozone implementation issues to
EPA. In response to the Supreme Court's
decision, the Agency is conducting a
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Goal 1: Cleaner Air
rulemaking on the issue of how to implement
the new 8-hour ozone standard in light of the
Clean Air Act's provisions on the old 1-hour
standard. This rulemaking does not affect the
validity of the 8-hour standard. The litigation
did not affect standards that were in place
prior to July 1997.
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Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water
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Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water
Strategic Goal: All Americans will have drinking water that is clean and safe to drink.
Effective protection of America's rivers, lakes, wetlands, aquifers, and coastal and ocean waters
will sustain fish, plants, and wildlife, as well as recreational, subsistence, and economic
activities. Watersheds and their aquatic ecosystems will be restored and protected to improve
public health, enhance water quality, reduce flooding, and provide habitat for wildlife.
Resource Summary
($ in 000)
^^\y
38.7% of Budget
Safe Drinking Water, Fish and
Recreational Waters
Protect Watersheds and Aquatic
Communities
Reduce Loadings and Air
Deposition
FY 2003
President's
Budget
$1,148,425
$435,815
$1,630,434
$3,214,674
FY2004
President's
Request
$1,198,942
$479,787
$1,273,743
$2,952,473
Difference
$50,517
$43,973
-$356,691
-$262,201
Workyears
2,742.8
2,776.4
33.6
Background and Context
Over the almost thirty years since
enactment of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA),
government, citizens, and the private sector
have worked together to make dramatic
improvements in the quality of surface waters
and drinking water supplies. Cleaner, safer
water has lead to a rebirth of recreational,
ecological, and economic values in
communities across the Nation. Despite
tangible improvements in the quality of the
Nation's waters, water pollution and drinking
water problems remain. States and Tribes are
in the middle of the complex process of
adopting and implementing statewide
watershed approaches that in turn require
strong standards, monitoring, Total Maximum
Daily Loads (TMDLs), and implementation
(e.g., National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) permit)
programs. EPA and States are facing
backlogs, court challenges, and petitions to
withdraw State program authorization. In
recognition of these challenges, the FY 2004
President's Budget provides additional
resources to help address these issues and
continue the water quality improvements of
the past 30 Years.
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Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water
Means and Strategy
To achieve the Nation's clean and safe
water goals, EPA will operate under an
overarching watershed approach in carrying
out its statutory authorities under both the
SDWA Amendments of 1996 and the CWA.
In FY 2004, the Agency will place particular
emphasis on the core water programs -
monitoring and assessment, standard setting,
watershed planning, and implementation (i.e.,
NPDES and drinking water). Requested
resources will help address serious challenges
now facing these core programs. Moreover,
the overall effect of individual core program
improvements will be a stronger, better
coordinated water management framework to
help ensure timely local and national decision
making, improved program implementation,
and better information sharing. From setting
goals to protect health and the environment in
water quality standards and criteria to
measuring success and identifying problems
through water quality monitoring and
assessment, and from watershed planning and
load allocations to implementing pollution
control measures, each program element
relies on the others to ensure the achievement
of the Clean and Safe Water goal.
The core programs are fundamental
underpinnings of the watershed approach.
Without a strong core program, States, Tribes,
local and other Federal partners would not be
able to join in the protection of our waters at
the watershed level. At the watershed level,
local managers can better understand the
cumulative impact of their activities,
determine the most critical problems, better
allocate limited financial and human
resources, engage stakeholders, win public
support, and make real improvements in the
environment. EPA continues to encourage
watershed approaches not only for core water
programs but also as a way to integrate efforts
of sister agencies, States, Tribes, local
governments, industry and nonprofit
organizations. In addition, EPA is
encouraging a number of important program
innovations that focus on managing water
resources at the watershed level, including
trading, watershed permitting, and watershed
based TMDLs. On January 13, 2003, EPA
released a new Water Quality Trading Policy
to cut industrial, municipal and agricultural
discharges into the nation's waterways. The
trading policy seeks to support and encourage
States and Tribes in developing and putting
into place water quality trading programs that
implement the requirements of the Clean
Water and Federal regulations in more
flexible ways and reduce the cost of
improving and maintaining the quality of the
nation's waters. The policy will help increase
the pace and success of cleaning up impaired
rivers, streams and lakes throughout the
country.
As part of core programs, EPA will
continue to implement the SDWA, as
amended in 1996. The central provisions of
the Amendments include: 1) improving the
way that EPA sets drinking water safety
standards and develops regulations based on
good science, prioritization of effort, sound
risk assessment, and effective risk
management; 2) providing flexibility to the
States in monitoring for certain contaminants
and in setting time frames for compliance
with regulations, and providing funding for
improvements to drinking water infrastructure
through the Drinking Water State Revolving
Fund (DWSRF); 3) establishing new
prevention approaches, including provisions
for operator certification, capacity
development, and source water protection;
and 4) providing better information to
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Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water
consumers, including consumer confidence
reports.
EPA will continue efforts to provide
States and Tribes with tools and information
to assist them in protecting their residents
from health risks associated with
contaminated recreational waters and non-
commercially-caught fish. EPA activities
include development of water quality criteria,
enhanced fish tissue monitoring, development
of fish and shellfish consumption advisories,
and risk assessment activities. For beaches,
EPA's strategy is to strengthen beach
standards and testing, improve the scientific
basis for beach assessment, and develop
methods to inform the public about beach
conditions. Beach water quality monitoring
and public notification will be improved by
providing grants to State and local
governments under CWA Section 406.
Key to the watershed approach is
continued development of scientifically based
water quality standards and criteria under the
CWA and better consolidated identification of
waters not meeting these goals under CWA
Sections 303(d) and 305(b). Where water
quality standards are not being met, EPA will
work with States and Tribes to improve
implementation of a TMDL program that
establishes the analytical basis for watershed-
based decisions on needed pollutant
reductions. To support States and Tribes in
their standards adoption and TMDL
programs, EPA will continue to provide
scientifically sound criteria and guidance for
toxic chemicals, nutrients, biological
integrity, microbial, and physical stressors. In
particular, the focus will be on updating the
aquatic life guidelines to incorporate new and
emerging science, integrating aquatic life,
biological, and nutrient criteria to better
address State uses, helping build State and
Tribal technical capacity, and addressing
sedimentation.
EPA will work with Federal, State, Tribal,
local, and private sector partners to protect
wetlands. In coordination with the Corps of
Engineers, EPA will improve the CWA
Section 404 program to achieve no net loss
of wetlands by avoiding, minimizing and
compensating for losses. With an emphasis
on community-based restoration, EPA will
contribute to the goal of an annual net
increase of wetlands of 100,000 acres by FY
2005. EPA will increase assistance to States
and Tribes to protect all waters, including
those that are not regulated by the CWA, and
to improve monitoring of wetlands. EPA will
be part of coordinated Federal agency efforts
to support conservation of fauna, including
the North American Bird Conservation
Initiative and Partners for Amphibians and
Reptile Conservation.
EPA will continue to develop and revise
national effluent guideline limitations and
standards, capitalize and manage the Clean
Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF)
program and other funding mechanisms, and
target the NPDES permit program to achieve
progress toward attainment of water quality
standards and support implementation of
TMDLs in impaired water bodies.
EPA is assisting States and Tribes to
characterize risks, rank priorities, and
implement an effective mix of voluntary and
regulatory approaches through improved State
nonpoint source (NPS) management
programs. Working with EPA, States and
Tribes are strengthening their NPS programs
to ensure that needed NPS controls are
implemented to achieve and maintain
beneficial uses of water. In particular, EPA
and the States are working together to better
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Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water
use the CWA Section 319 framework and
funds to develop and implement TMDLs to
restore waters impaired by NFS pollution.
States will continue to implement coastal NFS
programs approved by EPA and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
under the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization
Amendments (CZARA).
The new Farm Bill, with its significantly
increased funds to address agricultural
sources of NFS pollution, affords EPA and
the States an enhanced opportunity to
significantly accelerate national efforts to
control NFS pollution. EPA and State water
quality agencies will work closely and
cooperatively with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA), conservation districts,
and others in the agricultural community, to
combine our strengths. Using CWA Section
319 dollars, States will both address their
priority watershed restoration needs and focus
more of their efforts on providing the
monitoring and watershed-planning support
needed by the agricultural community to
target their work most effectively on the
highest-priority water quality needs. States
will also increasingly focus their existing
efforts on filling gaps remaining in USDA
programs, especially demonstrating the
effectiveness of promising emerging
technologies.
States will use their enhanced watershed
planning efforts to ensure that their watershed
protection and remediation efforts holistically
address all significant pollution sources in the
watershed in a comprehensive manner. To do
so, States will also increase their focus upon
NFS categories and activities that are not
funded under the Farm Bill (e.g., urban
runoff, forestry, and abandoned mines), while
continuing to work with the agriculture
community to solve problems on a watershed
basis. Furthermore, States will continue to
use a variety of program tools to foster an
ethic of pollution prevention in their NFS
watershed programs, such as low impact
development techniques, source prevention,
and public education, to assure that water
quality improvement and protection become a
permanent outcome of the program.
The Administration's evaluation of
Nonpoint Source Grant, Drinking Water State
Revolving Fund and Tribal GAP Grant (See
Goal 4 Overview) programs in the PART
process were completed in FY 2003.
The Administration's PART assess-ment
conducted for the Drinking Water SRF
program found that the program has clear
purpose, effective design and strong
management practices. However, EPA has
been unable to demonstrate the degree to
which the program's drinking water
infrastructure investments protect public
health, a primary purpose of the program. A
challenge facing the Drinking Water SRF
program is to develop measurable long-term
and annual performance goals that link the
program to its public health mission. The
PART results support the Administration's
decision to extend Federal capitalization of
the Drinking Water SRF program and to
strengthen its focus on accountability. In
response to the PART findings, EPA will
develop new outcome-based performance
measures that better demonstrate the impact
of the program.
The Administration's PART assessment
conducted for the Nonpoint Source Grant
program found that the purpose is clear but
the program has not collected sufficient
performance information to determine
whether it has had a significant effect on
pollution. The programs greatest weaknesses
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Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water
are strategic planning and a lack of
measurable program results. Therefore, the
program lacks adequate long term annual and
efficiency measures. However, new
performance measures are being developed
that focus on outcomes and efficiency.
Significant improvements have been made to
program management over the past years,
which will improve the Agency's ability to
develop new performance measures. In
addition, as a result of the Farm Bill, the
Agency is working with USD A to coordinate
NFS efforts in agricultural in a
complementary manner.
Research
EPA's water research program supports
the Agency's Clean and Safe Water Goal by
providing the scientific basis necessary to
protect human health and the environment.
Implementation of the research provisions in
the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act (SOWA)
amendments and the Clean Water Act will
provide improved tools (e.g., methods,
models, risk assessments, management
strategies, and new data) to better evaluate the
risks posed by chemical and microbial
contaminants that persist in the environment
and threaten wildlife and, potentially, human
health.
The focus of the drinking water research
program will be on filling key data gaps and
developing analytical detection methods for
measuring the occurrence of chemical and
microbial contaminants on the Contaminant
Candidate List (CCL) and developing and
evaluating cost-effective treatment
technologies for removing pathogens from
water supplies while minimizing disinfection
by-product (DBF) formation. Water quality
research will improve risk assessment
methods to develop aquatic life, sediment,
habitat, and wildlife criteria, as well as risk
management strategies, and will help EPA
and other Federal, State, and local agencies
develop better baseline assessments of water
quality. The Agency will also develop
diagnostic tools to evaluate human and
ecological exposures to toxic constituents of
wet weather flows such as combined-sewer
overflows, sanitary-sewer overflows, and
storm water.
Several mechanisms are in place to ensure
a high-quality research program at EPA. The
Research Strategies Advisory Committee
(RSAC) of EPA's Science Advisory Board
(SAB), an independently chartered Federal
Advisory Committee Act (FACA) committee,
meets annually to conduct an in-depth review
and analysis of EPA's Science and
Technology account. The RSAC provides its
findings to the House Science Committee and
sends a written report on the findings to
EPA's Administrator after every annual
review. Moreover, EPA's Board of Scientific
Counselors (BOSC) provides counsel to the
Assistant Administrator for the Office of
Research and Development (ORD) on the
operation of ORD's research program. Also,
under the Science to Achieve Results (STAR)
program all research projects are selected for
funding through a rigorous competitive
external peer review process designed to
ensure that only the highest quality efforts
receive funding support. EPA's scientific and
technical work products must also undergo
either internal or external peer review, with
major or significant products requiring
external peer review. The Agency's Peer
Review Handbook (2nd Edition) codifies
procedures and guidance for conducting peer
review.
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Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water
Highlights
Core Water Programs
Water Quality Monitoring
Current water quality monitoring efforts
yield insufficient data for States and others to
make watershed-based decisions, to develop
necessary standards and TMDLs, and to
accurately and consistently portray conditions
and trends. A key component in FY 2004 is
the support of enhanced monitoring and
assessment, by working with the States with a
particular emphasis on the probabilistic
approach and providing additional support to
encourage the establishment of State-level
monitoring councils and local watershed
monitoring consortiums.
Water Quality Standards
Water quality standards establish the
environmental baseline used to measure
success in implementing Clean Water
programs. In FY 2004, EPA will increase
funding to work with State and Tribal partners
to ensure that water quality standards are
effective and appropriate for use in
developing TMDLs. The National Research
Council's 2001 assessment of the TMDL
program found that the designated uses and
criteria in existing standards often need more
detail and refinement before they can be used
as a firm basis for requiring load reductions
through TMDLs. To address this concern,
EPA in FY 2004 will provide technical
guidance and training that will help States and
Tribes conduct their own use attainability
analyses, and to help refine and interpret
standards to ensure they are adequate for use
in developing load reduction targets. In
addition, EPA conducted a customer-focused
review of the National Standards program and
developed a draft long-term strategy that calls
for improvements and streamlining in EPA's
program. EPA will implement the high
priorities in the strategy. EPA will also
accelerate the technical reviews necessary for
EPA to approve new or revised State/Tribal
standards on a timely basis for use in TMDLs.
TMDLs
The Agency will continue to work with
States and Tribes to carry out their TMDL
programs focused more, in FY 2004, on a
watershed basis to identify those waters not
meeting clean water goals. The Agency will
also continue to help restore impaired
watersheds, and to meet the many court-
supervised deadlines for completing TMDLs.
While increasing the pace of TMDL
development remains important, EPA must
work with States to help assure
implementation of already-approved TMDLs,
including targeting CWA Section 319 NFS
funding and marshaling Farm Bill
conservation programs. EPA will assist
States in revising their continuing planning
processes under CWA Section 303(e) to place
more emphasis on assuring needed watershed
implementation.
NPDES
In recent years the authorized State
NPDES programs have been the object of an
increasing number of withdrawal petitions,
citizen lawsuits, and independent reviews
indicating potential noncompliance with
Federal CWA requirements. A substantial
number of States are experiencing difficulty
with the timely issuance of NPDES permits.
Recently completed permit quality reviews
(PQRs) indicate that permits lack
comprehensiveness and the requirements
necessary to achieve water quality standards.
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Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water
In FY 2004, EPA, in partnership with the
States, will ensure that facilities required to
have permits are covered by current permits
that are effective and include all conditions
needed to ensure water quality protection.
Drinking Water Implementation
The proposed increase for the drinking
water program will strengthen EPA's ability
to meet States' and systems' increasingly
complex implementation assistance needs.
This assistance is critical for the national
program to meet its long-term objective of
providing drinking water that meets all
priority regulations, within five years of the
effective date of each standard, to at least 95
percent of the population served by
community water systems. The increased
resources in this request are targeted toward
developing more effective State programs and
increasing the technical and managerial
capacity of drinking water systems to comply
with drinking water regulations, especially the
arsenic and microbial, disinfectant and
disinfection byproducts rules. In addition,
EPA will focus increased resources on the
Area-Wide Optimization Program (AWOP),
which is designed to reduce consumers'
exposure to microbial contaminants by
improving the performance of small systems'
filtering technology.
Oceans and Coastal Protection
To strengthen protection of the nation's
ocean resources, EPA proposes to address
significant gaps in ocean and coastal
protection in specific high priority issues.
Recent legislation regarding cruise ships in
Alaskan waters and Government Accounting
Office and other reports has demonstrated the
need to enhance cruise ship regulation and
address continuing violations of existing
standards. In response, EPA will enhance its
regulation of discharges of pollution from
vessels, including sewage discharges, cruise
ship discharges, and operational discharges
from vessels of the Armed Forces - Uniform
National Discharge Standards - taking into
consideration the concerns of the Armed
Forces. In addition, EPA will place a strong
emphasis on developing ballast water
standards for aquatic nuisance species. EPA
will also bolster its Marine Protection,
Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA)
responsibilities regarding site evaluation,
designation and monitoring, and permit
review and concurrence. In particular, EPA
will work to expeditiously refine the site
designation and management of the Historic
Area Remediation Site (HARS) off the New
Jersey coast.
Other Priorities
Homeland Security
Protecting critical water infrastructure
(drinking water and wastewater utilities) from
terrorist and other intentional acts will
continue to be a high priority in FY 2004.
EPA is the primary Federal agency
responsible for protecting public health and
ensuring the safety of critical water
infrastructure from terrorist or other
intentional acts. Currently, there are
approximately 54,000 community drinking
water systems and almost 16,000 wastewater
utilities nationwide. Both types of water
utilities serve approximately 264 million
people. EPA's principal goal related to
critical water infrastructure is to work with
the States, Tribes, drinking water and
wastewater utilities, and other partners to
assess the security of these water utilities as
soon as possible and develop appropriate
emergency response plans.
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Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water
Water Infrastructure
In Puerto Rico, inadequate drinking water
infrastructure has created a significant daily
health risk to consumers. Less than 20
percent of the population receives drinking
water that meets all health-based standards.
Puerto Rico's compliance problem is a major
challenge in the national effort to ensure that
95 percent of the population served by
community water systems receives drinking
water that meets all health-based standards.
As a first step toward improved public health
protection in Puerto Rico, the Agency
requests additional grant funds to design the
necessary infrastructure improvements.
When all upgrades are complete, EPA
estimates that about 1.4 million people will
benefit from safer, cleaner drinking water. In
addition, the Agency estimates that 200 to
300 excess cases of cancer will be avoided,
and risks of gastroenteritis and other
waterborne diseases will be greatly reduced.
Wetlands
In 2001 the Supreme Court determined
that some isolated waters and wetlands are not
regulated under the CWA. Many waters with
important aquatic values are no longer
covered by CWA Section 404 protections.
EPA is proposing an increase in grants to
States and Tribes to help them protect these
waters as part of comprehensive programs
that will achieve no net loss of wetlands,
while also providing grant funding for States
and Tribes to assume more decision-making
authority in waters that remain subject to the
CWA.
Research
In FY 2004, EPA's drinking water
research program will continue to conduct
research to reduce the uncertainties of risk
associated with exposure to microbial
contaminants in drinking water and improve
analytical methods and risk assessments to
control risks posed by drinking water
contamination. As required by the SDWA
amendments, the first Contaminant Candidate
List (CCL) was published in 1998 and
included nine microbial contaminants in its
Research Priorities Category that require
more data before a regulatory determination
could be made. The drinking water research
program will continue to focus on chemical
and microbial contaminants on current and
future CCLs. Significant data gaps still exist
on the occurrence of harmful microbes in
source and distribution system water, linkages
between water exposure and infection, and the
effectiveness of candidate treatment
technologies to remove and inactivate these
contaminants. Research efforts will also
continue to support arsenic-specific research
and development of more cost-effective
treatment technologies for the removal of
arsenic from small community drinking water
systems. This work will include strategies for
the acceptable control of water treatment
residuals enriched with arsenic.
Research to support the protection and
enhancement of aquatic ecosystems and their
biotic components includes understanding the
structure, function, and characteristics of
aquatic systems, and evaluating exposures
and effects of stressors on those systems.
EPA is also working to develop biological
and landscape indicators of ecosystem
condition, sources of impairment, stressor
response/fate and transport models and
options for managing stressors and their
sources. Through the development of a
framework for diagnosing adverse effects of
chemical pollutants in surface waters, EPA
will be able to evaluate the risks posed by
2-8
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Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water
chemicals that persist in the environment and
accumulate in the food chain, threatening
wildlife and potentially human health. The
Agency will also develop and evaluate more
cost-effective technologies and approaches
for managing sediments, and evaluate
management options for watershed restoration
of TMDLs for other significant stressors (e.g.,
nutrients, pathogens and toxic compounds).
Finally, research to address uncertainties
associated with determining and reducing the
risks to human health of the production and
application of treated wastewater sludge
(biosolids) to land for use as fertilizers is
emerging as an area of renewed importance
for the Agency.
Another area of research will focus on
growing evidence of the risk of infectious
diseases resulting from exposure to microbes
in recreational waters. Exposure to these
diseases is of particular concern after major
rainfall events that cause discharges from
both point and non-point sources. These
events pose significant risks to human and
ecological health through the uncontrolled
release of pathogenic bacteria, protozoans,
and viruses, as well as a number of potentially
toxic, bioaccumulative contaminants. EPA
will develop and validate effective watershed
management strategies and tools for
controlling wet weather flows (WWFs),
including: 1) new and improved indicator
methods to describe the toxic inputs to
watersheds from WWFs; 2) methods to utilize
condition and diagnostic ecological indicators
in evaluating wet weather flow management
strategies in preventing degradation of water
and sediment quality by contaminated runoff;
3) methods for diagnosing multiple stressors
in watershed ecosystems; and 4) evaluation of
low cost watershed best management
practices to evaluate risks associated with
various control technologies for wet weather
flows. This will enable EPA to provide States
with consistent monitoring methods,
standardized indicators of contamination, and
standardized definitions of what constitutes a
risk to public health.
External Factors
Drinking Water and Source Water
The adoption of health-based and other
programmatic regulations by drinking water
agencies is an important external factor. The
53 States and territories that have primary
enforcement authority (primacy) for drinking
water regulations must have sufficient staff
and resources to help public water systems
implement, and comply with, drinking water
regulations. As authorized in the enabling
legislation for the DWSRF, States may use
funds set-aside from the DWSRF for State
drinking water implementation activities.
However, for many States the need to
preserve DWSRF funding to close the
infrastructure gap is more important. A
related challenge is the cost of providing safe
drinking water: The 2001 Drinking Water
Needs Survey (OWNS) estimates drinking
water infrastructure needs at $150.9 billion
over the next 20 years.
Although the 1996 SDWA expanded
source water protection to include surface as
well as ground water sources of drinking
water, the implementation of source water
protection programs is not mandated under
SDWA. In FY 2004 and beyond, as the
statutorily mandated source water
assessments are completed, and more States
and communities take voluntary measures to
implement contamination prevention
programs, the Agency will become
increasingly dependent on its partnerships
with States, Tribes and communities to
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Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water
achieve national source water protection
goals.
Full implementation of the Underground
Injection Control (UIC) program, including
1999 regulations for two types of shallow
injection wells, depends on effective State and
local participation. Because of the sheer
number of shallow injection wells - -
approximately 700,000 nationwide - - that
must be inventoried and managed,
implementation of the overall UIC program
could be affected by continuing resource
constraints at the State and Federal levels. In
addition, the Agency has full or partial direct
implementation responsibility for 17 States,
the District of Columbia and all Tribes.
Fish and Recreational Waters
The CWA does not require that States or
Tribes operate fish advisory or beach
protection programs. The Agency's role is
primarily to support them through guidance,
scientific information, and technical
assistance. EPA cannot take regulatory action
to assure that States and Tribes conform to
fish consumption advisory guidance;
therefore, success depends on voluntary
State/Tribal/local commitment to achieving
these goals. The Agency will continue to
develop scientifically sound water quality
criteria to protect human health in order to
reduce the number of fish advisories and
beach advisories or closures necessary in the
future.
The Beaches Environmental Assessment
and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act of 2000
authorizes Federal funds for States and Tribes
to monitor pathogens at coastal and Great
Lakes beaches and notify the public of
advisories or closures. However, the States
and Tribes are not required to operate a
program if they do not accept Federal funds.
The Agency expects that all 35 eligible States
or territories will continue operating a
Federally funded program in FY 2004.
One way of determining whether we have
reduced the consumption of contaminated fish
and shellfish is to find out if people eat the
fish they catch from waters where fish
advisories have been issued. In order to
determine whether we have reduced exposure
to contaminated recreational waters, we also
need to know if people comply with beach
closure notices when they are issued.
Acquiring statistical evidence for such
determinations is difficult. For the fish
advisory program, this information has been
collected by some States, and is being
reviewed to provide insight to State and
Tribal advisory programs on how they can
improve their programs. For the beach
programs, this information will be collected
for those States or Tribes, which have applied
for BEACH Act grants. However, this
information will only reflect coastal and Great
Lakes beaches in those States and Tribes that
have received grants.
Without comprehensive, consistent
monitoring of all the Nation's waters, we do
not know how many waters should be under
advisory or how many beaches should be
closed. The resource demands of
implementing a comprehensive monitoring
program pose a significant challenge for the
States and could be a mitigating factor for
success in this area.
Watersheds and Wetlands
EPA's efforts to meet our watershed
protection objective are predicated on
strengthening and broadening our
relationships with our Federal, State, Tribal,
and local partners. Because of the vast
geographic scope of water quality and
2-10
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Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water
wetlands impairments and the large number
of partners upon whose efforts we depend,
EPA must continue to build lasting, working
relationships with all stakeholders including
communities, individuals, business, State and
local governments and Tribes. EPA's ability
to meet this objective will depend on the
success of State and local regulatory and non-
regulatory programs and nationwide efforts to
provide and use a broad range of policy,
planning, and scientific tools to establish local
goals and assess progress.
Given the interrelations of the Federal
government's environmental protection and
stewardship agency and programs, Federal
agencies must work together with States and
Tribes to maximize achievements. Without
continued government-wide coordination and
commitment, we will not meet our water
quality objectives. For example, marshaling
Farm Bill conservation programs to tackle
State water quality priorities is crucial,
particularly to enhancement of State NPS
management programs. Following our FY
2003 CWA Section 319 grant guidance,
States are developing watershed plans for
priority impaired waterbodies that delineate
the specific technical and financial resources
required to enable implementation. The States
will also need to continue efforts to overcome
historical institutional barriers to achieve full
implementation of their coastal NPS control
programs as required under the CZARA.
States and Tribes, with increased EPA
grant support, will assume more responsibility
for comprehensive protection of wetlands and
other waters, including those the Supreme
Court has determined are not subject to CWA
protections. Responding to the National
Academy of Sciences finding that the CWA
Section 404 program fails to achieve no net
loss, EPA and the Corps of Engineers, with
other agencies and stakeholders, will improve
the program's compensatory mitigation
features. EPA will develop methods and
provide technical assistance and grant support
for monitoring and reporting on the condition
of wetlands.
EPA will continue to improve our
understanding of the environmental baseline
and our ability to track progress against goals,
which also depends on external parties.
While current State CWA Section 305(b)
reporting provides some assessment of water
quality, we must continue to provide support
to our partners and stakeholders in their
efforts to work with State water quality
agencies to improve measurement tools and
data-sharing capabilities, including
facilitating consolidation of CWA Section
305(b) reports and CWA Section 303(d) lists.
EPA is working with States to improve our
tracking and measurement of NPS load
reductions from the CWA Section 319
program. Also, as States adopt TMDLs, we
will have specific targets for point source and
NPS load reductions needed to meet water
quality standards in impaired waters.
Point Sources
Clean water goals associated with
reduction of pollutant discharges from point
sources through the NPDES permitting
program rely heavily on EPA's partnership
with States as 45 States and one territory are
currently authorized to carry out the NPDES
program. EPA will also work with the States
to reduce pollution from onsite—/decentralized
wastewater treatment systems, including
septic systems. EPA estimates that between
10 and 30 percent of all onsite/decentralized
systems nationwide are not performing as
designed or not adequately treating waste to
protect public health and the environment.
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Goal 3: Safe Food
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Goal 3: Safe Food
Strategic Goal: The foods Americans eat will be free from unsafe pesticide residues.
Particular attention will be given to protecting subpopulations that may be more susceptible to
adverse effects of pesticides or have higher dietary exposures to pesticide residues. These include
children and people whose diets include large amounts of noncommercial foods
Resource Summary
($ in 000)
^^
1.6% of Budget
Reduce Risks from Pesticide
Residues in Food
Eliminate Use on Food of Pesticides
Not Meeting Standards
FY 2003
President's
Budget
$45,290
$64,524
$109,815
FY2004
President's
Request
$43,428
$75,584
$119,012
Difference
-$1,863
$11,059
$9,197
Workyears
770.1
785.0
14.9
Background and Context
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) plays a major role in the lives
of the American public by ensuring that
agricultural use of pesticides will not result in
unsafe food. EPA accomplishes this by
registering new pesticide products and
reviewing older pesticide products by strict
standards that protect human health and the
environment from risks associated with
pesticide use.
EPA uses the latest scientific information
to ensure that there is "a reasonable certainty"
that no harm will result to human health from
all combined sources of exposure to
pesticides (aggregate exposures). Moreover,
it submits for review its critical risk
assessment science issues, its methodologies
for toxicity testing and related science issues,
to the Science Advisory Panel (SAP), an
independent, expert advisory committee. The
SAP plays a critical role in EPA's decision-
making process, assuring that decisions
impacting health and the environment rely on
sound science.
The potential risk of adverse effects to
consumers from pesticide residues in foods is
a primary concern for the Agency, as is the
potential bioconcentration of certain
pesticides in plant and animal tissues that may
result in even higher levels of exposure.
Critical to protecting human health is the
3-1
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Goal 3: Safe Food
review of food use pesticides for potential
toxic effects such as birth defects, cancer,
disruption of the endocrine system, changes in
fertility, harmful effects to the kidneys and
liver, and nervous system bioaccumulation.
Under Goal 3, the Safe Food goal, EPA
ensures that any residues on food do not
exceed established limits.
All pesticides are subject to EPA
regulation including insecticides, herbicides,
fungicides, rodenticides, disinfectants, plant
growth regulators, plant incorporated
protectants and other substances intended to
control pests. Pesticides are used in
agriculture, greenhouses, on lawns, in
swimming pools, industrial buildings,
households, and in hospitals and food service
establishments. The total U.S. pesticide usage
in 1999 was 5 billion pounds.2 Agriculture
accounts for about 80 percent of all pesticide
applications. Herbicides are the most widely
used pesticides and account for the greatest
expenditure and volume, approximately $6.4
billion and 534 million pounds in 1999.
Biopesticides and reduced risk pesticides are
assuming an increasingly important role. For
example, safer pesticides, which include
biopesticides and reduced risk pesticides,
increased in use from 3.6% in 1998 to 7.5%
of total pounds reported for 2002.3
EPA regulates pesticides under two main
statutes: the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide
and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal
Food and Drug Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).
1 EPA Pesticides Industry Sales and Usage 1998 and
1999 Market Estimates, August 2002,
http://www.epa.gov/oppbeadl/pestsales
2 Ibid.
3 Doane Marketing Research, Inc.:
http://www.doanemr.com
FIFRA requires pesticides to be registered
(licensed) by EPA before they may be sold or
distributed in the United States, and that they
perform their intended functions without
causing unreasonable adverse effects to
people or the environment when used
according to EPA-approved label directions.
At the same time, recognizing the role of
EPA's Pesticide Regulations Affect a Cross
Section of the U. S. Population
18 major pesticide producers and another 100 smaller
producers
2,200 formulators
17,250 distributors and other establishments
33,100 commercial pest control firms
1.2 million pesticide applicators
1.9 million farms
Several million industry and government users
About 77 million households
Source: EPA's 1998/1999 Pesticides Industry Sales and
Usage Report1
pesticides in ensuring a diverse, abundant and
affordable food supply, EPA works to
streamline its licensing procedures and
increase transparency in the review process.
FFDCA authorizes EPA to set tolerances,
or maximum legal limits, for pesticide
residues in or on food. Tolerance
requirements apply equally to domestically
produced and imported food. Any food with
residues not covered by a tolerance, or in
amounts that exceed an established tolerance,
may not be legally marketed in the United
States.
Amendments to both FIFRA and FFDCA
by the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA)
of 1996 enhance protection of children and
other sensitive sub-populations. FQPA
establishes a single, health-based safety
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Goal 3: Safe Food
standard for all pesticide residues. The
agency-wide FY 2004 request supporting
FQPA includes $150 million for EPA's work
under these laws, enabling the public to enjoy
one of the safest, most abundant, and most
affordable food supplies in the world. FQPA
also enhanced EPA's ability to protect human
health and the environment in several other
ways, including:
• Providing for a more complete
assessment of potential risks, with special
protections for sensitive groups, such as
infants and children;
• Improvement of antimicrobial registration
process and establishment of tolerances
for food use inert ingredients;
• Expediting the approval of reduced risk
pesticides;
• Encouraging farmers' adoption of safer
pest management practices;
• Ensuring that pesticides are periodically
reassessed for consistency with current
safety standards and the latest scientific
and technological knowledge; and
• Educating consumers about pesticide risks
and benefits.
Means and Strategy
The Agency's strategy for accomplishing
the objectives of Safe Food is based on five
pillars, four of which are in Goal 3 and one is
in Goal 4. Under Goal 3, the EPA is:
• Assuring that new chemicals and new
uses are registered in accordance with the
FQPA's strict standard, Areasonable
certainty of no harm, so that no harm will
result to human health from exposure to
pesticides;
• Assuring that pesticide maximum legally
allowable tolerances for foods eaten by
children are in conformance with FQPA
requirements that protect children;
• Re-evaluating older, potentially higher-
risk pesticides using the best current
scientific data and methods to determine
whether additional limits on a pesticide's
use are needed to provide reasonable
certainty of no harm, especially for
children and other sensitive populations;
and
• Expediting review and registration of
alternative pesticides that are less risky
than pesticides currently in use and that
may be substituted effectively for higher
risk pesticides.
New registration actions result in more
pesticides on the market that meet the strict
FQPA pesticide risk-based standards, which
brings the Agency closer to the objective of
reducing adverse risks from pesticide use. In
2004, the Agency will continue to promote
accelerated registrations for pesticides that
provide improved risk reduction or risk
prevention compared to those currently on the
market. Progressively replacing older,
higher-risk pesticides is one of the most
effective methods for curtailing adverse
impact on health and the ecosystem while
preserving food production rates.
EPA uses its authorities to manage
systematically the risks of pesticide exposures
by establishing legally permissible food-borne
pesticide residue levels, or tolerances. EPA
defines the legal use of pesticides, up to and
including the elimination of pesticides that
3-3
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Goal 3: Safe Food
present a danger to human health and the
environment. This task involves a
comprehensive review of new and existing
pesticides as stipulated by the FIFRA
mandated registration and reregi strati on
programs, as well as a comprehensive
reassessment and update of existing
tolerances within ten years, as required by
FQPA. Requested resources include
enhancing the efforts to review antimicrobials
as well as inert ingredients, in order to meet
the FQPA deadlines. In FY 2004, EPA will
also increase support for the homeland
security activities related to identifying
antimicrobials that are effective against
potential bio-agents that could be used against
the U.S.
Tolerance reassessments may mean
mandatory use changes because a revision in
the allowable residue levels can involve
changes in pesticide application patterns,
changes in the foods the pesticides may
be applied to, and other risk
management methods. As measured by
the number of tolerances that have been
reassessed, the Agency's progress in the
tolerance reassessment program directly
serves the objective of reducing the use
on food of pesticides that do not meet
the new standards. EPA uses the latest
scientific advances in health-risk
assessment practices in its reviews.
This includes the incorporation of new
scientific data relating to the effects of
endocrine disruption and the special
needs of susceptible populations such as
children and Native Americans.
of our policies and assessments are likely to
be expanded to keep pace with changing
science and the public's demand for
information in this area. EPA is working
closely with other Federal agencies involved
in biotechnology and is also actively involved
in developing international standards for the
regulation of biotechnology products.
Biotechnology is becoming increasingly
more important in our economy with bio-
engineered plants accounting for a larger
share of acres planted than ever before in the
United States. For example, in 1996,
Herbicide Resistant (HT) Soybeans accounted
for only eight percent of the total U.S. acres
planted in soybeans. In 2000, HT Soybeans
accounted for 53 percent of the acres planted
for other crops. Trends also indicate
increases, though not as dramatically as for
soy. (See chart.)4
AbptionofGaieticallyMDdifiedPlant
Ircorpora^Ftetectant Gops
United States, 1995 - 2000 (percent of acres)
1995
19%
1997
1998
1999
2000
HT-IMicid; Tolerant
H - Badllus trumgensis
Biotechnology has presented the
Agency with a range of new issues and
scientific challenges as well. Outreach
activities on the subject of biotechnology such
as public meetings and scientific peer reviews
Source: Based on Etta fionERS^SS Surasy
1ERS/NASS Survey: http://www.usda.gov/nass
3-4
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Goal 3: Safe Food
Adoption of biotechnology has great
potential to reduce reliance on some older,
more risky chemical pesticides, and to lower
worker risks. For example, the use of Bt
cotton has affected the use of other
insecticides that present higher risk to
wildlife. According to the reported number of
insecticide treatments per planted acre of
cotton, use of insecticides labeled either toxic
or extremely toxic to wildlife has undergone
significant reduction since 1995, with the
extremely toxic pesticides decreasing from
1.6 to 0.5 acre treatments, a 68% reduction.
In addition to setting the requirements for
continued legal use of agricultural pesticides,
EPA works in partnership with USD A, FDA
and the States toward the broader effort to
prevent the misuse of pesticides. In the ever-
changing environment of pesticide use,
accessibility to information is a primary
component of an effective strategy to inform
the public on the appropriate, safe use of
pesticides to minimize risk. More
information about EPA's food safety efforts is
available on the Agency's website at
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides.
Research
Current approaches to human health risk
assessment focus on single pesticides and do
not adequately account for cumulative risks
arising from complex exposure patterns and
human variability due to age, gender, pre-
existing disease, health and nutritional status,
and genetic predisposition. The Food Quality
Protection Act (FQPA) identifies clear
science needs, including the evaluation of all
potential routes and pathways of exposures to
pesticides, and resulting health effects,
particularly for sensitive sub-populations and
considering effects from cumulative
exposures.
To support the FQPA, tools are needed
for assessing aggregate and cumulative risks
across the exposure-to-dose-to-effects
continuum that result from multimedia,
multipathway exposures to pesticides with
like mechanisms of action. Research is also
needed to further understand the magnitude
and extent of aggregate and cumulative
exposures of pesticides used on food, in
drinking water, and through non-occupational
exposures in and around residential
environments and other indoor/outdoor
environments. Special emphasis will be
placed on characterizing exposures and the
corresponding critical factors influencing
these exposures in those environments where
young children spend the majority of their
time.
Several mechanisms are in place to ensure
a high-quality research program at EPA. The
Research Strategies Advisory Committee
(RSAC) of EPA's Science Advisory Board
(SAB), an independent chartered Federal
Advisory Committee Act (FACA) committee,
meets annually to conduct an in-depth review
and analysis of EPA's Science and
Technology account. The RSAC provides its
findings to the House Science Committee and
sends a written report on the finding to EPA's
Administrator after every annual review.
Also, under the Science to Achieve Results
(STAR) program all research projects are
selected for funding through a rigorous
competitive external peer review process
designed to ensure that only the highest
quality efforts receive funding support. In
addition, EPA's scientific and technical work
products must undergo either internal or
external peer review, with major or significant
products requiring external peer review. The
Agency's Peer Review Handbook (2nd
Edition) codifies procedures and guidance for
conducting peer review.
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Goal 3: Safe Food
Strategic Objectives and FY 2004
Annual Performance Goals
Highlights
Reduce Public Health Risk from Pesticide
Residues
FFDCA and FIFRA authorize EPA to set
terms and conditions of pesticide registration,
marketing and use. EPA will use these
authorities to reduce residues of pesticides
with the highest potential to cause cancer or
neurotoxic effects, including those which
pose particular risks to children and other
susceptible populations. All new pesticides,
including food/feed-use pesticides are
registered after an extensive review and
evaluation of human health and ecosystem
studies and data, applying the most recent
scientific advances in risk assessment. The
Registration program includes registration
activities, such as setting tolerances,
registering new active ingredients and new
uses, and handling experimental use permits
and emergency exemptions.
In 2004, the Agency will continue its
efforts to decrease the risk the public faces
from agricultural pesticides through the
regulatory review of new pesticides, including
reduced risk pesticides and biopesticides.
EPA expedites the registration of reduced risk
pesticides, which are generally presumed to
pose lower risks to consumers, lower risks to
agricultural workers, and lower risk to the
earth's ozone layer, groundwater, aquatic
organisms or wildlife. These accelerated
pesticide reviews provide an incentive for
industry to develop, register, and use lower
risk pesticides. Additionally, the availability
of these reduced risk pesticides provides
alternatives to older, potentially more harmful
products currently on the market.
Reduce Use on Food of Pesticides Not
Meeting Current Standards
Pesticide reregi strati on is a statutory
requirement under the 1988 amendments to
FIFRA. Under the law, all pesticides
registered prior to November 1984 must be
reviewed to ensure that they meet current
health and safety standards. The 1996 Food
Quality Protection Act requires the
reassessment of pesticide tolerances by 2006.
Many pesticides must be reviewed under both
statutes. New program requirements and
priorities include:
• Review of inert ingredients;
• Reform of the antimicrobial review
process;
• Transparency of our regulatory decisions;
• Incorporation of aggregate and
cumulative risk into our reviews;
• Special protection for infants and
children; and
• Endocrine screening of pesticides, minor
use enhancements and reduced risk
registration emphasis.
In FY 2004, the Agency will continue its
review of older pesticides and move forward
toward its ten-year statutory deadline of
reassessing all 9,721 tolerances, after having
met the statutory deadline of reassessing a
cumulative 66 percent of those tolerances by
August 2002. The Agency will also continue
to develop tools to screen pesticides for their
potential to disrupt the endocrine system. In
2004, EPA will work toward completing 35
Reregi strati on Eligibility Decisions (REDs),
400 product reregistrations and 1050
tolerance reassessments.
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Goal 3: Safe Food
The tolerance reassessment process
addresses the highest-risk pesticides first.
Using data surveys conducted by the USD A,
the FDA and other sources, EPA has
identified a group of "top 20" foods consumed
by children and matched those with the
tolerance reassessments required for
pesticides used on those foods.5 The Agency
has begun to track its progress in determining
appropriate tolerances for these pesticides
under the new FQPA standards. In 2004,
EPA will continue its effort to reduce dietary
risks to children, by completing
approximately a cumulative 83 percent of
these tolerances of special concern.
Two widely used groups of pesticides,
organophosphates and carbamates, are
believed to pose higher risks, particularly to
Cumulative Percentage of Reregist rat ion Eligibility Decision (RED) Cases to be Completed by 2006
120%
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Goal 3: Safe Food
protection of human health and the
environment. The Agency's progress in
achieving goals for production of REDs and
its tolerance reassessment component are
summarized in the chart.
The FY 2004 President's Budget assumes
the tolerance assessment and reassessment
programs will be partially funded by fees to
be collected under a revised Tolerance Fee
rule. The FY 2004 request also includes a
proposal to extend the Maintenance Fee
through 2006, to provide stable funding for
reregi strati on and expedited processing
activities.
The Administration evaluated the
Pesticide Registration and Reregi strati on
Programs this past year using the
Performance Assessment Rating Tool
(PART). The evaluation found that both
programs address important nationwide
programs and have clear missions, however
further work is needed in the area of
performance measurement.
Research
In FY 2004, EPA's research program will
continue to develop pesticides exposure and
effects data, risk assessment methods and
models for children, and control technologies
needed to comply with the requirements of
Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA).
Specifically, exposure research will
develop new and enhance existing tools to
estimate aggregate and cumulative exposures
of young children to pesticides and other toxic
chemicals. Research will address major data
gaps and uncertainties associated with the
exposure assessment requirements for the
FQPA. Health effects research will focus on
understanding dose-response relationships
and using this understanding to develop new
and enhance existing methods to evaluate the
effects of cumulative exposures to pesticides
and toxic chemicals, including both long-term
exposures and multiple acute exposures.
Risk assessment research will complete a
framework for use of toxicokinetic data and
models in risk assessment as a foundation for
comprehensive risk assessment guidance.
The guidance will provide analysis and
recommendations for: 1) use of
physiologically-based pharmacokinetic
(PBPK) models and data in risk assessment;
2) analysis of relevant issues such as age-
related dosimetry and extrapolation between
species and age groups; 3) databases relevant
to toxicokinetic approaches; and 4) risk
assessment methods that reduce the use of
default assumptions. Risk management
research will begin developing standard
protocols for assessing treatment effects on
pesticide residues in drinking water, and
testing the efficiency of drinking water
treatment and the formation of degradation bi-
products for pesticide classes of high priority
that are not on the Candidate Contaminant
List (CCL). Information collected from these
protocols will be used in aggregate and
cumulative exposure assessments.
External Factors
The ability of the Agency to achieve its
strategic objectives depends on several factors
over which the Agency has only partial
control or little influence. EPA relies heavily
on partnerships with States, Tribes, local
governments and regulated parties to protect
the nation's food supply, the environment,
and human health, from pesticides.
EPA assures the safe use of pesticides in
coordination with the USDA and FDA, who
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Goal 3: Safe Food
have responsibility to monitor and control
residues on food and other environmental
exposures. EPA also works with these
agencies to coordinate with other countries
and international organizations with which the
United States shares pesticide-related
environmental goals. The Agency employs a
number of mechanisms and programs to
assure that our partners will have the capacity
to conduct the activities needed to achieve the
objectives. Much of the success of EPA's
pesticide programs also depends on the
voluntary cooperation of the private sector
and the public.
Other factors that may delay or prevent
the Agency's achievement of the objectives
include lawsuits that delay or stop the planned
activities of EPA and/or State partners, new
or amended legislation and new commitments
within the Administration. Economic growth
and changes in producer and consumer
behavior could also have an influence on the
Agency's ability to achieve the objectives
within the time frame specified.
Large-scale accidental releases, such as
pesticide spills, or rare catastrophic natural
events (such as hurricanes or large-scale
flooding) could impact EPA's ability to
achieve objectives in the short term. In the
longer term, the time frame for achieving
many of the objectives could be affected by
new technology or unanticipated complexity
or magnitude of pesticide-related problems.
Newly identified environmental problems
and priorities could have a similar effect on
long-term goals. For example, pesticide use
is affected by unanticipated outbreaks of pest
infestations and/or disease factors, which
require EPA to review emergency uses in
order to preclude unreasonable risks to the
environment. While the Agency can provide
incentives for the submission of registration
actions such as reduced risk and minor uses,
EPA does not control incoming requests for
registration actions. As a result, the Agency's
projection of regulatory workload is subject to
change.
3-9
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Goal 4:
Preventing Pollution and Reducing
Risk in Communities, Homes,
Workplaces, and Ecosystems
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
Strategic Goal: Pollution prevention and risk management strategies aimed at eliminating,
reducing, or minimizing emissions and contamination will result in cleaner and safer
environments in which all Americans can reside, work, and enjoy life. EPA will safeguard
ecosystems and promote the health of natural communities that are integral to the quality of life
in this nation
Resource Summary
\ / FY2003 FY2004
^- — - — President's President's
4.5% of Budget Budget Request
Reduce Public and Ecosystem Risk from
Pesticides
Reduce Risks from Lead and Other Toxic
Chemicals
Manage New Chemical Introduction and
Screen Existing Chemicals for Risk
Ensure Healthier Indoor Air.
Facilitate Prevention, Reduction and
Recycling of PBTs and Toxic Chemicals
Assess Conditions in Indian Country
$55,410
$36,356
$77,538
$40,323
$46,116
$70,909
$326,652
$57,313
$38,723
$81,531
$42,380
$49,958
$76,435
$346,341
Difference
$1,903
$2,367
$3,993
$2,058
$3,842
$5,526
$19,689
Workyears
1,193.9
1,188.9
-5.0
Background and Context
The underlying principle of the activities
in this goal is the application of pollution
prevention. Preventing pollution before it
may harm the environment or public can be
cheaper than cleanup and remediation that
may be more costly. EPA uses a number of
approaches to protect public health and the
nation's ecosystems from the risks of
exposure to pesticides and/or toxic chemicals.
While EPA continues to implement "the
reasonable certainty of no harm" standard
mandated by the Food Quality Protection Act
(FQPA) in its regulatory decisions, it also
works with pesticide users on adopting less
4-1
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
toxic methods of pest management that
reduce or eliminate toxic pesticides entering
indoor and outdoor environments.
Regarding industrial emissions of toxic
chemicals, in 2000, TRI facilities reported 7.1
billion pounds of TRI reported chemicals
released to the environment, 3.2 billion
pounds recovered for energy and 14.3 billion
pounds of waste treated.6 This represents a
decrease of eight percent or 0.6 billion pounds
over the previous year. Reducing waste, and
reducing the toxic chemicals that are used in
industrial processing, protects the
environment and also improves efficiency,
thereby lowering costs for industry.
Pollution prevention involves changing
the behavior of those that generate the
pollution and fostering the wider use of
preventive practices as a means to achieve
cost effective, sustainable results. For
example, the Design for the Environment and
Green Chemistry programs strive to change
the behavior of chemists and engineers to
incorporate pollution prevention and
environmental risk considerations in their
daily work. The Strategic Agricultural
Partnership Initiative and the Pesticide
Environmental Stewardship Program
cooperate with USDA, States, and non-
governmental organizations to demonstrate
with farmers integrated pest management
strategies that reduce pesticide residues in the
environment.
In Goal 4, the Agency targets certain
chemicals of high risk as well as the full range
of pollutants addressed by the pollution
prevention program. Many chemicals are
particularly toxic to children. For instance, at
high levels, lead damages the brain and
nervous system and can result in behavioral
and learning problems in children.7 Despite a
dramatic reduction in lead exposure among
young children over the last twenty years due
in large part to reduction in U.S. use of leaded
gasoline, there were still approximately
900,000 children in the U.S. with elevated
blood lead levels in the early 1990's, due
primarily to exposure to lead-based paint and
dust.8 Data from the Center for Disease
Control's (CDC's) 2000 National Health and
Nutrition Evaluation Survey (NHANES),
such as mean and median blood lead levels in
the general U.S. population, indicate that
Federal, State, and Tribal programs to reduce
childhood lead poisoning from exposure to
lead-based paint and dust have succeeded in
lowering blood-lead levels from the early-
1990's levels. New data released by CDC in
January 2003 indicate that the national
incidence of elevated lead blood levels among
children may now be approximately 400,000
cases, based on combined 1999 and 2000
samples. Collaboration among partners
continues in an effort to further reduce or
eliminate this preventable condition.
On other fronts, exposure to asbestos,
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and some
pesticides in our buildings and in the
environment poses risks to humans as well as
2000 Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Public Data Release -
Executive Summary (EPA 260 S 02 001).
http://www.epa.gov/tri/tridata/triOO/index.htm
Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics,
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: 1999-2002.
Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm
Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics,
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: 1999-2002.
Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm
4-2
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
wildlife. Pesticides and chemicals that may
act as endocrine disrupters at ambient levels
is an area of increased concern for human
health and the environment. For other
common chemicals, risks may not be known.
The screening and testing of chemicals about
to enter the market, combined with the review
of the most common chemicals already in use
through the Chemical Right-to-Know
Program, fills critical gaps in our knowledge
about the effects of chemicals on human
health and the environment.
Under Federal environmental statutes, the
Agency has responsibility for assuring human
health and environmental protection in Indian
country. Since 1984, EPA policy has been to
work with Tribes on a government-to-
government basis that affirms the vital trust
responsibility that EPA has with every
Federally-recognized Tribal government.
EPA endeavors to address Tribal
environmental priorities, ensure compliance
with environmental laws, provide field
assistance, assure effective communication
with Tribes, allow flexibility in grant
programs, and provide resources for Tribal
operations.
Means and Strategy
The diversity and sensitivity of America's
environments (communities, homes,
workplaces and ecosystems) require EPA to
adopt a multi-faceted approach to protecting
the public from the potential threats posed by
Centers for Disease Control, National Center for
Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey: 1999-2002. Available at
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm
pesticides, toxic chemicals and other
pollutants. The underlying principle of the
activities in this goal is the application of
pollution prevention practices, which can be
cheaper and smarter than cleanup and
remediation, as evidenced by the high cost of
Superfund, Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA), and Plychlorinated
Biphenyls (PCB) cleanups. Pollution
Prevention (P2) involves changing the
behavior of those that cause the pollution and
fostering the wider use of preventive practices
as a means to achieve effective, sustainable
results.
Under this Goal, EPA ensures that
pesticides and their application methods do
not present unreasonable risks to human
health, the environment, and ecosystems. In
addition to the array of risk-management
measures specified in the registration
authorities under the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodentcide Act (FIFRA) for
individual pesticide ingredients, EPA has
specific programs to foster worker and
pesticide-user safety, ground-water
protection, and the safe use of pesticides and
other pest control methods. These programs
work to ensure the comprehensive protection
of the environment and wildlife, endangered
species in particular, and to reduce the
contribution of pesticides to ecological threats
such as pollutant loading in select geographic
areas. EPA is also addressing emerging
threats such as endocrine disrupters by
developing and implementing new screening
technologies to assess a chemical's impact on
hormonal activity.
Within the pesticide program, EPA
pursues a variety of field activities at the
regional, State, Tribal and local levels,
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
including the promotion of pesticide
environmental stewardship and Integrated
Pest Management (IPM). States and Tribes
are vital partners in our work to implement
FQPA. The voluntary partnerships and
outreach programs that help farmers transition
away from the riskier products are often
catalyzed by State participation. These
programs, combined with the availability of
newer and safer pesticides, are having a real
impact. In 2004 we expect at least 8.5 percent
of acre-treatments will use reduced-risk
pesticides. We are seeing a reduction in
wildlife impacts from pesticides as well, and
in 2004 we project an additional five percent
reduction in reported incidents of wildlife
mortalities, from the 1995 level. That means
fewer bird casualties and fewer fish kills. The
accumulation of these improvements will
mean safer food, improved biodiversity, and a
cleaner environment.
The Agency remains committed to
safeguarding our Nation's communities,
homes, workplaces and ecosystems.
Preventing pollution through regulatory,
voluntary, and partnership actions
educating and changing the behavior of the
public — is a sensible and effective approach
to sustainable development while protecting
our nation's health. Two groups with
significant potential to effect environmental
changes are industry and academia. In the last
decade, the Agency has successfully pursued
a number of pollution prevention programs
with both of these groups, including the
groundbreaking 33/50 Program, which in
1991 introduced voluntary collaboration into
EPA's environmental protection efforts, and
the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge
Award, which stimulates industry and
academia toward the development of
innovative new and improved industrial
chemicals and processes. The Agency
continues to expand its use of voluntary
mechanisms to leverage pollution prevention,
focusing on the health care service sector in
fostering the American Hospital Association's
Hospitals for a Healthy Environment
partnership program, which have more than
2,000 participants in 2004. Likewise,
improved understanding of the potential risks
to health from airborne indoor toxic
chemicals will strengthen our ability to reduce
residents' exposure through voluntary
changes in behavior and potential product
reformulation.
Preventing pollution through partnerships
is also central to EPA's Chemical Right-to-
Know Program (ChemRTK), which has
already started providing the public with
information on the basic health and
environmental effects of the 2,800 high
production volume (HPV) chemicals in the
United States (chemicals manufactured in or
imported into the U.S. in quantities of at least
one million pounds annually). Most residents
come into daily contact with many of these
chemicals, yet relatively little is known about
their potential impacts. Getting basic hazard
testing information on large volume
chemicals is the focus of the "HPV Challenge
Program," a voluntary program challenging
industry to develop chemical hazard data
critical to enabling EPA, State, Tribes, and
the public to screen chemicals already in
commerce for any risks they may be posing.
EPA has two major strategies to meet its
human health objective for indoor air quality:
increasing public awareness and increasing
partnerships with non-governmental and
professional entities. EPA raises public
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
awareness of actual and potential indoor air
risks so that individuals can take steps to
reduce exposure. Outreach activities, in the
form of educational literature, media
campaigns, hotlines, and clearinghouse
operations, provide essential information
about indoor air health risks not only to the
public, but to the professional and research
communities as well. Underpinning EPA's
outreach efforts is a strong commitment to
environmental justice, community-based risk
reduction, and customer service. Through
partnerships with EPA disseminates multi-
media materials encouraging individuals,
schools, and industry to take action to reduce
health risks in their indoor environments. In
addition, EPA uses technology transfer to
improve the ways in which all types of
buildings, including schools, homes, and
workplaces, are designed, operated, and
maintained. To support these voluntary
approaches, EPA incorporates the most
current science available as the basis for
recommending ways that people can reduce
exposure to indoor contaminants.
EPA is also taking the initial steps to
address the potential threat of endocrine
disrupting chemicals on the health of humans
and wildlife. Work focuses on developing
and validating new chemical screens and tests
to isolate those chemicals and characterize the
threat.
Also central to the Agency's work under
this goal in FY 2004 will be continued
attention to reducing potential risk from
persistent, bioaccumulative and highly toxic
chemicals (PBTs) and from chemicals that
have endocrine disruption effects. PBT
chemicals are of particular concern not only
because they are toxic but also because they
may remain in the environment for a long
period of time, are not readily destroyed, and
may build up or accumulate to high
concentrations in plant or animal tissue. In
cases involving mercury and PCBs, they may
accumulate in human tissue.
EPA programs under this Goal have many
indirect effects that significantly augment the
stream of benefits they provide. For example,
each year the Toxic Substances Control Act
(TSCA) New Chemicals program reviews and
manages the potential risks from
approximately 1,800 new chemicals and 40
products of biotechnology that enter the
marketplace.10 Since its inception,
approximately 17,000 new chemicals
reviewed by the program have entered U.S.
commerce. This new chemical review
process not only protects the public from the
possible immediate threats of harmful
chemicals like PCBs from entering the
marketplace, but it has also contributed to
changing the behavior of the chemical
industry, making industry more aware and
responsible for the impact these chemicals
have on human health and the environment.
The New Chemicals program also
encourages industry to develop safer, or
"green," chemicals as substitutes for more
dangerous ones. In FY 2004 the Agency will
continue to provide industry training in the
use of the same tools that EPA uses to assess
new chemicals, enabling companies to make
smarter choices at earlier stages in their
design process, reducing government costs,
10 U.S. EPA, Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics, TSCA New Chemicals Program Annual Report
and the TSCA New Chemicals Program Website
http://www.epa.gov/oppt/newchems/accomplishments.
htm
4-5
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
and hastening the entry of safer new products
into the marketplace. Through the Green
Chemistry program, the use and generation of
38 million pounds and approximately three
million gallons of hazardous chemicals have
been eliminated, and 275 million gallons of
water have been saved .u
A PART evaluation of the New
Chemicals program showed that it had very
strong purpose and management and
collaborates with other Federal agencies. The
assessment also found that while the program
has to some extent shown results, it lacks
adequate long-term measures. Recommend-
ations from the assessment include improving
the program's strategic planning, which
includes an independent evaluation of the
program. The agency will also establish more
outcome-oriented measures, including at least
one efficiency measure.
The Design for the Environment (DfE),
Green Chemistry, and Green Engineering
(GE) programs build on and expand new
chemistry efforts. They target industry and
academia to maximize pollution prevention.
Our DfE Program forms partnerships with
industry to find sensible solutions to prevent
pollution. In one example, taking a sector
approach, EPA has worked with the
electronics industry to reduce the use of
formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals in the
manufacture of printed wiring boards.12 Our
Green Chemistry Program also forms
11 U.S. EPA, Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics, High Production Volume Challenge Program,
HPV Commitment Tracking System. Available at
http://www.epa.gov/chemrtk/viewsrch.htm
12 U.S. EPA, Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics, Design for Environment, www.epa.gov/dfe
partnerships with industry and the scientific
community to find economically viable
technical solutions to prevent pollution. In
addition, the Green Engineering Program
works with the American Society of
Engineering Education (ASEE) to incorporate
GE approaches into engineering curricula.
Since this goal focuses on how the public
lives in communities, it features the Agency's
commitment to fulfilling its responsibility for
assuring human health and promoting
environmental protection in Indian country.
EPA's policy is to work with Tribes on a
government-to-government basis that affirms
the vital trust responsibility that EPA has with
572 Tribal governments and remain cognizant
of the Nation's interest in conserving the
cultural uses of natural resources.
Core elements of pollution prevention
include minimizing toxic pollutants contained
in hazardous waste streams and other
pathways for the generation of toxic waste.
This is accomplished through a variety of
diverse regulatory and voluntary strategies,
including fostering materials reuse and
recycling, broad-based campaigns to re-
engineer the consumption and use of raw
materials, and promoting public resource
conservation. These effective and sustainable
programs reduce the need for storage,
treatment or disposal of hazardous and
municipal solid wastes, with the added benefit
of reducing costs to industry and
municipalities, reducing pollution and
pollution control costs associated with
production of virgin materials, conserving
energy and energy costs, and reducing
greenhouse gas emission.
4-6
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
In FY 2004, EPA's waste management
program will increase consumer and
individual awareness of environmental issues
by implementing The Resource Conservation
Challenge (RCC). Launched in 2002, this
new campaign asks businesses, manufacturers
and consumers to adopt a resource
conservation ethic; to operate more
efficiently; to purchase more wisely; and to
make and use products that are easy to recycle
and are composed of recycled materials. The
Challenge also encourages the reduction of
hazardous wastes containing priority
chemicals through the National Waste
Minimization Partnership Program. These
effective and sustainable programs reduce the
need for storage, treatment or disposal of
hazardous or municipal wastes, with the
added benefit of reducing costs to industry
and municipalities. The 2003 House
Subcommittee Report encouraged and
supported the RCC strategy to identify
opportunities to further the goal of resource
conservation and recovery while remaining
true to the mission of ensuring safe and
protective waste management practices.
In several cases, achieving the strategic
objectives under this goal is a shared
responsibility with other Federal, State and
Tribal partners. For example, EPA's role in
reducing the levels of children's lead
exposure involves promotion of Federal-
State-Tribe partnerships to decrease the
number of specific sources of lead to children,
primarily from addressing lead-based paint
hazards. These partnerships emphasize
development of a professional infrastructure
to identify, manage and abate lead-based paint
hazards, as well as public education and
empowerment strategies, which fit into
companion Federal efforts with Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS),
Department of Defense (DOD), Department
of Energy (DOE), Department of Justice
(DOJ), Centers for Disease Control (CDC),
and Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). These combined
efforts help to monitor lead levels in the
environment, with the intent of virtually
eliminating lead poisoning in children.
In 2004, EPA will also launch a set of
expanded, multi-media Children's Health
protection activities. The Agency will partner
with several organizations and States to
provide education and outreach on
environmental issues affecting sensitive
populations and will implement an
Environmental Management Systems (EMS)
approach for elementary schools. Through
these approaches, State and local capacity to
address sensitive populations will be
developed, the number of asthma-related
reportable health incidents and emergency
room visits will decrease, and schoolchildren
will have reduced exposures to poor indoor
air quality, asbestos, mercury, pesticides and
other hazardous chemicals
Research
Currently, there are significant gaps with
regard to the understanding of actual human
and ecological exposures to pesticides and
toxic substances. To address those data gaps,
EPA research will provide a strategic
framework for developing an integrated suite
of tools and models that will enhance EPA's
procedures for assessing the risks to human
health and ecological systems associated with
commercial chemicals, microorganisms, and
genetically modified organisms.
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
13
Several mechanisms are in place to ensure
a high-quality research program. The
Research Strategies Advisory Committee
(RSAC) of EPA's Science Advisory Board
(SAB), an independent chartered Federal
Advisory Committee Act (FACA)
committee, meets annually to conduct an in-
depth review and analysis of EPA's Science
and Technology account. The RSAC
provides its findings to the House Science
Committee and sends a written report on the
finding to EPA's Administrator after every
annual review. Also, under the Science to
Achieve Results (STAR) program all research
projects are selected for funding through a
rigorous competitive external peer review
process designed to ensure that only the
highest quality efforts receive funding
support. In addition, EPA's scientific and
technical work products must undergo either
internal or external peer review, with major or
significant products requiring external peer
review. The Agency's Peer Review
Handbook (2nd Edition)14 codifies procedures
and guidance for conducting peer review.
Strategic Objectives and FY 2004
Annual Performance Goals
• Reduce Public and Ecosystem Risk from
Pesticides
• Reduce Risks from Lead and Other Toxic
Chemicals
Federal Advisory Committee Act, Pub. L. 97-375,
title II, Sec. 201(c), Dec. 21, 1982, 96 Stat. 1822.
14 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2000).
Science Policy Council Peer Review Handbook. (EPA
Publication No. EPA 100-B-OO-OOl). Washington,
D.C: Government Printing Office
• Reduce Exposure to and Health Effects
from Priority Industrial/ Commercial
Chemicals
• Manage New Chemical Introduction and
Screen Existing Chemicals for Risk
• Identify and Reduce Risks from
Industrial/Commercial Chemicals
• Ensure Healthier Indoor Air
• Facilitate Prevention, Reduction and
Recycling of PBTs and Toxic Chemicals
• Prevent, Reduce and Recycle Hazardous
Industrial/Commercial Chemicals and
Municipal Solid Waste
• Assess Conditions in Indian Country
Highlights
EPA seeks to prevent pollution at the
source as the first choice in managing
environmental risks to humans and
ecosystems. Where pollution prevention at
the source is not a viable alternative, the
Agency employs risk management and cost
effective remediation strategies. Reducing
pollution at the source will be carried out
using a multi-media approach in the following
environmental problem areas:
Reduce Public and Ecosystem Risks from
Pesticides
Reducing risk from exposure to pesticides
requires a multi-faceted approach. Beyond
being exposed through the food we eat, the
general public, applicators, and farm workers
may be exposed to pesticides through direct
handling, groundwater contamination or aerial
spray. One intent of the Food Quality
Protection Act (FQPA) is to protect the public
4-8
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
by shifting the nation toward reduced risk
pesticides and safer pesticide use.
Appropriate transition strategies to reduced
risk pesticides are important to the nation to
avoid disruption of the food supply or sudden
changes in the market that could result from
abruptly terminating the use of a pesticide
before well-targeted reduced risk equivalents
can be identified and made available. In 2004,
the Agency will continue efforts to reach
more farmers and grower groups, encourage
them to adopt safer pesticides, use
environmental stewardship and integrated
pest management practices, and adopt a
"whole farm" approach to environmental
protection. Through these partnership
programs the Agency has become more aware
of the multiple pressures on our nation's
agricultural industry and the interaction of the
various environmental requirements that
affect it.
In addition, in FY 2004, the Agency will
work with grower groups, States and Tribes,
and USDA to combine and magnify our
efforts to meet the goals authorized in the
Farm Bill for conservation activities. With
USDA collaboration, EPA can deliver its
unique expertise in pesticides, water, and air
issues in an integrated way to the agricultural
community. A majority of the environmental
and conservation problems that are the most
pressing for farmers include pesticide and
pest management issues in which the National
Resource Conservation Services (NRCS) of
USDA has little experience or expertise. We
will develop partnerships with a broad range
of groups with agricultural interests, as well
as stewardship strategies that produce
measurable environmental results. We will
also develop common measures and
environmental indicators with USDA through
this cooperative effort.
Through the Certification and Training
(C&T) and Worker Protection (WP)
programs, EPA will continue training and
educating farm workers and employers on
worker safety practices and the dangers of
pesticides. EPA will continue to protect the
Nation's ecosystems and reduce adverse
impacts to endangered species through
various regulatory and voluntary programs,
including the Pesticide Environmental
Stewardship Program (PESP) which
encourages the use of integrated pest
management (IPM) approaches. The Agency
will emphasize efforts with our Tribal
partners to address pesticide issues and
enhance the development of Tribal technical
capacity, particularly in the areas of risk
management, worker safety, training, and
pollution prevention.
Together, the WP and the C&T programs
address issues of safe pesticide use and
pesticide exposure. These programs
emphasize safeguarding workers and other
pesticide users from occupational exposure to
pesticides by providing training for workers,
employers, and pesticide applicators and
handlers. Training and certification of
applicators of restricted use pesticides further
ensures that workers and other vulnerable
groups are protected from undue pesticide
exposure and risk. Recertification
requirements keep their knowledge current
with label changes, application
improvements, availability of new pesticides
and other pesticide related issues. The
Endangered Species program will improve the
consultation process with other Federal
agencies and continue to enlist the support of
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
the agricultural community and other
interested groups to protect wildlife and
critical habitats from pesticides. This
voluntary program is carried out through
communications and outreach efforts and in
coordination with other Federal agencies.
The Pesticide Environmental Stewardship
Program (PESP) and other Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) outreach efforts play
pivotal roles in moving the nation to the use
of safe pest control methods, including
reduced risk pesticides. These closely related
programs promote risk reduction through
collaborative efforts with stakeholders to use
safer alternatives to traditional chemical
methods of pest control.
Antimicrobial sterilants and disinfectants
are used to kill microorganisms on surfaces
and objects in hospitals, schools, restaurants
and homes. Antimicrobials require
appropriate labeling and handling to ensure
safety and efficacy. EPA remains focused on
accurate product labeling and product efficacy
and meeting other requirements for
antimicrobial sterilants set forth by FQPA, as
well as the reregi strati on of older
antimicrobials to ensure they meet today's
standards.
Reduce Risks from Lead and Other Toxic
Chemicals
EPA is part of the Federal effort, through
the President's Task Force on Environmental
Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children, to
address lead poisoning and elevated blood
levels in children by assisting in, and in some
cases guiding, Federal activities aimed at
reducing the exposure of children in homes
with lead-based paint. EPA is working with
other Federal Agencies including the
Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS), Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), Department of Defense
(DOD), Department of Energy (DOE),
Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC), and Department of Justice (DOJ) on
implementing a Federal strategy to virtually
eliminate lead poisoning. During FY 2004,
EPA will continue implementing its
comprehensive program to reduce the
incidence of lead poisoning and elevated
blood-lead levels in children nationwide.
In 2004, EPA will continue the Lead
Based Paint Training & Certification Program
in all fifty States through EPA authorized
State, territorial or Tribal programs or, in
States and territories without EPA
authorization, through direct implementation
by the Agency. By the end of 2004, we
expect to have provided the nation with more
than 18,000 individuals and firms formally
certified in properly abating lead paint
hazards. In the lead regulatory program, EPA
will propose two major rules on renovation
and remodeling activities and the de-leading
of bridges and structures.
EPA will continue to implement the new
Lead Hazards Standards Rule (finalized in
2001), the Lead Renovation Information Rule
and the Real Estate Notification & Disclosure
Rule. In 2004, EPA will develop a new
program to propose a new rule to improve
work practices in removing lead-based paint
from bridges and structures, capping a series
of rules with wide-ranging impact on
children's health.
For other chemicals whose risks are well
established (such as PCBs, asbestos, and
dioxin), reductions in use and releases are
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
important to reducing exposure of the general
population as well as sensitive sub-
populations. In FY 2004, EPA's PCB control
efforts will continue to encourage phase-out
of PCB electrical equipment, ensuring proper
waste disposal methods and capacity, and
fostering PCB site cleanups. The Agency will
continue to be part of an interagency effort to
assess potential dioxin risks to the public,
including the development of a dioxin
strategy to respond to the latest science and
addressing dioxin risk management in a more
comprehensive cross-media approach.
Manage New Chemical Introduction and
Screen Existing Chemicals for Risk
Under TSCA, EPA identifies and controls
unreasonable risks associated with chemicals.
EPA administers TSCA through two
programs: the New Chemicals and Existing
Chemicals programs. The Existing
Chemicals program continues its review of
the original 62,000 TSCA chemicals for
health impacts. A PART evaluation of the
Existing Chemicals program found that while
the program has strong purpose and
management, it lacks strategic planning and
cannot demonstrate any long-term impact.
The program has demonstrated few results:
GAO found that EPA has been slow to
address these chemicals, with EPA having
reviewed approximately two percent of
existing chemicals in the last 20 years. As a
result of the assessment, EPA will establish a
long-term measure and an efficiency measure.
The program will also focus efforts to develop
acute exposure chemical guidelines (AEGLs),
which are important for homeland security
response, recovery, and preparedness. EPA
will also continue to implement its High
Production Volume (HPV) Challenge
program in an effort to address the gaps that
the Existing Chemicals program has failed to
address.
The HPV Challenge program aims to
address a critical gap in the nation's
knowledge about the health and
environmental hazards of high production
volume chemicals (HPVs). HPVs are
chemicals that are manufactured in or
imported into the U.S. in quantities of at least
one million pounds per year. EPA is working
with industry to make information about these
chemicals available to the public so that it can
make more informed consumer choices. The
HPV Challenge program is already providing
the public with information on the basic
health and environmental effects of 2,800
HPVs. Industry response to the HPV
Challenge has been overwhelming: more than
300 companies have voluntarily committed
themselves to providing EPA with data for
2,196 of the 2,800 HPV chemicals.15 EPA
has already commenced its review and public
posting of these company submissions. In FY
2004, EPA expects to make screening level
health and environmental effects data publicly
available for a cumulative 900 chemicals.
Under a parallel Voluntary Children's
Chemical Evaluation Program that was
launched in 2002, EPA and industry will
collaborate in fully assessing the risks
associated with chemicals to which children
are exposed. With our State partners we will
work to establish a series of pilot programs to
address TSCA responsibilities at the State
U.S. EPA, Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics, High Production Volume Challenge Program,
HPV Commitment Tracking System. Available at
http://www.epa.gov/chemrtk/viewsrch.htm
4-11
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
level, where local knowledge of unique
problems or solutions can bring greater
efficiencies to this wide-ranging program.
An important Agency priority is to
develop and use valid chemical screens and
tests to identify and characterize the risk of
chemicals that may cause endocrine
disruption in humans, fish and wildlife. In
2002 EPA put in place an Endocrine
Disrupter Methods Validation Subcommittee
(EDMVS) made up of approximately 25
scientific experts representing outside interest
groups. These experts will meet through
2005 to provide advice and counsel to EPA
on scientific issues associated with the
conduct of studies necessary for validation of
screening and testing methods in the
Agency's Endocrine Disrupter Screening
Program.
Ensure Healthier Indoor Air
In FY 2004, EPA will build on the
success of its national "Indoor Air Quality
(IAQ) Tools for Schools" (TfS) program and
expand implementation of this program to
more schools. Adoption of EPA's low-
cost/no-cost guidelines for proper operation
and maintenance of school facilities results in
healthier indoor environments for all students
and staff, but is of particular help to children
with asthma, lessening the degree to which
they are exposed to indoor asthma triggers.
By increasing the number of schools where
TfS indoor air quality guidelines are adopted
and implemented, healthier indoor air will be
provided for over a million students, staff, and
faculty.
The Agency will continue to promote the
adoption of healthy building practices in
existing school operations. EPA expects, as a
result of Agency programs, that 834,400
Americans will be living in healthier
residential indoor environments in FY 2004.
Part of meeting this goal includes expanding
the Agency's successful education and
outreach efforts to the public about sound
indoor environmental management techniques
with respect to asthma. In addition, the
Agency will continue to focus on ways to
assist the health-care community to raise its
awareness of, and attention it pays to, indoor
asthma triggers and their role in provoking
asthma attacks in those with the disease.
EPA, in conjunction with the Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS), will
continue to seek opportunities to interact with
managed care organizations and health
insurers to promote effective asthma care
practices and to encourage greater emphasis
on avoidance of asthma triggers, as part of a
comprehensive asthma treatment regimen.
Facilitate Prevention, Reduction and
Recycling of PBT's and Toxic Chemicals
Pollution prevention and waste
minimization require a comprehensive effort
of minimizing the quantity and toxicity of
waste generated by industries, the government
and individual citizens. EPA's role includes
several specific activities addressing
industrial hazardous waste and municipal and
industrial solid waste.
Preventing pollution can be cost-effective
to industry in cases where it reduces excess
raw materials and energy use. P2 can also
reduce the need for expensive "end-of-pipe"
treatment and disposal, enable firms to avoid
potential liability, and support quality
improvement incentives in place at facilities.
4-12
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
Current EPA strategies include
institutionalizing preventive approaches in
EPA's regulatory, operating, and
compliance/enforcement programs and
facilitating the adoption of pollution
prevention techniques by States, Tribes, the
academic community and industry.
One approach the Agency employs is the
industrial sector-based focus that promotes
cleaner technologies leading to a reduction of
risks to health and the environment. EPA's
Design for the Environment (DfE) Program
works in partnership with industry to develop
comparative risk, performance, and cost
information about alternative technologies,
chemicals, and processes in order to make
environmentally informed business decisions.
Now, more than ever, it is important for
Americans to make sound environmental
decisions. EPA provides the national
leadership necessary to reduce the generation
of municipal and industrial solid waste
regulated under RCRA Subtitle D and to
improve the recovery and conservation of
materials and energy through source reduction
and recycling. EPA encourages source
reduction of municipal solid waste through its
Waste Wise program and fosters recycling and
the recycling market through such programs
as Pay-As-You-Throw and Jobs Through
Recycling. In addition, working with public
and private sector stakeholders, EPA
promotes financial and technological
opportunities for recycling/reuse businesses.
In FY 2004, EPA will continue to implement
The Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC)
using a broad range of methods and tools to
help businesses, manufacturers, and
consumers to adopt a resource conservation
ethic. The Agency will serve as a catalyst for
innovative source reduction and recycling in
many industrial sectors, including waste
reduction opportunities for construction and
demolition debris, food wastes, tires,
electronics equipment, carpet, transport
packaging, and plastic beverage packaging.
In FY 2004, the Agency will continue
reducing the barriers to safe recycling of
hazardous waste through changes to recycling
regulatory standards and ongoing outreach to
stakeholders to explore additional
innovations. EPA will place particular
emphasis on ways to increase safe hazardous
waste recycling while reducing the burden for
both small and large businesses in selected
sectors, such as the printing, electronics
recycling, metal finishing and chemical
industries, as well as in laboratories affiliated
with educational institutions.
The Green Chemistry Challenge Program
continues to be an effective catalyst for the
behavioral change necessary to drive the
research, development, and implementation of
green chemistry technologies. In addition,
this program also continues to provide an
opportunity to quantitatively demonstrate the
technical, environmental, and economic
benefits that green chemistry technologies
offer. In 2004, the Green Chemistry Program
will be focusing its outreach, awards, and
research efforts to target audiences not
currently involved in green chemistry product
and process design, and specific high priority
chemicals, products, and/or processes for
which safer alternatives are not available.
To address continuing issues associated
with PBTs, EPA launched a cross-office,
cross-media PBT program in FY 1999.
Through this effort, the Agency seeks to
4-13
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
prevent, minimize and, when possible,
eliminate PBTs, which are harmful to both
human health and the environment. In FY
2004, the Agency will publish its Mercury
National Action Plan with long-term goals for
EPA's future mercury activities, and will
continue the Agency's ongoing mercury
activities aimed at reducing releases, reducing
exposure, reducing use in products and
processes, and ensuring safe management of
wastes and supplies. A key element of this
Action Plan already being implemented is the
Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E)
program, which is a collaborative effort
among EPA, the American Hospital
Association, Health Care Without Harm, and
the American Nurses Association. As
voluntary H2E participants, hospitals and
health care facilities pledge to eliminate
mercury use by 2005 and to reduce total
hospital waste by 50 percent by 2010. In
2004, H2E will continue to enroll partners. It
is expected that as many as one-third of the
nation's 6,000 hospitals will pledge to the
program.
Assess Conditions in Indian Country
EPA places particular priority on working
with Federally Recognized Indian Tribes on a
government-to-government basis to improve
environmental conditions in Indian country in
a manner that affirms the vital trust
responsibility that EPA has with some 572
Tribal governments. The Agency will
concentrate on building Tribal programs and
strive to complete a documented baseline
assessment of environmental conditions for
Tribes. These assessments will provide a
blueprint for planning future activities
identified in Tribal/EPA Environmental
Agreements (TEAs) or similar Tribal
environmental plans to address and support
priority environmental multi-media concerns
in Indian country.
In FY 2004, EPA is requesting a total of
$62.5 million for Indian General Assistance
Program grants. These resources will allow
most Tribes to support at least one person
working in their community to build a strong,
sustainable environment for the future. These
stewards perform vital work by assessing the
status of a Tribe's environmental condition
and building an environmental program
tailored to that Tribe's needs. Another key
role of this workforce is to alert EPA of
serious conditions requiring attention in the
near term so that, in addition to assisting in
the building of Tribal environmental capacity,
EPA can work with the Tribe to respond to
immediate public health and ecological
threats.
The Administration evaluated the Indian
General Assistance Program (GAP) this past
year using the Performance Assessment
Rating Tool (PART). The evaluation found
that the program's purpose is very clear.
However, the program needs to develop new
long term performance measures that focus on
environmental outcomes, rather than
processes.
EPA continues to consider additional
approaches on how EPA and Indian Tribes
might work in concert to protect public health
and the environment in Indian country. As
part of that effort, EPA is proposing to
continue authority first granted in FY 2001 to
enter into cooperative agreements with Tribes
to assist EPA in implementing environmental
programs in instances where the Tribe has not
achieved primacy. Implementation of this
4-14
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
approach would allow for a more gradual
transition to full program authorization by
allowing for varying degrees of Tribal
involvement based on an individual Tribe's
capabilities and interests.
Research
In FY 2004, research will be conducted to
address the need for exposure and effects
methods to evaluate the special sensitivities of
children to pesticides and other toxic
chemicals. The methods are developed to
evaluate endpoints of toxicity that are
qualitatively different from those of concern
for adults and the effects of exposures that are
quantitatively different because of factors
such as body weight, time spent in various
micro environments and contact with
potentially contaminated surfaces.
Also, EPA will continue ecosystem
effects research to address the development of
appropriate screening and higher tier
ecological effects models, the development of
pharmacokinetic models to
estimate/extrapolate tissue concentration of
chemical agents from laboratory test
organisms to wildlife species of concern, and
the relative influence of exposure to
chemicals and other environmental agents,
habitat alterations and land use, and natural
variability on sustainability of wildlife
populations. In FY 2004, EPA will deliver
the methodology to evaluate population-level
effects of pesticides on wildlife and aquatic
species.
Finally, EPA will continue research in
biotechnology and draw on its expertise in
risk assessment to evaluate current
methodology and, where necessary, develop
new methods or new approaches to risk
assessment of biotechnology products.
Special areas of focus in biotechnology will
be risk communication, monitoring,
ecological assessment, and risk management
to develop effective strategies to mitigate
risks when unintended adverse consequences
occur and to advance the application of socio-
economic methods to better understand issues
related to public acceptance of genetically
modified products.
External Factors
The ability of the Agency to achieve its
strategic goals and objectives depends on
several factors over which the Agency has
only partial control or influence. EPA relies
heavily on partnerships with States, Tribes,
local governments, the public and regulated
parties to protect the environment and human
health. In addition, EPA assures the safe use
of pesticides in coordination with the USDA
and FDA, who have responsibility to monitor
and control residues and other environmental
exposures, as necessary. EPA also works
with these agencies to coordinate with other
countries and international organizations with
which the United States shares environmental
goals. This plan discusses the mechanisms
and programs that the Agency employs to
assure that our partners in environmental
protection will have the capacity to conduct
the activities needed to achieve the objectives.
However, as noted, EPA often has limited
control over these entities. In addition, much
of the success of EPA programs depends on
the voluntary cooperation of the private sector
and the general public.
Other factors that could delay or prevent
the Agency's achievement of some objectives
4-15
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Goal 4: Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in
Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems
include lawsuits that delay or stop EPA's
and/or State partners' planned activities, new
or amended legislation, and new
commitments within the Administration.
Economic growth and changes in producer
and consumer behavior, such as shifts in
energy prices or automobile use, could have
an influence on the Agency's ability to
achieve several of the objectives within the
specified.
Large-scale accidental releases or rare
catastrophic natural events could, in the short
term, impact EPA's ability to achieve the
objectives. In the longer term, new
environmental technology, unanticipated
complexity or magnitude of environmental
problems, or newly identified environmental
problems and priorities could affect the
timeframe for achieving many of the goals
and objectives. In particular, pesticide use is
affected by unanticipated outbreaks of pest
infestations and/or disease factors, which
require EPA to review emergency uses to
ensure no unreasonable risks to the
environment will result. EPA has no control
over requests for various registration actions
which include among others, new products,
amendments, and uses, so its projection of
regulatory workload is subject to change.
The Agency's ability to achieve its
objective of facilitating prevention, reduction
and recycling of Persistent, Bioaccumulative,
and Toxic chemicals (PBTs) could be
impacted by the increased flexibility provided
to redirect resources under the National
Environmental Performance Partnership
System (NEPPS). If States redirect resources
away from this area, it would impact both
annual performance and progress
implementing the Agency's strategic plan. To
mitigate this potential issue, EPA is working
with the Environmental Council of States
(ECOS) to develop core measures and
coordinating with States to reduce PBTs in
hazardous waste and develop tools that will
focus State activities on shared EPA and State
goals.
Achieving our objective for Indian
country is based upon a partnership with
Indian Tribal governments, many of which
face severe poverty, employment, housing
and education issues. Because Tribal Leader
and environmental director support will be
critical in achieving this objective, the
Agency is working with Tribes to ensure that
they understand the importance of having
good information on environmental
conditions in Indian country and sound
environmental capabilities. In addition, EPA
also works with other Federal Agencies, the
Department of Interior (US Geological
Survey, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Bureau
of Reclamation), the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, the Indian
Health Service and the Corps of Engineers to
help build programs on Tribal lands.
Changing priorities in these agencies could
impact their ability to work with EPA in
establishing and implementing strategies,
regulations, guidance, programs and projects
that affect Indian Tribes.
4-16
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Goal 5:
Better Waste Management,
Restoration of Contaminated
Waste Sites, and Emergency
Response
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Goal 5: Better Waste Management, Restoration of
Contaminated Waste Sites, and Emergency Response
Strategic Goal: America's wastes will be stored, treated, and disposed of in ways that prevent
harm to people and the natural environment. EPA will work to clean up previously polluted
sites, restore them to uses appropriate for surrounding communities, and respond to and prevent
waste-related or industrial accidents.
Resource Summary
($ in 000)
^^v
24.2% of Budget
Control Risks from Contaminated
Sites and Respond to Emergencies
Regulate Facilities to Prevent
Releases
FY 2003
President's
Budget
$1,544,250
$167,261
$1,711,511
FY2004
President's
Request
$1,679,931
$166,704
$1,846,635
Difference
$135,681
-$557
$135,124
Workyears
4,500.2
4,556.6
56.4
Background and Context
Improper management of wastes can lead
to serious health threats from exposure to
contaminated air, soil, and water, and as a
result of fires and explosions. Likewise,
improper waste management and disposal can
pose threats to those living in nearby
communities and can result in costly
cleanups. One of the Agency's strategic goals
is to ensure proper waste management and
disposal to protect people and the
environment from unacceptable risk posed by
improper waste management. In FY 2004,
EPA will continue to promote safe waste
storage, treatment, and disposal, cleanup
active and inactive waste disposal sites, and
help prevent the release of oil and chemicals,
including radioactive waste, into the
environment. Additionally, the Brownfields
program, a top environmental priority for this
Administration, will continue to sustain and
develop effective partnerships with States,
Tribes, and localities in order to revitalize and
restore Brownfields properties. The Agency
will also continue to prepare to respond to
small and large-scale disasters, one of EPA's
traditional responsibilities.
5-1
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Goal 5: Better Waste Management, Restoration of
Contaminated Waste Sites, and Emergency Response
Means and Strategy
EPA and its partners will continue their
efforts to achieve this goal by promoting
better waste management, cleaning up
contaminated waste sites, and preventing
waste-related or industrial accidents. To date,
EPA and its partners have made significant
progress toward achieving its cleanup and
prevention objectives that address human
health and the environment at thousands of
Superfund, Brownfields, Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA),
underground storage tank (UST), and oil sites.
Brought together by a common interest to
protect our health and the environment, EPA
and its partners have established an effective
structure to manage the nation's hazardous
and solid wastes. EPA's strategy is to apply
the fastest, most effective waste management
and cleanup methods available, while
involving affected communities in the
decision-making process. The Agency will
employ enforcement efforts to further assist in
reducing risks to people from hazardous
waste exposure.
In FY 2004, EPA will maintain its focus
on three themes in achieving its objectives:
• Revitalization: The Agency is moving in
a new strategic direction with the broad
promotion of the successes of the
Brownfields program and other waste
programs in restoring contaminated lands.
Revitalization complements the Agency's
traditional cleanup programs, leading to
faster, more efficient cleanups; and
benefits communities through productive
economic and green space reuse of
properties.
• One Cleanup Program: Through the "One
Cleanup Program" the Agency is looking
across its programs to bring consistency
and enhanced effectiveness to site
cleanups. The Agency will work with its
partners and stakeholders to enhance
coordination, planning and
communication across the full range of
Federal, State, Tribal and local cleanup
programs. This effort will improve the
pace, efficiency and effectiveness of site
cleanups, as well as more fully integrate
land reuse and continued use into cleanup
programs. The Agency will promote
development of information technologies
required to present waste site cleanup and
revitalization information in ways that
enable greater access and understanding
by the public and stakeholders. Finally,
the Agency will develop environmental
outcome performance measures that
report progress among all cleanup
programs, such as the number of acres
available for reuse resulting from its site
cleanup programs. A crucial element to
this effort is a national dialogue, currently
underway, on the future of Superfund and
other EPA waste cleanup programs.
• Recycling, Waste Minimization and
Energy Recovery: Promotion of
recycling, waste minimization and energy
recovery for both hazardous and non-
hazardous wastes.
Revitalization
To address the theme of revitalization,
EPA is requesting $210,754,100 to continue
implementation of the Small Business
Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization and Environmental Restoration
5-2
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Goal 5: Better Waste Management, Restoration of
Contaminated Waste Sites, and Emergency Response
Act (Public Law 107-118). This includes an
increase of $10 million to provide assistance
to States and Tribes to develop and enhance
their State and Tribal response programs, a
priority in the Agency's efforts to reuse and
redevelop properties. Brownfields are real
property, the expansion, redevelopment, or
reuse of which may be complicated by the
presence or potential presence of a hazardous
substance, pollutant, or contaminant and they
are not traditional Superfund sites. Generally,
Brownfields are not highly contaminated and,
therefore, present lesser health risks.
Economic changes over several decades have
left thousands of communities with these
contaminated properties and abandoned sites.
This legislation promotes Brownfield
redevelopment by providing financial
assistance for assessment and cleanup,
reforming Superfund liability, and enhancing
State response programs. EPA implements
the Brownfields program with other Federal
agencies, States, Tribes, local governments,
the private sector and non-profit
organizations.
EPA is committed to integrating the
concept of revitalization and reuse into the
process of cleaning up abandoned, inactive
and contaminated waste sites, active and
closing Federal facilities, and other properties.
An essential element of the assessment and
cleanup of contaminated property, whether
they are Brownfields, Superfund, RCRA
Corrective Action, Base Realignment and
Closure, Federal facilities or Underground
Storage Tanks, is the ultimate goal of
revitalizing and reusing that property.
Assessment and cleanup provide clear
environmental benefits in mitigating exposure
to hazardous contaminants and reuse of these
properties can improve the quality of life in
America's communities and reduce sprawl.
Building upon the Agency's recent successes
in this area, EPA's waste cleanup programs
will actively seek out opportunities to
leverage public or private investment, create
jobs associated with cleanup and reuse, and
increase the overall acreage reused. The
RCRA corrective action program continues to
emphasize redevelopment of RCRA
corrective action sites to prevent these
properties from becoming brownfields
(unused or underused property due to real or
perceived concerns regarding hazardous
waste contamination).
Superfund
The Superfund program works with
States, Tribes, local governments, and other
Federal agencies to protect human health and
the environment and to restore sites to uses
appropriate for nearby communities. Many of
the nation's largest and most technically
complex contaminated properties including
abandoned, private, and Federal facilities are
cleaned up by the Superfund program. Site
assessment is the first step in determining
whether a site meets the criteria for placement
on the National Priorities List (NPL) or for
removal action to prevent, minimize or
mitigate significant threats. When a site is
placed on the NPL it becomes eligible for a
fund-financed cleanup. The Agency also
provides outreach and education to the
surrounding communities to improve their
understanding of potential site risks, such as
risks posed by radioactive materials, and to
promote direct involvement in every phase of
the cleanup process.
The Administration has conducted a
Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART)
5-3
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Goal 5: Better Waste Management, Restoration of
Contaminated Waste Sites, and Emergency Response
evaluation of the Superfund removal program.
While the program initiates and cleans up
numerous sites around the country every year,
the benefit to human health and the
environment could not be clearly measured.
EPA and Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) will continue to develop outcome
measures that test the link between the
activities of the program and their impact on
human health and the environment.
RCRA Corrective Action
The RCRA corrective action program
addresses a significant number of industrial
sites, including Federally-owned facilities.
Administered by EPA and authorized States,
these sites include some of the most
intractable and controversial cleanup projects
in the country. Approximately 3,500
industrial facilities must undergo a cleanup
under the RCRA program. Of these facilities,
EPA and State partners have identified over
1,700 facilities as high priority because
people or ecosystems are likely to be at
significant current or future risk. As evidence
of success in meeting this challenge, EPA and
the States have now documented that both
exposure to contamination and further
migration of contaminated groundwater have
been controlled at over 700 of the 1,700 high
priority facilities. The RCRA program has
fully embraced the Agency's One Cleanup
Program initiative designed to improve cross-
program coordination between EPA and
States to make protective cleanup and
revitalization of contaminated sites more
effective and efficient.
Underground Storage Tanks
In partnership with the States, the Agency
prevents releases, detects releases early in the
event that they occur, and addresses leaks
from Federally regulated underground storage
tanks (USTs) containing petroleum and
hazardous substances. The strategy for
preventing, detecting releases, and addressing
leaks is to promote and enforce petroleum
management controls through compliance and
technical assistance with the regulatory
requirements in order to protect our nation's
groundwater and drinking water. In 2004, the
Agency will celebrate the 20th anniversary of
the enactment of RCRA Subtitle I,
acknowledging the problem of leaking
underground storage tanks and the beginning
of the Federal UST program. While the vast
majority of the approximately 698,000 active
USTs have the proper equipment per Federal
regulation, significant work remains to be
done to ensure UST owners and operators
properly maintain and operate their systems.
The Agency's primary role is to work with
States to promote compliance with the leak
detection, spill, overfill, and corrosion
protection requirements, ensure that
compliance with these requirements are a
national priority, and reduce the number of
confirmed UST releases. This encompasses
compliance for all Federally regulated UST
systems, including those on private and public
property, in Indian Country, and Federal
facilities. The Agency has primary
responsibility for implementing the UST
program in Indian Country.
The Leaking Underground Storage Tank
(LUST) program will continue to work with
the States and the regulated community to
promote rapid and effective responses to
5-4
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Goal 5: Better Waste Management, Restoration of
Contaminated Waste Sites, and Emergency Response
releases from USTs containing petroleum.
EPA plays a key role in implementing the
national LUST program, supporting the
management of State, local, and Tribal
enforcement and response capability, as well
as sharing lessons learned with State
regulators and the regulated community to
increase cleanup accomplishments. The
Agency's highest priority in the LUST
program over the next several years is to
address approximately 143,000 cleanups that
have yet to be completed. EPA's LUST
program will accomplish this by
implementing innovative approaches to
corrective action, such as multi-site cleanup
agreements and performance-based
contracting. The LUST program will
continue to help States address fuel
oxygenates, such as methyl-tertiary-butyl-
ether (MTBE) contamination and tertiary
butyl alcohol (TEA). States are discovering
these contaminants increasingly, and are
concerned about the unique and often difficult
remediation challenges. The Agency will also
continue to work with other Federal partners
and States to help communities set priorities
for addressing petroleum high priority sites.
In an effort to make every environmental
dollar count, the Administration has
conducted a PART evaluation of the LUST
program. The tool showed that EPA was
quickly cleaning up the backlog of leaking
tanks, but that the benefit to human health and
the environment could not be clearly
measured. Just as with the Superfund
program, EPA and OMB will continue to
develop outcome measures that test the link
between the activities of the program and
their impact on human health and the
environment.
Recycling, Waste Minimization, and
Energy Recovery
In support of the recycling, waste
minimization, and energy recovery theme, the
RCRA program will focus on minimizing risk
by advancing the nation's ability to manage
materials and waste in an environmentally
sound and cost-effective manner. The
fundamental goal of RCRA is the recovery
and conservation of energy and materials that
would otherwise be discarded. However,
industrial secondary materials largely remain
untapped resources for such recovery. In
2004, the Resource Conservation Challenge
(RCC) will provide greater regulatory
flexibility and promote opportunities for
converting waste to future energy and focus
on resource conservation through efficient
materials management. EPA will continue its
comprehensive review of its waste
management programs and regulations
regarding hazardous and non-hazardous waste
recycling, waste minimization, and energy
recovery practices. The review will identify
opportunities to further the goal of resource
conservation and recovery, while remaining
true to the mission of ensuring safe and
protective waste management practices.
These efforts will include increased beneficial
use of the over 100 million tons of coal
combustion residues produced each year -
saving resources and reducing green house
gas emissions. The Agency will also be
looking to obtain energy from wastes through
a variety of mechanisms: gas generation at
bioreactor municipal landfills, waste
gasification, and co-firing of wastes in power
generation units. In addition, the Agency will
partner with industry to identify innovative
methods for recovering petroleum and
reducing waste in the refinery industry.
5-5
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Goal 5: Better Waste Management, Restoration of
Contaminated Waste Sites, and Emergency Response
Other elements of the Better Waste
Management goal are associated with the
promotion of safe waste management
practices, which serve to help avoid future
cleanup and redevelopment burdens. For
facilities that currently manage hazardous
wastes, EPA and the authorized States help
ensure human health and environmental
protection through the issuance of RCRA
hazardous waste permits. The RCRA
program works primarily through State
partners to reduce the risks of exposures to
dangerous hazardous wastes by maintaining a
"cradle-to-grave" waste management
framework. Under this framework, EPA and
the States oversee the handling, transport,
treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous
waste. To date, 48 States, Guam, and the
District of Columbia are authorized to issue
permits.
In FY 2004, EPA will continue efforts to
reassess hazardous waste regulations
applicable to priority sectors and processes,
such as process wastewater and other waste
treatment residues. The goals will be to
determine if current hazardous waste listings
provide the correct level of protection and
whether less costly, more efficient
management approaches that provide
equivalent protection of human health and the
environment exist.
Chemical Emergency Preparedness and
Prevention
The Agency's chemical emergency
preparedness and prevention program
addresses some of the risks associated with
the manufacture, transportation, storage and
use of hazardous chemicals to prevent and
mitigate chemical releases. The program also
implements right-to-know initiatives to
inform the public about chemical hazards and
encourages actions at the local level to reduce
risk. Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act
requires an estimated 15,000 facilities to
develop comprehensive risk management
plans (RMPs) and submit them to EPA, State
agencies, and Local Emergency Planning
Committees. States are best suited to
implement the RMP program because they
benefit directly from its success.
Oil Spill Program
The Oil Spill Program prevents, prepares
for, responds to, and monitors oil spills as
mandated and authorized in the Clean Water
Act and Oil Pollution Act of 1990. EPA
protects U.S. waterways through oil spill
prevention, preparedness, and enforcement
compliance. There are 465,000 non-
transportation-related oil storage facilities that
EPA regulates. When necessary, the Agency
undertakes oil spill response in the inland
zone, which is then funded through a
reimbursable agreement with the U.S. Coast
Guard.
Tribes and Alaska Native Villages
Finally, the Agency has established
performance objectives specific to Indian
Tribes and Alaska Native Villages. These
objectives stress waste prevention and
cleanup and assistance to Tribes. To meet
these objectives, EPA will identify Tribal
needs, support and promote the involvement
of Tribes in implementation activities, and
control risks in Indian Country through
assessment and clean up of contaminated sites
in consultation and partnership with Tribes.
5-6
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Goal 5: Better Waste Management, Restoration of
Contaminated Waste Sites, and Emergency Response
Homeland Security
Responding to small and large-scale
disasters is one of EPA's traditional
responsibilities. The Agency's crucial role in
responding to the World Trade Center and
Pentagon attacks, and the decontamination of
anthrax at Capitol Hill, have further defined
the nation's expectations of EPA's emergency
response capabilities. The Agency will
continue to play a unique role in responding
to and preparing for future terrorist incidents,
which could possibly be more devastating in
scale and nature than those of September 11,
2001. Potential future terrorist events could
affect the lives of millions of Americans and
devastate the economy. The FY 2004
President's Budget includes targeted
investments to strengthen the Agency's
readiness and response capabilities, including
the establishment of a "decontamination
team," state-of-the-art equipment and highly
specialized training for On Scene
Coordinators (OSCs).
Research
The FY 2004 waste research program
supports the Agency's objective of reducing
or controlling potential risks to human health
and the environment at contaminated waste
sites by accelerating scientifically-defensible
and cost-effective decisions for cleanup at
complex sites, mining sites, marine spills, and
Brownfields in accordance with CERCLA.
The Agency will conduct research to: 1)
provide improved methods and dose-response
models for estimating risks from complex
mixtures contaminating soils and
groundwater; 2) provide improved methods
for measuring, monitoring, and characterizing
complex waste sites in terms of soils and
groundwater; 3) develop more reliable
technologies for cleanup of contaminated
soils, groundwater, and sediments; and
4) determine the effects of contaminants on
the environment. In addition, EPA will
conduct research as well as provide guidance
and technical support for Federal, State and
local governments and other institutions in the
area of building decontamination.
Waste identification, waste management,
and combustion constitute the three major
areas of research under Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in
FY 2004, as the Agency works towards
preventing releases through proper facility
management. Waste identification research
will focus on multimedia, multi-pathway
exposure modeling and environmental fate
and transport; physical estimation in support
of risk-based exemption levels for wastes;
development of targeted exemptions of waste
streams that do not pose unacceptable risks;
and efforts to streamline the waste de-listing
process. These efforts could significantly
reduce compliance costs while still supporting
EPA's mission to protect human health and
the environment. Waste management research
will focus on developing more cost-effective
ways to manage/recycle non-hazardous
wastes and will examine other remediation
technologies, while combustion research will
continue to focus on characterizing and
controlling emissions from bioreactors and
industrial combustion systems.
Several mechanisms are in place to ensure
a high-quality waste research program at
EPA. The Research Strategies Advisory
Committee (RSAC) of EPA's Science
Advisory Board (SAB), an independent
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Goal 5: Better Waste Management, Restoration of
Contaminated Waste Sites, and Emergency Response
chartered Federal Advisory Committee Act
(FACA) committee, meets annually to
conduct an in-depth review and analysis of
EPA's Science and Technology account. The
RSAC provides its findings to the House
Science Committee and sends a written report
on the findings to EPA's Administrator after
every annual review. Moreover, EPA's
Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC)
provides counsel to the Assistant
Administrator for the Office of Research and
Development (ORD) on the operation of
ORD's research program. Also, under the
Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program
all research projects are selected for funding
through a rigorous competitive external peer
review process designed to ensure that only
the highest quality efforts receive funding
support. Our scientific and technical work
products must also undergo either internal or
external peer review, with major or significant
products requiring external peer review. The
Agency's Peer Review Handbook (2nd
Edition) codifies procedures and guidance for
conducting peer review.
Highlights
In FY 2004, EPA and State cleanup
actions will help protect human health by
reducing the effects of uncontrolled releases
on local populations and sensitive
environments. The Agency will build on past
successes in cleaning up sites. The following
accomplishments provide examples of what
has been done by the Agency to achieve its
goal:
• Conducted over 7,300 removal response
actions from 1982 through December 29,
2002:
• Completed clean up construction at 846
Superfund National Priorities List Sites
through December 29, 2002;
• Over 800 of approximately 1,700 high
priority RCRA sites targeted for
aggressive risk reduction have met GPRA
Environmental Indicator goals;
• 79% of approximately 2,750 hazardous
waste management facilities have
effective controls in place;
• Responded to or monitored 300 oil spills
in a typical year;
• Completed 284,602 cleanups of confirmed
releases from Federally-regulated leaking
underground storage tanks since 1987;
• Assessed over 44,400 potential Superfund
sites through December 29, 2002;
• Removed more than 33,100 sites from the
Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Information
System (CERCLIS) waste site list;
• Secured approximately $20.6 billion in
PRP commitments, through response and
cost recovery settlements, over the life of
the Superfund program;
• Resolved potential liability of 27,000
small volume waste contributing parties
through more than 500 de minimis
settlements;
• Awarded 50 UST field pilots to States
and/or Tribes through cooperative
agreements to assess and cleanup
abandoned or underutilized Federally-
regulated leaking underground storage
tanks to prepare these sites for subsequent
revitalization.
5-8
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Goal 5: Better Waste Management, Restoration of
Contaminated Waste Sites, and Emergency Response
• Five ongoing RCRA Brownfields
Prevention Pilots; and
• Awarded 437 Brownfields assessment
grants, over 143 Brownfields cleanup
revolving loan fund grants, and 57 job
training grants through December 2002.
In FY 2004, EPA's goal is to complete
construction at 40 private and Federal
Superfund sites and take action to address
contamination at 350 sites using removal
authorities. In addition, EPA and its partners
will make final site assessment decisions on
475 additional sites.
EPA is requesting a funding increase of
$150 million for Superfund cleanup
construction. These resources will allow
cleanup construction to begin at 10 to 15
additional sites that otherwise would not be
funded. Priority for funding will be given to
projects at sites where actual or potential
human exposures to contaminants are not
controlled, and at sites where EPA can
achieve construction completion during FY
2005 and 2006.
In FY 2004, the Superfund redevelopment
initiative will facilitate the return of additional
Superfund sites to productive reuse. To date
over 330 Superfund sites have been recycled
for numerous purposes. At these sites, more
than 60,000 acres are now in ecological or
recreational use. Approximately 15,500 jobs,
representing approximately $500 million in
annual income, are located at sites that have
been recycled for commercial use.
Through the Federal Oil Spill Program,
EPA will continue to prevent, respond to, and
monitor oil spills that occur in the waters of
the United States and adjoining shorelines.
Over 24,000 spills are reported annually while
approximately half are in the inland zone,
which is under EPA's jurisdiction. EPA
typically responds to and monitors the work
of responsible parties at approximately 300
significant spills a year. To reduce the risk of
hazardous exposure to people and the
environment, the Agency aims to prevent oil
spills from occurring, prepare for oil spills
that do occur, and respond to and monitor
spills when necessary.
EPA played a crucial role in response to
the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,
particularly, through its emergency response
program. In FY 2004, the Agency will
improve its ability to respond effectively to
terrorist-related chemical, biological, and
radiological incidents. These enhancements
will be achieved through continued
improvement of national coordination and
decision-making for large-scale incidents;
improved field response capabilities in EPA
Regions through better-trained responders and
improved specialized equipment; improved
capabilities of National Response System
(NRS) special forces such as the
Environmental Response Team (ERT) and the
National Decontamination ("Decon") Team;
and improved coordination with and
enhancement of other response agencies.
Reducing chemical accidents is vital to
ensure that communities are not exposed to
hazardous materials. The Agency continues
its efforts to help States and Local Emergency
Planning Committees implement the risk
management plan (RMP) program. EPA
continues to make steady progress in this area
and in FY 2004, it will delegate the program
to eight additional States for a cumulative
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Goal 5: Better Waste Management, Restoration of
Contaminated Waste Sites, and Emergency Response
total of twenty. To reach this goal, EPA will
provide technical assistance grants, technical
support, outreach, and training to State and
local emergency planning committees.
Through these activities, States, local
communities and individuals will be better
prepared to prevent and prepare for chemical
accidents.
The EPA Brownfields program
coordinates a Federal, State, Tribal, and local
government approach to assist in addressing
environmental site assessment and cleanup.
In FY 2004 the Brownfields program will
provide $29 million in funding and technical
support for 126 assessments. These
assessments provide States (including U.S.
territories), political subdivisions (including
cities, towns, and counties), and Federally
recognized Tribes with necessary tools,
information, and strategies for promoting a
unified approach to environmental site
assessment, characterization, and
redevelopment. Cumulative benefits derived
from this effort will include leveraging a total
of $6.7 billion in cleanup and redevelopment
funds and assessing 5,800 sites through
FY2004. In addition, the Agency and its
Federal partners will continue to support the
existing 28 showcase communities which
serve as models to demonstrate the benefits of
interagency cooperative efforts in addressing
environmental and economic issues related to
Brownfields. The showcase communities
capitalize on a multi-agency partnership
designed to provide a wide range of support
depending on the particular needs of each
community. The Agency will continue to
provide technology support to localities,
States and Tribes to ensure that the most
efficient and effective technologies are used
for Brownfields site assessment, cleanup, and
monitoring.
EPA will use approximately $30.3 million
for the assessment and cleanup of abandoned
underground storage tanks (USTs) and other
petroleum contamination found on
Brownfields properties. With these funds,
EPA will support assessment and cleanup of
petroleum contamination in 50 Brownfields
communities.
To further enhance a community's
capacity to respond to Brownfields
redevelopment, the Agency will also provide
$41.5 million in funding to capitalize
Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Funds
(BCRLF) and cleanup grants for 70
communities. All communities with
Brownfields properties are eligible to apply.
The Agency will also provide $60 million
for States and Indian Tribes to establish or
enhance their voluntary response programs.
Legislation also permits the recipients to
capitalize revolving loan funds, purchase
insurance or develop risk sharing pools, or
indemnity pools, under State response
program.
To augment the communities' capacities
to clean up Brownfields sites, EPA will fund
12 job training grants for community
residents and will provide $3 million to the
National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS) to supplement its minority
worker training programs that focus on
Brownfields workforce development
activities. This will result in a cumulative
total of 79 job-training grants, resulting in the
training of almost 1,200 participants since
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Goal 5: Better Waste Management, Restoration of
Contaminated Waste Sites, and Emergency Response
1998 and an annual average of 65% job
placement.
In addition, EPA will continue to explore
connections between RCRA low-priority
corrective action efforts and cleanup of
brownfields properties.
In FY 2004, 180 additional high priority
RCRA facilities will have current human
exposures under control and 150 additional
high priority RCRA facilities will have
migration of contaminated groundwater under
control. To achieve these environmental
indicators, the Agency has improved the pace
of cleanups by carrying out a series of
administrative reforms including piloting
innovative approaches, connecting
communities to cleanups and reducing delays
in the review o cleanup workplans. The
reforms successfully established an
environment for program implementers to be
innovative and results-oriented by promoting
faster, focused, more flexible cleanups. The
Agency developed these reforms with input
from States, industry and environmental
organizations to accomplish the following
objectives: pilot innovative approaches;
accelerate the changing culture; connect
communities to cleanups; and capitalize on
redevelopment potential.
In FY 2004, the RCRA hazardous waste
permits program will have permits or other
approved controls in place for 79% of the
hazardous waste management facilities (out of
a baseline of approximately 2,750 facilities).
Securing approved controls in place at
facilities minimizes the threat of exposure to
hazardous substances because the RCRA
program's comprehensive framework
regulates the handling, transport, treatment,
storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. In
addition, the program is in the early stages of
developing an electronic media component,
which would complement the proposed
standardized permit process. E-permitting
will expedite and simplify the permitting
process and provide better public access to
permitting information.
As the maximum achievable control
technology (MACT) standards for hazardous
waste incinerators and kilns are implemented,
emissions of dioxins, furans, toxic metals,
acid gases and particulate matter from these
sources will be reduced. These efforts are
intended to further reduce the indirect
exposure to hazardous constituents in
emissions, especially to children. In 2001 the
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the
Phase I MACT standards. In response to this
action, EPA agreed to issue replacement
standards for the Phase I facilities by June 14,
2005. In addition, in a separate action, EPA
agreed to finalize emission standards for the
Phase II facilities (hazardous waste burning
boilers and hydrochloric acid production
furnaces) by the same date.
Based on EPA's minimum national
standards for municipal solid waste (MSW),
States regulate landfill practices. The Agency
worked with States to review the national
standards. The Agency is currently initiating
regulatory revisions to provide additional
flexibility so that compliance is less costly
and easier to achieve.
The ability of EPA's LUST program to
meet cleanup performance goals has become
more difficult because States are overseeing
the cleanup of more complicated sites.
Methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (MTBE)
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Goal 5: Better Waste Management, Restoration of
Contaminated Waste Sites, and Emergency Response
contamination of releases from Federally
regulated underground storage tanks is a
significant contributor to hindering the
completion of LUST cleanups. For example,
MTBE contamination has already closed
down public water systems, complicating and
retarding the cleanup of LUST sites in Santa
Monica, California; Long Island, New York;
Pascoag, Rhode Island; and Hopkins, South
Carolina. EPA has provided technical and
financial support to these sites in order to
identify lessons learned that could be used at
other MTBE contaminated sites nationwide.
In FY 2004, the Agency will continue to
provide funds to States for pilots to address
the cleanup of complicated sites (e.g., those
contaminated with MTBE or other
oxygenates). To date, the Agency's criteria
for providing funding has included the risk
posed, the need, and the extent of the
problem. The existing pilots were chosen
because they have multiple sources and
widespread contamination, are complicated to
remediate; have affected entire community
drinking water supplies, and the lessons
learned will help other States nationwide.
Sites contaminated with MTBE are often
more complicated, difficult, time-consuming,
and expensive to assess and remediate than
sites contaminated only with petroleum
hydrocarbons. Reasons for this include:
• MTBE typically creates longer plumes
than petroleum hydrocarbons, they
typically "dive" beneath the water table;
• MTBE is less amenable to conventional
remediation/treatment technologies used
for petroleum hydrocarbons because
multiple technologies often must be
combined and regular operation and
maintenance conducted more frequently;
• MTBE plumes are resistant to
biodegradation in most subsurface
environments which can significantly
extend remediation timeframes and may
force the use of more expensive
remediation/treatment technologies;
• In many instances, MTBE plumes aren't
discovered until a drinking water supply
has been impacted. Often alternate water
supplies are necessary (which are
expensive) and remediation/treatment is
more expensive and time-consuming
because the contaminated area is so large;
and
• Degradation products of MTBE (e.g.,
TEA, and TBF) are themselves toxic and
must be remediated/treated as well.
The Agency aims to promote LUST
cleanups and reduce the backlog of 143,000
releases for which cleanups have not been
completed. The Agency will continue to
perform its oversight responsibilities,
strengthen partnerships among stakeholders,
and provide technical assistance and training
to improve and expedite corrective action at
LUST sites. The Agency will also identify
and foster the implementation of innovative
approaches, such as multi-site cleanup
agreements and performance-based
contracting to achieve its LUST program
objectives. UST owners and operators
undertake nearly all cleanups under the
supervision of State or local agencies. The
Agency oversees these activities in Indian
Country. Better oversight and quicker action
can reduce the costs of cleaning up MTBE
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Goal 5: Better Waste Management, Restoration of
Contaminated Waste Sites, and Emergency Response
contamination, which can cost up to 100%
more than a cleanup involving the typical
gasoline contaminants. In turn fewer
communities and individuals, including those
in Indian Country, will lose their drinking
water supplies.
Research
In FY 2004, contaminated sites research
will be conducted to: 1) reduce uncertainties
associated with soil/groundwater sampling
and analysis; 2) reduce the time and cost
associated with site characterization and site
remediation activities; 3) evaluate the
magnitude of the risks posed by contaminants
to human health and the ecosystem as well as
the contributions of multiple exposure
pathways, the bioavailability of absorbed
contaminants and treatment residuals, and the
toxicological properties of contaminant
mixtures; and 4) develop and demonstrate
more effective and less costly remediation
technologies involving complex sites and
hard-to-treat wastes. The Superfund
Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE)
program fosters the development and use of
lower cost and more effective characterization
and monitoring technologies and risk
management remediation technologies for
sediments, soils, and groundwater. Other
proposed work will enhance and accelerate
current contaminated sediments research
efforts, providing the data needed to make
and support crucial decisions on high impact
and high visibility sites.
Waste management research in FY 2004
will support the Hazardous Waste
Identification Rule (HWIR), a risk-based
approach for deli sting wastes, and study
improved ways to minimize waste releases
and impacts. Additionally, waste
management research will be conducted to
improve the management of both solid and
hazardous wastes. New research on ground-
water surface-water (gw/sw) interactions will
also be initiated in FY 2004.
External Factors
There are a number of external factors that
could substantially impact the Agency's
ability to achieve the outlined objectives
under this goal. These include reliance on
private party response and State partnerships,
development of new environmental
technology, work by other Federal agencies,
and statutory barriers.
The Agency's ability to achieve its goals
for Superfund construction completion is to a
limited extent dependent upon the
performance of cleanup activities by other
Federal agencies, such as the Department of
Defense (DOD) and the Department of
Energy (DOE). In addition to the
construction completion goal, the Agency
must rely on the efforts of DOD and DOE to
establish and maintain the Restoration
Advisory Boards (RABs)/Site Specific
Advisory Boards (SSABs). RABs and
SSABs provide a forum for stakeholders to
offer advice and recommendations on the
restoration of Federal Facilities. There are
other EPA goals that rely on activities with
other entities, such as PRP negotiations and
agreements with States and Tribes.
For the RCRA program, the Agency's
ability to achieve its release prevention and
cleanup goals is heavily dependent on State
participation. In most cases, States have
received authorization (hazardous waste
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Goal 5: Better Waste Management, Restoration of
Contaminated Waste Sites, and Emergency Response
management program) or approval (municipal
solid waste landfill permit program) and are
primary implementers of these programs. As
such, EPA relies on States to perform many of
the activities needed to achieve these targets.
State programs are also primarily responsible
for implementing the UST/LUST program.
The Agency's ability to achieve its goals is
dependent on the strength of State programs
and State funding levels. The Agency will
build upon its commitment to provide States
and Tribes with technical support and
incentives to meet national LUST cleanup
targets. Technical support and incentives
range from promoting multi-site cleanup
agreements, conducting MTBE cleanup
pilots, developing a MTBE clearinghouse,
and providing other tools, such as
performance-based contracting, to help States
and Tribes achieve faster, less expensive, and
more effective LUST cleanups.
For the risk management program, the
Agency recognizes that accident prevention
and preparedness are inherently local
activities. To succeed, the program relies
upon the commitment and accomplishments
of the various stakeholders, including industry
and State and local governments. EPA's
success under the RMP will depend upon the
willingness and ability of stakeholders to
deliver on the commitments and obligations
in their plans.
5-14
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Goal 6:
Reduction of Global & Cross-
Border Environmental Risks
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Goal 6: Reduction of Global and Cross-Border
Environmental Risks
Strategic Goal: The United States will lead other nations in successful, multilateral efforts to
reduce significant risks to human health and ecosystems from climate change, stratospheric
ozone depletion, and other hazards of international concern.
Resource Summary
($ in 000)
^^
3.5% of Budget
Reduce Transboundary Threats to Human and
Ecosystem Health in North America.
Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
Reduce Stratospheric Ozone Depletion.
Protect Public Health and Ecosystems from
PBTs and other Toxics.
Increase Domestic and International Use of
Cleaner and More Cost-Effective Technologies.
FY 2003
President's
Budget
$98,186
$136,953
$15,813
$6,174
$12,601
$269,727
FY2004
President's
Request
$89,395
$138,106
$17,540
$6,681
$12,126
$263,848
Difference
-$8,791
$1,152
$1,727
$507
-$475
-$5,880
Workyears
504.7
502.3
-2.4
Background and Context
Many serious environmental risks
transcend political boundaries. Consequently,
protecting human health and the environment
in the United States requires coordination and
cooperation at a multinational level.
Ecosystems, such as the Great Lakes, are
essential to the health and welfare of U.S.
citizens; they are shared by neighboring
countries and can be preserved only through
joint action. Other environmental risks-
related to climate change, arctic
environments, and biodiversity- are global in
scope and can affect the health and welfare of
all those who live in the United States both
directly and indirectly. These and other
threats, unbounded by national borders, need
to be addressed on an international scale.
International environmental management
programs provide important political and
economic benefits. A significant portion of
6-1
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Goal 6: Reduction of Global and Cross-Border
Environmental Risks
EPA's international work fulfills legally
binding treaties, conventions and other
international statutory mandates. Sharing
regulatory and technological expertise helps
the United States, other industrialized nations,
and developing nations achieve development
consistent with the goals of protecting human
health and the environment. As developing
nations progress economically, their use of
sound environmental practices will prevent
the need for costly cleanup and restoration in
the future. In addition, the development of
effective environmental management
practices worldwide, both binding and non-
binding, ensures that developing nations that
otherwise may opt for growth at the expense
of the environment do not competitively
disadvantage U.S. companies.
Means and Strategy
To reduce environmental and human
health risks along the U.S./Mexico Border
and the Great Lakes, EPA employs both
voluntary and regulatory measures. Efforts in
the U.S./Mexico Border Area utilize a series
of workgroups that focus on priority issues
ranging from water infrastructure and
hazardous waste to outreach efforts focusing
on communities and businesses in the border
area. The programs were initially conceived
in a Federal-to-Federal context. Today, it is
clear that in both countries, non-Federal
governments are the appropriate entities for
developing and carrying out much of the work
of protecting the border environment. The
experience of the last six years has shown
U.S. Border States as key participants in
workgroup activities with similar experience
on the Mexico side. In the past year all
Border States have stressed the need for
greater decentralization of environmental
authority, and in FY 1999, States and the
Federal governments agreed to a set of
principles that clarify the roles of the
governments and advance State and tribal
participation. Under the new Border 2012
Plan, which was developed with
SEMARNAP (EPA's Mexican counterpart),
the States and Tribes will play a more
substantial and meaningful role in:
• Determining how Federal border pro-
grams are developed and funded;
• Focusing on developing regional work-
groups that empower border citizens; and
• Ensuring that programs devolve from
Mexico's Federal government to the
Mexican States, with corresponding
funding.
Great Lakes Strategy 2002, developed by
EPA's Great Lakes National Program Office
(GLNPO) and Federal, State, and Tribal
agencies in consultation with the public,
advances U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement implementation. Its long-range
vision for a healthy natural environment
where all beaches are open for swimming, all
fish are safe to eat, and the Lakes are
protected as a safe source of drinking water is
supported by Lakewide Management Plans
(LaMPs) and Remedial Action Plans (RAPs)
for Areas of Concern (AOCs). Progress is
measured through the Integrated Atmospheric
Deposition Network and GLNPO's open
water, fish, and sediments monitoring.
EPA will meet its climate change
objectives by working with both business and
other sectors to deliver multiple benefits -
from cleaner air to lower energy bills - while
6-2
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Goal 6: Reduction of Global and Cross-Border
Environmental Risks
continuing to improve overall scientific
understanding of climate change and its
potential consequences. The core of EPA's
climate change efforts are voluntary
government/industry partnership programs
designed to capitalize on the tremendous
opportunities available to consumers,
businesses, and organizations to make sound
investments in efficient equipment and
practices. These voluntary programs remove
barriers to existing and emerging technologies
in the marketplace, resulting in faster
deployment of energy efficient technology
into the residential, commercial,
transportation, and industrial sectors of the
economy. Through its Clean Automotive
Technology program, EPA develops unique
new technologies with high potential for
improving air quality and reducing energy
consumption. The Agency is working in
partnership with industry to make some of
these technologies commercially available
before the end of the decade. In addition,
EPA works with other key stakeholders in
promoting the development of fuel cell
technology for transportation.
To restore and protect the earth's
stratospheric ozone layer, EPA works both
domestically and internationally to limit the
production and use of ozone-depleting
substances and to develop safe alternative
compounds. EPA also provides education
about the risk of environmental and health
consequences of overexposure to ultraviolet
(UV) radiation.
To address the potential risks associated
with persistent and bioaccumulative
substances and other toxics, the Agency
employs two fundamental approaches. The
first approach seeks to minimize the potential
harmful impacts of circulating toxic
substances through the negotiation and
implementation of specific treaties. The
second approach focuses on the cooperative
efforts of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) and
other international organizations working to
develop harmonized methods for testing and
assessing the toxicity of chemicals, and for
measuring the effects of chemicals to humans
and the environment.
In addition to the specific strategies noted
above, the Agency employs a variety of
means to achieve the environmental
objectives outlined in this goal. These
include:
• Implementing formal bilateral and
multilateral environmental agreements
with key countries, executing
environmental components of key foreign
policy initiatives, and, in partnership with
the Department of State, engaging in
regional and global negotiations aimed at
reducing risks via formal and informal
agreements.
• Working with other countries to ensure
that domestic and international
environmental laws, policies, and
priorities are recognized and
implemented.
• Partnering with other Federal agencies,
States, business, and environmental
groups to promote environmentally
sustainable technologies and services
worldwide.
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Goal 6: Reduction of Global and Cross-Border
Environmental Risks
Research
EPA's Global Change Research Program
provides the knowledge to allow policy
makers to find the most appropriate, science-
based solutions to reduce the potential risks to
human health and ecosystems posed by
climate change.
Several mechanisms are in place to ensure
a high-quality Global Change Research
program at EPA. The Research Strategies
Advisory Committee (RSAC) of EPA's
Science Advisory Board (SAB), an
independent chartered Federal Advisory
Committee Act (FACA) committee, meets
annually to conduct an in-depth review and
analysis of EPA's Science and Technology
account. The RSAC provides its findings to
the House Science Committee and sends a
written report on the findings to EPA's
Administrator after every annual review.
Moreover, EPA's Board of Scientific
Counselors (BOSC) provides counsel to the
Assistant Administrator for the Office of
Research and Development (ORD) on the
operation of ORD's research program. EPA's
scientific and technical work products must
also undergo either internal or external peer
review, with major or significant products
requiring external peer review. The Agency's
Peer Review Handbook (2nd Edition) codifies
procedures and guidance for conducting peer
review.
Highlights
In FY 2004, EPA will use a variety of
approaches to build international cooperation
and technical capacity and to prevent harm to
the global environment and ecosystems we
share with other nations.
The Agency will host representatives of
foreign governments, industry, and Non-
governmental Organizations (NGOs) at the
Agency's Headquarters, Regions, and labs.
The Agency will also share technical
publications and CD-ROMs with developing
countries and provide access to additional
information through technical training
courses, the EPA website, the Spanish
Language Resources site, and other services.
EPA will work directly with other
countries and through multilateral
organizations to share innovative practices for
environmental management and to share
environmental information. These programs
help build environmental management
capacity of developing countries while also
providing reciprocal benefits to U.S. citizens.
These benefits may include: the introduction
of new techniques for managing urban
environments, reduced environmental damage
to the global commons, reduced costs and
effort through data sharing, an increased
demand for U.S. environmental technologies
and services, and the implementation of more
transparent enforcement and permitting
regimes.
U.S./Mexico Border
In FY 2004, EPA, in partnership with the
Mexican Government, State and local
governments, and community organizations,
will implement the Border 2012: US-Mexican
Environment Program that will focus
resources in areas that can most directly lead
to improvements in public health and
environmental conditions in this area. The
Border 2012 Program will transfer to the
States and local communities substantial
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Goal 6: Reduction of Global and Cross-Border
Environmental Risks
responsibility to set priorities and manage
program implementation based on explicit
environment and public health goals and
objectives with measurable outcomes.
Specifically, the Border 2012 Program
will focus on the following: 1) reducing the
effects of the environment on human health;
2) improving air quality; 3) funding
wastewater and drinking water infrastructure
investments in under-served communities; 4)
managing chemical accidents; 5) supporting
pollution prevention programs that will, over
the long term, reduce the adverse health and
environmental effects of pollutants; 6)
reducing and effectively managing hazardous
and solid waste; 7) strengthening bi-national
cooperation between institutions responsible
for enforcing their respective country's
environmental laws; and 8) strengthening
coordination on pesticide activities linking the
work on regulatory harmonization with field
implementation projects to protect field
workers and assure safe food supplies.
Great Lakes
EPA, through the GLNPO, will
coordinate among State, Tribal, and Federal
agencies to implement the Great Lakes
Strategy and measure progress against
quantitative environmental objectives in areas
such as clean-up of AOCs, reduction of fish
contaminants, beach closures, sediment
remediation, wetland restoration, and invasive
species. In FY 2004, if long-term trends
continue, EPA will report a 5 percent decline
in toxics (polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs)
in lake trout and a 7 percent reduction in air
toxic concentrations. EPA will also lead
development of management
recommendations to address Lake Erie
dissolved-oxygen levels, which are
inexplicably low despite U.S. and Canadian
success in achieving phosphorus targets.
In FY 2004, EPA is proposing to increase
funding for sediment clean-up activities in the
Great Lakes by $15 million. Some of these
funds will be needed for assessment and
analysis, which will result in subsequent
cleanups. This first year of funding will also
enable EPA to begin cleanup on two to three
new sites and will lead to the remediation of
over 100,000 cubic yards of contaminated
sediments.
Longer-term objectives in the Great Lakes
Strategy include:
• By 2005, clean up and de-list 3 Areas of
Concern, with a cumulative total of 10 by
2010 out of 43 that have been identified.
• By 2007, reduce concentrations of PCBs
in lake trout and walleye by 25 percent.
• By 2010, 90 percent of monitored Great
Lakes beaches will meet bacteria
standards more than 95 percent of the
swimming season.
• By 2010, substantially reduce further
introductions of invasive species.
• By 2010, restore, enhance, or rehabilitate
100,000 acres of wetlands in the Basin.
• Accelerate the pace of sediment
remediation, leading to the clean up of all
known sites by 2025.
Climate Change
The President's climate change program
builds on the accomplishments of EPA's
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Goal 6: Reduction of Global and Cross-Border
Environmental Risks
voluntary climate programs. EPA's voluntary
climate change programs have made
significant progress to date. However, the
opportunities remain to achieve further
pollution reductions and energy bill savings
from energy efficiency programs and greater
use of cost-effective renewable energy. In the
U.S., energy consumption causes more than
85 percent of the major air emissions such as
NOX, SC>2, and CC>2. At the same time,
American families and businesses spend over
$600 billion each year on energy bills- more
than we spend on education.
In FY 2004, EPA will continue to build
upon its voluntary government/industry
partnership efforts to achieve even greater
greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions by taking
advantage of additional opportunities to
simultaneously reduce pollution and energy
bills. EPA's climate programs help break
down market barriers and foster energy
efficiency programs, products and
technologies, cost effective renewable energy,
and greater transportation choices. A key
example is within the Buildings Sector, which
represents one of the largest areas of potential
emission reduction, and at the same time is
one of its most successful. EPA will continue
to build upon the successful ENERGY STAR
partnerships (including ENERGY STAR
Labeling and the ENERGY STAR Buildings
Program) and work toward the goal of
offsetting about 24 percent of the growth in
GHG emissions above 1990 levels expected
by 2010 in this sector.
In FY 2004, in the voluntary
transportation sector, EPA will further build
the Green Transport Partnership which works
with the trucking and railroad industries to
achieve cleaner and more efficient vehicles
and locomotives by adopting pollution control
and energy saving technologies. This
partnership program is a voluntary effort
aimed at reducing CC>2, NOx, and PM
emissions, and conserving diesel fuel.
In FY 2004, EPA will continue its
successful development of new transportation
technologies that promise even more dramatic
energy-savings. By applying EPA's patented
hydraulic hybrid drivetrain components to a
midsize-car research chassis, the Agency's
Clean Automotive Technology (CAT)
program already has attained a fuel economy
efficiency of more than 80 miles per gallon
(gasoline equivalent). During FY 2002, the
CAT program achieved double-digit
efficiency improvements from hydraulic
hybrid related technologies on a full-size
domestic pickup truck. The urgent focus
continues to be on developing cost effective,
innovative, clean engine and drivetrain
technology for personal vehicle and
commercial trucks and on demonstrating the
application of these ultra-efficient hydraulic
powertrains to personal vehicles such as Sport
Utility Vehicles (SUVs), pickups, and urban
delivery vehicles. By combining these
hydraulic hybrid drivetrain innovations with
developments in engine technology, EPA
anticipates demonstrating 50-70 percent
improvement in the fuel efficiency of a large
SUV or urban delivery truck by 2006, and up
to 100 percent improvement by 2010. With a
predicted market penetration into as much as
50 percent of new light trucks (including
SUVs) by 2020, annual fuel savings would
reach at least 8 billion gallons. In 2020,
emissions from this sector alone would fall by
25 MMTCE.
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Goal 6: Reduction of Global and Cross-Border
Environmental Risks
EPA will continue to work closely with
State and local partners to assess the air
quality, health, and economic benefits of
reducing greenhouse gas emissions and
developing practical risk reduction strategies.
EPA will also establish international
partnerships that will link industrial
efficiency, transportation improvements,
reduction of greenhouse gases, and
sustainable development.
Stratospheric Ozone
To protect the earth's stratospheric ozone
layer in accordance with the United States'
commitment to the Montreal Protocol, EPA
will continue to regulate ozone-depleting
compounds, foster the development and use
of alternative chemicals in the U.S. and
abroad, inform the public about the dangers of
overexposure to UV radiation, and use
pollution prevention strategies to require the
recycling of ozone-depleting substances
(ODS) and hydroflourocarbons.
Toxics and Pollutants
Reduced risks from toxics, especially
persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and
selected metals that circulate in the
environment at global and regional scales,
will be achieved by working with other
countries, within the frameworks established
by international instruments, to control the
production or phase-out from the use of
targeted chemicals. EPA is also working to
reach agreement on import and export
requirements applicable to certain chemicals,
an expansion of pollutant release and transfer
registers and the harmonization of chemical
testing, assessment and labeling procedures.
The goal of international harmonization of
test guidelines is to reduce the burden on
chemical companies of repeated testing in
satisfying the regulatory requirements of
different jurisdictions both within the United
States and internationally. Harmonization
also expands the universe of toxic chemicals
for which needed testing information is
available, and fosters efficiency in
international information exchange and
mutual international acceptance of chemical
test data. EPA will continue to cooperate
closely with other Federal agencies and with
other industrialized nations within the
program framework of the OECD in
harmonizing testing guidelines.
The U.S. is working with other OECD
member countries to implement the
International Screening Information Data Set
(SIDS) program, a voluntary international
cooperative testing program begun in 1990.
The program focuses on developing base-
level test information (including data on basic
chemistry, environmental fate, environmental
effects and health effects) for international
high production volume (HPV) chemicals,
which are chemicals that are manufactured at
one million tons, or 2.2 million pounds,
annually. SIDS data for HPV chemicals will
be made available to the public. SIDS data
will also be used to screen chemicals and to
set priorities for further testing and/or
assessment. The Agency will review testing
needs for 75 SIDS chemicals in FY 2003.
POPs Implementation
In FY 2004, EPA will target resources to:
1) provide technical and financial assistance
to key countries/regions, with an emphasis on
those whose releases most directly affect the
U.S. (e.g., Russia, Central America, and the
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Goal 6: Reduction of Global and Cross-Border
Environmental Risks
Caribbean); 2) address key priorities/areas of
need for each country as well as gaps in
technical and financial assistance; 3)
maximize use of existing bilateral and
regional partnerships, such as the North
American Center for Emergency
Communications (NACEC) and the Arctic
Council, to achieve efficiencies and leverage
funding; and 4) support international
cooperative efforts, such as monitoring and
assessment, to identify trends and establish
priorities. To manage these activities, EPA
has developed an international POPs
Implementation Plan and will continue
working with UNEP in an Internet Access
Project to train officials of developing
countries on accessing information necessary
for sound management of chemicals.
Research
EPA's Global Change Research Program
supports one of six Administration FY 2004
Interagency Research and Development
Priorities - Climate Change Science and
Technology. All activities to assess potential
impacts of global climate change will be
developed and coordinated with the climate
Change Science Program. Attention is
expected to be given to assessing the potential
consequences of global change - including
climate variability and change, land use
changes, and UV radiation - on air quality,
water quality, ecosystem health, and human
health.
External Factors
EPA's work to reduce global and cross-
border environmental risks requires the
cooperation of numerous governments and
agencies around the world as well as non-
governmental organizations and private sector
parties. Accordingly, the level of success and
the speed at which our objectives are achieved
is highly influenced by external factors and
events.
While many factors outside of EPA or
U.S. control determine a Nation's willingness
to participate in international environmental
protection efforts (e.g., economic or political
considerations within the country), EPA's
international policy and technical exchange
programs can play an important role in
convincing particular nations of both the need
and feasibility of participating. Other factors
affecting EPA's programs include continued
Congressional and public support;
cooperation with other Federal agencies, such
as the State Department and the U.S. Agency
for International Development; and
collaboration with State and local groups,
business and industry groups, and
environmental organizations.
Reduction of air, water, wastewater and
solid waste problems along the U.S. border
with Mexico will require continued
commitment by national, regional and local
environmental officials in that country.
Progress on Great Lakes goals and
measures is dependent on actions of others,
both within and outside of the Great Lakes.
Key Great Lakes partners, including Canada,
State regulatory agencies, the Corps of
Engineers, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the
Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) must act together to continue
environmental progress.
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Goal 6: Reduction of Global and Cross-Border
Environmental Risks
The U.S. Global Change Research
Program (USGCRP) was established in 1990
by the U.S. Global Change Research Act.
The 1990 Act mandates that the USGCRP
conduct periodic assessments of the
consequences of global change for the U.S.
EPA is one of ten member agencies of the
USGCRP. The EPA program relies on
partnerships with academic institutions to
fulfill its obligations to the USGCRP National
Assessment effort.
EPA's efforts to reduce global and
regional threats to oceans and the atmosphere
require the active cooperation of other
countries. Health and environmental benefits
resulting from the multi-billion dollar
investment by U.S. companies to reduce
emissions of stratospheric ozone-depleting
compounds could be completely undone by
unabated emissions of these chemicals in
other countries. Fortunately, the Montreal
Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer has secured the participation of
most countries, including major producers
and consumers of these chemicals. Recovery
of the stratospheric ozone layer is contingent
upon international adherence to the
commitments made under the Montreal
Protocol. UV risk-reduction efforts are
impacted by the rate of recovery of the ozone
layer and socio-behavioral norms and
attitudes regarding sun protection.
The success of international agreements
on toxic substances is contingent on the
developed world providing adequate levels of
funding and timely technical assistance to
developing countries, especially key source
countries. Such funding and technical
assistance is necessary in order for these
countries to develop the necessary skill levels
and infrastructure for implementing these
environmental agreements. The ultimate
success of these international efforts is
contingent on not only the provision of policy
and technical leadership by EPA and other
Federal government entities, but also the
ability to lead through the provision and
leveraging of financial and technical
assistance.
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Goal 7:
Quality Environmental
Information
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Goal 7: Quality Environmental Information
Goal: The public and decision makers at all levels will have access to information
about environmental conditions and human health to inform decision making and help assess the
general environmental health of communities. The public will also have access to educational
services and information services and tools that provide for the reliable and secure exchange of
quality environmental information.
Resource Summary
($ in 000)
FY 2003 FY2004
President's President's
j.u /o ui rmugei
Increase Availability of Quality Health
and Environmental Information.
Provide Access to Tools for Using
Environmental Information.
Improve Agency Information
Infrastructure and Security.
Budget
$123,222
$45,025
$30,793
$199,040
Request
$118,203
$47,071
$63,048
$228,322
Difference
-$5,019
$2,046
$32,255
$29,282
Workyears
847.1
840.0
-7.1
Background and Context
Accurate, timely, and comprehensive
information should be the foundation for
virtually every action taken by EPA, States,
and others charged with the responsibility to
ensure a safer, healthier world for the
generations that follow. EPA's obligation to
work with other Federal, State, and local
allies on homeland security issues is another
dimension of EPA's information management
activities.
Our response to these challenges, built on
the foundation provided by the President's
Management Agenda (PMA) requires us to
look for new ways to foster existing Agency
practices that support this direction. The FY
2004 budget proposals described in this goal
represent a major new investment by the
Agency to:
• Better integrate the information EPA
collects to ensure the Agency is better
able to set priorities, make sound
decisions, manage for results, and
measure performance;
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Goal 7: Quality Environmental Information
• Adopt an enterprise-wide approach to
managing information, including
administrative and programmatic systems,
investment priorities, and resource
allocation; and,
• Work collaboratively with States and
other Federal agencies to transform and
streamline business practices, develop
common and consistent standards and
systems, share data, and adopt a citizen-
centric approach to information services.
No less important is the need to ensure
that environmental information is accessible
and usable by the American public -
including those who have been historically
disenfranchised. Information-and the public's
ability to acquire, use, and understand it will
increasingly become an important tool for
addressing environmental problems and
challenges.
Means and Strategy
Strategy: Information as a Strategic
Resource
The context for EPA's information
management efforts is the explosion of
emerging technologies, such as e-commerce
and web services, that enable organizations to
become extremely productive, effective, and
proactive in service delivery. EPA and as well
as other organizations face a similar
underlying challenge: how to get the right
data and tools to the right person to ensure
quality environmental decisions.
The Agency's broad strategy is to
transform its information management
activities from the provision of information
technology (IT) services (i.e., back room
operations focused primarily on component
parts of the Agency) to managing information
as an enterprise-wide strategic resource.
Means: Building the Best Information
Capability at the Least Cost
During FY 2004, EPA will pursue three
objectives based upon this strategy: to
increase the availability of quality, useful
health, and environmental information; to
provide access to new analytical tools to
improve the ease of interpretation and the
accuracy of information; and, to improve the
Agency's information infrastructure and
security.
Enterprise Thinking
To successfully manage information
technology, EPA must carefully align
technology, people, and processes with goals.
Identifying the business processes developed
to support goals, and the data, the systems,
and technology needed is called enterprise
architecture. Enterprise architecture drives
our investment decisions and ensures that we
select the Agency's investments wisely.
EPA's Chief Information Officer (CIO)
will continue to pursue an investment strategy
to support a strong Agency architecture
program and investment management process
as outlined by the Federal CIO Council and
required by the Clinger-Cohen Act. An
enterprise-wide approach to information will
allow EPA to make key information,
technology, and funding decisions at an
Agency-wide level and improve the efficiency
and effectiveness of the governance structure
and operations. Funding for individual
systems development and modernization
efforts will remain in individual National
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Goal 7: Quality Environmental Information
Program Manager accounts, but will be
governed by the architecture and investment
review processes. There are three key points
regarding what the Agency builds and how it
pays for it.
First, EPA is no different from other
Federal agencies that require upgrades and
continued maintenance of its IT
infrastructure. EPA is proposing a major
investment in this area and proposing that
these costs, which are predictable and
necessary, be considered as basic to the
Agency budget as is the funding for its
buildings. It is the cost of doing business in
the information age.
Second, the Agency's costs of electronic
access to EPA information through its web
site, epa.gov, continue to rise as the number
of access "hits" increase, as more
applications, data processing, and mapping
tools become available, and as many of the e-
Government (e-Gov) transactions are carried
out via the central Agency internet site.
Through epa.gov, EPA has developed an
increasingly popular mechanism for one-stop
access that has ongoing operations and
maintenance costs. The Agency recognizes
the importance of this mechanism for
conducting business with the public and must
face its associated cost.
Finally, EPA is aligning IT capabilities
with the e-Gov strategy developed as part of
the President's Management Agenda (PMA).
While the Agency works with States, Tribes,
and local partners in our day to day
environmental business, EPA must likewise
commit to the economies and efficiencies that
can be derived from collaborating with other
Federal agencies. These economies and
efficiencies will not only improve the quality
of services but will also drive down the cost
of basic government functions. The PMA's
e-Gov efforts seek to simplify processes and
unify operations to better serve citizens'
needs. EPA will continue its efforts to
implement this vision, and eliminate
redundancies and overlaps in such activities
as small business compliance, payroll, and
other enterprise-wide resource functions, on-
line rule making, and geospatial information.
Overall, EPA is actively participating in 14
designated e-Gov projects and in all four
sectors of the PMA (government to citizen,
government to government, government to
business, and internal efficiencies).
The National Information Exchange
Network
EPA has learned from efforts under the
Government Performance and Results Act
(GPRA) as well as the draft State of the
Environment Report (SOE) - EPA's first
national indicator project - that far more data
is needed than is currently collected. The
latest estimates for the SOE report indicate
that at least 40% of the data EPA needs to
better measure true environmental outcomes
is either missing or unavailable. Some of the
data gaps identified can be filled by other
Federal agencies and State and local
governments.
Based on a five-year partnership between
leading States and EPA, the Agency is
creating an internet-based National
Environmental Information Exchange
Network (Exchange Network). With the
Exchange Network in place, people can
quickly and easily share information and EPA
will be able to take advantage of the wealth of
environmental and health data collected by
other Federal agencies, States, and local
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Goal 7: Quality Environmental Information
governments. Others have done this, though
most examples are in the private sector with
decentralized operations. The Department of
Justice and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation have made the most progress,
working for the past five years with State and
local parties on just such a model.
A number of our State and tribal partners
are currently designing their capacity to
participate in the Exchange Network. At least
35 States are building integrated, multimedia,
geographic-based systems using facility
information as the core of the system; and
over 40 States and 10 Tribes applied in FY
2002 for EPA's $25.0 million Exchange
Network grants. These grants foster technical
readiness to share information over the
national network.
Building Capacity and Creating Centers of
Excellence in Regions
The future of partnership-based
information management and a variety of
joint planning and innovations efforts depend
on working with our State and tribal partners
identifying problems and crafting joint
solutions. Clearly, an ability to access,
analyze, interpret, and respond to data is a
core capability necessary to acquire. The
EPA regions, and related non-Headquarters
sites, have the most critical operational
interfaces with external partners. They also
are the point of entry for information access
by on-scene coordinators and first responders.
Currently, inadequate basic IT infrastructure
at the regional level impedes consistent,
effective access. Implementing the upgrades
to deliver reliable, effective capacity to
support Agency and external partner
information access nationally is a long-term
challenge.
Through a combination of a new Agency
base investment, one that will continue in the
outyears, and a targeted investment of
$10,000,000 in order to address highest
priority regional problem areas, EPA
proposes to address the information access
infrastructure problem in a strategic manner
in FY 2004. This will close the major
infrastructure gaps at the most vulnerable
locations, build a stable foundation for State
and tribal partnerships and e-Gov work, and
enable subsequent annual network upgrades
and maintenance at base levels in the
outyears.
Performance Measurement
The enterprise-wide approach to
information management supported by this
budget proposal is the underpinning of EPA's
ability to accurately measure the
environmental outcomes of the Agency's
programs. The Agency fully supports the
performance measurement focus of the PMA
and is developing its first national
environmental indicators report, entitled the
SOE report, and is establishing a
comprehensive set of environmental
indicators. The Agency is also working to
improve the performance measures associated
with information management efforts. To the
degree that these efforts support other
programmatic activities, the performance
measures are more likely to be indirect. EPA
is working on outcome measures associated
with information access programs that
provide information to the public as a means
for accomplishing environmental goals.
Research
Research efforts supporting this goal
include the Integrated Risk Information
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Goal 7: Quality Environmental Information
System (IRIS). IRIS is an EPA database of
Agency consensus health information on
environmental contaminants, used extensively
by EPA, other Federal agencies, States, and
the public to access toxicity information that
may be needed for performing risk
assessments. In FY 2004, EPA will continue
the modernization and expansion of IRIS,
which began in 2002, including dedicating
additional staff to the program. Another
effort to support Goal 7 is the Risk
Assessment Forum (RAF), which promotes
Agency-wide consensus on difficult and
controversial risk assessment issues and
ensures that this consensus is incorporated
into appropriate Agency risk assessment
guidance.
Several mechanisms are in place to ensure
a high-quality research program at EPA. The
Research Strategies Advisory Committee
(RSAC) of EPA's Science Advisory Board
(SAB), an independent chartered Federal
Advisory Committee Act (FACA) committee,
meets annually to conduct an in-depth review
and analysis of EPA's Science and
Technology account. The RSAC provides its
findings to the House Science Committee and
sends a written report on the findings to
EPA's Administrator after every annual
review. Moreover, EPA's Board of Scientific
Counselors (BOSC) provides counsel to the
Assistant Administrator for the Office of
Research and Development (ORD) on the
operation of ORD's research program. EPA's
scientific and technical work products must
undergo either internal or external peer
review, with major or significant products
requiring external peer review. The Agency's
Peer Review Handbook (2nd Edition) codifies
procedures and guidance for conducting peer
review.
Highlights
EPA will continue to work with the other
Federal agencies, States, Tribes, and others to
strengthen its information quality, leverage
information maintained by other government
organizations, and develop new tools that
provide decision-makers and citizens with
simultaneous access to multiple data sets and
information products. These improvements
will support better-informed environmental
decision-making and management based on
environmental results. They will also enable
citizens to get answers to the questions they
have about what EPA is doing to protect the
environment and the quality of their
communities. Stakeholders will have "one-
stop" access to the regulatory and policy
implementation guidance that they need to
improve the performance of their facilities
and sectors. Facility operators will be able to
submit their data to States, regions, and
Federal systems simultaneously via the
internet without having to fill out paper
forms; an improvement which will help EPA
to meet the burden reduction goals of the
National Paperwork Reduction Act and the
Government Paperwork Elimination Act.
Effectively managing the process by
which the public is educated and informed
regarding the Agency's resources is pivotal to
accomplishing the mission of the Agency. To
this end, the Agency will expand its two-way
communications with the public. EPA,
through its public and Congressional liaison
functions, Federal Advisory Committee Act
functions, media relations, print and web
content review, and oversight responsibilities,
will inform and educate the public about
Agency initiatives, policies, regulations,
services, and environmental information
resources. The Agency will also develop and
7-5
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Goal 7: Quality Environmental Information
monitor feedback mechanisms to learn from
them. In order to accomplish this goal, EPA
and its partners will focus on the following.
EPA is currently an active participant in
14 of the 24 e-Gov projects included in the
PMA. This effort seeks to eliminate
redundant activities across agencies and
achieve a more seamless, citizen-centered
provision of services. The resources
requested in FY 2004 will enable EPA to
improve the way in which we engage citizens
and the regulated community. The Agency
expects to use e-tools to: lessen paperwork
burden; improve how the Agency works with
local, State, and Federal partners; provide
easier, smarter, and faster means for citizen's
to obtain environmental information and
services; and, ultimately to ensure that better
environmental decision that will enhance
national ability to protect human health and
the environment. EPA is currently involved
in the following e-Gov projects: e-
Authentication; Disaster Management; e-
Grants; e-Records; e-Training; e-Travel;
Enterprise Human Resources; Geospatial
One-Stop; Integrated Acquisition; On-Line
Rulemaking; One-Stop Business Compliance;
One-Stop Recruitment; Payroll; and Safecom
Wireless Communications.
EPA will continue to increase the
availability of useful health and
environmental information internally and to
the public by providing better access to
accurate and reliable environmental
information. For instance, with the final
expansion of Window to My Environment - a
geographic portal to community-based
environmental information - EPA is moving
forward to provide the public with electronic
and non-electronic access to accurate, useful,
and reliable environmental data. This data
source will include information collected by
EPA, its partners, and stakeholders.
EPA will continue to develop the National
Environmental Information Exchange
Network. The Exchange Network is a
comprehensive, integrated information
exchange program designed to strengthen the
partnership between and facilitate information
sharing among EPA, the States, other Federal
agencies, Tribes, localities, and the regulated
community. The Exchange Network will
provide a wide range of shared environmental
information and improve environmental
decision making through increased
availability of data, better data quality and
accuracy, security of sensitive data, avoidance
of data redundancy, and reduced burden on
those who provide and those who access
information. It uses an internet-based, multi-
media approach to environmental information
exchange that is standards-based, highly
connected, flexible, and secure. Additionally,
through an information grant program begun
in FY 2002, States and Tribes will be better
positioned to participate in the Exchange
Network.
The Central Data Exchange (CDX) is the
electronic portal through which information is
securely received, translated, and forwarded
to EPA's data systems. In FY 2004 the CDX
infrastructure, a key component of the
Exchange Network, will service 46 States and
a total of over 25,000 facilities, companies
and laboratories will use it to provide data to
EPA electronically. By widely implementing
an electronic reporting infrastructure, CDX
will reduce reliance on less efficient paper-
based processes, resulting in improved data
quality, reduced reporting burden, and the
creation of new opportunities for simplifying
the reporting process. By the end of FY 2004,
7-6
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Goal 7: Quality Environmental Information
electronic reporting through CDX will be
possible for all of the national environmental
systems.
EPA will develop and implement program
policies and guidance in several areas
including web content, website management,
privacy, and quality system. The Agency
will solicit customer feedback to
systematically improve information usability,
clarity, accuracy, reliability and scientific
soundness. Other efforts to improve
information will include the development and,
in particular, the implementation of necessary
data standards and associated registries to
improve the consistency, quality, and
comparability of data managed in national
environmental systems. EPA will ensure that
data quality is known to and appropriate for
intended uses. Usability testing and customer
satisfaction baselines will assure that the
information the Agency provides is meeting
the needs of its customers. In addition, the
Agency is committed to developing analytical
and other tools to help users interpret and
apply environmental data.
EPA will provide the means for using and
understanding environmental information.
Environmental data are most meaningful
when examined from a holistic perspective;
that is, when users are able to examine multi-
media data about a particular location or
source at once. Users must also have the
underlying documentation that describes the
limitations of the data and the context in
which it is most useful. In FY 2004 the
Agency will continue the development of its
Environmental Indicators Initiative in order to
establish a set of performance indicators that
measure environmental results. Environ-
mental indicators are an important tool for
analyzing, and communicating information
about environmental conditions and human
health to the public in an understandable
manner.
EPA will streamline information
collection. Streamlining will help regulated
entities to meet their regulatory requirements
while eventually easing burdens placed on
States and the Agency to collect information.
The Agency will examine the information
reporting burdens placed on its partners and
on the regulated community and ensure that
information collections address specific
needs. EPA will improve the timeliness and
completeness of requests for information by
implementing an Agency-wide electronic
records and document management system.
The Agency plans to develop and acquire the
necessary software and hardware to begin
phased implementation of the system
throughout the Agency.
EPA will play an integral role in
supporting Homeland Security. Accurate
information about EPA-regulated facilities
and areas of environmental interest is critical
to EPA's ability to support homeland security
efforts. The ability to identify and report on
regulated facilities, their location and spatial
coordinates, their materials, and their
corporate ownership is an important piece of
the homeland security picture. Part of the
Agency's homeland security role is to deliver
secure, reliable, and timely data access and
communications to on-scene coordinators,
emergency response teams, and investigators
in the field.
EPA will strengthen and increase the
security of its information infrastructure. This
is fundamental to increasing the availability,
usability, and reliability of environmental
information. EPA must maintain a strong and
7-7
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Goal 7: Quality Environmental Information
secure information infrastructure that supports
Agency mission and homeland security
requirements with adequate capacity,
resulting in the right technology at the right
time, with rigorous cyber-security protection.
In FY 2004, the Agency will upgrade its IT
and cyber-security infrastructure to address
gaps. The upgrades will deliver Agency-wide
enhancements based on the priorities
identified in the enterprise architecture, which
identifies best technology options to support
program strategic directions, and directs
capital planning to achieve cost-effective
Agency-wide IT solutions that are sustainable
across the multi-year cycles typical of major
technology projects and investments.
Priorities for FY 2004 include: network
capacity upgrades to enable reliable
information access for the Agency, its
partners, and the public; and cyber-security
and technology enhancements to support
secure access to EPA data. Network upgrades
will be managed under the Agency's working
capital fund desktop service, with
appropriated funds allocated to programs to
pay their proportional share of the desktop
charge.
EPA's IT program will maintain its
commitment to strong customer service and
strategic investment in new technology to
ensure EPA's continued ability to deliver
information services efficiently, effectively,
and securely. Through emphasis on acquiring
the right skills, technologies, and services,
EPA will take additional steps to strengthen
and secure the Agency's IT infrastructure. In
FY 2004, EPA will implement a program to
ensure that all of its central infrastructure,
financial, and mission critical environmental
systems are assessed for potential security
risks as part of regular system security plan
updating.
EPA will improve its System of
Registries. By FY 2004, data standards will
be expanded to include additional areas of
environmental information. Access to related
information for use by EPA's partners and
stakeholders will be greatly enhanced by
improvements to EPA's System of Registries.
The Agency's expanding system of registries
will continue to provide the technical detail
needed to promote the adoption of data
standards by other parties, and will also
provide authoritative sources for populating
records, thereby promoting data sharing and
integration.
EPA will assemble core environmental
program data, geospatial resources, meta data,
Facility Registry, Environmental Data
Registries, and other systems of data registries
into one integrated Enterprise Repository that
is accessible to all. The Repository will help
move EPA beyond the current limitations of
the "stove-pipe" approach to information
management and support more effective data-
sharing, integration, and accessibility to
information for environmental management
and homeland security decision makers. In
FY 2004, EPA will establish a comprehensive
and secure "System of Access" to EPA's data
resources that will allow users to easily locate
relevant data from internal and external
sources and access the tools needed to analyze
it based on their own individual level of
authorization.
EPA will continue its error correction
efforts. Users of EPA's website have a tool
for notifying the Agency of potential errors
they find in the national environmental data
systems. The Integrated Error Correction
7-8
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Goal 7: Quality Environmental Information
Process is a procedure by which the Agency
or a State will assess all reported potential
errors, and notify the individual who reported
the error of the findings and corrective
actions. This program, which is already
serving as the basis for the data and
information quality "complaint resolution
process" called for in the Agency's
Information Quality Guidelines, will continue
to operate in FY 2004.
As part of the government-wide e-Rule
making initiative, EPA will continue to
enhance the Agency's internal rule making
system and public participation in the rule
making process. As of May 2002, citizens
and the regulated community have greater
online access to information contained in
EPA's rule-making and non-rule making
dockets. EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) is an
online complement to EPA's combined
docket facility. The system allows the public
to search available and historic dockets at any
time, view docket contents, print and
download materials, and provide comments
on EPA's rule-making and non-rule making
activities. By FY 2004, nearly all of the
Agency's dockets will be contained in
EDOCKET. The combined docket facility
and EDOCKET represent a substantial
financial savings over our previous approach.
In partnership with the States, the Agency
will continue its efforts to expand publicly
available information, both electronically via
the Internet and through non-electronic
media. This includes the Envirofacts
database, a major data warehouse comprised
of 11 national databases. It is used
extensively by EPA, the States, and the
public.
The Agency will continue its efforts to
promote public access through the Agency's
Access to Interpretive Documents project
(formally known as Enhanced Public Access).
This project is designed to make all
significant Agency guidance, policy
statements, and site-specific interpretations of
regulated entities' environmental management
practices electronically available to the States,
industry, and the public in a secure manner.
EPA will continue to implement the
Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program. The
TRI Program provides the public with
information on waste management and
releases of chemicals to the environment.
Two laws, Section 313 of the Emergency
Planning and Community Right-To-Know
Act (EPCRA) and Section 6607 of the
Pollution Prevention Act, mandate that EPA
annually collect information on releases of
listed toxic chemicals from certain industries
and make this information available to the
public through various means, including a
publicly accessible national database. Using
this information, citizens, businesses,
community groups, researchers, and
governments can work together to address
releases in their communities.
EPA will continue to reduce TRI
reporting burdens on industry and improve
TRI data quality by distributing its new
software tool, "TRI Made-Easy (TRI-ME)."
The Agency expects to further increase the
percentage of TRI reporting forms that are
submitted in digital format. EPA will
continue to refine and expand the public's
understanding of TRI data by improving data
access tools such as the "TRI Explorer." In
FY 2003, EPA will release data for the first
reporting year since the Agency lowered the
TRI reporting thresholds for lead and lead
7-9
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Goal 7: Quality Environmental Information
compounds in FY 2001. As part of its on-
going responsibilities under EPCRA, EPA
will continue to respond to petitions to add
and delete chemicals on the TRI list and to
other petitions to amend the program.
EPA's quality program will continue to
develop the Agency-wide policies and
procedures for planning, documenting,
implementing, and assessing data collection
and use in Agency decisions. The quality
program will also develop training material
on the various policies and oversee
implementation of EPA's quality systems.
EPA will also continue to implement its Data
Quality Guidelines.
By focusing on these areas, EPA will keep
pace with the rapid advances in IT and meet
the growing demand for reliable, high quality
environmental information.
Research
In FY 2004, the Agency will continue to
provide technical guidance for conducting
risk assessments to improve the scientific
basis for decision-making within IRIS and
RAF. The Agency's Risk Assessment Forum
will focus on three areas: cumulative risk
assessment, ecological risk assessment, and
risk assessments specific to children. Efforts
will result in guidance on preparing
cumulative risk assessments, technical issue
papers, and guidance on the identification of
appropriate age groupings for exposure
assessments for children.
External Factors
EPA's information comes from many
sources, including States, Tribes, local
governments, research, and industry.
Working in partnership with State and tribal
governments is an essential element of EPA's
information programs. Seeking advice and
input from the regulated community and the
public will ground EPA's information
programs and approaches and make them
more responsive to stakeholders' needs. In
order to achieve an integrated information
network that increases efficiency and fosters
information sharing, the Agency must work
with those who provide and use EPA's
information to ensure that data are maintained
effectively, and protected appropriately.
Rapidly changing technology presents
opportunities to address mission needs in
better ways, as well as challenges where
legacy technology must be replaced. The
Agency must manage how it adopts new
technology from an Agency-wide perspective
to gain benefits, minimize risk, and
demonstrate incremental, earned-value
results. The Agency is also outsourcing
major technology operations under
performance-based contracts to achieve
greater returns and obtain more flexibility in
responding to requirements for technology
change; whether driven by program needs or
technology advances.
The evolving user community will also
affect the success of the Agency's
information efforts. As more States and
Tribes develop the ability to integrate their
environmental information, the Agency must
adjust its systems to receive and process
reports from States and industry in keeping
with the Agency's statutory requirements.
Local citizen organizations and the public at
large are also increasingly involved in
environmental decisionmaking, and their need
for information and more sophisticated
analytical tools is growing.
7-10
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Goal 8:
Sound Science, Improved
Understanding of
Environmental Risk, and
Greater Innovation to Address
Environmental Problems
-------
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-------
Goal 8: Sound Science, Improved Understanding
of Environmental Risk, and Greater Innovation to
Address Environmental Problems
Strategic Goal: EPA will develop and apply the best available science for addressing current
and future environmental hazards as well as new approaches toward improving environmental
protection.
Resource Summary
($ in 000)
\^y
4.7% of Budget
Conduct Research for Ecosystem
Assessment and Restoration.
Improve Scientific Basis to Manage
Environmental Hazards and Exposures.
Enhance Capabilities to Respond to Future
Environmental Developments.
Improve Environmental Systems
Management.
Quantify Environmental Results of
Partnership Approaches.
Incorporate Innovative Approaches.
Demonstrate Regional Capability to Assist
Environmental Decision Making.
Conduct Peer Review to Improve Agency
Decisions.
Workyears
FY 2003
President's
Budget
$119,115
$56,355
$50,966
$52,274
$9,058
$29,788
$6,592
$3,690
$327,838
996.3
FY2004
President's
Request
$122,886
$67,468
$68,911
$45,447
$9,037
$31,939
$6,608
$4,811
$357,106
1006.2
Difference
$3,771
$11,113
$17,946
-$6,827
-$22
$2,151
$16
$1,121
$29,268
9.9
8-1
-------
Goal 8: Sound Science, Improved Understanding of
Environmental Risk, and Greater Innovation to Address
Environmental Problems
Background and Context
EPA has a responsibility to ensure that
efforts to reduce potential environmental risks
are based on the best available scientific
information. Strong science allows us to
identify the most important sources of risk to
human health and the environment as well as
the best means to detect, abate, and avoid
possible environmental problems, and thereby
guides our priorities, policies, and deployment
of resources. It is critical that research and
scientific assessment be integrated with
EPA's policy and regulatory activities. In
order to address complex issues in the future,
the Agency will design and test
fundamentally new tools and management
approaches that have potential for achieving
environmental results. Under Goal 8, EPA
conducts core research to improve our
understanding of the fundamental principles
underlying risk assessment and risk
management.
Several mechanisms are in place to ensure
a high-quality research program at EPA. The
newly established Science Advisor will be
responsible for ensuring the availability and
use of the best science to support Agency
policy and decisions, as well as advising the
EPA administrator on science and technology
issues and their relationship to Agency
policies, procedures and decisions. The
Research Strategies Advisory Committee
(RSAC) of EPA's Science Advisory Board
(SAB), an independent chartered Federal
Advisory Committee Act (FACA) committee,
meets annually to conduct an in-depth review
and analysis of EPA's Science and
Technology account. The RSAC provides its
findings to the House Science Committee and
sends a written report on the finding to EPA's
Administrator after every annual review.
Also, under the Science to Achieve Results
(STAR) program all research projects are
selected for funding through a rigorous
competitive external peer review process
designed to ensure that only the highest
quality efforts receive funding support. In
addition, EPA's scientific and technical work
products must undergo either internal or
external peer review, with major or significant
products requiring external peer review. The
Agency's Peer Review Handbook (2nd
Edition) codifies procedures and guidance for
conducting peer review. EPA will explore
using existing personnel authority or seek
new authority to recruit and retain talented
research scientists that EPA might not
otherwise be able to attract.
Today's environmental innovations
extend beyond scientific and technological
advances; they also include new policies and
management tools that respond to changing
conditions and needs. Examples include
market-based incentives that provide an
economic benefit for environmental
improvement, regulatory flexibility that gives
companies more discretion in how specific
goals are met, and disclosure of information
about environmental performance. As a result
of these and other innovations, the nation's
environmental protection system is evolving.
EPA's focus is on creating a system that is
more efficient and effective and more
inclusive of all elements of society.
Means and Strategy
EPA is continuing to ensure that it is a
source of strong scientific and technical
8-2
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Goal 8: Sound Science, Improved Understanding of
Environmental Risk, and Greater Innovation to Address
Environmental Problems
information, and that it is on the leading edge
of environmental protection innovations that
will allow achievement of our strategic
objectives. The Agency consults a number of
expert sources, both internally and externally,
and uses several deliberative steps in planning
its research programs. As a starting point, the
Agency draws input from the draft Ecosystem
Protection Multi-year Plan, the EPA Strategic
Plan, available research plans, EPA program
offices and Regions, Federal research
partners, and outside peer advisory bodies
such as the Science Advisory Board (SAB)
and others. Agency teams that prioritize
research areas by examining risk and other
factors such as National Science and
Technology Council (NSTC) research,
involved with development priorities, client
office priorities, court orders, and legislative
mandates use this input internally. EPA's
research program will increase our
understanding of environmental processes and
our capability to assess environmental risks to
both human health and ecosystems.
In the area of ecosystem protection
research, EPA will strive to establish baseline
conditions from which changes, and
ultimately trends, in the ecological condition
of the Nation's aquatic ecosystems can be
confidently documented, and from which the
results of environmental management policies
can be evaluated at regional scales. This
ability to demonstrate success or failure of
increasingly flexible watershed management
policies, regionally and nationally, is of great
importance. Also in FY 2004, EPA's
ecosystem protection research methods will
continue to focus on Environmental
Monitoring and Assessment Program
(EMAP), which includes the National Coastal
Assessment (Coastal 2000), Western EMAP,
Central Basin, work in landscape ecology,
and programs to develop and refine
environmental indicators. These programs
will provide water resource managers with
tools necessary to measure status and trends
in the condition of the Nation's rivers,
streams, and estuaries and to measure the
impacts of management decisions. This work
is an important step toward providing the
scientific understanding to measure, model,
maintain, and restore the integrity and
sustainability of ecosystems.
The Agency's leadership role in
protecting both human and ecosystem health
requires that the Agency continue to be
vigilant in identifying and addressing
emerging issues. EPA will continue to
enhance its capabilities to anticipate,
understand, and respond to future
environmental developments. EPA will
address these uncertainties by conducting
research in areas that combine human health
and ecological considerations. Continued
research in the areas of endocrine disrupting
chemicals and mercury is leading toward the
development of improved methodologies for
integrated human health and environmental
risk assessment and sound approaches for risk
management. While EPA has long benefited
from studies needed to reduce, refine, and
replace test methods, the Computational
Toxicology program will enable EPA to
demonstrate how to reduce the cost and use of
animal testing to a far greater extent by
prioritizing data requirements. In FY 2004,
EPA will develop a computational toxicology
research strategy that will help fill major data
gaps for a large number of chemicals for
testing programs and reduce the cost and use
8-3
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Goal 8: Sound Science, Improved Understanding of
Environmental Risk, and Greater Innovation to Address
Environmental Problems
of animal testing. This work will improve the
validity of existing and proposed chemical
testing programs through computational
toxicology research, which integrates modern
computing with advances in genomics to
develop alternatives to traditional animal
testing approaches. EPA will also conduct
research to enhance its capacity to evaluate
the economic costs and benefits and other
social impacts of environmental policies.
These efforts, undertaken in concert with
other agencies, will result in improved
methods to assess economic costs and
benefits, such as improved economic
assessments of land use policies and
improved assessments for the valuation of
children's health, as well as other social
impacts of environmental decision-making.
The Agency also seeks to characterize,
prevent, and clean up contaminants associated
with high-priority human health and
environmental problems through the
development and verification of improved
environmental tools and technologies. EPA
will incorporate a holistic approach to
pollution prevention by assessing the
interaction of multiple stressors that may
threaten human health and environmental
quality, and by developing cost-effective
responses to those stressors. Research will
also explore the principles governing
sustainable systems and the integration of
social, economic, and environmental
objectives in environmental assessment and
management. Emphasis will be placed on
developing and assessing preventive
approaches for industries and communities
having difficulty meeting pollution standards.
In a broader context, the pollution prevention
research program will continue expanding
beyond its traditional focus on the industrial
sectors to other sectors (e.g., municipal) and
ecosystems.
In FY 2004, EPA will improve its
regulatory and policy development process.
The Agency will strengthen the policy
analysis and use of science supporting key
regulatory and non-regulatory actions,
improve the economic analysis underlying
Agency actions, and improve the regulatory
and policy action information management
system.
EPA is continuing to ensure that it is a
source of sound scientific and technical
information, and that it is on the leading edge
of environmental protection innovations that
will allow achievement of our strategic
objectives. Also, in FY 2004, EPA is
requesting resources for the newly established
Science Advisor. The Science Advisor will be
responsible for ensuring the availability and
use of the best science to support Agency
policies and decisions, as well as advising the
EPA administrator on science and technology
issues and their relationship to Agency
policies, procedures, and decisions. The
Science Advisor's office will require a small
cadre of senior staff to promote effective
partnerships with EPA Programs and
Regions, assist them in their efforts to
strengthen environmental science, and
provide for timely and open communication
on critical science matters. In addition, the
Agency consults a number of expert sources,
both internal and external, and uses several
deliberative steps in planning its research
programs. As a starting point, the Agency
draws input from the EPA Strategic Plan,
available research plans, program offices and
8-4
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Goal 8: Sound Science, Improved Understanding of
Environmental Risk, and Greater Innovation to Address
Environmental Problems
Regions, Federal research partners, and
outside peer advisory bodies such as the
Science Advisory Board (SAB) and others.
The agency is also taking a number of steps to
attract and maintain a high quality, diverse
scientific workforce. EPA will explore using
existing personnel authority or seek new
authority to recruit and retain talented
research scientists thaSt EPA might not
otherwise be able to attract.
The Agency also seeks to develop and
verify improved tools, methodologies, and
technologies for modeling, measuring,
characterizing, preventing, controlling, and
cleaning up contaminants associated with
high priority human health and environmental
problems. In order to do this, EPA will
develop, evaluate, and deliver technologies
and approaches that eliminate, minimize, or
control high-risk pollutants from multiple
sectors. Emphasis will be placed on
preventive approaches for industries and
communities having difficulty meeting
control/emi s si on/effluent standards.
EPA's strategy for solving environmental
problems and improving our system of
environmental protection includes
developing, implementing and
institutionalizing new policy tools,
collaborative community-based and sector-
based strategies, and the capacity to
experiment, test, and disseminate innovative
ideas that result in better environmental
outcomes. In each area, EPA is looking to
advance the application of the innovative tool
or approach by promoting broader testing into
our system of environmental protection and to
support collaborative partnerships for
environmental management based upon
prudent analysis and decision methodologies.
For example, EPA's Sector Program Plan
2001-2005 sets forth a vision and specific
actions to enhance the effectiveness of
innovative sector activities (at the Federal and
State levels) and to fully integrate sector
approaches into the Agency's overall mission
and core programs. Similarly, EPA is
strengthening its capacity to evaluate
innovative approaches and make institutional
changes that adopt successful innovations.
EPA's community-based approach aims
to provide integrated assessment tools and
information and direct assistance for
environmental protection in partnership with
local, State, and Tribal governments. The
work focuses on building the capacity of
communities to work effectively at
identifying and solving environmental issues
in ways that support healthy local economies
and improved quality of life.
Sector strategies complement current EPA
activities by allowing the Agency to approach
issues more holistically; tailor efforts to the
particular characteristics of each sector;
identify related groups of stakeholders with
interest in a set of issues; link EPA's efforts
with those of other agencies; and craft new
approaches to environmental protection. EPA
is building on successful experiences from its
current sector-based programs such as the
Sustainable Industries Partnership Programs,
Design for the Environment, and sector-based
compliance assistance programs to expand the
ways in which the Agency is working in
partnership with industry sectors to meet high
environmental standards using flexible,
innovative approaches. These innovative
programs foster the development of
8-5
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Goal 8: Sound Science, Improved Understanding of
Environmental Risk, and Greater Innovation to Address
Environmental Problems
innovations at the industry sector level,
testing new regulatory ideas, technologies,
tools, and incentives in non-adversarial
settings. In a somewhat related effort, EPA is
exploring the potential for broader use of a
sector-based regulatory model for small
businesses that was developed by
Massachusetts.
Highlights
Research for Ecosystem Assessment and
Restoration
In order to balance the growth of human
activity with the need to protect the
environment, it is important to understand the
current condition of ecosystems, what
stressors are changing that condition, what the
effects are of those changes, and what can be
done to prevent, mitigate, or adapt to those
changes. In FY 2004, the Environmental
Monitoring and Assessment Program
(EMAP) will continue to be a major
contributor to EPA's environmental indicators
report and will be instrumental in improving
State contributions to the Agency's bi-annual
report to Congress on the condition of the
Nation's waters. Included within EMAP is
the Western EMAP (a.k.a. Western Pilot),
which continues the study of streams in the
Western U.S., and will begin focused studies
in selected estuarine and near-shore sites.
Regional EMAP projects (R-EMAP) in FY
2004 are high priority activities for Regional
Offices because they will provide
opportunities for EPA's Regions to test new
technologies and work directly with State and
academic partners. The Regional
Vulnerability Assessment (ReVA) program
further supports the needs of programs and
Regions using information from EMAP and
other sources to demonstrate an approach to
Regional-scale assessment that efficiently
informs decision-makers. Another aspect of
EMAP extends to the large rivers of the
Mississippi River Basin (the Central Basin).
Through cooperative programs with the
Regions, States, Tribes, and other Federal
agencies in the Central Basin, EPA proposes
to fill remaining scientific gaps (indicators,
sampling design, and sampling methodology)
currently limiting our ability to measure the
condition of large rivers. These approaches
and technologies developed will be
transferred to the many responsible parties to
help inform environmental management
decisions affecting these rivers as well as the
Gulf of Mexico. Furthermore, landscape
ecology research will focus on improving
estimates of the effects of land-based stressors
on aquatic, estuarine, wetland, terrestrial, and
landscape conditions.
In FY 2004 the Agency will strengthen
the initiative for Invasive Species Great Lakes
research. The research will focus on
developing innovative monitoring approaches
and models to predict the spread of aquatic
invasive species, and on identifying habitats
and regions at risk to invasive species.
Successful rapid response requires both early
detection of new invaders and a prediction of
their spread based on the patterns of invasion
vectors (e.g., shipping) and the inherent
vulnerability of different ecosystems to
invasion. To date, monitoring for water
quality (e.g., 305b Clean Water Act), early
detection of invasive species, predicting the
spread of invasive species, and predicting the
vulnerability of ecosystems to invasions have
largely been disjunct activities. The overall
8-6
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Goal 8: Sound Science, Improved Understanding of
Environmental Risk, and Greater Innovation to Address
Environmental Problems
goal of this initiative is to develop integrated
methods of detecting and predicting the
spread of new invasive species introduced
into the Great Lakes.
Research for Human Health Risk
Assessment
In order to improve the scientific basis for
identifying, characterizing, assessing, and
managing environmental exposures that can
pose the greatest health risks to the American
public, EPA is committed to developing and
verifying innovative methods and models for
assessing the susceptibilities of sub-
populations, such as children and the elderly,
to environmental toxins. Since many of the
current human health risk assessment
methods, models, and databases are based on
environmental risks for adults, efforts under
this goal are primarily aimed at enhancing
current risk assessment and management
strategies and guidance to better consider risk
determination needs for children. In FY
2004, research will focus on reducing the
uncertainty in EPA risk assessments for
children through collection and analysis of
data on children's exposures and identifying
critical data gaps in conducting cumulative
risk assessments. This information will be
useful in determining whether children are
more susceptible to environmental risks than
adults and how to better assess potential risks
to children.
EPA's Children's Health Research
Program will continue to play a critical role in
shaping how the Agency addresses children's
environmental health issues. The Agency will
work on guidance for conducting risk
assessments for children. The guidance will
address issues such as critical windows of
vulnerability (by organ system and endpoint),
mechanisms of action, and use of
pharmacokinetic data and models in risk
assessments. In 2004, EPA will deliver an
updated Child-Specific Exposure Factors
Handbook to be used throughout the scientific
community, including government, academia,
and the private sector. EPA will also enhance
its efforts in Asthma research. Research will
examine the toxic effects of aldehydes and
bioaerosols on children's lung function.
The Agency will continue its participation
with the Department of Health and Human
Services in the National Children's Study
(NCS). In FY 2004, EPA will: 1) develop
and test sampling methods for cost-effective
measurement of environmental agents in air,
water, soil, food, and indoor environments; 2)
develop and test methods to collect biological
samples from, and test for effects in, infants
and children; 3) develop and test
questionnaires that elicit information through
questions, that are accurate surrogates of
exposure and effects measurements; and 4)
develop methods to identify highly-exposed
and symptomatic individuals for over-
sampling.
In FY 2004, EPA will deliver a restricted-
access database of EPA experts with
knowledge, expertise, and experience to
rapidly assess health and ecological impacts
focused on safe buildings and rapid risk
assessment as a part of the Agency's
Homeland Security efforts. The goal of this
effort is make available key EPA staff and
managers who might be called upon to rapidly
assess the impacts of a significant terrorist
event.
8-7
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Goal 8: Sound Science, Improved Understanding of
Environmental Risk, and Greater Innovation to Address
Environmental Problems
Lastly, research in support of the
Agency's annual State of the Environment
Report will move EPA beyond its historic
reliance on output indicators (e.g., decreased
emissions/discharges; increased facilities in
compliance) to more direct outcome measures
(e.g., improved ecological conditions, reduced
human exposures, reduced illness and
disease).
Research to Enhance Environmental
Decision Making
In recent years, EPA has begun to move
beyond environmental regulation to anticipate
and prevent potential problems before they
evolve into major concerns. In FY 2004,
research will focus on: 1) improving our
understanding of the impacts of potential
exposure to environmental pollutants,
particularly endocrine disrupting chemicals
(EDCs) and mercury; 2) human health and the
environment; and 3) developing approaches to
reduce human health and ecological risks.
This research will result in accessible
methodologies for combined human health
and ecological risk assessments. New work
in FY 2004 includes: Computational
Toxicology to enhance the risk assessment
process for EDCs; multi-pollutant research to
support the reduction of atmospheric mercury
emissions under the President's Clear Skies
Initiative; and research to support the State of
the Environment (SOE) Report.
The emerging sciences of genomics,
computational methods, and bioinformatics
have created a new opportunity to
revolutionize the science used in chemical
risk assessment. In FY 2004, EPA will
produce a peer-reviewed Computational
Toxicology Research Strategy describing how
this program will provide the proof-of-
concept for several EPA problems involving
the testing requirements for endocrine
disrupters and a complex class of new
pesticides where cumulative risks are a
concern. The overall goal of the
computational toxicology research program is
to develop more efficient approaches through
integration of modern computing with
advances in genomics to reveal the sequence
of events by which aggregate and cumulative
exposures to chemicals can cause adverse
effects in humans and a large number of
natural populations and to incorporate the use
of these methods in risk assessments.
In FY 2004, the Agency's Clear Skies
research will focus on mercury by collecting
data at power plants to evaluate the
performance of continuous emission monitors
(CEMs) and initiate laboratory studies to
improve EPA's understanding of atmospheric
mercury fate and transport. This research
will provide the science needed to reduce the
uncertainties limiting the Agency's ability to
assess and manage health risks from mercury
and assist decision-makers in choosing the
best technology to reduce mercury emissions.
EPA will also direct special grant
solicitations to support research at Minority
Institutions. This program specifically assists
minority institutions in establishing and
supporting environmental research activities
that will build capacity to assess and solve
environmental problems. Also, in FY 2004,
-------
Goal 8: Sound Science, Improved Understanding of
Environmental Risk, and Greater Innovation to Address
Environmental Problems
EPA will fund Graduate fellowships to
scientists across multiple disciplines,
including the biological and physical
sciences, mathematics, computer sciences,
and engineering. Research completed under
the fellowship program helps resolve
uncertainties associated with particular
environmental problems and focuses graduate
research on priority research areas.
Research to Improve Environmental
Systems Management
In FY 2004, the Agency will continue its
systems-based approach to pollution
prevention, which will lead to a more
thorough assessment of human health and
environmental risks and a more
comprehensive management of those risks.
Other research in this area will develop
methodologies to better convey the social,
economic, and environmental costs and
benefits of reducing environmental risks.
EPA will develop tools and methodologies to
prevent pollution at its source and will
evaluate environmental technologies through
the Environmental Technology Verification
(ETV) program. ETV is a voluntary, market-
based verification program for commercial-
ready technologies made up of stakeholders
who represent diverse interests within the
environmental arena. The goal of ETV is to
verify the performance characteristics of
private-sector-developed technologies so that
purchasers, users, and permit writers have the
information they need to make
environmentally sound decisions.
Technology verifications during FY 2004 will
focus on advanced monitoring; air pollution
control; greenhouse gas abatement; drinking
water systems; and water protection.
Additionally, through the National
Environmental Technology Competition
(NETC), EPA will recognize and reward
innovative technologies that produce more
effective and lower cost solutions to
environmental problems. In FY 2004, EPA
plans to develop competitive solicitations for
cost-effective technologies to remove arsenic
from drinking water to help small
communities meet the new arsenic drinking
water standard.
Regulatory and Policy Development
EPA will continue to improve its
regulatory and policy development process by
strengthening the policy analysis of key
regulatory and non-regulatory actions,
improving the economic analysis underlying
Agency actions, improving the regulatory and
policy action information management
system, and creating innovative strategies to
assist States in solving environmental
problems.
Increased Community-Based Approaches
The Agency will continue to implement
Regional Geographic Initiatives (RGI) which
enable EPA Regional offices to partner with
States, local governments, private
organizations, and others to solve
environmental problems that are of particular
local concern to the Regions and States.
Science Advisory Board Peer Review and
Consultations
In FY 2004, the Agency will increase its
support for activities, principally peer
reviews, of the SAB, which aims to provide
8-9
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Goal 8: Sound Science, Improved Understanding of
Environmental Risk, and Greater Innovation to Address
Environmental Problems
independent technical advice to Congress and
the Administrator on scientific, engineering,
and economic issues that serve as the
underpinnings for Agency positions, from
research direction to regulations. The SAB
helps the Agency to "do the right science" and
to use the results of that science appropriately
and effectively in making regulatory
decisions. In so doing, the SAB aims to
promote sound science within the Agency and
a wider recognition of the quality of that
science outside the Agency. In this regard,
the SAB is active in consulting with the
Agency on how to incorporate science
appropriately and effectively into the new
approaches the Agency is using to make
environmental decisions.
External Factors
Strong science is predicated on the desire
of the Agency to make human health and
environmental decisions based on high-
quality scientific data and information. This
challenges the Agency to perform and apply
the best available science and technical
analyses when addressing health and
environmental problems that adversely impact
the United States. Such a challenge moves
the Agency to a more integrated, efficient,
and effective approach of reducing risks. As
long as sound science is a central tenant for
actions taken by the Agency, then external
factors will have a minimal impact on the
goal.
8-10
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Goal 9:
A Credible Deterrent to
Pollution and Greater
Compliance with the Law
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Goal 9: A Credible Deterrent to Pollution and
Greater Compliance with the Law
Strategic Goal: EPA will ensure full compliance with laws intended to protect human health
and the environment.
Resource Summary
($ in 000)
\ y
^^—^
5.6% of Budget
Increase Compliance Through
Enforcement.
Promote Compliance Through
Incentives and Assistance.
FY 2003
President's
Budget
$346,591
$55,872
$402,463
FY2004
President's
Request
$372,173
$58,387
$430,561
Difference
$25,583
$2,515
$28,098
Workyears
2,330.7
2,480.4
150.0
Background and Context
Protecting public health and the
environment from risks posed by violations of
Federal environmental requirements is basic
to EPA's mission. EPA's compliance and
enforcement program has been the
centerpiece of efforts to ensure compliance,
and has achieved significant improvements in
human health and the environment. Access to
information about compliance with
environmental regulations and its impact on
environmental conditions and human health
helps inform decision making of both
regulators and the public in assessing the
general environmental health of communities.
Many of the environmental improvements
in this country during the past 30 years can be
attributed to a strong set of environmental
laws and EPA's efforts to ensure compliance
with those laws using tools including
enforcement, compliance monitoring,
compliance assistance, and compliance
incentives. The combination of these tools, in
cooperation with our regulatory partners,
provide a broad scope of actions designed to
bring about the protection of public health and
the environment.
9-1
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Goal 9: A Credible Deterrent to Pollution and Greater
Compliance with the Law
Means and Strategies
Due to the breadth and diversity of
private, public, and Federal facilities
regulated by EPA under various statutes, the
Agency must target its enforcement and
compliance assurance activities strategically
to address the most significant risks to human
health and the environment and to ensure that
certain populations do not bear a
disproportionate environmental burden. A
strong enforcement program identifies and
reduces noncompliance problems, assists the
regulated community in understanding
environmental laws and regulations, responds
to complaints from the public, strives to
secure a level economic playing field for law-
abiding companies, and deters future
violations. EPA's continued enforcement
efforts will be strengthened through the
development of measures to assess the impact
of enforcement activities and assist in
targeting areas that pose the greatest risks to
human health or the environment, display
patterns of noncompliance, and include
disproportionately exposed populations.
Further, EPA cooperates with States and other
nations to enforce and ensure compliance
with cross-border environmental regulations.
The Agency reviews and evaluates the
activities of the regulated community to
determine compliance with applicable laws,
regulations, permit conditions and settlement
agreements and to determine whether
conditions presenting imminent and
substantial endangerment exist. The majority
of workyears devoted to compliance
monitoring are provided to the regions to
conduct investigations and on-site inspections
including monitoring, sampling and emissions
testing. Compliance monitoring activities are
both environmental media- and sector-based.
The traditional media-based inspections
compliment those performed by States and
Tribes and are a key part of our strategy for
meeting the long-term and annual goals
established for the air, water, pesticides, toxic
substances, and hazardous waste
environmental goals included in the EPA
Strategic Plan.
In addition, the EPA's enforcement
program supports the environmental justice
efforts by focusing enforcement actions and
criminal investigations on industries that have
repeatedly violated environmental laws in
minority and/or low-income areas.
The Agency's enforcement and
compliance assurance program uses
compliance assistance and incentive tools to
encourage compliance with regulatory
requirements and reduce adverse public health
and environmental problems. To achieve
compliance, the regulated community must
understand its regulatory obligations and how
to comply with those obligations. EPA
supports the regulated communities by
assuring that requirements are clearly
understood and by helping industry discover
cost-effective options to comply through the
use of pollution prevention and innovative
technologies. EPA also enables other
assistance providers (e.g., States, universities)
to provide compliance information to the
regulated community. Maximum compliance
requires the active efforts of the regulated
community to police itself. EPA will
continue to investigate options for
encouraging self-directed audits and
disclosure; measure and evaluate the
effectiveness of Agency programs in
improving compliance rates; provide
9-2
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Goal 9: A Credible Deterrent to Pollution and Greater
Compliance with the Law
information and compliance assistance to the
regulated community; and develop innovative
approaches to meeting environmental
standards through better communication,
cooperative approaches and application of
new technologies.
State, tribal and local governments bear
much of the responsibility for ensuring
compliance, and EPA works in partnership
with them and other Federal agencies to
promote environmental protection. EPA also
cooperates with other nations to enforce and
ensure compliance with environmental
regulations. At the Federal level, EPA
addresses its Federal responsibilities under the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
by seeking remedies for potentially adverse
impacts of major actions taken by EPA and
other Federal agencies.
EPA will continue to ensure the security
and integrity of its compliance information
systems. Efforts will be made to upgrade
computer systems, databases, and tracking
systems to enable the Agency to respond to
increasing demands for compliance and
environmental information. The Agency will
greatly facilitate the exchange of compliance
and permitting information in the National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) program with the States and Tribes
through a modernized information system.
The Enforcement and Compliance
Program will continue to contribute to the
Agency-wide Access to Interpretive
Documents (AID) project. This project is
intended to make all significant Agency
guidance, policy statements and site-specific
interpretations of the regulated entities'
environmental management practices
electronically accessible to the regions, States,
industry and the public.
The Administration's evaluation of civil
enforcement in the PART process found that
outcomes could not easily be determined for
this program. However, with better long term
and annual outcome performance measures,
program planning could be adjusted to
achieve more effective results. Therefore, as
part of the development of the new Strategic
Plan, both goals and outcome oriented
performance measures will be developed. A
second finding reiterated other evaluations
that had concerns about data collection and
management. As a result, $5 million is
proposed for an improved compliance data
system.
Strategic Objectives and FY 2004
Annual Performance Goals
Increase Compliance Through
Enforcement
• Maintain and improve quality and
accuracy of EPA's enforcement and
compliance data to identify
noncompliance and focus on human
health and environmental problems.
Provide public access to tools for using
environmental information.
• Improve capacity of States, localities and
Tribes to conduct enforcement and
compliance programs. Maintain a well-
trained EPA workforce that can provide
training, technical support, assistance, and
provide backup inspection support and
expertise for complex inspections done
jointly with States and Tribes to build
capacity.
9-3
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Goal 9: A Credible Deterrent to Pollution and Greater
Compliance with the Law
• EPA will direct enforcement actions to
maximize compliance and address
environmental and human health
problems; 80% of concluded enforcement
actions will require environmental or
human health improvements such as
pollutant reductions and/or changes in
practices at facilities. In addition, EPA
will require 350 million pounds of
pollutants be reduced through
enforcement actions settled in FY 2004.
• EPA will conduct 15,500 inspections, 400
criminal investigations, and 225 civil
investigations targeted to areas that pose
risks to human health or the environment,
display patterns of non-compliance or
include disproportionately exposed
populations. In addition, EPA will
respond to public complaints in a timely
manner.
• Ensure compliance with legal
requirements for proper handling of
hazardous waste imports and exports.
Promote Compliance Through Incentives
and Assistance
• Increase opportunities through new-
targeted sector initiatives for industries to
voluntarily self-disclose and correct
violations on a corporate-wide basis.
• Promote the use of Environmental
Management Systems (EMS) to address
known compliance and performance
problems.
• Increase the regulated community's
compliance with environmental
requirements through expanded use of
compliance assistance. The Agency will
continue to support the development of
new compliance assistance centers and
develop compliance assistance tools such
as compliance guides for new rules.
Highlights
Environmental Enforcement
The civil and criminal enforcement
program, in contributing to EPA's mission to
protect public health and the environment,
aims to level the economic playing field by
ensuring that violators do not realize an
economic benefit from noncompliance and
seeks to deter future violations.
Coordinating its activities with the States,
EPA will continue to support deterrence and
compliance activities by focusing its
compliance monitoring on site inspections
and investigations. In setting Federal
compliance and enforcement priorities and
strategic direction of the program, EPA
coordinates its efforts with and solicits the
views of our States partners. The Agency
works with the Environmental Council of
States (ECOS) as a vehicle to advance the
coordination of efforts and to promote joint
strategic planning between EPA and the
States.
The Agency will continue to work with
States and Tribes to target areas that pose
risks to human health or the environment,
display patterns of noncompliance, or include
disproportionately exposed populations.
Media-specific, industry sector and problem-
based priorities will be established for the
national program through the Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance's
9-4
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Goal 9: A Credible Deterrent to Pollution and Greater
Compliance with the Law
Memorandum of Agreement 2004/2005
guidance, developed in conjunction with the
Regional offices.
Homeland Security
The Agency's Criminal Enforcement
program has lead responsibility within EPA
for coordinating law enforcement activities
and delivering environmental crimes expertise
necessary to support Federal, State, local, and
tribal law enforcement homeland security
planning and operational activities. In FY
2004, special agents will continue to provide
environmental crimes expertise to various
Federal task forces and response teams.
State, Tribal, and International Capacity
Building
A strong State and tribal compliance and
enforcement presence contributes to creating
deterrence and to reducing noncompliance. In
FY 2004, the enforcement and compliance
assurance programs will work with and
support State agencies implementing
Environmental Management Systems.
Members of the environmental justice
community will have increased and improved
access to data and information they need to
hold facilities and local government managers
accountable for meeting their goals.
Environmental Justice
EPA's environmental justice program will
continue education, outreach, and data
availability initiatives. The Program provides
a central point for the Agency to address
environmental and human health concerns in
minority and/or low-income communities—a
segment of the population that have been
disproportionately exposed to environmental
harm and risk. The program will continue to
manage the Agency's Environmental Justice
Community Small Grants program that assists
community-based organizations that are
working to develop solutions to local
environmental issues.
The Agency will continue to support the
National Environmental Justice Advisory
Council (NEJAC) which provides the Agency
significant input from interested stakeholders
such as community-based organizations,
business and industry, academic institutions,
State, Tribal and local governments, non-
governmental organizations and
environmental groups. The Agency will also
continue to chair an Interagency Working
Group (IWG) consisting of eleven
departments and agencies as well as White
House offices to ensure that environmental
justice concerns are incorporated into all
Federal programs.
Compliance Incentives and Assistance
EPA will continue to maintain the
regulated community's compliance with
environmental requirements through
voluntary compliance incentives and
assistance programs. In FY 2004, the
compliance incentives program will continue
to implement the policy on Incentives for
Self-Policing, the Small Business Compliance
Policy, and the Small Communities Policy as
core elements of the enforcement and
compliance assurance program. Through the
compliance assistance program the Agency
will provide information and technical
assistance to the regulated community to
increase its understanding of all statutory and
regulatory environmental requirements,
9-5
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Goal 9: A Credible Deterrent to Pollution and Greater
Compliance with the Law
thereby reducing risk to human health and the
environment and gaining measurable
improvements in compliance. The program
will also continue to develop strategies and
assistance tools that will improve compliance
in specific industrial and commercial sectors
or with certain regulatory requirements. The
annual Compliance Assistance Activity Plan
provides information on planned compliance
assistance activities in the upcoming fiscal
year and will serve as a reference for other
assistance providers and the public on EPA's
planned tools and activities.
In FY 2004, the Agency will continue to
support the sector based Compliance
Assistance Centers, update the Compliance
Clearinghouse, sponsor a Federal advisory
committee on compliance assistance and will
continue to develop and enhance a "Platform"
from which to launch additional assistance
centers. In addition, EPA will begin to work
with partners to develop three new Centers.
Possible candidates include a tribal center,
centers for schools, and the plastics industry.
The Centers are a key component of EPA's
efforts to help small and medium-sized
businesses and governments better understand
and comply with Federal environmental
requirements.
External Factors
The Agency enforcement and compliance
program's ability to meet its annual
performance goals may be affected by a
number of factors. Projected performance
could be impacted by natural catastrophes,
such as major floods or significant chemical
spills, that require a redirection of resources
to address immediate environmental threats.
Many of the targets are coordinated with and
predicated on the assumption that State and
tribal partners will continue or increase their
levels of enforcement and compliance work.
In addition, EPA's enforcement relies on the
Department of Justice to accept and prosecute
cases. The success of EPA's activities hinges
on the availability and applicability of
technology and information systems. Finally,
the regulated community's willingness to
comply with the law will greatly influence
EPA's ability to meet its performance goals.
Other factors, such as the number of
projects subject to scoping requirements
initiated by other Federal agencies, the
number of draft/final documents
(Environmental Assessments and
Environmental Impact Statements) submitted
to EPA for review, streamlining requirements
of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st
Century (TEA-21), and the responsiveness of
other Federal agencies to environmental
concerns raised by EPA, may also impact the
Agency's ability to meet its performance
goals. The NEPA Compliance workload is
driven by the number of project proposals
submitted to EPA for funding or NPDES
permits that require NEPA compliance,
including the Congressional projects for
wastewater, water supply and solid waste
collection facility grants which have increased
in recent years.
Finally, our evolving user community will
also affect the success of our information
efforts. As more States and Tribes develop
the ability to integrate their environmental
information, we must adjust EPA's systems to
ensure that we are able to receive and process
reports from States and industry under
Agency statutory requirements. Local
citizens organizations and the public at large
9-6
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Goal 9: A Credible Deterrent to Pollution and Greater
Compliance with the Law
are also increasingly involved in
environmental decision-making, and their
need for information and more sophisticated
analytical tools is growing.
9-7
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Goal 1O:
Effective Management
-------
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Goal 1O: Effective Management
Strategic Goal: EPA will maintain the highest-quality standards for environmental leadership
and for effective internal management and fiscal responsibility by managing for results.
Resource Summary
($ in 000)
\w
6.1% of Budget
Provide Leadership
Manage for Results Through
Services, Policies, and Operations.
Provide Quality Work Environment.
Provide Audit, Evaluation, and
Investigative Products and Services
FY 2003
President's
Budget
$49,851
$201,231
$156,142
$53,593
$460,816
FY2004
President's
Request
$51,381
$204,814
$155,840
$56,793
$468,827
Difference
$1,530
$3,583
-$302
$3,200
$8,011
Workyears
1,942.2
1890.9
-51.3
Background and Context
The programs under this Goal are
designed to deliver services that enable EPA
program offices to make results-based
decisions and meet environmental protection
goals in a cost-effective manner. Sound
leadership, proactive management of human
resources, policy guidance, innovation,
quality customer service, consultation with
stakeholders, results-based planning and
budgeting, fiscal accountability, and careful
stewardship of our resources provide the
foundation for everything EPA does to
advance the protection of human health and
the environment.
Developing and carrying out these
policies and services is accomplished through
focus on front-line customer services and
measuring results. EPA routinely consults and
coordinates with industries, communities and
other customers and partners to identify
emerging issues and develop strategies to
meet shared objectives. In addition, work
under this goal ensures that EPA's
management systems and processes are
supported by independent evaluations that
promote operational integrity and program
efficiency and effectiveness, allowing us to
obtain the greatest return on taxpayer
investments.
10-1
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Goal 10: Effective Management
Activities under this goal support the full
range of Agency activities for a healthy and
sustainable environment and include the
following areas:
• Effective vision and leadership;
• Results-based planning and budgeting;
• Fiscal accountability;
• Quality customer service;
• Professional development of the Agency
workforce;
• Independent evaluation of Agency
programs;
• Investment in core infrastructure;
• Streamlined business processes;
• Program integrity;
• Management of human resources;
• Performance-based procurement.
EPA's strategy for providing effective
management specifically addresses the major
challenges facing the Federal government as a
whole. EPA's management objectives align
closely with the President's Management
Agenda:
• Strategic Management of Human Capital:
The Agency's Human Capital Action Plan
will build on the work we have
accomplished for FY 2002 and plan for
FY 2003, and implement several new
initiatives, including: a mechanism to
recruit and retain talented researchers; a
program to attract desirable skills and
competencies through a multi-media
approach; and, targeted electronic
recruitment that links with one of the
leaders in private-sector electronic
recruitment.
• Improved Financial Performance: To
further strengthen grants management,
EPA is developing a long-term strategic
plan. The Agency's five-year Strategic
Plan for Grant's Management will focus
on: developing a skilled grants
management workforce; promoting grant
competition; enhancing the Agency's
oversight program; and improving
accountability, coordination and resource
management of grants. The Agency
continues to make significant progress on
the replacement of its aging financial
management systems, and will focus on
completing the Agency payroll
implementation plan, making
recommendations for replacing EPA's
integrated financial management system,
and developing desk-top access to key
cost accounting and performance
information.
• Competitive Sourcing: EPA has worked
diligently to implement the Agency's
Competitive Sourcing Action Plan and
received a "green" Executive Scorecard
progress score from OMB. To sustain this
progress, EPA has formed an Agency-
wide team to adopt an ongoing, strategic
approach to Competitive Sourcing. In FY
2004, the full-time, senior team members
will benchmark best practices, identify
candidate positions for competition or
conversion, and provide suggestions to
better align future Federal Activity
Inventories with the Competitive Sourcing
process.
• Budget and Performance Integration:
EPA received a "green" Executive
Scorecard progress score from OMB, and
10-2
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Goal 10: Effective Management
the Agency will continue improving the
quality of its performance goals and
measures and restate them more closely to
environmental outcomes across its goals.
In FY 2004, the Agency will develop new
sources of performance data, improve the
quality and usability of existing data
sources, and develop tools to set strategic
priorities and track performance.
• E-Government: The Agency's financial
systems modernization initiative, which is
framed by the Agency's Enterprise
Architecture development efforts, is being
designed to make maximum use of
enabling technologies for e-Government,
including e-Grants, e-Procurement, e-
Payroll, and e-Travel. (See Goal 7 for the
full discussion of the Agency's strategy
for e-government issues.)
Means and Strategy
The Agency will continue to provide
vision, leadership, policy and oversight for all
its programs and partnerships. It will employ
management strategies to advance the
protection of human health and the
environment. Strategies that cut across all
organizational boundaries and are imperative
to performing the Agency's mission are:
• Developing partnerships with stake-
holders to ensure mutual goals are met;
• Committing to manage human resources;
foster diversity; and work to secure,
develop, empower, and retain talented
people to accomplish the Agency's
environmental mission;
• Promoting energy efficiency and Green
procurement, and, maintaining a safe,
healthy, and productive work environment
for EPA employees;
• Implementing streamlined systems and
processes in grants and contracts/
management;
• Promoting cost-effective investment in
environmental protection and public
health through sound stewardship and
responsible results-based management.
EPA works to achieve this goal through
keeping pace with technological change,
meeting accounting standards, consulting
with customers and stakeholders, and
improving delivery of services;
• Providing responsive and accountable
management;
• Assessing management challenges and
program risks identified by Congress,
oversight agencies, EPA's Office of
Inspector General (OIG) and State and
Tribal partners;
• Recognizing the special vulnerability of
children to environmental risks and
facilitating the intensified commitment to
protect children.
In FY 2004, the Agency will continue its
emphasis on the implementation of the
Human Capital Action Plan. In addition to
improving current programs, new initiatives
in FY 2004 include a focused program to
recruit and retain talented researchers; a pilot
outreach and recruiting program to attract
desirable skills and competencies and carried
out through a multi-media approach; and,
targeted electronic recruitment that links with
one of the leaders in private-sector electronic
recruitment. These efforts support the
President's Management Agenda and provide
a comprehensive approach to managing
human capital.
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Goal 10: Effective Management
In continuing to provide a quality work
environment that is energy conscious and
values employee safety and security, the
Agency will implement repair and
improvement projects at several EPA
facilities. These facilities provide the tools
essential to research innovative solutions for
current and future environmental problems
and enhance our understanding of
environmental risks. In FY 2004, EPA's goals
in this area are aimed at reducing energy
consumption at its facilities by encouraging
the use of new and advanced technologies and
energy savings performance contracts.
The Agency will ensure a high level of
integrity and accountability in the
management of grants and contracts to protect
Federal funds from waste, fraud, and abuse so
taxpayers receive the full benefit of the
government's investment in environmental
protection. In FY 2004, the EPA will focus
on strengthening grants management by
improving monitoring and auditing of grants
management activities, which will strengthen
the Agency's ability to ensure that grantees
comply with both administrative and
programmatic grant requirements. These
efforts support the President's Management
Agenda for Improved Financial Performance.
By building on the success of its
integrated planning, budgeting, and
accountability processes and initiatives, EPA
promotes the implementation of the
Government Performance and Results Act
(GPRA) to ensure sound stewardship of
Agency fiscal resources. As part of this effort,
the Agency is improving its capabilities to use
performance data and other information to
make cost-effective investments for
environmental results. EPA collaborates
extensively with partners and stakeholders to
forge the partnerships required for shared
approaches to meeting the challenges of
GPRA. EPA consults with internal customers
on fiscal management services to meet their
needs for timeliness, efficiency and quality.
Audit, evaluation, investigative, and
advisory products and services contribute to
effective management by facilitating the
accomplishment of the Agency's mission.
Specifically, audits, evaluations, and advisory
services lead to improved economy,
efficiency, and effectiveness in EPA business
practices and assist in the accomplishment of
environmental goals. Investigations detect
and deter fraud and other improprieties which
undermine the integrity of EPA programs and
resources. All OIG work is focused on the
anticipated value it will have on influencing
resolution of the Agency's major management
challenges, reducing risk, improving
management and program operations, and
saving taxpayer dollars while leading to the
attainment of EPA's strategic goals.
The Agency will continue its commitment
to protect children's health by targeting
resources towards activities that will ensure
that the decisions and actions taken by the
Agency consider risks to children, including
working to develop sound scientific
information to provide the basis for these
decisions and actions. The Agency will also
provide policy direction and guidance on
equal employment opportunity and civil
rights. The Agency's Administrative Law
Judges and its Environmental Appeals Board
Judges will issue decisions on administrative
complaints and environmental adjudications,
respectively, in a timely manner.
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Goal 10: Effective Management
Strategic Objectives and FY 2004
Annual Performance Goals
Manage for Results Through Services,
Policies, and Operations
• Strengthen EPA's management services in
support of the Agency's mission while
addressing the challenges included in the
President's Management Agenda.
Provide Quality Work Environment
• EPA will achieve a 16% energy
consumption reduction from 1990 in its
21 laboratories which is in line to meet
the 2005 requirement of a 20% reduction
from the 1990 base. This includes Green
Power purchases.
Highlights
In support of the President's Management
Agenda, the Agency will build on on-going
efforts to strategically manage its human
capital action plan. In FY 2004, EPA will
focus on several key several key human
capital initiatives; the Senior Executive
Service (SES) Candidate Development
Program, Management Development
Program, and New Skills/New Options
Development Program. The Agency plans to
hire 20 additional interns using the EPA
Intern Program and will enroll 50 candidates
in the SES Candidate Development Program.
These programs constitute key components in
Investing in Our People, EPA 's Strategy for
Human Capital, and address Agency concerns
over the potential loss of leadership,
institutional knowledge and senior
management expertise.
The Agency is committed to
strengthening grants management and moving
toward a green light in improved financial
performance under the President's
Management Agenda. In FY 2004, EPA's
efforts will focus on post-award monitoring,
including managing the administrative on-site
review contractors, analyzing trends in
grantee noncompliance, conducting desk
reviews, and identifying potential candidates
for on-site reviews. In addition, the Agency
will implement its five-year strategic plan for
grant's management and work via the Grant
Competition advocate to ensure compliance
with the new EPA Order on Grant
Competition.
Agency management provides vision and
leadership, and conducts policy oversight for
all Agency programs. Sound management
principles, practices, results-based planning
and budgeting, fiscal accountability, quality
customer service, rational policy guidance
and careful stewardship of our resources are
the foundation for everything EPA does to
advance the protection of human health and
the environment. The effectiveness of EPA's
management systems, polices and procedures
will determine, in large measure, how
successful we will be in pursuit of the other
goals identified in the Agency's annual plan.
In FY 2004, EPA will build on its
progress in linking resources to environmental
results through goal-based fiscal resource
management. The Agency will provide more
useful cost accounting information for
environmental decision-making. EPA will
make continued progress in assessing the
environmental results of its program
activities. Highlights of expected Agency FY
2004 achievements in effective management
are:
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Goal 10: Effective Management
• Expand Agency and State partner capacity
to manage for results through support for
the improvement of the quality and use of
performance measures.
• Meet new Federal requirements for timely
financial information and maintenance of
a clean audit opinion on the Agency's
financial statements to demonstrate the
highest caliber of resource stewardship
and the credibility and reliability of
Agency financial information.
• Continue efforts to provide decision-
makers with integrated cost and
performance information to support
results-based management and progress
on environmental priorities. FY 2004
efforts will focus on:
- continued implementation phases for
replacing EPA's integrated financial
management system;
- further development of desk-top
access to key cost accounting and
performance information;
- continue improvement of the delivery
of core financial management
customer services;
- provide Agency decision-makers with
useful, reliable, and timely cost
information associated with key
results-based environmental
information;
- further integration of cost and
performance information.
The OIG will conduct and supervise
independent and objective audits, evaluations,
and investigations relating to Agency
management and program operations, and
will provide advisory and assistance services.
The OIG will also review and make
recommendations regarding existing and
proposed legislation and regulations
impacting the Agency. In addition, program
evaluations/audits and four other types of
audits will be conducted: contract, assistance
agreement, financial statement, and systems
audits. Four types of investigations will be
performed: program integrity, assistance
agreement, contract and procurement, and
employee integrity.
The OIG Computer Crimes Unit will
conduct investigations of computer intrusions,
support the OIG and Agency personnel as a
Penetration Testing laboratory, and provide a
Forensics laboratory to assist with OIG
investigations. Further, the OIG will receive,
analyze, and facilitate the resolution of
citizens' complaints regarding Agency
programs and activities as part of the
ombudsman function. Combined, these
activities promote economy, efficiency, and
effectiveness within the Agency, prevent and
detect fraud, waste, and abuse, and contribute
to improved environmental quality and human
health. The OIG will keep the EPA
Administrator and Congress informed fully of
problems and deficiencies identified in
Agency management and program operations
and the necessity for corrective actions.
EPA will continue its commitment to
protect children's health. The Agency will
direct resources toward the programs that
reduce risks to children from a range of
environmental hazards. In 2004, the Agency
will continue to work to decrease the
frequency and severity of asthma attacks in
children through reduction and avoidance of
key asthma triggers, including environmental
tobacco smoke, prevalent indoor allergens
and ambient air pollution. The Agency will
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Goal 10: Effective Management
continue efforts to reduce children's exposure
to lead, particularly in low income minority
neighborhoods, where children living in older
housing are much more likely to be exposed
to lead.
External Factors
EPA would be affected by limited
availability of environmental data required to
measure results and make decisions relating
resources to results.
The ability of the Office of Inspector
General to accomplish its annual performance
goals is dependent, in part, on external
factors. Indictments, convictions, fines,
restitutions, civil recoveries, suspensions, and
debarments are affected by the actions of
others (e.g., the Department of Justice). In
addition, the prosecutive criteria established
within various jurisdictions (e.g., dollar
thresholds) can affect the number of
investigative cases.
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Appendices
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Categorical Grants Program
(dollars in millions)
$1,158
$1,202
$1,074
$1,006
$880 $885
$745
$643
$665
$645
674-
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
In 2004, the President's Budget requests a
total of $1,203 million for 24 "categorical"
program grants for State and tribal
governments. This is an increase of
$44million over 2003. EPA will continue to
pursue its strategy of building and supporting
State, local and Tribal capacity to implement,
operate, and enforce the Nation's
environmental laws. Most environmental
laws envision establishment of a decentralized
nationwide structure to protect public health
and the environment. In this way,
environmental goals will ultimately be
achieved through the actions, programs, and
commitments of State, Tribal and local
governments, organizations and citizens.
In 2004, EPA will continue to offer
flexibility to State and Tribal governments to
manage their environmental programs as well
as provide technical and financial assistance
to achieve mutual environmental goals. First,
EPA and its State and Tribal partners will
continue implementing the National
Environmental Performance Partnership
System (NEPPS). NEPPS is designed to
allow States more flexibility to operate their
programs, while increasing emphasis on
measuring and reporting environmental
improvements. Second, Performance
Partnership Grants (PPGs) will continue to
allow States and Tribes funding flexibility to
combine categorical program grants to
address environmental priorities.
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Categorical Grants Program
Highlights:
Air State and Local Assistance
In 2004, the President's Budget requests
$248 million for Air State and Local
Assistance grants to support State, local, and
Tribal air programs as well as radon
programs. This is an increase of $7 million
over 2003 request levels. This increase will
be dedicated to expanding the air toxics
monitoring network.
Enforcement State Grants
In 2004, the President's Budget includes
$27 million to build environmental
partnerships with States and Tribes and to
strengthen their ability to address
environmental and public health threats. The
enforcement State grants request consists of
$20 million for Pesticides Enforcement, $5
million for Toxic Substances Enforcement
Grants, and $2 million for Sector Grants.
State and Tribal enforcement grants will be
awarded to assist in the implementation of
compliance and enforcement provisions of the
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and
the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). These grants
support State and Tribal compliance activities
to protect the environment from harmful
chemicals and pesticides.
Under the Pesticides Enforcement Grant
program, EPA provides resources to States
and Indian Tribes to conduct FIFRA
compliance inspections and take appropriate
enforcement actions and implement programs
for farm worker protection. Under the Toxic
Substances Compliance Grant program, States
receive funding for compliance inspections of
asbestos and polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs) and for implementation of the State
lead abatement enforcement program. The
funds will complement other Federal program
grants for building State capacity for lead
abatement, and enhancing compliance with
disclosure, certification and training
requirements.
Exchange Network
In 2004, the President's Budget requests
$25 million to continue a grant program,
started in 2002, that will provide States and
Tribes assistance to develop the Exchange
Network. This grant program will support
State and Tribal efforts to complete necessary
changes to their information management
systems to facilitate participation, and
enhance State information integration efforts.
The Exchange Network will improve
environmental decision making, improve data
quality and accuracy, ensure security of
sensitive data, and reduce the burden on those
who provide and those who access
information.
Brownfields State and Tribal Grants
In 2004, the President's Budget requests
$60 million, an increase of $10 million over
2003, to continue the Brownfields grant
program that provides assistance to States and
Tribes to develop and enhance their State and
Tribal response programs. EPA believes that
further enhancement of State and Tribal
programs will complement efforts to address
the assessment and cleanup of Brownfields
properties.
Water Pollution Control (Clean Water Act
Section 106) Grants
In 2004, the President's Budget requests
$200 million for Water Pollution Control
grants, an increase of $20 million over 2003.
This increase will help States and Tribes fill
critical gaps in meeting their basic Clean
Water Act responsibilities. The additional
funding will support a mixture of activities,
depending on individual States' needs,
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Categorical Grants Program
including water quality monitoring and
assessment, standards development, Total
Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) development,
and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) permitting.
Wetlands
In 2004, the President's Budget requests
$20 million for Wetlands Program Grants, an
increase of $5 million over 2003.
Specifically, this increase will enhance States'
efforts to protect wetlands and other waters no
longer under protection due to a 2001
Supreme Court decision and help States and
Tribes assume more decision-making
authority.
Public Water System Supervision Grants
In 2004, the President's Budget requests
$105 for Public Water System Supervision
(PWSS) grants, an increase of $12 million
over 2003. This funding level will enhance
State and Tribal capacity to assist drinking
water systems in the implementation of high
priority drinking water regulations, and to
meet public health goals.
Indian General Assistance Program Grants
In 2004, the President's Budget requests
$63 million for the Indian General
Assistance Program (GAP), an increase of $5
million over 2003. This increase will help
Federally recognized Tribes and inter-tribal
consortia develop and assume environmental
programs.
Homeland Security
In 2004, the President's Budget requests
$5 million for homeland security grants to
support States' efforts to work with drinking
water and wastewater systems to develop and
enhance emergency operations plans; conduct
training in the implementation of remedial
plans in small systems; and, develop
detection, monitoring and treatment
technology to enhance drinking water and
wastewater security.
Elimination of Tribal Cap on Non-Point
Sources
In 2004, the President's Budget is
proposing to eliminate the statutory one-third-
of-one-percent cap on Clean Water Act
Section 319 Nonpoint Source Pollution grants
that may be awarded to Tribes. Tribes
applying for and receiving Section 319 grants
have steadily increased from two in 1991 to
over 70 in 2001. This proposal recognizes the
increasing demand for resources to address
Tribal nonpoint source program needs.
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Categorical Grants Program
CATEGORIAL PROGRAM GRANTS (STAG)
by National Program and State Grant
(Dollars in Thousands)
FY2003 FY 2004
President's President's
Grant Budget Budget
Air & Radiation
State and Local Assistance
Tribal Assistance
Radon
Water
Pollution Control (Section 106)
Beaches Protection
Nonpoint Source (Section 319)
Wetlands Program Development
Water Quality Cooperative Agrmts
Targeted Watersheds
Drinking Water
Public Water System Supervision (PWSS)
Underground Injection Control (UIC)
Homeland Security
Hazardous Waste
H.W. Financial Assistance
Brownfields
Underground Storage Tanks
Pesticides & Toxics
Pesticides Program Implementation
Lead
Toxic Substances Compliance
Homeland Security
Pesticides Enforcement
Multimedia
Environmental Information
Enforcement State Grants
Pollution Prevention
Enforcement & Compliance Assurance
Indian General Assistance Program
GRAND TOTAL
$221,540
$11,045
$8,140
$240,725
$180,377
$10,000
$238,477
$14,967
$18,958
$20,000
$482,779
$93,100
$10,951
$5,000
$109,051
$106,364
$50,000
$11,918
$168,282
$13,086
$13,682
$5,139
$0
$19,868
$51,774
$25,000
$15,000
$5,986
$2,209
$57,470
$105,665
$1,158,276
$228,550
$11,050
$8,150
$247,750
$200,400
$10,000
$238,500
$20,000
$19,000
$20,000
$507,900
$105,100
$11,000
$5,000
$121,100
$106,400
$60,000
$11,950
$178,350
$13,100
$13,700
$5,150
$0
$19,900
$51,850
$25,000
$0
$6,000
$2,250
$62,500
$95,750
$1,202,700
Difference
$7,0109
$6
$10
$7,026
$20,023
$0
$23
$5,033
$42
$0
$25,121
$12,000
$49
$0
$12,049
$36
$10,000
$32
$10,068
$15
$18
$11
$0
$32
$76
$0
-$15,000
$14
$41
$5,030
-$9,915
$44,424
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Infrastructure Finance
(dollars in millions)
Infrastructure Financing
Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF)
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF)
Mexican Border Projects
Alaska Native Villages
Targeted Projects - Puerto Rico
Targeted Projects - South Dakota Homestake
Mine
Brownfields Environmental Projects
Total
FY 2003
President's Budget
$1,212
$850
$75
$40
$0
$8
$121
$2,306
FY 2004
President's Budget
$850
$850
$50
$40
$8
$0
$121
$1,919
Infrastructure Funds
The President's Budget requests a total
of $1,919 million in 2004 for EPA's
Infrastructure programs, a decrease of $387
million from 2003. Of the total
infrastructure request, $1,748.0 million will
support EPA's Goal 2: Clean and Safe
Water, $121 million will support EPA's
Goal 5: Better Waste Management, and
$50.0 million will support EPA's Goal 6:
Reduction of Global and Cross-border
Environmental Risks. The $387.0 million
decrease is the net result of a $362 million
decrease to the Clean Water State Revolving
Fund (CWSRF); a decrease of $25 million
for Mexican Border Projects; a decrease of
$8 million in Targeted Projects for the
Homestake Mine; and an increase of $8
million in Targeted Projects for drinking
water in Puerto Rico.
Infrastructure funding under the State
and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG)
appropriation provides financial assistance
to States, municipalities and Tribal
governments to fund a variety of drinking
water, wastewater, and Brownfields
infrastructure projects. These funds are
essential to fulfill the Federal government's
commitment to help our State, Tribal and
local partners obtain adequate funding to
construct the facilities required to comply
with Federal environmental requirements
and ensure public health and revitalize
contaminated properties.
Providing STAG funds to capitalize
State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs, EPA
works in partnership with the States to
provide low-cost loans to municipalities for
infrastructure construction. As set-asides of
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Infrastructure Finance
the SRF programs, grants are available to
Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages for
drinking water and wastewater infrastructure
needs based on national priority lists. The
Brownfields Environmental Program provides
States, Tribes, political subdivisions
(including cities, towns, and counties) the
necessary tools, information, and strategies
for promoting a unified approach to
environmental assessment cleanup,
characterization, and redevelopment at sites
contaminated with hazardous wastes and
petroleum contaminants.
The resources requested in this budget
will enable the Agency, in conjunction with
EPA's State, local, and Tribal partners, to
achieve several important goals for 2004.
Some of these goals include:
• 92 percent of the population served by
community water systems will receive
drinking water meeting all health-based
standards, up from 83% in 1994.
• Award 126 assessment grants under
the Brownfields program, bringing the
cumulative total grants awarded to 689 by
the end of FY 2004 paving the way for
productive reuse of these properties. This
will bring the total number of sites
assessed to 5,800 while leveraging a total
of $6.7 billion in cleanup and
redevelopment funds since 1995. EPA's
Brownfields program is complemented by
efforts of the Department of Housing and
Urban Development as well as tax
incentive programs.
Goal 2: Enhancing Human Health
through Clean and Safe Water
Capitalizing Clean Water and Drinking
Water State Revolving Funds
The Clean Water and Drinking Water
State Revolving Fund programs demonstrate a
true partnership between States, localities and
the Federal government. These programs
provide Federal financial assistance to States,
localities, and Tribal governments to protect
the nation's water resources by providing
funds for the construction of drinking water
and wastewater treatment facilities. The State
revolving funds are two important elements of
the nation's substantial investment in sewage
treatment and drinking water systems, which
provide Americans with significant benefits in
the form of reduced water pollution and safe
drinking water.
EPA will continue to capitalize the Clean
Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF).
Through this program, the Federal
government provides financial assistance for
wastewater and other water projects,
including nonpoint source, estuary, storm-
water, and sewer overflow projects. Water
infrastructure projects contribute to direct
ecosystem improvements by lowering the
amount of nutrients and toxic pollutants in all
types of surface waters.
The President's Budget proposes to fund
the CWSRF at $850 million each year
through 2011. Because of the revolving
nature of the program, funds invested in the
SRF have a multiplier effect that generates far
more purchasing power over 20 years than
grants. As a result, this extended funding of
$4.4 billion is projected to close the $21
billion gap between current capital funding
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Infrastructure Finance
levels and future water infrastructure capital
needs estimated by EPA, assuming that
spending increases at three percent real
growth per year.
More than $19 billion has already been
provided to capitalize the CWSRF, over twice
the original Clean Water Act authorized level
of $8 billion. Total CWSRF funding
available for loans since 1987, reflecting loan
repayments, State match dollars, and other
funding sources, is approximately $42 billion,
of which more than $39 billion has been
provided to communities as financial
assistance. As of July 2002, $3.7 billion is
being readied for loans.
The dramatic progress made in improving
the quality of wastewater treatment since the
1970s is a national success. In 1972, only 84
million people were served by secondary or
advanced wastewater treatment facilities.
Today, 99 percent of community wastewater
treatment plants, serving 181 million people,
use secondary treatment or better.
The President's Budget request extends
Federal support for the Drinking Water State
Revolving Fund so it can revolve at $1 billion
per year, more than double the previous goal
of $500 million. To realize this increased
revolving level, we are proposing $850
million for FY 2004 to FY 2018. This
proposal extends the commitment for the
DWSRF well beyond the FY 2003
authorization period. Because of the
revolving nature of the program, funds
invested in the SRF have a multiplier effect
that generates far more purchasing power
over 20 years than grants. As a result, this
extended funding is projected help close the
$45 billion gap between current capital
funding levels and future water infrastructure
capital needs estimated by EPA, assuming
that spending increases at three percent real
growth per year. Through the DWSRF
program, States will provide loans to finance
improvements to community water systems so
that they can achieve compliance with the
mandates of the Safe Drinking Water Act and
continue to protect public health. Some non-
State recipients, such as the District of
Columbia and the Tribes, will receive their
DWSRF allocations in the form of grants.
The DWSRF will be self-sustaining in the
long run and will help offset the costs of
ensuring safe drinking water supplies and
assisting small communities in meeting their
responsibilities. Through FY 2002, Congress
has appropriated $5 billion for the DWSRF
program. Through June 30, 2002, States had
received $4 billion in capitalization grants,
which when combined with the State match,
bond proceeds and other funds provided $6.7
billion in total cumulative funds available for
loans. Through June 30, 2002, States had
made more than 2,400 loans totaling $5
billion and $2 billion remained available for
loans.
State Flexibility Between SRFs
The Agency requests continuation of
authority provided in the 1996 Safe Drinking
Water Act (SDWA) Amendments which
allows States to transfer an amount equal to
33 percent of their DWSRF grants to their
CWSRF programs, or an equivalent amount
from their CWSRF program to their DWSRF
program. The transfer provision gives States
flexibility to address the most critical
demands in either program at a given time.
The statutory transfer provision expired
September 30, 2002.
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Infrastructure Finance
Set-Asides for Tribes
To improve public health and water
quality in Indian Country, the Agency
proposes to continue the 1 1/2% set-aside of
the CWSRF for wastewater grants to Tribes
as provided in the Agency's 2002
appropriation. More than 70,000 homes in
Indian country have inadequate or nonexistent
wastewater treatment. EPA and the Indian
Health Service estimate that Tribal
wastewater infrastructure needs exceed $650
million.
Supporting Alaska Native Villages
The President's Budget requests $40
million for Alaska native villages for the
construction of wastewater and drinking water
facilities to address serious sanitation
problems. EPA will continue to work with
the Department of Health and Human
Services' Indian Health Service, the State of
Alaska, and local communities to provide
needed financial and technical assistance.
Targeted Projects
The President's Budget requests $8
million for the design of upgrades to
Metropolitano's Sergio Cuevas treatment
plant in San Juan, Puerto Rico. When all
upgrades are complete, EPA estimates that
about 1.4 million people will enjoy safer,
cleaner drinking water.
Goal 5: Better Waste Management,
Restoration of Contaminated Waste
Sites, and Emergency Response
Brownfields Environmental Projects
The President's Budget requests a total of
$121 million for Brownfields environmental
projects. EPA will award grants for
assessment activities, cleanup, and
Brownfields cleanup revolving loan funds
(BCRLF). Additionally, this includes cleanup
of sites contaminated by petroleum or
petroleum products and environmental job
training grants.
Goal 6: Reducing Cross-border
Environmental Risks - U.S./Mexico
Border
The President's Budget requests a total of
$50 million for water infrastructure projects
along the U.S./Mexico Border. The goal of
this program is to reduce environmental and
human health risks along the U.S./Mexico
Border. The communities along both sides of
the Border are facing unusual human health
and environmental threats because of the lack
of adequate wastewater and drinking water
facilities. EPA's U.S./Mexico Border
program provides funds to support the
planning, design and construction of high
priority water and wastewater treatment
projects along the U.S./Mexico Border. The
Agency's goal is to have a cumulative total of
9,900 people in the Mexico border area
protected from health risks because of
adequate water and wastewater sanitation
systems funded.
B-4
-------
Trust Funds
(dollars in millions)
Superfund
Response
Enforcement
Management & Support
Other Federal Agencies
Transfers
Inspector General
Research & Development
Superfund Total
Base Realignment and Closure
LUST
Trust Fund Total:
FY 2003
President's Budget
$
$832
$172
$135
$11
$13
$111
$1,273
$0
$72
$1,345
FTE
1501
1129
488
0
94
109
3321
84
80
3485
FY 2004
President's Budget
$
$1,005
$176
$140
$11
$13
$45
$1,390
$0
$73
$1,462
FTE
1,514
1,121
488
0
94
130
3,347
84
80
3,511
Superfund
In 2004, the President's Budget requests a
total of $1,390 million in discretionary budget
authority and 3,347 workyears for Superfund.
Currently, more than 92 percent of 1,479 sites
on the Superfund final National Priorities List
(NPL) are either undergoing cleanup
construction (remedial or removal) or are
completed.
Of the total funding requested, $1,005
million and 1,514 workyears are for
Superfund cleanups. The Agency's
Superfund cleanup program addresses public
health and environmental threats from
uncontrolled releases of hazardous
substances. Included in the FY 2004 response
budget is a $150 million increase specifically
targeted for Superfund cleanups. This
increase in funding will allow construction to
begin at high priority sites and address the
growing backlog of construction project
resource needs. The Agency expects to
demonstrate significant progress in reducing
risk to human health and the environment and
revitalizing the number of construction
completions at sites on the NPL within two to
three years. In 2004, EPA and its partners
will complete 40 Superfund cleanups at NPL
sites to achieve the overall goal of 924 total
construction completions by the end of 2004.
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Trust Funds
Of the total funding requested, $176
million and 1,121 workyears are for the
Superfund Enforcement program. One of the
Superfund program's primary goals is to have
responsible parties pay for and conduct
cleanups at abandoned or uncontrolled
hazardous waste sites. The program focuses
on maximizing all aspects of Potentially
Responsible Party (PRP) participation,
including having PRPs initiate work at 70%
of the new construction starts at non-Federal
Facility Superfund sites, and emphasizing
fairness in the settlement process. Where PRP
negotiations and previous enforcement
actions fail, EPA uses its appropriation to
clean up sites and then seeks to recover these
costs from the PRPs.
The remaining portion of the Superfund
FY 2004 President's Budget is comprised of
Management and Support, other Federal
agencies, Research and Development and the
Inspector General. The President's Budget
requests $140 million and 488 workyears for
management and support activities. These
resources support Agency-wide resource
management and control functions including:
essential infrastructure, contract
administration, financial accounting and other
fiscal operations.
Included in our Superfund request is $11
million for our Federal agency partners. The
Agency works with several other Federal
agencies to perform essential services in areas
where the Agency does not possess the
specialized expertise. Contributors include
the United States Coast Guard, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the
Department of the Interior, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, and the
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration.
The President's Budget also requests $58
million and 224 workyears to be transferred to
Research and Development for innovative
cleanup technology testing and the Inspector
General for program auditing.
Base Realignment and Closure Act
The FY 2004 President's Budget requests
84 reimbursable workyears to conduct the
Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC)
program. Since 1993, EPA has worked with
the Department of Defense (DoD) and the
States' environmental programs to make
property environmentally acceptable for
transfer, while protecting human health and
the environment at realigning or closing
military installations. Between 1988 and
1995, 497 major military installations
representing the Army, Navy, Air Force, and
Defense Logistics Agency were slated for
realignment or closure. Of these, 107
installations have been designated as Fast-
Track sites. The Fast-Track program strives
to make parcels available for reuse as quickly
as possible, by either transfer of
uncontaminated or remedial parcels, or lease
of contaminated parcels where cleanup is
underway or "early transfer" of contaminated
property undergoing cleanup.
Leaking Underground Storage Tanks
The FY 2004 President's Budget requests
$73 million and 80 workyears for the Leaking
Underground Storage Tank (LUST) program.
Approximately 85 percent of this will be used
for State cooperative agreements and support
for tribal cleanup. One of the Agency's
highest priorities in the LUST program over
the next several years is to address
approximately 143,000 cleanups that have yet
to be completed (as of September 2002), and
to address LUST sites that are difficult to
C-2
-------
Trust Funds
remediate because they are contaminated by
methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and other
oxygenates. In 2004 the Agency's goal is to
complete 21,000 cleanups under the
supervision of EPA and its State, local and
tribal partners.
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Environmental Protection Agency
Summary of Agency Resources by Appropriation
(Dollars in Thousands)
Appropriation
Environmental Programs & Management
Science &Technology
Buildings & Facilities
Oil Spill Response
Inspector General
Superfund
Superfund Program
Research Transfer
IG Transfer
State & Tribal Assistance Grants
Leaking Underground Storage Tanks
Less
Offsetting Receipts
Grand Total Budget Authority
FY 2003
President's
Budget
$2,047,704
$670,008
$42,918
$15,581
$35,325
$1,272,888
$1,148,978
$111,168
$12,742
$3,463,776
$72,313
$7,620,513
($4,000)
$7,616,513
FY 2004
President's
Budget
$2,219,659
$731,483
$42,918
$16,209
$36,808
$1,389,716
$1,331,805
$44,697
$13,214
$3,121,200
$72,545
$7,630,537
($4,000)
$7,626,537
Note: FY 2003 excludes $107 million for proposed new pension and health
benefits legislation to make columns comparable.
D-l
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Environmental Protection Agency
Summary of Agency Resources by Goal
(Dollars in Thousands)
Goal
1. Clean Air
2. Clean and Safe Water
3. Safe Food
4. Preventing Pollution
5. Better Waste Management
6. Reduce Global & Cross-Border Risk
7. Quality Environmental Information
8. Sound Science
9. Credible Deterrent
10. Effective Management
Less
Offsetting Receipts
Grand Total
2003
President's
Budget
$597,977
$3,214,674
$109,815
$326,652
$1,711,511
$269,727
$199,040
$327,838
$402,463
$460,816
$7,620,513
($4,000)
$7,616,513
2004
President's
Budget
$617,415
$2,952,473
$119,012
$346,341
$1,846,635
$263,848
$228,322
$357,106
$430,561
$468,827
$7,630,537
($4,000)
$7,626,537
Delta
$19,438
($262,201)
$9,197
$19,689
$135,124
$5,879
$29,282
$29,268
$28,098
$8,011
$10,024
$0
$10,024
Note: FY2003 excludes $107 million for proposed new pension and health benefits legislation
to make columns comparable.
D-2
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Environmental Protection Agency
Summary of Agency Workforce by Goal
(Workyears)
2003 2004
President's President's
Goal
1. Clean Air
2. Clean and Safe Water
3. Safe Food
4. Preventing Pollution
5. Better Waste Management
6. Reduce Global & Cross-Border Risk
7. Quality Environmental Information
8. Sound Science
9. Credible Deterrent
10. Effective Management
Grand Total
Budget
1820.0
2742.8
770.1
1193.9
4500.2
504.7
847.1
996.3
2330.7
1942.2
17648.0
Budget
1823.3
2776.4
785.0
1188.9
4556.6
502.3
840.0
1006.2
2480.4
1890.9
17850.0
Delta
3.3
33.6
14.9
(5.0)
56.4
(2.4)
(7.1)
9.9
149.7
(51.3)
202.0
D-3
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Key Programs
Key Program
Acid Rain -CASTNet
Acid Rain -Program Implementation
Administrative Law
Air Toxics Research
Air, State, Local and Tribal Assistance Grants: Other Air Grants
American Indian Environmental Office
Assessments
Beach Grants
Brownfields
Capacity Building
Carbon Monoxide
Chesapeake Bay
Childrens' Health, Program Development and Coordination
Children's Indoor Environments
Civil Enforcement
Civil Rights/Title VI Compliance
Climate Change Research
Climate Protection Program: Buildings
Climate Protection Program: Carbon Removal
Climate Protection Program: Industry
Climate Protection Program: International Capacity Building
Climate Protection Program: State & Local
Climate Protection Program: Transportation
Coastal Environmental Monitoring
Commission for Environmental Cooperation - CEC
Communicating Research Information
Community Assistance
Community Right to Know (Title III)
Compliance Assistance and Centers
Compliance Incentives
Compliance Monitoring
Congressional Projects
Congressional/Legislative Analysis
Correspondence Coordination
FY 2003
President's
Budget
$3,991
$12,790
$2,870
$19,884
$240,725
$10,220
$76,236
$10,000
$200,000
$12,088
$4,025
$20,651
$6,671
$13,918
$101,840
$11,771
$21,729
$49,821
$1,576
$25,673
$7,087
$2,275
$21,567
$7,671
$3,535
$5,570
$1,429
$4,953
$26,068
$9,690
$51,198
$1,991
$4,858
$1,096
FY 2004
President's
Budget
$3,991
$12,813
$2,930
$20,342
$247,750
$10,666
$77,067
$10,000
$210,754
$5,785
$3,887
$20,778
$6,710
$16,715
$115,624
$12,114
$21,529
$48,325
$1,735
$26,439
$6,608
$2,569
$22,935
$7,801
$3,938
$11,399
$0
$5,018
$27,638
$10,308
$59,716
$2,145
$4,958
$1,128
D-4
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Key Programs
Key Program
Criminal Enforcement
Data Collection
Data Management
Data Standards
Design for the Environment
Direct Public Information and Assistance
Disadvantaged Communities
Disaster Management Initiative
Drinking Water Implementation
Drinking Water Regulations
Ecosystems Condition, Protection and Restoration Research
Effluent Guidelines
Endocrine Disrupter Research
Endocrine Disrupter Screening Program
Enforcement Training
Environment and Trade
Environmental Appeals Boards
Environmental Finance Center Grants (EFC)
Environmental Justice
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program, EMAP
Environmental Technology Verification (ETV)
Executive Support
Existing Chemical Data, Screening, Testing and Management
Facilities Infrastructure and Operations
Federal Facilities
Federal Facility lAGs
Federal Preparedness
Fish Contamination/Consumption
Geospatial
Global Toxics
Global Trade Issues for Pesticides and Chemicals
Grants to States for Lead Risk Reduction
Great Lakes
Great Lakes Legacy Act
FY 2003
President's
Budget
$42,538
$126
$19,003
$6,481
$4,811
$8,993
$4,481
$0
$38,935
$30,034
$105,795
$23,010
$12,179
$9,064
$3,880
$1,844
$1,738
$2,000
$4,979
$38,260
$3,618
$3,121
$28,332
$376,364
$31,916
$9,092
$9,883
$2,788
$743
$1,415
$3,125
$13,682
$2,685
$0
FY 2004
President's
Budget
$45,167
$3,454
$27,216
$28,018
$4,881
$9,476
$4,677
$1,500
$44,339
$31,435
$109,678
$23,632
$11,918
$9,003
$3,900
$1,703
$1,775
$2,000
$4,726
$38,873
$3,682
$3,179
$29,667
$388,883
$32,744
$9,654
$10,105
$2,831
$16,473
$1,557
$3,367
$13,700
$2,712
$15,000
D-5
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Key Programs
Key Program
Great Lakes National Program Office
Gulf of Mexico
Hazardous Air Pollutants
Hazardous Substance Research: Hazardous Substance Research
Centers
Hazardous Substance Research: Superfund Innovative
Technology Evaluation (SITE)
Hazardous Waste Research
Homeland Security-Communication and Information
Homeland Security-Critical Infrastructure Protection
Homeland Security-Preparedness, Response and Recovery
Homeland Security -Protect EPA Personnel/Infrastructure
Homestake Mine
Human Health Research
Immediate Office of the Administrator
Indoor Environments
Information Exchange Network
Information Integration
Information Technology Management
Intergovernmental Relations - OA
International Safe Drinking Water
Investigations
Lake Champlain
Lead
Lead Risk Reduction Program
Leaking Underground Storage Tanks Cooperative Agreements
Legal Services
Long Island Sound
LUST Cleanup Programs
Management Services and Stewardship
Marine Pollution
Multi-Media Communications
Multilateral Fund
NACEPT Support
NAFTA Implementation
FY 2003
President's
Budget
$15,128
$4,327
$52,622
$4,599
$6,545
$9,549
$477
$25,754
$87,585
$19,600
$8,000
$51,825
$4,344
$9,308
$25,000
$20,157
$28,082
$4,128
$0
$9,470
$955
$340
$13,166
$58,341
$46,303
$477
$10,285
$149,306
$8,171
$873
$9,576
$1,670
$748
FY 2004
President's
Budget
$15,392
$4,432
$54,236
$4,604
$6,573
$10,782
$3,820
$38,481
$60,280
$20,488
$0
$53,634
$4,414
$8,859
$25,000
$0
$57,317
$4,319
$348
$10,527
$955
$350
$14,833
$58,399
$47,987
$477
$10,581
$173,177
$12,630
$919
$11,000
$1,692
$759
D-6
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Key Programs
Key Program
National Association Liaison
National Estuaries Program/Coastal Watersheds
National Nonpoint Source Program Implementation
National Program chemicals: PCBs, Asbestos, Fibers,and Dioxin
NEPA Implementation
New Chemical Review
Nitrogen Oxides
NPDES Program
Oil Spills Preparedness, Prevention and Response
Other Federal Agency Superfund Support
Ozone
Pacific Northwest
Particulate Matter
Particulate Matter Research
Partnerships to Reduce High Risk Pesticide Use
PBTI
Performance Track
Pesticide Registration
Pesticide Reregi strati on
Pesticide Residue Tolerance Reassessments
Pesticides Program Implementation Grant
Planning and Resource Management
Pollution Prevention Incentive Grants to States
Pollution Prevention Program
POPs Implementation
Preventing Contamination of Drinking Water Sources
Program Evaluations/ Audit
Public Access
Radiation
Radon
RCRA Corrective Action
RCRA Enforcement State Grants
RCRA Improved Waste Management
RCRA State Grants
FY 2003
President's
Budget
$263
$19,246
$16,909
$6,995
$11,786
$14,730
$1,399
$41,721
$12,332
$10,676
$77,499
$1,029
$62,624
$66,662
$12,280
$2,581
$1,835
$42,120
$48,371
$5,268
$13,086
$62,791
$5,986
$9,903
$680
$22,097
$38,597
$15,569
$22,419
$6,494
$38,965
$42,905
$61,860
$63,459
FY 2004
President's
Budget
$268
$19,094
$17,628
$7,506
$12,296
$15,032
$1,437
$44,376
$12,898
$10,676
$69,498
$1,073
$74,788
$65,709
$11,686
$2,419
$1,835
$35,981
$51,504
$12,811
$13,100
$55,329
$6,000
$10,627
$667
$23,312
$39,494
$15,725
$23,953
$6,188
$41,107
$42,905
$61,050
$63,495
D-7
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Key Programs
Key Program
RCRA Waste Reduction
Recreational Water and Wet Weather Flows Research
Regional and Global Environmental Policy Development
Regional Geographic Program
Regional Haze
Regional Management
Regional Operations and Liaison
Regional Program Infrastructure
Regional Science and Technology
Regulatory Development
Reinventing Environmental Information (REI)
Research to Support Contaminated Sites
Research to Support Emerging Issues
Research to Support FQPA
Research to Support Pollution Prevention
Research to Support Safe Communities
Risk Management Plans
Safe Drinking Water Research
Safe Pesticide Applications
Safe Recreational Waters
SBREFA
Science Advisory Board
Science Coordination and Policy
Sector Grants
Small Business Ombudsman
Small, Minority, Women-Owned Business Assistance
South Florida/Everglades
STAR Fellowships Program
State Multimedia Enforcement Grants
State Nonpoint Source Grants
State Pesticides Enforcement Grants
State Pollution Control Grants (Section 106)
State PWSS Grants
State Toxics Enforcement Grants
FY 2003
President's
Budget
$13,741
$5,497
$2,047
$8,651
$2,408
$41,222
$478
$6,032
$3,602
$36,382
$7,900
$28,121
$29,151
$12,042
$44,075
$25,150
$7,446
$49,491
$10,194
$843
$609
$3,353
$950
$2,209
$3,124
$3,305
$2,666
$0
$15,000
$238,477
$19,868
$180,377
$93,100
$5,139
FY 2004
President's
Budget
$16,850
$5,966
$1,629
$8,756
$2,454
$50,786
$488
$0
$3,609
$38,566
$0
$28,275
$41,471
$13,273
$37,869
$25,628
$7,490
$49,231
$12,451
$858
$616
$4,409
$1,604
$2,250
$3,149
$3,407
$2,690
$4,875
$0
$238,500
$19,900
$200,400
$105,100
$5,150
D-8
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Key Programs
Key Program
State Underground Injection Control Grants
State Water Quality Cooperative Agreements
State Wetlands Program Grants
Stratospheric Ozone Protection
Sulfur Dioxide
Superfund - Cost Recovery
Superfund - Justice Support
Superfund - Maximize PRP Involvement (including reforms)
Superfund Remedial Actions
Superfund Removal Actions
System Modernization
Targeted Watershed Grants
Technical Cooperation with Industrial and Developing Countries
TMDLs
Toxic Release Inventory / Right-to-Know (RtK)
Tribal General Assistance Grants
Tropospheric Ozone Research
U.S. - Mexico Border
Underground Storage Tanks (UST)
UST State Grants
Wastewater Management/Tech Innovations
Water Infrastructure: Alaska Native Villages
Water Infrastructure: Puerto Rico
Water Infrastructure: Clean Water State Revolving Fund
Water Infrastructure: Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
Water Infrastructure: Mexico Border
Water Quality Criteria and Standards
Water Quality Infrastructure Protection
Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment
Watershed Assistance
Web Products Quality Control
Wetlands
FY 2003
President's
Budget
$10,951
$38,958
$14,967
$5,642
$13,625
$30,376
$28,150
$84,397
$493,647
$202,610
$13,690
$0
$4,330
$21,433
$15,293
$57,470
$6,758
$5,365
$7,026
$11,918
$9,074
$40,000
$0
$1,212,000
$850,000
$75,000
$19,127
$17,239
$11,968
$9,479
$767
$18,382
$7,620,513
FY 2004
President's
Budget
$11,000
$19,000
$20,000
$5,787
$14,102
$31,059
$28,150
$89,471
$649,345
$203,190
$0
$20,000
$3,518
$25,084
$13,057
$62,500
$7,024
$6,484
$7,153
$11,950
$9,485
$40,000
$8,000
$850,000
$850,000
$50,000
$24,077
$18,056
$14,072
$9,396
$812
$19,300
$7,630,537
D-9
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Environmental Protection Agency
List of Acronyms
AA Assistant Administrator
ADR Alternative Dispute Resolution
ARA Assistant Regional Administrator
ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
B&F Buildings and Facilities
CAA Clean Air Act
CAFO Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
CAP Clean Air Partnership Fund
CBEP Community-Based Environmental Protection
CCAP Climate Change Action Plan
CCTI Climate Change Technology Initiative
CEIS Center for Environmental Information and Statistics
CFO Chief Financial Officer
CSI Common Sense Initiative
CSO Combined Sewer Overflows
CWA Clean Water Act
CWAP Clean Water Action Plan
DBF Disinfectant By Products
DfE Design for the Environment
EDP Environmental Leadership Project
EJ Environmental Justice
EPCRA Emergency Preparedness and Community Right-to-Know Act
EPM Environmental Programs and Management
ERRS Emergency Rapid Response Services
ESC Executive Steering Committee
ETI Environmental Technology Initiative
ETV Environmental Technology Verification
FAN Fixed Account Numbers
FCO Funds Certifying Officer
FASAB Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board
FIFRA Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
FMFIA Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act
FQPA Food Quality Protection Act
GAPG General Assistance Program Grants
GHG Greenhouse Gas
GPRA Government Performance and Results Act
HSWA Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984
HWIR Hazardous Waste Identification Media and Process Rules
IAG Interagency Agreements
ICR Information Collection Rule
IFMS Integrated Financial Management System
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Environmental Protection Agency
List of Acronyms
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IRM Information Resource Management
ISTEA Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act
ITMRA Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1995-AKA Clinger/Cohen Act
LUST Leaking Underground Storage Tanks
MACT Maximum Achievable Control Technology
MUR Monthly Utilization Report
NAAQs National Ambient Air Quality Standards
NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement
NAPA National Academy of Public Administration
NAS National Academy of Science
NDPD National Data Processing Division
NEP National Estuary Program
NEPPS National Environmental Performance Partnership System
NESHAP National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
NOA New Obligation Authority
NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
NPL National Priority List
NPM National Program Manager
NPR National Performance Review
NFS Non-Point Source
OAM Office of Acquisition Management
OA Office of the Administrator
OAR Office of Air and Radiation
OARM Office of Administration and Resources Management
OCFO Office of the Chief Financial Officer
OCHP Office of Children's Health Protection
OECA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
OEI Office of Environmental Information
OERR Office of Emergency and Remedial Response
OFA Other Federal Agencies
OFPP Office of Federal Procurement Policy
OGC Office of the General Counsel
OIA Office of International Activities
OIG Office of the Inspector General
OMTR Open market trading rule
OPAA Office of Planning, Analysis and Accountability
OPPE Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation
OPPTS Office of Pesticides, Prevention and Toxic Substances
ORD Office of Research and Development
OSWER Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
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Environmental Protection Agency
List of Acronyms
OTAG Ozone Transport Advisory Group
OW Office of Water
PBTs Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxics
PC&B Personnel, Compensation and Benefits
PM Paniculate Matter
PNGV Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles
POTWs Publicly Owned Treatment Works
PPG Performance Partnership Grants
PRC Program Results Code
PWSS Public Water System Supervision
RC Responsibility Center
RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976
RGI Regional Geographic Initiative
RMP Risk Management Plan
RPIO Responsible Planning Implementation Office
RR Reprogramming Request
RWTA Rural Water Technical Assistance
S&T Science and Technology
SALC Suballocation (level)
SARA Superfund Amendments and Reauthorizations Act of 1986
SBO Senior Budget Officer
SBREFA Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
SDWA Safe Drinking Water Act
SDWIS Safe Drinking Water Information System
SITE Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation
SLC Senior Leadership Council
SRF State Revolving Fund
SRO Senior Resource Official
STAG State and Tribal Assistance Grants
STORS Sludge-to-Oil-Reactor
SWP Source Water Protection
SWTR Surface Water Treatment Rule
TMDL Total Maximun Daily Load
TRI Toxic Release Inventory
TSCA Toxic Substances Control Act
UIC Underground Inj ecti on C ontrol
UST Underground Storage Tanks
WCF Working Capital Fund
WIF Water Infrastructure Funds
WIPP Waste Isolation Pilot Proj ect
E-3
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Environmental Protection Agency
List of Acronyms
E-4
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