United States
             Environmental Protection
             Agency
Office Of
Chief Financial Officer
(2732)
EPA 205-S-98-001
January 1998
&EPA      Summary Of The 1999 Budget

-------
Page Intentionally Blank

-------
                             TABLE OF CONTENTS
U.S. EPA Headquarters Libraq
       Mail code 3301
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue
   Washington DC  20460
                                                                           PAGE

Introduction	....	,	3
EPA's Mission and Purpose
   EPA's Goals
   Guiding Principles
   New Approaches to Planning and Budgeting
   Organization of the Annual Plan

Overview	,	7
  Overview of the 1999 Annual Plan
  Key Initiatives in the Annual Plan
  Summary

Goals

Clean Air	,	15
Clean and Safe Water ,	21
Safe Food	27
Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk in Communities,
   Homes, Workplaces and Ecosystems	,	31
Better Waste Management and Restoration of
   Contaminated Waste Sites	37
Reduction of Global and Cross-Border Environmental Risks	43
Expansion of Americans' Right to Know About Their Environment	47
Sound Science, Improved Understanding of Environmental
   Risk, and Greater Innovation to Address
   Environmental Problems	53
A Credible Deterrent to Pollution and Greater Compliance With the Law	57
Effective Management	61

Additional Information

State and Tribal Assistance Grants	67
Water Infrastructure Financing	71
Funds for America	75
Budget Tables	..,..	76

-------
NOTE:      References to workyears refer to total workyears rather than only "permanent"
             workyeare.  All dollars in this book, unless otherwise noted, are in thousands. For
             example, 8 milMon dollars is represented as $8,000.  Additionally, some numbers
             may not add due to independent rounding.

             Cover Photos:  Steve Delaney, Victor Zambiano, Sara Siguidson

-------
                          INTRODUCTION
        EPA's Mission and Purpose

The mission of the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is to protect human health and
to safeguard  the natural  environment—an*,
water,  and land—upon  which  Me depends.
EPA's purpose is to ensure that:

*      All   Americans   are   protected  from
significant  risks  to  human  health  and  the
environment where they live, learn, and work.

•      National efforts to reduce environmental
risk are based on the best  available  scientific
information.

*      Federal laws protecting human health and
the  environment   are  enforced   fairly  and
effectively.

•      Environmental protection is an integral
consideration in U.S. policies concerning natural
resources,  human  health,   economic  growth,
energy, transportation, agriculture, industry, and
international trade, and these factors are similarly
considered in establishing environmental policy.

*      All  parts   of   society—communities,
individuals, business, state and local governments,
and tribal governments—have access to accurate
information sufficient to effectively participate in
managing human health and environmental risks.

•      Environmental protection contributes to
making our communities and ecosystems diverse,
sustainable, and economically productive.

•      The United States plays a leadership role
in working with other nations to protect the global
environment.
EPA's Goals

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. Children
especially will be protected from the health threats
posed by pesticide residues,  because they are
among the most vulnerable groups in our society.

•      Preventing Pollution and Reducing Risk
in  Communities,  Homes,  Workplaces  and
Ecosystems:   Pollution  prevention  and  risk
 management strategies aimed at cost-effectively
 eliminating, reducing, or minimizing emissions and

-------
                         INTRODUCTION
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.

•      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 to the natural environment.  EPA will
work  to  clean up  previously  polluted  sites,
restoring 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.

•      Expansion  of Americans' Right to
Know About Their Environment: Easy access
to a wealth of information about the state of their
local environment will expand citizen involvement
and give people tools to protect their families and
their communities  as they see  fit.    Increased
 information exchange between scientists, public
 health officials,  businesses, citizens, and all levels
 of government will foster greater knowledge about
 the environment and what can be done to protect it.
      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
establish a management infrastructure that will set
and implement the highest quality  standards  for
effective  internal  management    and   fiscal
responsibility.

Guiding Principles

•      Reduce  Health  and Environmental
Risks:  We will protect  human health  and  the
environment  by employing  cost-effective risk
reduction strategies,  based  on  sound,  peer-
reviewed  science,  in  our  implementation  of
programs. In  making decisions about  Agency
priorities, we will balance our efforts to reduce
ecological risks with our efforts to reduce risks to
human health.

•      Emphasize Pollution Prevention:  We
will structure our approaches to create incentives
for  preventing  pollution  and the  transfer  of
 pollution among  air, water,  and land.  To
 accomplish this, the Agency will use a mix of tools-
 -including performance standards  and economic
 incentives in setting national pollution controls, as

-------
                           INTRODUCTION
well as voluntary pollution reductions and other
innovative alternatives—in furtherance of EPA's
goals and objectives.

•      Emphasize Children's Health:  We will
ensure that all  standards  EPA  sets  address
children's  unique  vulnerability  to  health  and
environmental threats, and we will place emphasis
on identifying and assessing environmental health
risks that may affect children disproportionately.

•      Strengthen  Partnerships:    We   will
enhance EPA's partnerships with federal, tribal,
state,  and local   agencies,  Congress,  private
industry,  public interest  groups, and citizens in
order to  identify environmental  goals and work
together to achieve them. Our internal partnership
with EPA employee labor organizations will also
be critical to our success.

«      Maximize  Public  Participation   and
Community Right to Know: We will increase the
flow of information to the public, enhancing every
American* s right to know about local environmental
hazards and general conditions, and thereby enable
people to  make informed environmental decisions
and participate  in setting  local and national
priorities.

•      Emphasize  Comprehensive  Regional
and  Community-Based Solutions:   We will
 structure our approaches to address all forms of
pollution  simultaneously—in the  air,  land and
water—and  do  so  in  a way  that  confronts
 environmental problems on a community-wide or
 regional basis.

 •      Place Emphasis on Indian Country: We
 will work with Indian tribes on a government-to-
 government basis to ensure the  protection of the
 environment and human health in Indian Country,
 consistent with our trust relationship with  tribes
 and our interest in conservation of cultural uses of
 natural resources.
•      Choose Common Sense, Cost-Effective
Solutions: Because a safer, healthier environment
goes hand-in-hand with a robust economy, we will
fulfill EPA's goals using common sense approaches
that consider benefits and costs and seek the most
cost-effective ways to integrate our efforts with
those aimed at economic growth. We will work to
increase  environmental   stewardship   and
accountability  and   get  better  environmental
protection at reasonable  cost  by incorporating
successful innovations into the daily operation of
environmental programs.

New Approaches to Planning and Budgeting

       In 1995, EPA embarked on a far-reaching
effort to fundamentally change past approaches to
planning, budgeting, performance measurement,
and  accountability.   This entails core changes to
budget  structures  and  the implementation of
processes to link budgeting and accountability. In
March of 1996, Administrator Carol Browner
announced the  creation  of a  new  Planning,
Budgeting, Analysis and Accountability (PBAA)
process that is intended to meet the requirements of
the  Government Performance and Results Act
(GPRA) and dramatically improve EPA's ability to
achieve results ~ improvements in human health
and  the environment.

       The new PBAA process has four specific
 purposes: (1) to develop goals and objectives for
 accomplishing the Agency's mission; (2) to make
 better  use of scientific  information  related to
 human health and  environmental risks in setting
 priorities; (3) to improve the link between long-
 term planning and annual resource allocation; and
 (4) to develop a new management system to assess
 our accomplishments and  provide feedback for
 making future decisions. While this effort will take
 several years to fully implement, the  Agency  is
 making real progress in the short term while we

-------
                            INTRODUCTION
build for the future.  The new PBAA process
comprises several steps, including:

      A Strategic Plan, which describes EPA's
strategic mission, long-term goals, and specific
shorter-term (i.e., 5 years or more) objectives that
the Agency will meet in achieving the goals.

      Annual Performance Plans and Budget
Requests, which will be derived from the Strategic
Plan and a multi-year planning process, will serve
as the  basis  for budget decisions.   They will
describe annual performance goals, measures of
outputs  and outcomes,  and activities  aimed at
achieving  the annual performance goals  and
making progress toward longer-term goals  and
objectives.

      Program Performance Reports,  required
by GPRA six months after the end of the fiscal year,
which will assess the progress EPA has made
toward  achieving its goals  and report  on the
Agency's  success in accomplishing  its annual
performance goals.

-------
                                 OVERVIEW
       The 1999 Annual Plan

       For  25   years,   the  Environmental
Protection Agency and its partners have made
significant strides in controlling pollution  and
other environmental risks to human health and the
environment.  The air, land, and water are now
safer  for  all  Americans  due to our Nation's
investment in environmental protection.

       The EPA's plan for 1999 builds on that
success and invests  in  programs that  deliver
consistently better environmental protection  at
less cost. The EPA's 1999 Annual Plan provides
$7.8 billion and 18,375 FTE for the Agency's
programs.

       This Annual Plan represents  the EPA's
new approach to planning and budgeting, which
links goals and objectives to the  human,  capital,
and technological resources required to  achieve
them.  The EPA's 1999 Annual  Plan represents
the Agency' s full participation in the Government
Performance and Results Act (GPRA), which is
designed  to  increase  the  effectiveness  and
accountability of Federal Agencies.

Key Initiatives in the Annual Plan

       The EPA is committed to providing the
greatest degree of environmental protection at the
lowest possible cost and regulatory burden  to
citizens and businesses. The Agency  has several
key  initiatives  which are  designed  to  address
environmental risks effectively while maintaining
the Administration's commitment to a strong
economy and a streamlined Federal government.

       Many  of these initiatives are supported
across the Agency  and involve a  number  of
strategic goals and objectives. They all  work to
support the Agency's mission to reduce risk to
human health and safeguard the environment for
future generations.
•     Ensuring Clean and Safe Water.  The
President has made the protection of America's
water supply and waterways a national priority.
To  meet this commitment, the 1999 budget
includes a Clean Water Initiative as well as strong
support  for the Nation's water infrastructure
through  State Revolving Funds:

      •     Restoring   and   Protecting
      America's  Waterways   through  the
      President's   "Clean    Water   and
      Watershed  Restoration   Initiative".
      This year  the President  is  launching a
      Clean Water and Watershed Restoration
      Initiative to implement the Administration' s
      Clean Water Action  Plan, a  far reaching
      new  effort to  clean America's rivers,
      lakes and coastal waters.  The EPA will
      play a key role in this initiative, focusing
      on three challenges to restore and protect
      the   Nation's  waterways:   preventing
      polluted runoff; protecting public health;
      and  ensuring community-based watershed
      management.  This initiative is funded in
      the  Agency's  Annual  Plan  at  $649
      million,  as  part  of  the   President's
      Environmental  Resources   Fund   for
      America.  It builds on the Agency's on-
      going  efforts  in water  quality,  with
      increases to  selected water  programs  of
      $145 million over 1998.  This initiative
      increases grants to States to implement
      water quality improvement projects  as
      well as other Agency activities such as the
      restoration and protection of our Nation's
      wetlands.

       •      Upgrading the Nation's Water
      Quality Infrastructure.   The  budget
      proposes $775 million in capitalization
       grants for Drinking Water State Revolving
       Funds  (SRFs), which make low-interest
       loans to help municipalities  meet the

-------
                                 OVERVIEW
       requirements of the Safe Drinking Water
       Act Amendments. The funds will help
       ensure that Americans have a safe, clean
       drinking water supply — our first line of
       defense in protecting public health. The
       budget  also proposes SI,075  billion in
       capitalization grants to Clean Water SRFs
       to  help municipalities  comply with the
       Clean Water Act, thus  helping to reduce
       beach closures and keep our waterways
       safe  and clean.  The  combined  SRF
       proposal,   with   continued  outyear
       capitalization,    will    meet    the
       Administration's   long-term   goal   to
       provide about $2.5 billion a year in loans
       to  needy  communities. Both the  Clean
       Water SRF and the Drinking Water SRF
       are part of the President's Environmental
       Resources Fund for America.

•      Meeting the Global Warming Challenge.
In his  1998 State  of the Union Address, the
President stated that "our overriding environmental
challenge  ... is a worldwide problem requiring
worldwide action: the gathering crisis of global
warming." At the recent conference on Global
Climate Change in Kyoto, Japan, the United
States led the world to reach an historic agreement
committing nations to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions through market forces, new technology
and energy  efficiency.   The Climate Change
Technology  Initiative (CCTl),  funded in the
EPA's  budget at  $205 million in 1999, will help
America continue to meet its global responsibility
to lead  the world in emissions reductions. CCTI,
which is part of the President's Research Fund for
America, is an inter-agency initiative led by EPA
and the Department of Energy (DOE) to support
research and technology advancements in energy
efficiency,  renewable energy,  and carbon-
reduction technologies. The President has stated
that "Americans have always found a way to grow
the economy and clean the environment at the
same time.  And  when it  comes to  global
warming,  we'll do it again."  CCTI will help
America meet that challenge.

•      Implementing   Stronger   Clean  Air
Standards.  This budget request  supports  an
investment of $65 million for a national network
of Paniculate Matter Monitors to help the Nation
meet the health based air quality standard for fine
particles.   This investment level honors the
President's commitment to States  to fund the
costs  of  deploying  a  new  fine  particulate
monitoring network and to provide them the tools
necessary  to carry out their monitoring efforts.
The  EPA will also be conducting analyses to
determine the chemical constituents of PM 2.5
and better identify and understand the sources and
characteristics of the pollution.  This effort will
lead to cleaner, safer air for all Americans.

•      Protecting Human Health. One of the
President's foremost  policy  concerns is the
protection of human health through the reduction
of environmental threats. As the President said in
Ms   State  of the  Union  Address:     "Our
communities are only  as healthy as the air our
children breathe, the water they drink, the Earth
they  will inherit." To reduce  environmental
threats and protect future generations, the Agency
focuses on areas where it can provide the greatest
amount of protection, such as the cleanup of toxic
waste sites and the protection of children from
toxins in the environment.

»      Cleaning up Toxic Waste Sites.  The
budget strengthens the President's commitment to
clean up toxic waste sites with $2.1 billion for
Superfund, a 40 percent increase over the 1998
level. These  funds are part  of the President's
Environmental Resources  Fund for  America.
Combined with continuing administrative reforms,
these funds will help meet the President's pledge
to double the pace of Superfund cleanups. The
Administration proposes to clean up another 400
                                            8

-------
                                  OVERVIEW
sites, resulting in the cleanup of two-thirds of the
Nation's worst toxic waste dumps by the end of
the year 2001.

*      Focusing on Health Risks to Children.
The Agency has made the protection of children's
health  a fundamental goal of public health and
environmental protection in the U. S. This annual
plan builds on  that commitment with a $33
million investment (an S8 million increase over
1998) for the Assessing Health Risks to Children
Agenda, This is a high-priority for the Agency
since children face significant and unique health
threats and are often more heavily exposed and
more  vulnerable  than adults to toxins in  the
environment.  When we protect the health  of
children, we protect the health of all Americans.
Major activities include 1) establishing,  with the
Department  of  Health  and  Human  Services
(HHS), six Children's Environmental Research
Centers,  2) ensuring that  EPA's public  health
regulations consider children's health,  and  3)
providing information to parents to better protect
their children from environmental hazards.

•      Reducing Risks Posed by  Persistent,
Bioaccumulative, and Toxic Pollutants. The
Agency is strengthening its efforts to address the
health   threat   presented   by   persistent,
bioaccumulative,  and toxic  (PBT) pollutants.
This initiative is funded at $13 million in the 1999
Annual Plan  (a S10 million increase over 1998).
The Agency will conduct and coordinate research
and work  to reduce the risks  posed by PBTs
through a combination of strategies utilizing the
full range of regulatory, voluntary, programmatic,
enforcement, compliance,  and research tools.
PBT   risk  mitigation  activities will   include
analysis of economic impact, pollution prevention
strategies,  exploration of safe substitute chemical
alternatives  and  dissemination   of   public
information.   This multi-year initiative will
reduce PBTs in the environment and reduce the
risks that these toxins pose to human health.
•      Investing   in  Science   for  Sound
Decision-making.   Environmental research is
critical for developing the scientific understanding
and technological tools to allow the  Nation to
enhance environmental quality for current and
future  generations.  Within   the  President's
Research Fund for America, the EPA's 1999
budget includes $487 million for EPA's Office of
Research  and  Development  (ORD).  This
investment  wUl  provide  a  scientific basis  for
developing cost-effective environmental policies,
create the knowledge base for citizens to make
wise environmental decisions, and enable new
and better approaches to environmental protection.

•      Revitalizing Communities through  the
Brownfields Initiative. The budget proposes to
extend the President's Brownfields  initiative,
which promotes local cleanup and redevelopment
of industrial sites, bringing jobs to blighted areas.
This budget proposes $91 million for technical
assistance and grants to  communities for  site
assessment and redevelopment planning, as well
as revolving loan funds to finance clean-up efforts
at the local level.

•      Strengthening Partnerships with Indian
Tribes. This Annual Plan continues the Agency' s
commitment to carrying out its trust responsibilities
to Federally-recognized  tribes with  a  budget
request of $159  million (a $20 million increase
over 1998).  The Indian Program includes cross-
Agency  activities   designed  to  ensure  the
protection  of  public  health and  the  tribal
homeland environment in a  manner consistent
with a govemment-to-government relationship.
The Indian Program is a priority for the Agency
because the sub-standard environmental conditions
of many tribal homelands pose threats to human
health, Tribal economies, and ecosystems.  The
program will enhance environmental protection
                                             i
                                             9

-------
                                OVERVIEW
by increasing the number of partnerships  with
tribal  governments,  providing  infrastructure
assistance, and helping to resolve trans-boundary
environmental issues.

*      Improving Public Access to Information.
The  President  has made  a  commitment  to
providing  all Americans with access  to sound
environmental information  and involving  the
public  in environmental decision-making.  This
commitment is based on the premise that all U.S.
citizens have a right to know about the pollutants
in their environment — including the condition of
the air they breathe and the water they drink, as
well as the health effects of the chemicals used in
the food and products they buy.  Access to
environmental information  also helps make
American  citizens involved  and   informed
environmental decision makers,  and  promotes
creative and lasting solutions to environmental
problems. EPA's participation in the President's
Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and
Community  Tracking  (EMPACT)   initiative,
funded at $35 million in this Annual Plan, helps to
carry out this commitment to provide the public
with  crucial  information  on  environmental
conditions.

Summary

       The EPA's 1999 Annual  Plan helps to
fulfill  the  Administration's  commitment  to
protect  human   health  and   safeguard   the
environment, while continuing on the nation's
path of unprecedented economic growth. As the
Agency strengthens its  relationships  with the
public,  the  regulated  community,   and  its
governmental partners, it will  provide a more
effective and efficient system of environmental
protection.   These partnerships,  along  with  a
commitment to identify and solve the Nation's
most pressing environmental problems, will lay
the groundwork for a new era of environmental
protection  and serve the  Agency's ultimate
customer — the American people.
                                           10

-------
               The Agency's Workyears Increase in 1999
         Operating Programs



         Trust Funds
                                                        17,975   18,375
  17,010  17,280    17,106  17,508    17,082
                                   17,152
  13,291
  3,719
13,575
           3,705
                   f
                    13,330
13,801
                  3,707
                           13,580
                                               13,796
                                                        14,249

                                                          726
                                                      14,546
  1992
 1993
1994    1995      1996    1997
1998
                                     1999
NOTE: FY 1992 - FY 1997 reflect actual FTE usage.
                                   11

-------
                In 1999, The Agency's Budget Totals $7.8 Billion
  Operating Programs



  Trust Funds




  Water Infrastructure
            S6.882M
  $6,459M
                                 $7,558M
$7,361 M      S7J95M
1992       1993       1994       1995       1996       1997       1998       1999
                                     12

-------
GOALS
  13

-------
Page Intentionally Blank
               14

-------
                                 CLEAN 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.
OBJECTIVE
Attain National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
for Ozone and PM
Reduce Emissions of Air Toxics
Attain NAAQS for CO, S02, N02, and Lead
Acid Rain
TOTALS
TOTAL FTE
FY1998
ENACTED
$337,061
$85,837
$46,750
$20,800
$490,448
1.802
FY 1999 PRES.
BUDGET
$348,585
$91,925
$44,878
$21,566
$506,953
1.762
       Air pollution continues to be a widespread
public health and environmental problem in the
United States, contributing to illnesses such as
cancer   and  respiratory   and   reproductive
problems.    Air pollution  reduces  visibility,
damages crops and buildings, and is deposited on
the soil and in water bodies where it affects the
chemistry of the water and resident life forms.

       Since 1970, air pollutant emissions have
been reduced and significant improvements in air
quality have been achieved. However, millions
of tons of toxic air pollutants are still released into
the air.  Also, approximately 46 million people
live in areas that do not meet EPA's health-based
air standards for at least one  of six  major
pollutants.

       The problem is nationwide in scope.  Air
pollution crosses local and state lines and, in some
cases, even crosses our borders with Canada and
Mexico.   Federal assistance and leadership are
essential for developing cooperative state, local,
regional, and international programs to prevent
and control air pollution and  for ensuring that
national standards are met. Efforts of many other
Federal agencies,  such as the Department of
Transportation and  the Department of Energy,
are critical to the achievement of the Clean Air
goal.

       The 1999  President's Budget  requests
$507 million and 1,762 workyears for the Clean
Air goal,  an  increase of $17  million  and  a
decrease of 40 workyears over 1998. In support
of this goal, the Agency will work with  and
support states   and  tribes  in developing  and
implementing   plans   to  address  air quality
problems.  As part of this effort, EPA will support
state  and  tribal  development  of a  1,500-site
monitoring network for fine particulates (PM, s),
a pollutant for which the Agency issued its first
                                             15

-------
                                CLEAN AIR
specific standards in 1997, The Agency also will
develop and issue standards, including national
technology-based standards to reduce the quantity
of toxic  air pollutants that are emitted  from
industrial or manufacturing processes.

       The resources requested in this goal will
enable the Agency, in conjunction with its  state,
local, and tribal partners, to meet a number of
performance goals in 1999. The most significant
of these include:
       Deploy PM   ambient monitors at 776
sites.
•      Certify  that  8  of the  38  estimated
remaining nonattainment areas have achieved
the  current  National  Ambient  Air  Quality
Standards (NAAQS) for ozone.

•      Certify  that  13 of  the 58  estimated
remaining nonattainment areas have achieved the
NAAQS for carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, or
lead.

«      Reduce  air toxic emissions by  12% in
1999, resulting in a cumulative reduction of 25 %
from 1993 levels.

•      In 1999, maintain  four million tons of
sulfur  dioxide (SO,) emissions reductions from
utility  sources  and maintain 300,(XX)  tons of
nitrogen oxides (NOx) reductions from coal-fired
utility  sources.

»      By 1999, identify and evaluate at least two
biological mechanisms by which PM causes death
and disease in humans.
      In 1999, complete health assessments for
five high priority air toxics.
HIGHLIGHTS:

Attaining  National  Ambient  Air  Quality
Standards for Ozone and Particulate Matter.

       The  1999 President's Budget requests
$348.6  million and  1090 workyears to attain
national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS)
for ozone and paniculate matter.

       Ozone and paniculate matter are high risk
pollutants, with high potential for risk reduction.
Ozone can  impair  normal functioning of the
lungs.   More people are exposed to  unhealthy
levels of ozone than any other air pollutant.  It is
projected that over 114 million people live  in
areas that will not meet the new health standard
for ozone, which is 40 million more than under
the previous standard.

       The health  risks  estimated from current
fine PM exposures represent tens of thousands of
premature deaths each year, placing fine PM near
the top of environmental health threats.   It is
estimated that approximately 68 million people
live in areas that may not meet the new PM~2S
standard. EPA estimates that, once attained, the
new standard will prevent up to 15,000 premature
deaths per year.

       Under the Clean Air Act Amendments of
1990,  EPA  must set NAAQS for pollutants that
endanger public health  and  the  environment.
States and tribes then must develop and carry out
strategies and measures to attain the NAAQS.
EPA  reviewed NAAQS set for ozone and
                                            16

-------
                               CLEAN AIR
paniculate matter, as required by the Clean Air
Act, and  promulgated new standards  in July
1997. Following a directive the President issued
with the standards,  the  Agency  worked with
states,   tribes  and  local  governments,  other
Federal agencies and regulated sources to develop
an  implementation strategy for the standards.
The  implementation   strategy  allows   for
implementing the standards in the most flexible,
reasonable and least burdensome manner.   In
addition,  the  Agency is  participating in  an
interagency research program, including a full
scientific and technical review of the new fine
paniculate  (PM,5)  standard  by  2002,  and
implementation of a PM monitoring  network.

       In support of the Agency' s implementation
strategy for  attaining   the  new  air quality
standards,  EPA will invest S65.7 million  to
develop a national PM monitoring network. This
monitoring network will provide the data needed
for the identification of PM sources and potential
PM "hotspots," as well as allow the Agency to
designate areas in attainment with the new PM
standard and develop control strategies to address
PM on a regional basis.  Attainment designations
 will not occur until 2002 when monitoring data
 will be complete for supporting these decisions.
 EPA has committed to provide 100 percent of the
 costs of setting up the PM2 s monitoring network
 through state and tribal grants under the authority
 of Section 103 of the Clean Air Act.  EPA will be
 conducting  chemical  speciation   analyses  to
 provide the basis for states and tribes to determine
 the chemical constituents of the PM2 3 and better
 identify   and   understand the  sources   and
 characteristics of the pollution  and its potential
 effects. States and tribes will use this information
 to  develop control strategies to come   into
 attainment with  the  new  paniculate  matter
 standard by 2012 to 2017.  This is consistent with
 the President's commitment to review the new
 standard before state and tribal  plans take effect.
       Under  the  research  authorities of  the
Clean  Air Act, EPA  carries out  ozone and
paniculate matter research to maintain a strong
scientific  basis  for  changing  or reaffirming
NAAQS, and implementing NAAQS. In the long
term, the information gained through research
helps protect public health, including the health of
children  and other sensitive populations, and
provides the scientific and technical information
required for NAAQS review,  as well  as  the
NAAQS implementation by regional, state, tribal
and local government air quality managers. EPA
research contributes to developing scientifically
sound risk assessment procedures, cost-effective
risk prevention/management approaches, credible
methods, models and guidance, and environmental
leadership through partnerships.

       Reducing Emissions of Air Toxics

       The  1999  President's Budget requests
$91.9 million and 390.4 workyears to reduce air
toxic emissions by 12% in 1999, resulting  in a
cumulative  reduction of  25 percent from 1993
levels. This would significantly reduce the risk to
Americans of cancer and other serious adverse
health effects caused by airborne toxics. Toxic air
pollutants pose a significant health risk because
 they may cause cancer and other health problems
 such as reproductive disorders, birth defects, and
 damage to the nervous system.

        EPA's  air  toxics   objective  focuses
 primarily on the  statutory requirements of the
 toxics program in the Clean Air Act to reduce
 emissions levels through the promulgation and
 implementation of Maximum Achievable Control
 Technology (MACT) standards.   The program
 will  invest   in   improved  and  innovative
 monitoring   and   modeling,   inventories,
                                             17

-------
                               CLEAN AIR
development and refinement of environmental
indicators, and risk assessment tools to better
characterize  the risk from  air toxics  and
establish a  baseline  for measuring  risk in
carrying out  the Government Performance and
Results Act (GPRA).  EPA will build on state
efforts to create a national toxics monitoring
and  inventory  program in  order  to better
characterize   exposures   to   hazardous   air
pollution.

       In 1999, health effects researchers will
quantitatively evaluate cancer and non-cancer
health effects  from  air  toxics  exposures.
Exposure researchers will develop methods to
identify contributing sources from ambient air
measurements,   and   improved  models  to
characterize actual human exposure. Researchers
also will develop and demonstrate new methods
to assess risks from urban toxics.
Attaining NAAQS for CO, SO,, NO2,
Lead
and
       The 1999 President's Budget requests
 $44.9 million and 189.9 workyears to improve
 air quality for Americans living in areas that do
 not  meet the  current NAAQS for  carbon
 monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO,), nitrogen
 dioxide (NO,), and lead, which are all high risk
 pollutants.

       EPA  and  its partners have  been
 relatively successful  in  reducing  these air
 pollutants in many urban areas through mobile
 source measures.  Controls included in  State
 Implementation  Plans  (SIPs)   also  reduce
 stationary source emissions.  The Agency will
 continue  existing carbon  monoxide work,
 concentrating  primarily  on  mobile  source
 programs  (such  as   oxygenated  fuel   and
 reformulated gasoline), and on assisting states
 to implement  attainment  and  maintenance
programs.    EPA  will  continue  to provide
information  to the scientific  community  and
stakeholders on the environmental aspects of the
use of oxygenated fuels and recommendations to
improve the program.

       In  1998,  EPA will promulgate the  new
source review (NSR) reform rules which simplify
the new source permitting process. In 1999, EPA
will undertake training and technical support
activities to ensure smooth implementation of this
major regulatory reinvention effort.

Acid Rain

       The  1999  President's  Budget requests
$21.6 million and  92.0 workyears for reducing
ambient sulfates and total sulfur deposition by 20
to 40 percent from 1980 levels due to reduced SO2
emissions from utilities and industrial sources.

       The  Acid Rain program  is authorized
under Tide IV of the Clean Air Act and has
numerous statutory deadlines.  The U.S.  is also
committed to reductions in SO2  and nitrogen
oxides (NOx) under the 1991 U.S.-Canada Air
Quality Agreement. In addition to administering
the SO2 and NOx provisions of Title IV, the Acid
Rain program will be developing  and operating
the  emissions and NOx  allowance tracking
systems for the 12 states of the Ozone Transport
Region.   The first year of compliance for this
program is 1999. Achieving this will assist the 12
Northeastern  states to attain and maintain the
ozone standard.  Approximately 400 additional
facilities will require certification of emissions
monitors  and will report quarterly emissions
beginning in 1998.

       The program is responsible for operating
the  Clean  Air  Status  and  Trends Network
 (CASTNet) dry deposition network, providing
 critical support for operations of the National
 Atmospheric  Deposition Program (NADP) wet
                                           18

-------
                            CLEAN  AIR
deposition network and for a number of visibility
monitoring sites.  These monitoring efforts will
play a crucial role  in the  program's ongoing
assessment activities, including reporting program
results for  GPRA  and fulfilling assessment
responsibilities under Title DC of the Clean Air
Act and the U.S.-Canada Air Quality Agreement.
                                        19

-------
Page Intentionally Blank
               20

-------
                             CLEAN 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 human health, enhance
water quality, reduce flooding and provide habitat for wildlife.
OBJECTIVE
Enhance Human Health Through Safe Drinking Water
Conserve/Enhance Nation's Waters
Reduce Loadings and Air Deposition
TOTALS
TOTAL FTE
FY1998
ENACTED
$979,217
$298,574
$1,893,074
$3,170,865
2,440
FY 1999 PRES.
BUDGET
$1,018,706
$296,644
$1,486,520
$2,801,869
2.450
       Safe and  clean water  is  needed  for
drinking,   recreation,   fishing,   maintaining
ecosystem integrity, and commercial uses such as
agricultural and  industrial  production.    Our
health, economy,  and quality of life depend on
reliable sources of clean water.

        Safe drinking water is the first line of
defense in protecting human health. While most
drinking water is very safe, occasional violations
of pollutant standards are of concern because of
the large number of people that can be exposed to
microbiological contaminants or toxic chemicals.
The greatest risks posed by such contaminants are
to  sensitive populations,  such as children and
adults with compromised immune systems.

       The passage  of  the  Federal  Water
Pollution   Control Act of  1972  has led to
tremendous  success   in   reducing   pollution
entering surface waters.  In  25 years, EPA has
worked with its State, local, and Tribal partners to
stop billions of pounds of pollution from flowing
into our rivers, lakes, and streams, and doubled
the number of waterways that are safe for fishing
and swimming.   Polluted rivers  and lakes
devoid of life are now restored centerpieces of
healthy communities because  of  combined
governmental and private sector efforts.

       The goal of protecting  our Nation's
waters,  however,  remains   unrealized.
Approximately 40 % of surveyed waters still do
not meet Clean  Water  Act standards.  The
health of Americans continues to be threatened
by  exposure to  harmful organisms  in  our
waters; consumption offish from many of our
waters presents a threat to the most vulnerable
among  us;  polluted  runoff   has   had  a
degenerative effect on the country's watersheds
and wetlands.   All living  things need clean
water.  Waterfowl, fish, and other aquatic life
that live in and on the water, as well as plants,
animals,  and other life forms  in terrestrial
ecosystems are dependent on clean water.  The
challenge of maintaining clean  water focuses
on ensuring that the entire aquatic ecosystem
remains healthy.

       The 1999 President's Budget requests a
                                            21

-------
                                  CLEAN WATER
total of $2,801.9 million and 2,450 workyears to
support its efforts to ensure clean and safe water.
To achieve this goal, EPA will focus its efforts on
carrying  out  the  Safe  Drinking  Water Act
Amendments of 1996 and will build on the Clean
Water Act's success of maintaining water quality
by implementing the Clean Water Action Plan —
a  plan to  restore  and sustain the  nation's
watersheds and further address polluted runoff.
Protecting watersheds involves participation by a
wide  variety of  stakeholders, a comprehensive
assessment of the condition of watersheds, and
implementation  of  solutions  based  on  the
assessment of conditions and stakeholder input.
The watershed approach enhances the abilities of
EPA, its Federal partners, States, Tribes, local
governments, and other stakeholders to implement
tailored solutions  and maximize the benefits
gained from the  use  of  increasingly  scarce
resources.

       As part of the Agency's commitment to
using sound science to achieve clean and safe
water, EPA's research activities will provide a
better understanding of the risks to human health.
Research activities  in this  goal  will focus on
increasing our understanding of health  effects,
exposure assessment, and risk management issues
associated with contaminants in drinking water.
EPA's research activities  will  also  support
watershed protection.

       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 1999.  The
most significant of these goals include:

•      85 % (an increase of 2 % over 1998) of the
population served by community  water systems
will receive drinkirig water meeting all health-
based standards, up from 81 % in 1994;
*      6,000 community water systems (serving
24   million  people)   will  be  implementing
programs to protect  their  source water  (an
increase of 3,250 systems over 1998);

*      EPA will issue and begin implementing
two protective drinking water standards for high-
risk  contaminants, including  disease-causing
micro-organisms   (Stage  I   Disinfection/
Disinfection Byproducts and Interim Enhanced
Surface Water Treatment Rules);

•      EPA will develop critical dose-response
data   for  disinfectant  by-products  (DBFs),
waterborne pathogens, and arsenic for addressing
key  uncertainties  in  the risk assessment  of
municipal water supplies;

*      As part of the Clean Water Action Plan,
all states will be conducting or have completed
unified watershed assessments, with support from
EPA, to identify aquatic resources in greatest
need of restoration or prevention activities;

•      EPA will provide funding  support  to
community-based   projects   for   watershed
restoration including restoration of wetlands and
river corridors in 160 watersheds (an increase of
110 watersheds from 1998);

•      EPA will provide data and information for
use by states and regions  in assessing  and
managing aquatic stressors in  the watershed, to
reduce toxic loadings and improve ecological risk
assessment;

*      Another 3.4 million people  will receive
the   benefits   of  secondary  treatment   of
wastewater, for a total of 183 million;

*      More  than  220 communities will have
                                           22

-------
                     CLEAN WATER
local  watersheds improved  by controls  on
combined sewer overflows and storm water;

•      In support of the Clean Water Action
Plan,  10 additional states will upgrade their
nonpoint source programs, to ensure that they
are  implementing  dynamic  and  effective
nonpoint source programs that are designed to
achieve and maintain beneficial uses of water;
and

*      By 2003, EPA will deliver support tools,
such as watershed models, enabling resource
planners to   select   consistent,  appropriate
watershed management solutions and alternatives,
and less costly wet weather flow technologies.
HIGHLIGHTS:

Protecting the Public Health and the Nation's
Watersheds - Clean Water Action Plan

       The current pace of implementation of
Clean Water programs will not achieve the goal
of  providing  safe  and  clean  water  to aU
Americans.    In  recognition  of  this,  the
Administration has called for a renewed effort to
restore and  protect  our nation's waters - the
Clean  Water  and   Watershed  Restoration
Initiative.   In  1999, EPA  is requesting an
additional $145  million   in support of this
commitment. To achieve the key elements of the
initiative, the  Administrator  of EPA and the
Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with
other affected agencies, will implement a Clean
Water Action Plan.   This plan addresses three
major goals:

             strengthening   and   enhancing
core  programs,   including protecting  public
health, preventing polluted runoff and addressing
source water protection for safe drinking water,
enhancing  natural resources,  and  improving
information and citizens' right-to-know;

             promoting  a  state-led watershed
approach,  including  restoring  and sustaining
watershed health through coordination of Federal
programs across departments and agencies; and
             assisting
                       states   with   reducing
nonpoint source pollution by expanding  state
grant assistance.

       The Action  Plan builds on  the  solid
foundation of the existing clean water program
and proposes important new  steps to strengthen
the program. A key new element of the program
will be a cooperative effort by State, Federal, and
local governments and  citizens to restore the
health  of aquatic  systems in  watersheds not
meeting clean water goals and to sustain healthy
conditions in  other  watersheds.   Other new
elements of the program will reduce the public
health threats of water pollution, enhance natural
resources (e.g.  wetlands,  coastal areas,  and
stream corridors), prevent polluted runoff, and
make   water   quality   information  more
accessible to citizens. The 1999 Budget Request
reflects this Plan to revitalize our efforts to ensure
clean and safe  water.

Enhancing  Human  Health  through  Safe
Drinking Water

       In 1999,  EPA  is requesting  SI ,018.7
million and 855 workyears for efforts addressing
the threats of. unsafe drinking  water.   (These
resources include $775  million as part of  the
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund discussed
in the Water  Infrastructure section,  and $3.2
million as part of the Clean  Water Action Plan
investment.)  Safe drinking water is essential to
                                           23

-------
                             CLEAN WATER
human health.  Contaminated drinking water can
cause illness and even death, and exposure to
contaminated drinking water poses a special risk
to such populations as children, the elderly, and
people  with   compromised  immune systems
(susceptible  populations).    EPA's Science
Advisory Board, in its 1990 report Reducing Risk:
Setting Priorities and Strategies for Environmental
Protection,  concluded  that drinking  water
contamination is one of the highest environmental
risks to human health. In 1994, 19 percent of
those served by  community  water systems, or
approximately  46 million people, drank water
that violated health standards at least once during
the year.

       The drinking  water  program's  highest
priority  is  protecting  human  health  from
microbiological contaminants and disinfectant/
disinfection  byproducts,  as  well   as  critical
chemical contaminants (e.g., arsenic and radon).
Health assessments, risk characterizations, and
regulatory  support   documents  are integral
components   of  the  standard  setting/rule
development process and will be conducted for all
these contaminants.   In addition, the Agency-
issued  Contaminant  Candidate List,  which
identifies  known   or  anticipated  priority
contaminants that may require  regulation,  the
unregulated contaminant monitoring rule, and the
national drinking water contaminant occurrence
data  base  are crucial tools in  ensuring  safe
drinking water.

       EPA's  research efforts will continue to
strengthen the scientific basis for drinking  water
standards, through the use of improved methods
and   new  data  to  better  evaluate  the  risks
associated  with  exposure  to   chemical  and
microbial contaminants in drinking water.
Reducing  Point  and  Nonpoint  Source
Loadings

       EPA is requesting $1,486,5 million and
886  workyears to address  the  fundamental
problems concerning the nation's waters: point
and nonpoint source pollution.  (The resources
requested include $1,075 million for the Clean
Water State Revolving Fund, and $78 million as
part  of  the  water  infrastructure  financing
resources for  needy cities  discussed  in  the
Water Infrastructure  section. These resources
also include $110.8 million as part of the Clean
Water Action Plan investment.) A key element
of  the  Agency's   effort  to  achieve   its
overarching goal of clean and safe water is the
reduction of pollutant  discharges from point
and  nonpoint  sources.   To reduce pollutant
loadings  from sources, the Clean Water Act
established requirements for national technology-
based  effluent limitations and water  quality
based limitations.

       EPA and its partners have made much
progress  in reducing pollutant discharges from
point sources.  A key goal for  the National
Water Program in  1999  is  to have local
watersheds in  more than 220  communities
improved by  controls  on  combined  sewer
overflows (CSOs) and storm  water.   CSOs
contribute  to  shellfish bed closures,  beach
closures, aesthetic problems, and impairment
of designated uses.   Controlling CSOs will
reduce pathogens,  biological oxygen demand
(BOD), total  suspended solids (TSS), and will
contribute to the overall reduction in pollutant
loadings.

       EPA's  Nonpoint   Source  Program
(NFS)  provides   program,  technical,   and
financial assistance to  help states  implement
                                            24

-------
                            1LEAN WATER
programs to control various forms  of runoff.
While   agricultural  sources   are  the  most
significant category of nonpoint source runoff,
state NFS programs address all categories of NFS
runoff with a mix of voluntary and regulatory
approaches.    These  state programs  are the
primary means for implementing nonpoint source
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) allocations
and for achieving water quality standards. EPA's
nonpoint source program works closely with a
number of other Federal agencies to help reduce
runoff and encourage private sector partnerships
to spur voluntary adoption of NFS controls. As
the program moves  forward,  new  tools,  best
management practices, and NPS and contaminated
sediment control  strategies  will  need to be
developed in cooperation with states, tribes,  other
Federal agencies and the private sector.  State
implementation plans for nonpoint sources will be
required to provide reasonable assurances that
load allocations within an approved  TMDL are
met for waters impaired solely or primarily from
nonpoint sources.

       EPA's research program will also  focus
on  aiding  effective  watershed  management
strategies for controlling Wet Weather Flows.
Reduce the  Consumption  of Contaminated
Fish and Exposure to Contamination From
Recreational Waters

       EPA is requesting a total of $7.2 million
and 8 workyears to address the health threats from
consumption  of fish  with  elevated  levels of
contamination and exposures to pathogens and
other pollution in  recreational waters.  (These
resources include $1.3 million as part of the Clean
Water Action Plan investment, and are included
in Objectives 1 and 3 of this Goal.)  Protecting
Americans from these threats is a  high priority.
Exposure to contaminated water can cause serious
illness.  These types of exposures pose a special
risk to  children, women of childbearing age,
subpopulatiotts who fish for food or sport, and
people  with  compromised  immune systems.
Through enhanced  fish tissue monitoring,  risk
assessment, and beach assessment, EPA  will
work to improve the understanding of the effects
exposure to contaminated waters and consumption
of contaminated fish has on sensitive populations
and human health as a whole.

Financing Water Infrastructure

       The President's Budget requests a total of
$1,928 million for water infrastructure financing
through the  State  and Tribal Grants (STAG)
Appropriation under the Clean and Safe  Water
Goal.    EPA's  Water Infrastructure Program
provides  financial  assistance   to   States,
municipalities and Tribal governments to  fund a
variety  of  drinking  water  and  wastewater
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.   States and localities rely on a
variety  of revenue  sources  to  finance their
environmental programs  and  to  pay for the
facilities needed to  keep the water clean and safe
from harmful contaminants.

       The Clean  Water and Drinking  Water
State  Revolving Funds (CW and DW  SRFs)
demonstrate a true partnership between  States,
localities, and the Federal government. In 1999,
the President is requesting $1,850 million for
these funds. The Administration's 1999 request,
combined with the outyear capitalization of these
funds, enables the Administration to meet its long
term goals for both funds  to  provide a total of
$2,500 million  in annual financial assistance to
needy communities. In addition, states will have
                                           25
              U.S. EPA Headquarters Library
                     Mail cone 3201
              1200 Pennsylvania Averue NW
                  Washinqton uu kL/460

-------
                         CLEAN WATER
more funding flexibility starting in 1998.  The
Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996
allow states to move funds between the two SRFs,
based  on a percentage  of the state's annual
allocation to the DW SRF.

      The President's Budget also requests $63
million   for the construction  of  wastewater
treatment facilities for Boston Harbor and Bristol
County,  Massachusetts,  and  New  Orleans,
Louisiana.  Funds are targeted to these  areas
because  of  special circumstances  including
financial  hardship and  unique sewer system
problems. In addition, $15 million is requested
for Alaskan Native villages for the construction of
wastewater  and drinking  water facilities,  to
address serious sanitation problems.
                                         26

-------
                                    SAFE  FOOD
 Strategic Goal:     The foods Americans eat will be free from unsafe pesticide residues.
 Children especially will be protected from the health threats posed by pesticide residues,
 because they are among the most vulnerable groups in our society.
OBJECTIVE
Reduce Agricultural Pesticides Risk
Reduce Use on Food of Pesticides Not Meeting
Standards
TOTALS
TOTAL FTE
FY1998
ENACTED
$19,651
$36,808
$56,459
681
FY 1999 PRES.
BUDGET
$24,926
$38,626
$63,552
682
       The   abundance,   affordability,   and
wholesomeness of America's food supply depend
in part upon the safe use of pesticides during food
production,   processing,   storage,   and
transportation. Before any pesticide can be used
legally, the law requires EPA to conclude that its
use will not lead to unreasonable adverse effects,
and that any food residues resulting from its use
are reasonably certain to cause no harm.  EPA
recognizes that older pesticides with approved
food uses may sometimes lead to residues which
could result in adverse health effects.   EPA's
priority is to minimize dietary exposure to these
potentially   toxic   pesticides,   especially   to
children, by screening the pesticides through the
regulatory   processes   of   registration   and
reregistration/special review, thereby eliminating
those pesticides that  present a danger to human
health and the environment. The Food Quality
Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996 mandated a more
stringent health standard for EPA's  pesticide
reviews.   Through  these processes,  pesticides
found to be harmful will be removed from the
market or restricted in their use  to ensure the
continued safety of our food supply.
      The 1999  President's Budget provides
$63.6 million and 682 workyears for the Safe
Food  goal, an increase of $7.1 million and 1
workyear over 1998. EPA will continue to focus
its efforts on implementing FQPA, which amends
both of EPA's principal pesticide regulatory
authorities, the  Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
and Rodenticide Act (FTFRA) and the  Federal
Food, Drug,  and  Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).  In
1999, the implementation of FQPA will continue
to be a priority for the Agency, with significant
efforts going toward  tolerance reassessments,
periodic reconsideration of food-use registrations,
effective management of minor use pesticides,
and   expedited  registration  of   reduced-risk
pesticides.  EPA will ensure that newly registered
agricultural pesticides meet  the current,  more
stringent standards mandated in FQPA to ensure
reasonable certainty of no harm to human health
and the environment.  Implementation of FQPA
is essential to reducing dietary   exposure to
potentially toxic pesticides by subjecting them to
the new, more stringent health standard.
                                            27

-------
                              SAFE FOOD
       The resources requested for the Safe Food
goal wiH enable the Agency to meet a number of
important  performance  goals.     The  most
significant of these include:
*      Decrease adverse risk from  agricultural
pesticides from 1995 levels and assure that new
pesticides that  enter  the  market are safe for
humans and the environment through such actions
as registering  17 safer pesticide chemicals  and
biopesticides,  issuing 95 new tolerances  and
approving 95 new pesticide uses.

•      Under pesticide reregistration, EPA  will
reassess  19%  of the  existing  9,700 tolerances
(cumulative 33 %) for pesticide food uses to meet
the  new statutory  standard   of  "reasonable
certainty of no harm."
HIGHLIGHTS:

Reduce Agricultural Pesticides Risk

       The 1999  President's Budget  requests
$24.9 million and 283 workyears to  ensure that
the risk from agricultural use of pesticides will be
reduced.  FEFRA and FFDCA authorize EPA to
set terms and conditions of pesticide registration,
marketing and use. EPA will use these authorities
to reduce the use of pesticides with  the highest
potential to cause adverse effects, including those
which pose particular risks to children.  Under
EPA's Registration program, new food/feed-use
pesticides are registered after extensive review
and evaluation of human health and ecosystem
data. The Registration program includes special
registration  activities,  tolerance  setting,  and
permits  for use of  pesticides  for  emergency
situations, and experimental use. In  1999, EPA
will continue to emphasize addressing children's
special sensitivities through registration review.
       In  1999, the Agency will decrease the
adverse risk  from agricultural  pesticides from
1995  levels through the regulatory  review  and
approval  of  safer  pesticides  (including  new
biopesticides).    The  registration   of  safer
pesticides  will increase the availability of safer
alternatives to  the  consumer,  resulting in  a
reduction in the use of high risk pesticides. Under
the Reduced Risk Initiative, which began in 1993,
EPA will continue to provide expedited review of
pesticides  which meet the criteria of reduced risk
i.e., reduce the level of acute  toxicity, reduce
exposure to humans or non-target organisms, and
reduce  the  environmental  burden.    These
expedited  pesticide  review actions provide the
incentive to industry to develop,  register, and use
lower risk pesticide products  that  result in
reduced risk to human health and the environment
when compared to existing alternatives.

Reduce Use of Pesticides on Food Not Meeting
Current Standards

       The 1999  President's Budget requests
S38.6 million and 400 workyears to ensure that
use on food of current pesticides that do not meet
the  new   statutory   standard  of  "reasonable
certainty  of no  harm"  will  be substantially
eliminated. Implementation of FQPA is essential
to reducing dietary  exposure to potential  toxic
pesticides by subjecting them to the new, more
stringent  health  standard.  This  new standard
requires the Agency to revise its risk-assessment
practices  to  ensure  adequate protection of the
health  of  children  and  other  vulnerable
subpopulations and to  reconsider  some 9,700
tolerances  for  specific   pesticide   residues
approved before the passage of  FQPA. To meet
this  requirement,  the  Agency  will  complete
approximately  1,850 tolerance  reassessments in
 1999.
                                             28

-------
                               SAFE FOOD
      In 1999, EPA will continue to work on the
following additional requirements mandated by
FQPA: (1) develop a new program to reconsider
registered pesticides on a 15-year cycle, bringing
them  into  compliance   with  contemporary
standards;  (2)  provide a special emphasis on
management of minor use pesticides; and (3)
expedite registration of reduced risk pesticides.

      In  1999,  through  the  Reregistration
program, the Agency  will continue to regulate
pesticides approved for food use, with particular
emphasis on those that have been classified as
potential human carcinogens or neurotoxins.  The
reregistration process  for  pesticides  registered
prior to November 1984 is in its final phase which
is the issuance  of  Reregistration  Eligibility
Decisions  (REDs).  The   issuance  of a RED
summarizes  the  findings of  the reregistration
review of the chemical after examining its health
and environmental effects.  In 1999, EPA  will
complete    approximately   1,000   product
reregistrations,  and  42   REDs   for  active
ingredients subject to reregistration.

Pesticide User Fees

EPA  is proposing appropriations language to
reinstate pesticide registration fees to collect $16
million in 1999.   The fee applies to pesticide
manufacturers to recover the costs  of EPA's
review of registration applications. The Agency
continues to collect Tolerance and Maintenance
Fees at $18  million a year. In  1999, EPA will
promulgate the needed rules to increase tolerance
fees to ensure that the tolerance setting process
will be as  self-supporting as possible.   EPA
expects these rales to take effect in 2000.
                                            29

-------
Page Intentionally Blank
              30

-------
  PREVENTING POLLUTION AND REDUCING RISK IN COMMUNITIES,
                 HOMES, WORKPLACES, AND ECOSYSTEMS
   Strategic Goal:     Pollution prevention and risk management strategies aimed at cost-
   effectively 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.
OBJECTIVE
Reduce Public and Ecosystem Exposure to Pesticides
Reduce lead Poisoning
Safe Handling and Use of Commercial Chemicals and
Microorganisms
Healthier Indoor Air
Improve Pollution Prevention Strategies, Tools,
Approaches
Decrease Quantity and Toxicity of Waste
Assess Conditions in Indian Country
TOTALS
TOTAL FEE
FY1998
ENACTED
$47,109
$30,454
$41,025
$30,292
$25,246
$21,783
$44,557
$240,466
1.144
FY 1999 PRES.
BUDGET
550,626
530,958
$41,273
$33,219
$26,866
$25,053
$50,851
$258,845
1.126
       EPA seeks  to  manage  environmental
risks to communities, homes,  and workplaces,
and to protect the environmental integrity of
ecosystems, by a mix of regulatory programs with
alternative approaches to achieve  results at less
cost and in more innovative, sustainable ways.
Rather than  "end of pipe" controls, preventing
pollution  at  the source  is our strategy of first
choice. Where pollution prevention at the source
is not a viable alternative, the Agency will employ
risk management and remediation  strategies in a
cost  effective manner.  These  efforts  will be
directed towards the greatest  threats,  such  as
those in our communities, homes, schools, and
workplaces that have significant impact on our
most sensitive populations: children, the elderly,
and individuals with chronic diseases.

       The  1999  President's  Budget  requests
$259 million and 1,126 workyears for this goal,
an increase of $18.3 million and decrease of  18
workyears  over 1998.   EPA  will focus  on
pollution  prevention  and reducing risks   by
minimizing the exposure from  pesticide misuse,
                                          31

-------
    PREVENTING POLLUTION AND REDUCING RISK IN COMMUNITffiS,
                   HOMES, WORKPLACES AND ECOSYSTEMS
lead  poisoning,  and  by targeting  persistent,
bioaccumulative, and  toxic  pollutants.   The
Agency will also  enhance  hazardous  waste
minimization projects to reduce wastes at their
source.

       The resources requested in  this budget
will  enable  the Agency to meet a number of
important performance goals in  1999.  The most
significant of these include:

*      850,000 additional people will  live in
healthier residential indoor environments.

*      Reduce by 2 % in 1999 (for a cumulative
total of 10%)  the  quantity  of Toxic Release
Inventory  (TRI) pollutants released, treated or
combusted for energy recovery, with emphasis on
the use of Pollution Prevention practices.

•      Divert an additional 1 % (for a cumulative
29%   or   64   million  tons)   of  Resource
Conservation  and  Recovery   Act   (RCRA)
municipal solid waste (MSW)  from landfilling
and  combustion, an  increase  from  the  1990
baseline of 17%.

*      Ensure that of the approximately 2,500
new chemicals and micro-organisms  submitted by
industry each year,  those that are introduced in
commerce  are  safe   to  humans  and   the
environment for their intended uses.
 *     Complete  the building of a lead-based
 paint  abatement  certification  and   training
 program  in  50  states to  ensure significant
 decreases in children's blood lead levels by 2005
 through reduced exposure to lead-based paint.

 •     15%  of Tribal  environmental  baseline
 information will be collected and 30 additional
 tribes (cumulative total of 90) will have tribal/
 EPA  environmental agreements  or identified
 environmental priorities.
       Protect   homes,   communities,   and
workplaces from harmful exposures to pesticides
and related pollutants through improved cultural
practices  and   enhanced  pubMc   education,
resulting in a reduction of 10% (1995 reporting
base) in the incidences of pesticide  poisonings
reported nationwide.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Reduce Public  and Ecosystem Exposure to
Pesticides

       The  1999 President's Budget  requests
S50.6 million and 241 workyears to  ensure that
public and ecosystem risk from pesticides will be
reduced through 1) migration  to  lower  risk
pesticides  and  pest-management practices, 2)
improving education of the public  and at-risk
workers, and 3) forming "pesticide environmental
stewardship" partnerships with pesticide  user
groups.

       The  objective  to  reduce  exposure to
pesticides  will  be achieved through continued
application of the Worker Protection Standards
(WPS)  certification and training programs.  The
WPS  for agricultural pesticides  represents  a
major  strengthening  of  national  efforts to
safeguard agricultural workers from occupational
exposure  to pesticides on  farms,  in  forests,
greenhouses and nurseries.  Additionally, EPA
will continue to protect the nation's ecosystems
through  the groundwater  program,  Pesticide
Environmental  Stewardship Program (PESP),
integrated   pest  management   (TPM),   and
endangered  species programs.

       One of EPA's concerns in 1999 will be the
prevention of accidental  or deliberate pesticide
 misuse in   urban   and  rural  environments,
particularly  in poor communities where significant
 public  health   risks  to  residents,  especially
 children and other sensitive  populations, are
                                            32

-------
     PREVENTING POLLUTION AND REDUCING RISK IN COMUNITIES,
                  HOMES, WORK PLACES AND ECOSYSTEMS
likely to occur. In 1999, EPA will support a new
initiative to prevent misuse and reduce exposure.
Pesticide misuse prevention activities will focus
on the reduction of risk in residential settings.
EPA  will work with other Federal,  state, and
local   agencies;   the   private   sector;  and
communities to identify the critical deficiencies
and carry out effective solutions. Also in 1999,
EPA  will continue to  carry out  the Pesticide
Ground water Strategy.  This strategy is based on
cooperative efforts with the states/tribes and the
Regions  to  develop State  Management Plans
(SMPs) to prevent groundwater pollution from
pesticides.

Reduce Lead Poisoning

       The 1999 President's Budget requests $31
million and 121 workyears  to  ensure that the
number of young children with high levels of lead
in their blood will be significantly reduced from
the early 1990s.

       Beginning   in   1999,  EPA  will  start
implementing  a   training,  certification,  and
accreditation  program  for  lead-based  paint
professionals in approximately 15 states  that do
not  administer their  own  programs.   Other
regulations  and   public  outreach,  such  as
publication of a lead information pamphlet, will
ensure that parents have access to information to
make an informed decision about lead-based paint
in  their homes,  with a  special emphasis on
children in low-income, urban  areas. Another
important effort in 1999 will be a collaborative
project with the  Centers for  Disease Control
(CDC) to assist states and local communities in
targeting   resources   by   examining  50-75
metropolitan areas to identify the most vulnerable
communities where lead  poisoning  prevention
efforts should be targeted.  The identification of
communities  will  be  followed with a multi-
pronged outreach program to ensure awareness of
the risk to children and to ensure that steps  are
taken to provide assistance to the communities at
risk. Also in 1999, EPA plans to issue final rules
on  disposal  of  lead-based  paint  debris  and
standards for lead-based paint hazards in paint,
dust, and soil. In addition, EPA plans to issue
proposed rules on training,  accreditation, and
certification requirements for renovation and
remodeling activities and for lead-based paint
activities in buildings and superstructures.

Safe  Handling  and   Use  of  Commercial
Chemicals aod Microorganisms

       The  1999 President's Budget  requests
$41.3 million and 344 workyears to ensure that,
of the approximately 2,000 chemicals  and 40
genetically engineered micro-organisms expected
to  enter  commerce each  year,   EPA  will
significantly increase the introduction of safer or
"greener" chemicals  that will decrease the need
for regulatory management.

       In  1999,  EPA will focus on efforts to
implement the Toxics Agenda.  This  Agenda
identifies  chemicals  that are believed to be
manufactured  and  used  safely   and  those
chemicals which may pose risks to humans  and
the  environment.   An important  part  of  the
implementation effort will center on persistent,
bioaccumulative,  and toxic (PBT) chemicals as
part of a coordinated Agency effort. One of the
key health issues facing our nation's children
today is the threat posed by exposure to PBTs.
These  chemicals  also  imperil  the health of
ecosystems as they accumulate and biomagnify in
the food chain for years and decades.  To facilitate
development of the Agenda, EPA will complete
the Chemical Use Inventory (CUT) amendment to
the Inventory Update Rule. Promulgation of the
GUI rule,  by  identifying  chemical  uses  of
                                            33

-------
   PREVENTING POLLUTION AND REDUCING RISK IN COMMUNITIES,
                  HOMES, WORK PLACES AND ECOSYSTEMS
industrial, commercial, and consumer products,
will facilitate risk screening, including identifying
risks to children.   In  1999,  the completion of
testing actions on new and existing chemicals will
result in the development of test data  needed to
support adequate assessments of chemical risks
by government, industry, and the public.  Also,
EPA's Green Chemistry Program will continue to
recognize and promote  chemical methods that
reduce or eliminate the use or generation of toxic
substances during the  design, manufacture and
use of chemical products and processes and that
have broad application in industry.

       A crucial element of EPA's approach is
chemical information  gathering and  testing to
provide EPA and others, including the public,
sufficient data for screening,  assessing,  and
managing the risks. EPA's research program will
support  this  effort   by generating  scientific
information  used in improving the test methods
used  to generate the  data.   Research seeks to
improve  our understanding of both the risks to
human health and adverse ecological effects. To
the extent that this  research  supports  testing
guidelines that relate to  both toxic substances in
general and to pesticides, research under this
objective additionally supports EPA's goal  to
reduce the risks to the nation's food supply and
the non-dietary pesticide risks posed to  human
health and the environment.

Achieving Healthier Indoor Air

       The  1999  President's  Budget requests
$33.2 million and  152 workyears to accomplish
its healthy indoor air performance goals.

       Indoor air  pollution poses high risks to
 human health, especially in sensitive populations,
 and has ranked among the top four environmental
risks. Radon, for example, is the second leading
cause of lung cancer and is responsible for about
14,000 deaths per year.

       To help  achieve  healthier  indoor  air,
EPA's priorities  in 1999 include  radon testing,
radon mitigation, and radon-resistant construction;
implementing "Tools  for Schools"; increasing
awareness of the harmful effects of children's
exposure to  secondhand smoke; completing the
analysis of data  from  the Building Assessment
Survey and Evaluation (BASE); privatizing the
radon  proficiency  program; and focusing  on
community-based  risk  reduction.     These
programs support  the 1999  goal  of having
850,000  additional people living  in  healthier
residential   indoor   environments,   including
530,000 people living in homes built with radon-
resistant features.

       EPA's research program will produce the
scientific  information needed  to  understand
indoor  air  effects.   Research  will  identify,
characterize, and  compare the health risks
associated with indoor exposures to air pollutants
so  that  risk  managers  can  make  informed
decisions to protect public health.

Improve Pollution  Prevention   Strategies,
Took, Approaches

       The  1999  President's  Budget  requests
$26.9 million and 80 workyears to ensure that the
quantity of toxic pollutants released, disposed of,
treated, or combusted for energy recovery will be
reduced  10%  from 1992 levels.  Half of this
reduction wiU be achieved through  pollution
prevention practices.

       Beginning in  1999,  EPA will develop
                                            34

-------
   PREVENTING POLLUTION AND REDUCING RISK IN COMMUNITIES,
                  HOMES, WORK PLACES AND ECOSYSTEMS
innovative,  multi-media  strategies  and tools
(through inter-office and regional coordination)
to target  12-14 priority PBTs  for pollution
prevention (P2) at domestic levels. The targeting
will be done as  a collaborative effort between
multiple offices and their regional components.
Also,  obtaining 2% reductions in reported  TRJ
chemical wastes in 1999 and beyond  will be the
result of the cumulative efforts of EPA's pollution
protection,   clean   technologies,  and   green
chemicals programs  which encourage the use of
source reduction and integrated environmental
management systems by American industry.

Decrease the Quantity  and Toxicity of  Waste

       The  1999 President's Budget requests
$25.1 million and 133 workyears to  support the
objective of decreasing pollution in communities,
workplaces, and ecosystems  by decreasing the
quantity and toxicity of wastes.

       In 1999, the Agency will  emphasize
helping  generators  prioritize and  focus  their
efforts  to reduce the volume and  toxicity of
hazardous wastes. EPA's objective is to reduce
the amount of waste generated annually, therefore
decreasing pollution or the risk of pollution in
communities, workplaces, and ecosystems. EPA
will work together with state, tribal, and local
governments; business and industries; and non-
governmental  organizations  to:   encourage
reduced generation of industrial (hazardous and
non-hazardous) waste through material substitution
and manufacturing process changes; encourage
recycling of wastes  that must be generated; and
ensure the safe recycling of any wastes. EPA will
also focus on reducing  the toxicity of wastes as
states and regions begin measuring and reporting
reductions of PBTs.  To accomplish this,  the
Agency's  waste minimization  program  will
provide tools and  assistance  to identify  those
hazardous wastes containing  the most  PBTs
among 900  chemicals  currently  in  the  waste
stream.

Assess Conditions in Indian Country

      The  1999 President's  Budget  requests
S50.9 million and 55 workyears to continue its
efforts to improve environmental conditions in
Indian Country in this goal.

      EPA places particular priority on working
with Federally  recognized  Indian tribes on a
government-to-government  basis  to  improve
environmental conditions in Indian country. This
is pursuant to our trust relationship with tribes and
the nation's interest in  conservation  of cultural
uses of natural resources. In 1999, the Agency
will continue to work with the tribes to  establish
an environmental presence in Indian country and
produce substantial progress towards  developing
Tribal  capacity  to   implement  their  own
environmental programs.  EPA will complete its
design and begin initiation of a framework for the
baseline assessment of environmental conditions
on tribal lands.

       EPA  will  also  improve  health  and
environmental  conditions  in  Alaska Native
villages  through training  and  education  on
sampling and assessing  environmental quality
conditions.  This investment will advance these
villages'  capabilities  to  correct  health  and
environmental problems through the development
of Environmental Action Plans.
                                           35

-------
Page Intentionally Blank
                36

-------
    BETTER WASTE MANAGEMENT, RESTORATION OF CONTAMINATED
                 WASTE SITES, AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE
  Strategic Goal: America's wastes will be stored, treated, and disposed in ways that prevent
  harm to people and to the natural environment. EPA will work to clean up previously
  polluted sites, restoring them to uses appropriate for surrounding communities, and respond
  to and prevent waste-related or industrial accidents.
OBJECTIVE
Reduce or Control Risks to Human Health
Prevent Releases by Proper Facilky Management
Respond to All Known Emergencies
TOTALS
TOTAL FEE
FY 1998
ENACTED
$1,491,429
$126,472
$18,885
1,636,785
4,374
FY 1999 PRES.
BUDGET
$2,091,457
$139,53!
$20,339
2,251,328
4,304
      Improper management of wastes can lead
to fires, explosions, and contamination of air,
soil, and water. A frequent result of improper
hazardous waste disposal is the contamination of
groundwater — the source of drinking water for
nearly half of all Americans.  At some waste
sites, toxic vapors from evaporating liquid wastes
or  chemical  reactions   contaminate  the  air.
Pollutants, such as metals, organic solvents, and
oil, can damage vegetation, endanger wildlife,
and harm the health of people who live in nearby
communities. In some cases, toxic and hazardous
substances  (including  radioactive  waste) are
carried far from their  source by air, ground
water,  and surface water runoff into streams,
lakes, and rivers.

       EPA's  efforts to control and restore
releases of waste  center on protecting human
health  and the environment by applying the
fastest, most effective waste management and
cleanup methods   available, while  involving
affected communities, states, tribal governments
and  municipalities  in  the  decision-making
process.    Different types of  waste require
different means of treatment and disposal—what
is   suitable  for  one  contaminant  may  be
inappropriate   for   another.    Cleaning  up
abandoned  or  under-used  industrial   land
demonstrates that economic, environmental and
social goals can be integrated so that economic
growth  can improve,  rather  than diminish,
environmental quality.

      EPA will use its statutory authority under
the Oil  Pollution Act (OPA),  Comprehensive
Environmental  Response,  Compensation, and
Liability Act (CERCLA), Resource Conservation
and Recovery  Act (RCRA), Clean Water Act
(CWA), Clean Air Act (CAA), and Emergency
Planning and  Community  Right-to-Know Act
(EPCRA)  to promptly monitor and respond to
releases,  accidents,  or spills.   EPA  will help
ensure  that   places  in   America  currently
contaminated  by  hazardous waste no longer
endanger public health or the environment and are
restored   to   uses   desired  by   surrounding
communities.    State, local, and other Federal
agency  efforts will be  integrated with  EPA
activities to reduce  cleanup costs and revitalize
contaminated and abandoned private property for
economic reuse.
                                           37

-------
            BETTER WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RESTORATION OF
                           CONTAMINATED WASTE SITES
      In addition, EPA will focus on controlling
human exposures  and groundwater releases at
RCRA facilities designated as high priority for
corrective actions.  Support  for radioactively
contaminated Superfund sites will be continued.
EPA research provides a technical foundation for
decisions made in the environmental cleanup
programs. The full spectrum of EPA's cleanup
programs  will respond  to priority   sites  and
releases in a fast  and effective manner, while
maximizing  the  participation  of potentially
responsible parties (PRPs) and other stakeholders
in the cleanup efforts.

       The 1999  President's Budget provides
52,251.3 million and 4,304 workyears for this
strategic goal,  an increase of $614.5 million and
decrease of 70 workyears from 1998.  To meet
this goal, EPA will continue to regulate existing
waste management practices at facilities  defined
under CERCLA, RCRA, OPA, CAA, CWA, and
EPCRA.

       The resources requested in this budget
will enable the Agency to meet a number of
important goals, the most significant of which
include:

•     Accelerate the pace of Superfund cleanups
by  completing  136  cleanups in   1999  and
achieving 900 construction completions by the
end of calendar year 2001.

•     Address cost recovery  at all National
Priority List (NPL)  and non-NPL sites with a
statute of limitations on total past costs  equal to or
greater than 5200,000.

 »      Obtain PRP commitments for 70 % of the
 work conducted at new construction starts at non-
 Federal facility sites on the NPL and  emphasize
 fairness in the settlement process.
      Fund brownfield site assessments in  100
additional communities, implement 10 brownfield
showcase communities, and sign agreements with
100 communities  to  capitalize revolving loan
funds.

      Complete 22,000 Leaking Underground
Storage Tank (LUST) cleanups.

      Approve   2,080     hazardous   waste
management facilities*  (62  percent  of such
existing facilities in the nation) controls in place
to prevent dangerous releases to air,  soil,  and
groundwater.

*     Approve 153 hazardous waste management
facilities (to approve a cumulative 62 percent of
such existing facilities in the nation) to prevent
dangerous releases to air, soil, and groundwater.

•      Control human exposure to toxins at 127
RCRA sites (to address a  cumulative  of  277
RCRA sites), and control groundwater releases at
69 high priority RCRA  sites  (to address  a
cumulative of 144 such sites).

•      Bring 400 new facilities into compliance
with  the   Spill  Prevention,   Control  and
Countermeasure (SPCC) provisions of the oil
pollution regulations.

•      Demonstrate and verify the performance
of  18  innovative   technologies  by  2001,
emphasizing remediation and characterization of
groundwater and soils.

 •     Complete  prototype model for assessing
cumulative exposure-risk assessment integrating
the environmental impact of multiple chemicals
 through multiple media and pathways.
                                            38

-------
           BETTER WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RESTORATOIN OF
                          CONTAMINATED WASTE SITES!
HIGHLIGHTS;
Reduce or Control Risks to Human Health
       The 1999 President's Budget requests
$2,091.5 million and 3,494 workyears to reach
the Agency's objective of waste management,
cleanup, and control of releases.  This objective
includes  the  following  resources:  Superfund,
$1,926.6  million;  Environmental Program  &
                                           70% preserves fund dollars for sites where there
                                           is no viable PRP.  At the same time, EPA will
                                           promote enforcement fairness,  especially  for
                                           small contributors  to sites,   reduce third party
                                           transaction costs and recover the government's
                                           cost for site cleanup. A total of S164.7 million is
                                           requested for Superfund enforcement.

                                                  The  brownfield  pilot  program   has
                                           demonstrated  that  cleaning  up abandoned or
Management,   $56.1   million;   Leaking un(jer-used contaminated land and supporting
Underground Storage Tanks, $69.1 million; Statd new  business  growth  can  have  significant
and  Tribal Assistance Grants,  $32.7 million;! payoffs Building on the pilot program, EPA will
Science and Technology, $5.9 million; and Oul Q^^^ to combine Federal, state, local and
Spills, $1 milHon.

       In  1996,  President Clinton announced a
national  commitment  to  protect communities
from toxic pollution by accelerating toxic waste
cleanup. In 1999,  the Superfund program will
support this initiative by doubling the pace of
Superfund cleanups. This effort will achieve 900
construction completions, approximately  two-
thirds of the NPL, by the end of calendar year
2001. This initiative not only puts contaminated
sites back  into productive use but protects out
children and  communities  from exposure to
uncontrolled toxic waste releases. EPA seeks to
                                            private sector efforts to  restore  contaminated
                                            property to economic reuse and reduce cleanup
                                            costs.  In 1999, EPA will fund brownfield site
                                            assessments in 100  additional communities in
                                            order to reach the Agency's commitment of 300
                                            communities by  the year  2000, support  10
                                            brownfield  showcase communities,  and  sign
                                            agreements with 100 communities to capitalize
                                            revolving loan funds.  In some  cases, parties
                                            interested  in  developing such properties are
                                            concerned about the presence of  contamination
                                            and the attendant potential liabilities (including
                                            Federal Superfund liability).  EPA will address
                                            liability barriers in the  brownfield program by
                                            issuing  comfort/status  letters or  prospective
and tribal governments; and the communities to purct,aser agreements in appropriate instances
 partner with other Federal agencies; state, local
 more effectively address and leverage on-going
 cleanup efforts.   Through this investment, the
 Agency restates its emphasis on risk reduction by
 addressing the growing backlog of site cleanup
 and  accelerating  the  pace   of   Superfund
 construction completions. The Agency requests a
 total of $1,630.7 million for Superfund response

        EPA will pursue violators and responsible
 parties to maximize  PRP  participation in site
 cleanup.  Maintaining a PRP participation rate of
                                            which will facilitate sustainable redevelopment of
                                            these properties. The Agency is requesting $91.3
                                            million to fund brownfield activities.

                                                   The Agency will assist  in the cleanup of
                                            22,000  leaking underground storage  tanks in
                                            1999.    Slates  have  reported  that  leaking
                                            underground storage tanks are the leading source
                                            of groundwater pollution, and  petroleum is the
                                            most prevalent contaminant. Resources provided
                                            by  EPA support oversight  and cleanup of
                                            petroleum  releases  from underground storage
                                           39

-------
            BETTER WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RESTORATION OF
                           CONTAMINATED WASTE SITE
tanks  when the owner/operator is unknown,
unwilling, or unable to perform the  cleanup.
EPA's goal is  to  ensure rapid and  effective
responses to releases from underground storage
tanks   containing  petroleum  and  to  restore
contaminated sites to beneficial use.  The Agency
requests a total of $69.1 million.

          The RCRA Corrective Action Program
will take remedial action at operating hazardous
waste facilities  in the event of an uncontrolled
release.    The most  serious  contamination
problems occur when releases  migrate off-site,
contaminating public and private drinking water
supplies, wetlands, and other sensitive ecosystems.
These sites are the program's  highest priority.
Efforts to  help Tribal  governments develop
hazardous waste management and municipal solid
waste programs will expand in 1999. The Agency
requests $6.4 million for RCRA tribal activities.
Intergovernmental   information  and  resource
sharing will be facilitated through a  range of
mechanisms including  forums,  university-level
courses, professional training, Internet sites,  and
circuit riders in partnership with other Federal
agencies, states, local communities and of course
the tribes themselves.

   Preventing   Releases  by  Proper  Facility
Management

           The 1999 President's Budget requests
 $139.5 million and 686 workyears to reach its
 objective  for  preventing releases by  proper
 facility management.

           Dangerous releases to the environment
 are responsible for causing illnesses to the public,
 especially  to  sensitive   populations  such as
 children, the elderly and individuals with chronic
diseases.  Dangerous releases to the environment
are also responsible for polluting soil, air, and
groundwater which may lead to costly cleanups
and environmental mitigation.   In 1999, the
RCRA program will focus on reducing risks of
 ;xposures  to  hazardous   wastes  using  a
combination   of   regulations,   permits   and
voluntary standards and programs.   EPA will
continue   to  concentrate  on  minimizing the
quantity   and  toxicity   of  waste,  reducing
administrative burdens on states and industry, and
preventing accidental  releases  of  hazardous
substances.

          The Underground  Storage  Tanks
program  will continue to focus on promoting and
enforcing compliance with regulatory requirements
aimed at preventing and detecting UST releases.
EPA  will   also   approve additional states  to
operate their own programs in lieu of the Federal
program. Currently 24 states and the  District of
Columbia have state program approval.

          As  the Oil  Prevention   Program
implements  a  comprehensive   approach  to
integrate prevention, preparedness, and response,
efforts will be made to reduce the risk of oil spills
from  facilities which   pose  human  health,
ecological,  and economic  risks.  In  1999, the
number of facilities brought into compliance with
the     Spill  Prevention,   Control,   and
 Countermeasures (SPCC) provisions of the  oil
 prevention regulation will be doubled.  Also in
 1999, the Agency will  increase  assistance to
 Tribes by identifying problems and  developing
 and improving response plans in the event of oil
 spills.

           The   Agency  will   also,    using
 information from facility Risk Management Plans
 (RMPs), develop a chemical risk information
                                            40

-------
             BETTER WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RESTORATION OF
                            CONTAMINATED WASTE SITES
system in coordination with industry to prevent
chemical releases into the environment. EPA will
also concentrate  on  implementing the  RMP
program at the state level.  The Agency assists
Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs)
by  facilitating  access and  use  of the  RMP
information database  and  provides  technical
assistance grants to develop accident preparedness
and prevention programs.
Responding to Emergencies

          The 1999 President's Budget requests
$20.3 million and 124 work years for promoting
effective response to chemical and radiological
accidents, terrorist events and oil spills.

          Hazardous  chemical  releases  have
caused billions of dollars in  property damage,
serious damage to the environment and hundreds
of deaths and injuries during the past 30 years. In
1999,  EPA  will support  efforts to prevent,
prepare for and respond to chemical accidents and
terrorist  events involving chemical  releases by
providing guidance and assistance to state and
local governments  and  industry; assisting in
removing   immediate   health   threats;   and
providing information on chemical hazards and
risks to states and communities. The Agency is
currently performing  many of its investigative
functions concerning chemical accidents, however,
the future of the program is uncertain.
           Each year, over  12,000  oU spills
 occur, with well over half of them being in inland
 waters (EPA's area of responsibility).  Working
 with state  and local governments and industry,
 EPA is  ensuring  the effective and immediate
 removal of discharges (or substantial threat of a
 discharge) of oil.  The Agency will also continue
 to work with state and local governments on oil
 spill prevention, preparedness, and enforcement
 activities.   Of particular concern  in 1999 is [
 improving the area contingency plans,  especially4^
those for  environmentally and economically
important  areas.     These   plans   integrate
prevention,  preparedness,  and  response  by
coordinating regional  resources with logistics.
The  Agency  requests  S3.8  million   for
contingency planning and improving the quantity
and  quality of data used, resulting in a more
effective and efficient response to oil spills.

-------
Page Intentionally Blank
              42

-------
        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.
OBJECTIVE
Reduce Transboundary Threats: Shared North American
Ecosystems
Climate Change
Stratospheric Ozone Depletion
Protect Public Health and Ecosystems From Persistent
Organic Pollutants
Prevent Degradation of the Marine and Polar
Environments
Achieve Cleaner and More Cost-Effective Practices
TOTAL $
TOTAL FTE
FY 1998
ENACTED
$99,730
$109,218
$17,322
$4,251
SI, 308
$4,316
$236,144
449
FY 1999 PRES.
BUDGET
$122,173
$230,644
$26,914
$6,874
$1,398
$7,958
$395,%!
527
      Ecosystems and transboundary pollutants
do not respect international boundaries.  As a
result, unilateral domestic actions of the U.S. are
inadequate to achieve some  of  EPA's  most
important environmental goals.   Reduction of
global and cross-border environmental risk is
important because of the significant problems
that  originate  in other countries and  may
significantly   impact  U.S.  investments  in
environmental  protection.    Achieving  our
environmental goals requires  us to work with
other countries to address external sources of
pollution impacting human  health  and the
environment of our nation.  Conversely, the
U.S. also holds itself responsible for preventing
or minimizing the impacts of transboundary
pollution originating here.
      Efforts under this goal demonstrate EPA's
continued  leadership  to  build  international
cooperation  and technical  capacity that  are
essential  to  prevent  harm  to  the  global
environment and ecosystems that we share with
other  nations.    A coordinated international
response is needed to confront the climate change
threat, depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer,
transboundary circulation of  toxics, and other
environmental issues significant to the interests of
the United States. Continued leadership by the
U.S.  and EPA is  necessary  to  successfully
address these issues in a manner that  provides
efficient and sustainable long-term solutions.

      The  President's  Budget  requests  $396
million and 527 workyears for the Reduction of
Global and  Cross-Border Environmental Risks
goal,  an increase of $  159.8  million  and 79
                                          43

-------
       REDUCTION OF GLOBAL AND CROSS-BORDER
                       ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
workyears over 1998.  In order for the U.S. to
maintain a leadership role in this area, EPA will
increase its activities to address Climate Change
by focusing on efforts to achieve stabilization of
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere,
as well as focusing on minimizing the global
impacts of greenhouse gas emissions originating
in the U.S.  In addition, EPA's activities will
include programs that reduce persistent organic
pollutants and selected metals that circulate in the
environment at global and regional scales.
       The resources requested in this  budget
will  enable the Agency  to meet a number of
important performance goals in 1999. The most
significant of these include:

•      Sixteen  additional   water/wastewater
projects along  the  Mexican  border  will  be
certified for design-construction.

•      As part of the President's Climate Change
Technology Initiative, reduce  U.S. greenhouse
gas emissions in total by 40 million metric ton
carbon equivalent  through partnerships  with
businesses, schools, state and local  governments
and other organizations.

•      Reduce U.S. energy consumption by 45
billion kilowatts.

*      Conduct a preliminary assessment of the
consequences  of  climate  change  at three
geographic locations {mid-Atlantic, Gulf Coast,
and Upper Great Lakes).

*      Ensure that domestic consumption of class
33 hydrochlorofluorocarbons  (HCFCs)  will be
restricted  to  below  208,400  metric  tons  and
domestic exempted production and import of
newly produced class I CFCs and halons will be
restricted to below 130,000 metric tons.
*     Obtain international agreement on criteria
for  selecting  Persistent   Organic  Pollutants
(POPs) to be covered in a new global POPs treaty,
and on capacity building activities to support the
convention's implementation.
•     Deliver 30 international training modules;
implement 6 technical assistance or technology
dissemination projects; implement 5 cooperative
policy development projects;  and disseminate
information  products on  U.S.  environmental
technologies and techniques to  2,500  foreign
customers.
HIGHLIGHTS:

Reduce Transboundary Threats: U.S.-Mexico
Border

       The 1999  President's  Budget requests
$108 million and 23 workyears,  of which $100
million will be  direct federal grants, to reduce
transboundary threats to human health and shared
ecosystems along the U.S.-Mexico border.

       Along  the   2,000  mile  U.S.-Mexico
border, communities live side-by-side, sharing
the benefits of  rapid economic growth and the
subsequent environmental  problems.   Today,
there  are  over  11  million border residents,  a
population that has doubled in  the last 15 years.
The effects of urban and industrial growth  have
contributed  to  the  problems  of  inadequate
environmental  infrastructure.   In the Mexico
border area, programs are designed to 1) improve
air quality, 2) provide wastewater and drinking
water  services to underserved communities, 3)
manage chemical accidents, 4) support pollution
prevention programs that  will,  over the  long
term, reduce the adverse health and environmental
effects  of toxic pollution, and  5)  reduce and
effectively manage hazardous and solid wastes.
                                                   The  Agency  will  also  continue   to
                                           44

-------
REDUCTION OF GLOBAL AND CROSS-BORDER
                ENVIRONMENTAL TUSKS
cooperate with its Mexican counterpart agencies
to implement the provisions  of the  LaPaz
agreement and  the Border  XXI  Framework
Document which provides a long term strategy to
improve public health and the environmental and
essential natural resources along the border.

Climate Change

      The  1999  President's  Budget requests
$231  million  and 331 workyears  for Climate
Change, of which $205.4 and 252 total workyears
are for the Climate Change Technology Initiative
(CCTT).

      There  is scientific consensus that global
change  threatens   human   health  and   the
environment;  EPA must address this problem to
reduce adverse environmental impacts. In 1997,
the framework developed  under the  Kyoto
Protocol  established  significant  targets   for
greenhouse gas reductions.   The agreements
reached  in  Kyoto   provide   an  important
opportunity to achieve meaningful reductions in
greenhouse gases with an environmentally sound
and economically strong strategy. EPA will play
an integral role in the President's Plan under the
CCH. For several years, EPA has been building
successful partnerships to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions with businesses and other organizations
in all sectors of the economy.  Many of these
programs focus on the deployment of existing,
proven technologies that reduce emissions but are
underutilized.  These partnerships will continue
to be the foundation for achieving greenhouse gas
reductions beyond 2000.

       Under CCTI, EPA will expand its effort
in each sector of the economy in order to meet the
targeted  emissions reductions that protect  the
environment while promoting economic growth.
In  1999,  there are key  areas where  EPA is
expanding its effort. These include: 1) Industry
Initiatives - EPA will consult with key industries
to develop  greenhouse gas reduction strategies,
                                  promote the deployment of clean technologies,
                                  and build a program that credits industry for early
                                  action; 2) Transportation Initiatives - EPA will
                                  accelerate its efforts under the Partnership for a
                                  New Generation of Vehicles  (PNGV).  PNGV
                                  will develop technology for delivery  and  long-
                                  haul trucks that achieve significant increases in
                                  fuel  economy and  meet  stringent   emission
                                  targets;  3)   Buildings  Initiatives  -  promote
                                  greenhouse  gas reduction and improve energy
                                  performance of facilities by increasing  awareness
                                  of energy efficient technology that is  applicable
                                  for both residential and commercial  buildings;
                                  and 4) Domestic  and International  Outreach to
                                  State  and local  entities to  integrate Climate
                                  Change into programs and  policies and engage
                                  developing countries in the implementation of
                                  Climate Change protocols.
                                  Stratospheric Ozone Depletion

                                     The 1999 President's Budget requests $26.9
                                  and 34 workyears to work towards recovery of
                                  ozone concentrations in the stratosphere.

                                     The United States  has signed  the Montreal
                                  Protocol on  Substances that Deplete the Ozone
                                  Layer.  Through this international treaty, EPA
                                  will implement and enforce rules controlling the
                                  production  and  emission of  ozone depleting
                                  compounds,  and  identify safer alternatives and
                                  promote their use to curtail ozone depletion. In
                                  addition, EPA will continue to provide financial
                                  support to  the Montreal Protocol Multilateral
                                  Fund.

                                     EPA will focus on domestic and international
                                  production   phaseout  of  five  ozone-depleting
                                  chemicals and chemical classes, promote more
                                  intensive recycling programs  in the U.S. and
                                          U.S. EPA Headquarters Library
                                                 Mail code 3201
                                          1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
                                             Washington DC 20460

-------
        REDUCTION OF GLOBAL AND CROSS-BORDER
                        ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
abroad, enhance environmental data development
and public outreach aimed at informing the public
of risks of overexposure to ultra-violet  (TJV)
radiation,  and  encourage  earlier  voluntary
phaseout of  CFCs and HCFCs in developing
countries.
Protect PubMc Health and Ecosystems  from
Persistent Toxics

   The 1999 President's Budget requests $6.9
and 39 workyears to reduce the risks to U.S.
human health and  ecosystems  from selected
toxics that circulate in the environment at global
and regional scales, consistent with international
obligations.

   Selected  toxics   which   can  persist,
bioaccumulate and  move long distances pose
serious risks to human health and the ecosystem in
the U.S., not to mention in remote regions where
the substances may not be produced or used. The
actions  of individual nations  to control  the
adverse  effects  of these   PBTs  often  are
insufficient because of the long-range transport of
such  substances.   Thus,  it  takes coordinated
international action to reduce the risks posed by
PBTs globally, let alone in the U.S.

   As part of  the  Agency-wide, multi-media
collaborative effort to  reduce risks  associated
with priority PBTs, the Agency will work to
reduce the risks associated  with priority  PBTs
through the Binational Strategy, the Commission
for Environmental Cooperation, the Persistent
Organic Pollutants international negotiations, and
further national prioritization of chemicals for
coordinated reduction strategies.
Achieve  Cleaner  and  More  Cost-Effective
Practices

   The 1999 President's Budget requests $ 8.0
million  and  38  workyears  to  increase the
application  of  cleaner and more cost-effective
environmental practices and technologies in the
U.S. and abroad through international cooperation.

   As  part  of  the  Agency's international
technology  and technical assistance programs,
EPA will provide access to niicrobiologically safe
drinking water  and the protection of drinking
water  sources  in  developing  nations.   This
priority is  consistent with the  Administrator's
interest in improving the environmental health of
children, who are most vulnerable to water-borne
diseases. In 1999, EPA proposes the "Ensuring
Children's  Health  through  Microbiologically
Safe Drinking  Water and Adequate Sanitation"
initiative. The specific focus area in this initiative
will  be the  improvement of children's health in
less developed countries through provision of safe
drinking water and adequate sanitation.   The
initiative will include environmental technology
transfer and environmental management capacity
building components.
                                           46

-------
           EXPANSION OF AMERICANS' RIGHT TO KNOW
                       ABOUT THEIR ENVIRONMENT
Strategic Goal:     Easy access to a wealth of information about the state of their local environment
will expand citizen involvement and give people tools to protect their families and their communities
as they see fit. Increased information exchange between scientists, public health officials, businesses,
citizens, and all levels of government will foster greater knowledge about the environment and what
can be done to protect it.
OBJECTIVE
Increase Quality/Quantity of Education, Outreach, Data
Availability
Improve Public's Ability to Reduce Exposure
Enhance Abliy to Protect Human Health
TOTALS
TOTAL FTE
FY1998
ENACTED
$72,202
$47,121
$21,019
$140,371
772
FY 1999 PRES.
BUDGET
$75,344
$51,876
$31,869
$159,088
757
       Providing all Americans  with access to
sound environmental information and informing
and involving the public in our work are essential
parts of a comprehensive approach to protecting
the environment. All U.S. citizens have a "right
to  know"  about  the   pollutants  in  their
environment - including the condition of the air
they breathe and the water they drink, as well as
the health effects of the chemicals used in the food
and products they buy. Increased information is
especially valuable for minority, low-income,
and Native American communities that suffer a
disproportionate burden of health consequences
from poor environmental conditions.  As U.S.
citizens, they need to receive adequate knowledge
of and  representation in  public policy  and
environmental decision-making.
      Access  to  environmental  information
enables American citizens to be involved and
informed environmental decision makers. Through
the dissemination of information,  citizens are
given the ability to create and promote lasting
solutions to environmental problems. The relative
severity of environmental risks, the opportunities
for preventing pollution, and the uncertainties
and  complex  trade-offs  that  underlie   many
environmental decisions need to be understood
and addressed.  Public  awareness is critical to
developing  sustainable  solutions  that  all
stakeholders — industry, agriculture, government,
and the public will support and carry out.

       The 1999 President's Budget requests
Si59.1 million and 757  workyears for this goal.
                                           47

-------
         EXPANSION OF AMERICANS' RIGHT TO KNOW
                     ABOUT THEIR ENVIRONMENT?
an increase of $18.7 million and a decrease of
15 workyears over 1998. The Agency will use
a variety of strategies to accomplish this goal.
Critical to the success of these strategies will be
cooperation and collaboration with all potential
partners, including Federal,  state, tribal and
local  governments,  education  institutions,
nonprofit organizations, and businesses.  In
1999, the Agency will  expand Americans'
"right to know" by improving the quality and
increasing the quantity of general environmental
education  outreach  and  data availability
programs,  and improving electronic access to
information.

      The resources requested in this budget
will enable the Agency to meet a number of
important  performance goals in 1999.   The
most significant of these include:

•     Add 10 state participants to the One-
Stop Reporting Program (Total=30).

•     Provide  over  100 grants  to  assist
communities with understanding and addressing
Environmental Justice issues.

•     Increase compliance with right to know
reporting  requirements by conducting 1300
inspections and undertaking  200 enforcement
actions.
 •      3,300 large and very large community
 water  systems  (serving approximately 185
 million Americans) will issue annual consumer
 confidence  reports   containing   information
 about the systems' source water and the level of
 contaminants in the drinking water.

 •      Process   110,000   facility  chemical
 release reports, publish the TRI Data Release
Report and provide improved information to the
public about TRI chemicals, enhancing community
right  to  know   and  efficiently  processing
information from industry.

.     By  1999,  EPA  will  complete  5-7
monitoring pilot projects in EMPACT cities, and
implement timely and high quality environmental
monitoring technology in 5-7 EMPACT cities.
HIGHLIGHTS:

Expanding Communities' Right-to-Know

       The 1999  President's  Budget requests
$51.9 million and 255 workyears, an increase of
$4.8 million over 1998, to improve the public's
ability to reduce exposure. Under the Emergency
Planning and Community  Right-to-Know Act
(EPCRA), EPA is required to provide the public
with valuable chemical release data through the
TRI.   EPA has recently expanded the TRI by
adding seven new industry sectors and by nearly
doubling the number of reportable chemicals.
The goal of these actions is to provide a broader
picture of industrial releases and transfers so the
public   will  have  more  information   about
potential risks.

       In  1999,  EPA will  perform  quality
analyses of at least  two additional industries
reporting to the TRI  and process 110,000 TRI
Form  R's as part of the operation.  EPA will
finalize the PBT rule to add more chemicals to the
TRI.  To ensure that the public has information on
chemicals  that  may  be highly toxic but  are
manufactured,  processed,  or  used  in   lower
volumes, the Agency will lower the thresholds for
reporting PBTs.  The Agency has expanded the
TRI  effort and  will propose a  chemical  use
reporting rule.  Finally, to ensure the efficacy of
                                         48

-------
         EXPANSION OP AMERICANS' RIGHT TO KNOW
                     ABOUT THEIR ENVIRONMENT
this  information,  five focus groups  will  be
conducted to determine how to better serve those
who would use the TRI information.

       The  Agency  aggressively  seeks  to
integrate  all relevant sources  of data  and
information to support comprehensive approaches
to   environmental  protection   that   include
community-based   environmental   protection
(CBEP)  and  ecosystem  protection.     This
information is to be coordinated and integrated
across the Agency  to provide  comprehensive
views of environmental data based on increased
availability and accuracy of locational and spatial
data, the establishment of the central structure
required to support data standards, and a registry
of environmental data.

Increasing Public Access

       The  1999 President's Budget  requests
S67.5 million and 303  workyears, a $3.2 million
increase over 1998,  to enhance  American's
access to environmental information.  In 1999,
the Agency will provide environmental information
through a variety of initiatives.

       The  Agency's  One  Stop  Reporting
Initiative  will provide one-stop  access to and
reporting of environmental information.  This
initiative focuses on streamlining reporting by
regulators  and improving  the availability of
environmental performance data for the public
and the educational community.   Information
such as databases, press releases, phone numbers,
fact sheets, and regulations will be made available
on the World-Wide  Web.

       In  1999,  the  Agency's  Public  Access
Strategic  Initiatives will provide the necessary
infrastructure to integrate EPA data electronically
so that the public has access to information on
environmental requirements and regulations, and
is provided an opportunity to comment. Under
the Enforcement and  Compliance Information
(ECI) initiative, the Agency  will provide the
public  access  to user-friendly information  on
enforcement  and  compliance  data policies,
guidance and interpretations.  This initiative will
improve citizens' and small businesses' access to,
and  their understanding of,  compliance  and
enforcement information.

       Lessons learned from the  Regulatory
Information  Inventory  and  Team  Evaluation
Project   (RHTE)  will  be  made  available
nationally,  providing  a toolbox of successful
approaches, establishing a web site of forms, and
testing the use of web sites for submission of
compliance data. Collection, analysis, and use of
data are at the heart of effective environmental
management.  Electronic reporting for many of
the Agency's  core compliance  reports  will be
available; e.g., municipal water system laboratory
reports,  some   transactions   involving  the
hazardous waste manifest,  and  reporting  of
annual emissions inventories in  some delegated
states.  Additionally, EPA is  now developing a
"second generation" approach on Internet/Web-
based  forms,  which  will  be  much  more
appropriate  for  small  companies and   for
individuals.

       The  Agency  will  ensure  that  small
businesses  and  other small  entities  are full
participants  in  Agency regulatory  activities,
especially regulatory development and compliance
assistance.  Under the requirements of the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of
 1996,  the Agency  provides  small  entities  the
opportunity  to participate in the development of
proposed  rules  subject  to  the  Regulatory
Flexibility  Act.  One of the Agency keys for
successful  small business participation in  the
environmental decision making process is a well
informed and educated small business community.
A focal point of the Agency's small business
                                            49

-------
     EXPANSION OF AMERICANS'  RIGHT  TO KNOW
                 ABOUT THEIR ENVIRONMENT
information activities is EPA's Office of Small
Business  Ombudsman  (SBO).    This  office
coordinates over 12,000 small business inquiries
each year, supports an Internet Web page for
small business, and coordinates agency regional
small business activities. In addition, the SBO
provides oversight for and reports to Congress on
small business compliance activities under §507
of the Clean Air Act.  Through this process the
Agency and  the small business community stay
abreast of each other's needs and concerns.

       The   creation   of  the   Center   for
Environmental Information and Statistics (CEIS)
will play  a crucial role in our efforts to improve
delivery  of  environmental information to  the
public and ensure a cooperative and collaborative
approach to environmental decision making. The
CHS  will  provide  a  "Master  Atlas"  that
integrates various mapping software and provides
multimedia data on environmental quality, status
and trends.  CEIS will also have a web site for
visitors  to   identify  and  contact Agency
representatives so  that they may discuss  the
environmental data  used  and  the   Agency's
interpretation. The CEIS will also serve as the
Agency's source  of  internal  information on
environmental quality,  status and   trends -
informing individuals, communities,  businesses
and  the  public of  environmental information
which  will be easily accessible, objective,  and
reliable.

Ensuring Environmental Justice

        The  1999  President's Budget requests
$7.9  million and  46 workyears  to support
Environmental Justice. In 1999, the Agency will
work to ensure that minority,  low-income,  and
Native American communities will  be able to
meaningfully  participate   in  environmental
decision-making  and protect  themselves from
undue risks.  The Agency  will hold National
Environmental Justice Advisory Council meetings
to advise the Administrator on Environmental
Justice concerns.

      The Agency will continue to develop the
Environmental Justice program to ensure that all
people, regardless of race,  national  origin, or
income, are protected from a disproportionate
impact of environmental hazards. Environmental
programs  do not  always  equally benefit all
communities or  all populations. To remedy this
problem, the Agency will raise the awareness and
understanding of environmental issues affecting
high risk communities by holding at least one
Enforcement   Roundtable  in   an   affected
community. To facilitate community involvement,
EPA wiU provide grants  to minority and low
income communities to address Environmental
Justice issues.

      Through  the Interagency Workgroup
meetings and joint projects, EPA will work to
ensure that all Federal agencies comply with the
Executive  Order on Environmental Justice and
incorporate environmental justice  concerns into
program planning and implementation. EPA will
also integrate Environmental Justice into its own
program operations, Regional Memoranda of
Agreement,  and state Performance Partnership
Agreements.

Tools for Enhancing the Ability  to Protect
Human Health

      The  1999 President's  Budget requests
S31.9 million and 153 workyears, an  increase of
S10.8 million over 1998, to enhance American's
ability to protect human health. In pursuing this
objective, the Agency ensures that all  Americans
have  easy  access  to  sound  environmental
information.  Providing  this  information will
allow citizens to expand  their involvement in
protecting the environment.
                                           50

-------
       EXPANSION OF AMERICANS' RIGHT TO KNOW
                   ABOUT THEIR ENVIRONMENT
      The President's Environmental Monitoring
for Public  Access  and Community Tracking
(EMPACT) initiative is a cross-agency program
established to provide the public with information
regarding local environmental conditions  (e.g.
toxic pollutants, water and air quality).  This
program will  continue to report and provide
access to selected communities throughout the
nation. EMPACT will provide at least 75 of the
largest U.S. metropolitan areas with access to
information regarding the quality of their local
environments,  and   relevant  scientific   and
technical tools to interpret and evaluate potential
impacts  and risks to these environments.   The
Agency will expand EMPACT's effectiveness by
improving  technological  approaches to   data
management  and   communications  and  by
improving its discourse with the public regarding
environmental risks.

      Citizen  involvement in protecting the
environment will also be expanded through the
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). IRIS
is an EPA database  of Agency consensus health
information  on  environmental  contaminants
which  is used extensively by EPA Program
Offices  and Regions where consistent,  reliable
toxicity information is needed for credible risk
assessments.  Each of the 535  IRIS  "files"
contains chemical-specific information on cancer
and noncancer health effects.  Each IRIS file
summarizes a more detailed health assessment or
support document.  IRIS is heavily used for risk
assessments and other health evaluations across
the Agency.   The most  frequent  users  are
Regional and State  risk assessors, but  use has
grown to include all levels of government, as well
as the public and private sectors, both nationally
and internationally.
                                         51

-------
Page Intentionally Blank
               52

-------
                           SOUND SCIENCE
Strategic Goal:  An important aspect of the Agency's mission is to ensure a strong scientific
foundation for the process of identifying public health and environmental issues and the approaches
taken to address them. EPA's 1999 request continues to support this commitment. The programs
proposed will allow EPA to develop and apply the best available science for addressing current and
future environmental hazards,  as  well as new approaches toward  improving environmental
protection.
OBJECTIVE
Research for Ecosystem Assessment and Restoration
Research for Human Health Risk Assessment
Emerging Risk Issues
Pollution Prevention and New Technology
Enable Research on Innovative Approaches to Current
and Future Environmental Problems
Increase Use of Integrated, Holistic, Partnership
Approaches
Increase Opportunities for Sector Based Approaches
Regional Enhancement of Ability to Quantify
Environmental Outcomes
Science Advisory Board Peer Review
Incorporate Innovative Approaches to Environmental
Management
TOTALS
TOTAL FIE
FY1998
ENACTED
$100,713
$49,007
$47,744
$69,919
$86,928
$19,386
$16,478
$5,969
$2,416
$6,161
$404,721
1,165
FY 1999 PRES.
BUDGET
$85,506
$47,619
$55,387
$46,388
$88,746
$16,811
$11,497
$7,995
$2,587
$4,334
$366,868
1,256
       Among EPA's highest research priorities
is our  Assessing  Health  Risks to Children
research  program  to  expand information  on
exposure, effects and risk assessment to address
children's risk. This program will provide the
data to strengthen Agency risk assessments for
children, both in the near and long term.  Two
important efforts will produce much of this data,
the Children's Health Risk Centers, and EPA's
participation in studies in the National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) being
conducted by the  National  Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS).
      We  will  increase  our efforts  in  the
Advanced Measurement Initiative (AMI).  The
focus  of  this program is  to  facilitate  the
application of technologies to enhance individual
monitoring  and measurement technologies,  as
well as to improve  coordination  of existing
monitoring  research and programs  such as the
mapping  of waste sites, the development  of
ground water and surface water transport models
and the characterization of soils and  surface
water vegetation quality and land use.  AMI will
                                          53

-------
                          SOUND  SCIENCE
develop working partnerships between technology
developers, environmental  policy makers, and
environmental managers to ensure that advanced
monitoring technologies will meet the needs of
EPA, the regulated community, and the public.

       Additionally,  we will  strengthen our
intramural  research  program  through  the
allocation of additional workyears to recruit post-
doctoral students to work at EPA laboratories.

       The Agency  has requested resources to
support research within Goal 8, Sound Science,
as well as  Goals 1,2,4,5,6 and 7.  The research
program areas requested and  described under
Goal 8 represent research support that cuts across
multiple goals.

       The 1999  President's  Budget requests
$366.9 million and 1,256 workyears for this goal,
a decrease of $37.9 million and an increase of 91
workyears from 1998.

       The resources requested in this goal will
enable the  Agency to  meet a  number of
performance goals in 1999.  The most significant
of these include:
•     In 2001, complete and evaluate a multi-
tiered ecological monitoring system for the Mid-
Atlantic region and provide select land cover and
aquatic  indicators  for measuring  status  and
trends.

•     In 1999, analyze existing monitoring data
for acid deposition and UVB and implement a
multiple  site  UVB   monitoring  system  for
measuring status and trends.
•      In   1999,   provide  ecological  risk
assessment case studies for  two watersheds,
final guidelines for reporting ecological risk
assessment and  ecological  risk  assessment
guidance and support.

•      By 2008, develop and  verify innovative
methods   and  models   for  assessing   the
susceptibilities of populations  to environmental
agents, aimed at enhancing risk assessment and
management strategies and guidance.

•      By  1999,  a total of  50 Project XL
projects   will  be   in  development  or
implementation, an increase of 15 over 1998.

*      In   1999,   produce  first  generation
exposure models describing residential exposure
to pesticides.

•      In 1999, initiate a Field Exposure Study
of  children   to  two   endocrine  disrupter
chemicals.

*      In   1999,  complete  and submit an
external review draft of the Air Quality Criteria
Document for carbon monoxide.

•      By   1999,   improve  computational
efficiency of the fine particulate model by 25%.
HIGHLIGHTS:

Ecosystem Protection Research

       The President's Budget requests $85.5
million   and  378   workyears   to   support
Ecosystems   Protection   research.      The
Environmental  Monitoring and  Assessment
Program  (EMAP) is one of the  areas of
investment in this objective.
                                          54

-------
                       SOUND SCIENCE
       The  EMAP  Program  monitors  the
condition of the nation's ecological resources to
evaluate  the  cumulative  success of  current
policies and programs and to identify  emerging
problems  before  they  become  widespread or
irreversible. Policies and programs that promote
the  sustainable   use of  resources  and  the
preservation of ecosystem integrity must be based
upon our scientific knowledge of the environment.
EMAP  seeks  to  improve the quality  of  that
knowledge and  to  fill in  any  gaps  in  that
knowledge through  research in  two primary
areas: developing a better  understanding of the
mechanisms that control ecosystem structure and
function and assessing the role of human actions
in altering them; and, monitoring ecosystem
characteristics and  the  human  influences  that
change them over time.

Research to  Improve Human  Health Risk
Assessment

       The  President's  Budget  requests $47.6
million and 224  workyears  to support Human
Health Risk Assessment research. One key focus
under this objective is in the area of Susceptible
Subpopulations research.

       Research  activities  are  designed  and
implemented  to   provide   insights   into
subpopulations  that  experience  higher  than
normal exposures or have  underlying biological
factors that place them  at greater risk.  Research
on susceptible populations assumes that certain
segments of the populations may not be afforded
adequate consideration in current risk assessment
practices  and/or  sufficient  protection under
ensuing  risk  management decisions.   Efforts
associated with this research activity will evaluate
the adequacy  of current approaches to identify,
characterize and explain the increased susceptibility
of various subpopulations.  This evaluation will
subsequently  direct  the evolution of improved
tools  and approaches to assess risk  to  these
populations. A unique dimension of these efforts
will be the incorporation of risk management
research as these key parameters and populations
are defined  (exposure  or  biologic)  so  that
appropriate   intervention  strategies  can  be
developed and applied in parallel.

Emerging Risk Issues

       The President's Budget requests S55.4
million and 185 workyears to support Emerging
Risk Issues research.  The Endocrine Disrupters
(ED) research program and the One Atmosphere
Research  Program  are  two  key  areas  of
investment within this objective.

       The ED research program was established
in response to growing scientific concern and
public awareness regarding potential effects of
environmental  exposure  to  chemicals    that
interact  with the  endocrine  system,  causing
adverse  reproductive  and  other  health and
ecological  effects.   Research  on   endocrine
disruptors  is being  conducted  according  to
priorities described  in the Endocrine Disruptors
Research  Strategy,  which  is  targeted   at
addressing  the  major  uncertainties  in this
important area.   In 1999,  the ED research
program will include integrated toxicology and
exposure studies in ecological systems or human
populations  with  suspected  contamination  or
exposure to ED chemicals.

       In 1999, the One Atmosphere Research
Program is intended to assess and prevent risks
from air pollution present in mixtures, the way
people and ecosystems commonly experience it.
EPA's focus will be on understanding the health
and ecological effects associated with exposures
to air pollutants in combination, without emphasis
on a particular constituent, as well as the interplay
                                            55

-------
                        SOUND SCIENCE
of source emissions transformation, transport and
fate, and the impacts of multi-pollutant controls to
achieve balance in pollution control and avoid
unnecessary costs.  EPA  will look at multiple
scales and at aH environments, thereby, focusing
on the fact that all air pollution merges in one
atmosphere.

Pollution Prevention and New Technologies

      The President's Budget requests  $46.4
million  and   188  workyears  for pollution
prevention and new technologies.  Research on
Advanced Measurement Initiative  (AMI) and
Environmental Technology Verification (ETV)
are among the focus areas for this objective.

      The purpose  of AMI  is  to  identify,
evaluate, adapt, and  apply new and emerging
measurement  and monitoring  technologies  to
facilitate effective environmental risk management.
Through  AMI, EPA  seeks to meet  current
environmental measurement requirements more
effectively, to permit  the collection of important
environmental data that is not available using
conventional monitoring methods, and to create
opportunities  for  entirely new and innovative
approaches to environmental measurement needs.

      ETV   was  created   to   substantially
accelerate the introduction of new environmental
technologies into the  domestic and international
marketplace.  This will be done by verifying the
environmental performance  characteristics  of
commercial-ready  technology   through  the
evaluation of objective and quality  assured data,
so  that potential purchasers and permitters are
provided  with an  independent  and  credible
assessment  of what  they  are  buying  and
permittmg. EPA's ETV research program began
with a three to five year pilot phase to test a wide
range of partner and procedural alternatives in
various pilot areas, and the true market demand
for the response to such a program.  In 1999, the
ETV program will transition from a pilot phase to
establishment of the particular verification areas.

Enable Research on Innovative Approaches to
Current and Future Environmental Problems

      The President's  Budget requests $88.7
million and 97 workyears to Enable Research on
Innovative  Approaches  to Current  and  Future
Environmental Problems.

      Resources  requested  in this objective
provide the support required to accomplish the
science and technology  program at  EPA.  The
effectiveness of  the  support provided  in  this
objective  is integral to the  achievement  of
numerous Agency goals, including Goals  1,2,4,
5, 6, 7, and 8. The implementation of a strong
science  and  engineering  program  requires
necessary   infrastructure  support,  operating
expenses and other operational resources.  The
staff support activities include program review,
health  and safety,  resource  planning   and
execution, administrative and financial contract
and grant management,  equipment and facilities
maintenance, and automated data processing.
                                           56

-------
         A CREDIBLE DETERRENT TO POLLUTION AND
              GREATER COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW
Strategic Goal: EPA will ensure full compliance with laws intended to protect public health and
the environment.
OBJECTIVE
Enforcement Tools to Reduce Non-Compliance
Increase Use of Auditing, Self-Policing Policies
TOTALS
TOTAL FIE
FY 1998
ENACTED
$268,535
$47,294
$315,828
2,538
FY 1999 PRES.
BUDGET
$281,743
$49,208
$330,951
2,536
      Protecting the public and the environment
from risks posed by violations of environmental
requirements is, and always has been,  basic to
EPA's mission. Many of America's environmental
improvements  over the  last  25 years  are
attributable to a strong set of environmental laws
and an expectation of compliance with those laws.
EPA's   strong  and  aggressive  enforcement
program has been the centerpiece  of efforts to
ensure  compliance, and has  achieved real and
significant improvements in public health and the
environment.   The Agency  will  continue  to
aggressively  punish violators and  deter future
violations, level the economic playing field for
law-abiding companies, and ensure  that the price
of goods and services reflects true costs.

      However,   to  meet   the challenges
presented  by  the continuing,  serious,  and
complex environmental problems and the changes
in the types and scope of activities and entities
regulated, EPA must seek a  broader range of
solutions.  To this end,  EPA is developing
additional tools and  capabilities  for  ensuring
compliance through assistance and  incentives to
the regulated commuaity. By ensuring compliance
through an  array of traditional and innovative
approaches, EPA  is working to mitigate and
avoid risks to human health and the environment.

      The  1999  President's Budget requests
$330.9  million  and  2,536  workyears  for
deterrence and  compliance  in  this goal, an
increase of  $15.1  million and a decrease of 2
workyears from 1998.   These  resources will
support the  use of enforcement and compliance
tools  to  ensure  deterrence  and  compliance
including   inspections  to   target  violators,
assistance  to help the  regulated  community
understand its responsibilities, and incentives to
make it economically beneficial to comply with
the law.   EPA will also continue to provide
technical assistance and grants to states and Tribes
to help them  build effective and well targeted
compliance  and enforcement programs.   EPA
will  support  international   environmental
commitments, especially along U.S. borders, and
work with  other Federal agencies to promote
environmental protection abroad and encourage a
level economic playing field in an increasingly
global trading system.
                                          57

-------
       A CREDIBLE DETERRENT TO POLLUTION AND
            GREATER COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW
      The resources requested in this budget
will enable the  Agency to meet a number of
important  performance  goals.    The  most
significant of these are:
•     Target high priority areas for enforcement
and compliance assistance and complete baseline
data needed to measure changes in key indicators
of compliance.  The Agency will identify five
high priority areas and improve 3 of their data
systems,

•     Deter  non-coinpliance by  maintaining
levels of field presence and enforcement actions,
particularly in high risk areas  and/or  where
populations are disproportionately exposed. In
1999, EPA will conduct 15,(XX) inspections and
undertake 2,600 enforcement actions.

•     Increase the regulated community's use of
compliance incentives and their understanding of,
and   ability  to   comply   with,   regulatory
requirements. EPA will offer 20 small entities
relief under  the  Small Business  Policy, an
increase of 100 % over the 1998 levels, and obtain
400 self  disclosures.  The  Agency will  also
continue  to operate 8  Compliance  Assistance
Centers, and provide compliance assistance tools
such as 7 sector notebooks and 4 sector guides.

•      Assist  states  and   tribes  with  their
enforcement  and  compliance  assurance  and
incentive programs. EPA will provide specialized
assistance and training, including 100 courses, to
state  and  tribal  officials  to  enhance  the
effectiveness of their programs.

•      Review  100%  of significant proposed
Federal   actions   subject   to  the  National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) which require
EPA  follow-up  to  determine   their   likely
environmental effects and remedy 70% of EPA's
concerns with these proposed actions.
HIGHLIGHTS:

Target High Priority Areas for Enforcement
and Compliance Assistance

      The 1999  President's Budget  requests
$281.7 million and 2,056 workyears to address
the most  significant environmental  problems
through improved targeting of high-risk portions
of the  regulated  community,  and  increased
monitoring. The foundation of this effort wiU be
the completion by EPA's enforcement  and
compliance assurance program of baseline data
improvements that began in 1998, the selection of
the most appropriate compliance indicators and
types of facilities to be addressed, and the setting
of  challenging   but   realistic  targets  for
compliance.

Improve Compliance by Providing Assistance
and Incentives to the Regulated Community

       The 1999  President's Budget requests
$49.2 million and 480 workyears to provide more
sophisticated and targeted compliance assistance
to the regulated community using compliance
baseline data developed for selected sectors, and
the Agency's  analysis  of  the  root  causes of
compliance problems. EPA will also increase the
regulated   community's  use   of compliance
incentives  and  programs  by 10%  over 1998
levels, by encouraging communities to voluntarily
discover, disclose, and correct violations.

Assist States and Tribes with Their Compliance
Assurance and Incentive Programs

       Included in the 1999 President's Budget is
S2.0 million for Pesticides Enforcement grants to
help  prevent future misuses  of pesticides  in
communities and workplaces. EPA also requests
$0.5  million to help states protect vulnerable
                                           58

-------
      A             DETERRENT TO POLLUTION AND
                     COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW
children  from lead poisoning  by increasing
enforcement of the lead-based paint provisions of
the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  A
requested increase of $100 thousand will provide
compliance assistance to Tribes.
                                 59

-------
Page Intentionally Blank
             60

-------
                 EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT
 Strategic Goal:      EPA will establish a management infrastructure that will set and
 implement the highest quality standards for effective internal management and fiscal
 responsibility.
OBJECTIVE
Executive Leadership
Management Services, Administrative, and Stewardship
Building Operations, Utilities and New Construction
Regional Management Services and Support
Provide Audit and Investij^tive Products and Services
TOTALS
TOTAL FTE
FY1998
ENACTED
$27,898
5165,332
$331,960
$107,104
$36,565
$668,857
2,920
FY 1999 PRES.
BUDGET
$30,896
$180,937
$299,921
$108,189
$39,917
$659,861
2,975
      Efforts under this goal support the full
range of Agency  activities for a healthy and
sustainable environment.  Agency management
provides  vision   and  leadership  within the
Agency, and conducts policy oversight for all
Agency programs.  The effectiveness of EPA's
management will determine, in large measure,
how successful we will be in pursuit of the other
goals identified  in the Agency's  strategic and
annual plans.  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.     Agency
management systems  and processes win  be
supported   by   independent  evaluations  that
promote efficient and effective programs,  so that
we can  obtain the greatest return on taxpayer
investment.
      The 1999  President's  Budget requests
$659.9  million  and 2,975 workyears for  the
Effective Management goal, a decrease of $9.0
million and increase of 55 workyears over 1998.
Managerial  accomplishments   will   include
implementation  of automated and  streamlined
human  resources  and  financial  management
processes, construction of new facilities, and
establishment of state-of-the-art laboratories. The
Agency will also honor its obligations to protect
children from environmental hazards by working
to make the protection of children's  health  a
fundamental goal of environmental protection hi
the United States.

       The resources requested in this budget will
enable the Agency to meet a number of important
performance goals. The most significant of these
include:

•      By the end of 1999, continue renovation of
the new Headquarters complex by completing
100% buildout of the Ariel Rios north building
and 50 % of the Interstate Commerce Commission/
Customs building, and moving 47%  of EPA
personnel from  vacated  spaces  to  the new
consolidated complex.

•      By the end of 1999, complete at least 50 %
of construction of the consolidated research lab at
Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.
                                           61

-------
                EFFECTIVE  MANAGEMENT
•     By  the  end   of  1999,  implement
performance-based contracting for 10% of EPA
contracts  awarded  to  improve  quality  and
timeliness.

•     By the end of 1999, implement Phase I of
the  Integrated  Grants  Management  System
(IGMS)  award module in all regions,

•     By the  end of  1999, evaluate  5 EPA
standards  to  ensure they  are protective of
children's health.

«     By March 1999, 100% of EPA category 1
& 2 systems tested will  calculate the Year 2000
correctly.

«     By the end of 1999, the Agency can plan
and track performance against annual goals and
capture  100% of costs through  the new PBAA
structure, based on modified budget and financial
accounting systems, a new accountability process
and new cost accounting mechanisms.

•     In 1999, the OIG will provide objective,
timely, and independent auditing, consulting, and
investigative services through such actions as
completing 15 construction grant closeout audits.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Protecting Children's Health

      The 1999 President's Budget requests
S30.9 million  and  265 workyears  to  provide
vision and leadership,  as  well  as  executive
direction and policy oversight,  for all  Agency
programs, including Children's Health.

      The Agency will honor its obligation to
protect children from environmental hazards by
targeting resources  toward the  Agency's many
diverse children's activities.  Children today face
significant and unique health threats from a range
of environmental hazards. They are often more
heavily exposed and more vulnerable than adults
to toxins  in the environment, from  asthma-
exacerbating air pollution and lead-based paint in
older homes, to treatment-resistant microbes in
drinking water,  to persistent chemicals that may
cause  cancer  or  induce  reproductive   or
developmental changes.  Children's developing
immune and nervous systems can  be highly
vulnerable  to  disruption  by  toxins  in  the
environment, and  the  consequences may be
lifelong.

      In   1999,  major   activities  include
establishing,   with  HHS,   six   Children's
Environmental Research Centers, ensuring that
EPA's   public   health  regulations  consider
children's  health, and providing information to
parents to  better protect their children from
environmental hazards.
Improving    Management    Services,
Administrative Support, and Stewardship

      The 1999  President's Budget requests
$289.1  million  and  2,154  workyears  for
management  services,  administrative support,
and  stewardship.    EPA  will  provide  the
management services and administrative support
to achieve its environmental mission and to meet
its fiduciary and workforce responsibilities.

      The Agency wants  to  ensure  that its
workforce is of the highest  caliber and is fully
prepared  to  deliver  national  leadership and
expertise in environmental protection. To do so,
the Agency will invest in its employees through
training and  education.   The  Agency is also
striving to increase efficiencies in  hiring and
placement of staff with the  necessary scientific
and   technical   skills   to   sustain   effective
environmental  protection   programs.     By
                                          62

-------
                  EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT
implementing  an automated  and  streamlined
human resources process, the Agency will take
major steps toward achieving these goals.

       Previously, the Agency has relied on cost-
plus, level-of-effort contracting.  In an effort to
enhance the timeliness  and quality of contract
products  and  service,   the Agency  will  be
transitioning from this  more costly and less
efficient  method  of  contracting to the more
programmatic  and cost  effective  method  of
performance-based    service   contracting.
Furthermore,  by  improving   the   Agency's
contract management information systems, the
Agency will improve the quality  and availability
of information on the status and use of resources,
thereby assuring that the Agency acquires the best
quality goods and services in support of Agency
objectives.

       The Agency is also  taking steps toward
reducing  reporting burdens by  the  Agency's
highest volume submitters by encouraging  and
supporting  electronic reporting.   These efforts
will  facilitate   EPA's  acquisition   of   key
information  about  environmental  conditions
across the country.

       In  1999,  upon correction  of grants
management  vulnerabilities, emphasis will  be
placed on  all  aspects  of  post award grants
management to ensure fiscal integrity. This will
be accomplished by supporting and maintaining
an Agency-wide Integrated  Grants Management
System that  will provide  for  significant  and
immediate customer service and communication,
as well as substantial time and resource savings,
increased integrity of data quality, and post award
management/closeout support.

       Improving the Agency's  ability to focus
on  environmental results and ensuring effective
stewardship of Agency resources is a high priority
for the Agency.  To  strengthen the Agency's
accountability  through  a  performance-based
management   system,   EPA   will  continue
development of its integrated planning, budgeting,
and accountability process,  and will further its
achievement   of  the  substantive  statutory
requirements of the GPRA, the Chief Financial
Officers (CFO) Act, and related legislation.  The
Agency  will   also focus  on  development of
effective  financial management  systems,  and
greater efficiency through streamlining, customer
service, and automated systems development.

Maintaining    and   Improving  Agency
Infrastructure

      The Agency is requesting a total of $299.9
million and 155  workyears to provide a quality
work environment that considers employee safety
and  security,   building  operations,  utilities,
facilities repairs, new construction, and pollution
prevention throughout the Agency's ten Regional
offices,  research and  development laboratory
complexes, field stations,  and  Headquarters
locations.

      In support of effective management, the
Agency  will  provide  for  construction  and
establishment  of state-of-the-art  laboratories,
providing   the  tools  essential  to researching
innovative  solutions  to  current  and  future
environmental  problems  and  enhancing  our
understanding  of environmental  risks.    The
consolidated   laboratory   office  complex  at
Research Triangle Park,  North Carolina is an
excellent example.   For 1999, the Agency is
requesting  $32  million  for  the continued
construction of this complex. This facility will
consolidate several locations that EPA currently
leases, saving  taxpayers over $100 million over
the facility's life.  Also, EPA is requesting an
advance appropriation of $40.7 million in  fiscal
year 2000 to complete the project.
                                           63

-------
                EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT
      The Agency's goal of consolidating its
Headquarters personnel into one central location
is closer to being realized.  In 1999, EPA is
requesting $16  million for  relocation  to  and
continued construction of the new Headquarters
buildings. The single largest component of this
request  is for the telecommunication costs to
conform to EPA's Integrated  Services Digital
Network  (ISDN)  and  local  area  network
standards. Significant accomplishments for 1999
include  completion of the buildout in the Ariel
Rios North building, and 50% completion of the
Interstate  Commerce Commission  building.
Furthermore,  lab construction at Ft.  Meade,
Maryland will be completed.

      EPA's employees are a major asset and
the Agency will continue to take steps to provide
a wide range of facilities management and safety,
health and environmental management policies,
procedures and  services.  Facilities operations
include  rent; preventive maintenance of existing
space;   security  and property  management;
printing services; postage and mail management
services;   transportation  services;   Agency
recycling; and health, safety and environmental
compliance  activities,   including  medical
monitoring and training.

Assisting EPA  in Reaching  Its Mission by
Providing  Audit and Investigative Products
and Services

       The Agency is requesting $39.9 million
and  401 workyears  to  provide   audits  and
investigations of EPA's program, administrative,
and financial activities by the Office of Inspector
General.  This  will  ensure that the Agency's
programs are delivered in an effective, efficient,
and economical manner and in compliance with
all applicable laws and regulations.  Audits and
investigations  assist the Agency  in identifying
areas of potential risk and necessary improvements
that  can  significantly  contribute to  EPA's
fulfillment of its mission.  Services also include
working in partnership with Agency management
to find more effective and efficient solutions to
environmental problems.
                                          64

-------
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
      65

-------
Page Intentionally Blank
              66

-------
        STATE, LOCAL, &  TRIBAL GRANTS
                         $643
                                  S665
                $548
       $468
                                                                      $875
                                                             $745
                          $645
                                                    $674
       1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
      In 1999, the President's Budget requests a
total of S874.7 million  for  17 'categorical'
program grants for state and tribal governments.
This is an increase of $129.7 million over 1998.
These grants  are  part of EPA's Operating
Programs even though they are funded in the State
and Tribal Assistance Grant (STAG) appropriation
account. 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 kws. 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 1999, EPA will continue to give more
                          flexibility  to  state and  tribal governments to
                          manage their environmental programs as well as
                          provide technical and financial assistance.  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 with less
                          interference from the Federal government, while
                          increasing emphasis on measuring and reporting
                          environmental  improvements.     Second,
                          Performance  Partnership  Grants (PPGs) will
                          continue to allow states and tribes more funding
                          flexibility to combine categorical program grants
                          to address environmental priorities.
                                         67

-------
       STATE,  LOCAL, & TRIBAL GRANTS
HIGHLIGHTS:
Water Quality Program Grants

      In 1999, the President's Budget requests a
total of $315.5 million to support EPA's nonpoint
source grants and water pollution control (Section
106) grants.  This represents a total increase of
$ 115 million over 1998, all of which is part of the
Clean Water Action Plan. Both grant programs
are designed  to assist states with their water
quality problems.  An additional $95 million for
the nonpoint source grants will specifically focus
on assisting states with implementation of priority
nonpoint  source  and   watershed  protection
activities.    An  additional  $20  million  will
strengthen the Section 106 grant  program and
support activities in reducing pollutant discharges
from point and nonpoint sources and management
programs to support healthy aquatic communities.
Of this amount, $2.6 million will support eligible
tribes  conducting  comprehensive  monitoring
programs  and  implementing  water  quality
programs.
 Air and Radiation Program Grants

 Air and Radiation Program grants help state and
 tribal governments  address air and  radiation
 program requirements. In 1999, the President's
 Budget requests a total of $209.4 million for Air
 and Radiation Program grants. This is an increase
 of  $9.2 million  over  1998.  In support of the
 Agency's  implementation strategy for attaining
 the new air quality standards, EPA will  target
 $50.7 million for states for the development of a
 national PM 2.5  monitoring network.   This
 monitoring network will provide the data needec
 for the  identification of PM sources as well  as
 development of control strategies to address PM
 on a regional basis.
Enforcement Program Grants

In 1999, financial  assistance will  continue to
support state and tribal enforcement programs. A
total of $26.9 million is requested for Pesticides
and Toxic  Substances Enforcement grants, an
increase of $2.5 million over 1998.  An increase
of $2,0  million is  requested  for Pesticides
Enforcement  grants  to  help  prevent  future
misuses  of  pesticides   in  communities  and
workplaces. An increase of $0.5  million is
requested  for Toxic Substances  Enforcement
grants to protect children from lead based paint
exposure.

Indian General Assistance Program Grants

For the Indian Environmental General Assistance
Program (GAP), the Agency is requesting a total
of $42.6 million for these GAP grants. This is an
increase of $4 million over 1998. This increase is
requested to allow Tribes to develop baseline data
by which future environmental progress can be
measured.
                                          68

-------
                    STATE  and  TRIBAL  ASSISTANCE
                                   Dollars in Thousands
       GRANTS
                                                     FY 1997
                                                    ENACTED
                Grant
MIL & _Radiation
State and Local Assistance
Tribal Assistance
Radon

Water

Pollution Control (Section 1 06)
Nonpoint Source
Wetlands Program
Water Quality Cooperative Agnmts

Drinking Water

PWSS
UIC

Hazardous Waste

H.W. Financial Assistance
Underground Storage Tanks
Pesticides Program Implementation
Lead Grants

Multimedia

Pollution Prevention
Pesticides Enforcement
Toxics Enforcement
Indian General Assistance Program
TOTALS
 $153,190.0,:
   $5,882.2;
   $8.158.0
 $167,230,2:-
  $80,700.0;!
 $100,000.0;
  $15,000.0!
  S2ILOJ1QJ1:
$215,700.00;:
  $90,000.0:
 $100,500.0i[


  $98,298.2:;

 $108,842.9
  $12,814.6
  $12.500.0
  $25,314.6
   $5,999.5;
  $16,133.6;
   $6,486.2:;
  $28.000.0;!
  $56,619.3

 $674,207.0
FY1998
ENACTED
$181,933.0:;
$10,168.8"
iSJLsmj
$200,259.81
$95,529.3!
$105,000.0
$15,000.0 |
$235,529.30:
$93,780.5 :
$10.500.0
$104,280.5 ••(
$98,598.2
$10.544.7 :
$109,142.9;.
$13,114.6:'
$13.712.2-
$26,826.8.
$5,999.5\
$17,511.7;
$6,864.2
$68,960.7
$745,000.0
FY 1999
PRES BUD
$190,190.0
$11, 068.8 i
$8.158.0 !
$209,416.8:i
i
$115,529.3
$200,000.0
$19.000.0
$349,529.3
$93,780.5 ,
S1Q.500.0:
$104,280.5;
$98,598.2'
$10.544. 7:-
$109,142.9;
$13,114.6
S13J122-
$26,826.8
$5,999.5 :
$19,511.7
$7,364.2.
$75,460.7
$874,657,0
                                               69
                                                        U.S. EPA Headquarters Library
                                                              Mail code 3301
                                                        1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
                                                           Washington DC 20460

-------
Page Intentionally Blank
           70

-------
                        WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
                                   FINANCING
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING
Clean Water SKF
Drinking Water SKF
Mexican Border Projects
- Mexican Border
- Colorrias
Special Needs Projects
TOTALS
FY 1998
ENACTED
$1,350
S725
$125
$75
$50
$76
$2^276
FY 1999 PRES.
BUDGET
$1,075
$775
$100
$100
$0
$78
$2,028
Providing Americans  with Clean  and  Safe
Water  and   Reducing   Cross-border
Environmental Threats

       EPA's  water  infrastructure  financing
efforts support  two of EPA's strategic goals:
Clean and Safe Water, and Reducing Global and
Cross-border  Environmental  Risks.    With
approximately $140 billion in documented needs
over   the  next  20   years  for  wastewater
infrastructure alone, the Nation's cities are faced
with an enormous price tag for keeping our rivers,
streams, and beaches free from untreated sewage.
Vast   quantities   of  pollution  contaminate
residential areas and wildlife habitats along our
border with Mexico.  In Alaska Native villages,
more than  20,000 people lack even the  most
rudimentary 20th century sanitation facilities and
technology.

       In hundreds  of cities  and towns, the
systems  for ensuring safe  drinking water lag
behind modern demands. In some cases, the costs
associated with meeting national standards for
drinking water quality  ('maximum contaminant
levels')  have   outstripped  a   community's
investment  in drinking  water treatment and
distribution systems.  In other cases, aging and
deteriorated systems need to be restored to ensure
continued protection of public health.

       The State and Tribal  Assistance Grants
(STAG)   Appropriation   provides   financial
assistance  to states,  municipalities  and  tribal
governments to fund a variety of drinking water
and wastewater 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.  States and
localities rely on a variety of revenue sources to
finance their environmental programs and  to pay
for the facilities needed to keep the water clean
and safe from harmful contaminants.

       Providing  STAG  funds through  State
Revolving Fund (SRF) programs, EPA works in
partnership with the states to provide low-cost
financial  assistance  to   municipalities  for
infrastructure construction.  SRF funds are also
provided as  grants to tribal governments to help
                                           71

-------
                        WATER INERASTMJCTURE
                                   FINANCING
them address their drinking water and wastewater
needs.   Special Needs projects also provide
focused wastewater grant assistance to local areas
facing extraordinary needs.
       The President's Budget requests a total of
$2,028  million  in  1999  for  EPA's  Water
Infrastructure programs, a decrease of $439.6
million   from  1998.   Of  the  total  water
infrastructure  request,  $1,928  million  will
support EPA's Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water, and
$100  million  will support EPA's  Goal  6:
Reduction   of  Global  and   Cross-border
Environmental  Risks.   The  $439.6   million
decrease  is  the net result  of a $225  million
reduction in the Clean Water and Drinking Water
SRF programs, a $191.6  million reduction in
1998  Congressional  earmarks,  a $25  million
increase for U.S./Mexico Border funds, a $50
million decrease in funding for the U.S. Colonias
(since the Administration has met its $300 million
commitment and eligible projects may be funded
through the U. S. /Mexico Border funds), and a $2
million increase for Special Needs projects.

       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 1999. Some
of these goals include:

       85%   of  the   population  served  by
community water  systems will receive  drinking
water meeting all health-based standards, up from
81% in 1994;

       Another 3.4 million people  will receive
the  benefits   of  secondary    treatment  of
wastewater,  for a total of 183 million
Capitalizing the State Revolving Funds
(SRFs)

      The Clean Water and Drinking Water
State Revolving Funds  (CW and DW SRFs)
demonstrate a true partnership between States,
Tribes, localities, and the Federal government.
These programs  provide  Federal financial
assistance   to  protect  the  nation's  water
resources   by  providing   funds  for  the
construction of drinking water and wastewater
treatment facilities.  The SRFs are two of the
Agency's  premier  tools  for  building  the
financial capacity of our partners.

      In  1999,  the President is  requesting
$1,850  million   for  these  funds.     The
Administration's  1999 request, combined with
the outyear capitalization  of these funds,
enables the Administration to meet its long
term goal for both funds to provide a total of
$2.5 billion in annual financial  assistance to
needy communities.

      In  addition,  states  will  have more
funding flexibility starting in  1998. States will
be able to shift up to one-third of their DW SRF
allocation  to the CW  SRF or an equivalent
amount from their CW SRF  allocation to the
DW SRF to address their priority needs.

      In  1999,  the President is  requesting
$1,075 million for the CW-SRF. Through this
program,  the  federal  government provides
financial assistance for wastewater and  other
water projects, including  nonpoint sources,
estuaries,  stormwater,  and combined sewer
overflows.    Water infrastructure projects
contribute to direct ecosystem improvements
                                           72

-------
                                     INFRASTRUCTURE
                                •
through reduced loadings of nutrients and toxic
pollutants in all types of surface waters. The CW
SRFs have over §24 billion in assets and are in
place in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

       In 1999, the President is requesting $775
million for the DW-SRF.  Through the Drinking
Water State Revolving Fund program, states will
provide loans  to  finance  improvements  to
community water systems and to restructure small
systems so that they can achieve compliance with
the mandates of the new Safe Drinking Water Act
(SDWA).  Some non-state recipients, such as the
District of Columbia and Indian  tribes, will
receive their DW-SRF allocations in the form of
grants.  The DW-SRFs will be self-sustaining in
the long run and will directly help offset the rising
costs of ensuring safe drinking water supplies and
assist  small  communities in  meeting  their
responsibilities.
Supporting Alaska Native Villages

       The  President's Budget  requests  S15
million for  Alaska Native  villages  for the
construction of wastewater and drinking water
facilities  to  address   very  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.
 Assisting Needy Communities

       The  President's  Budget requests  $63
 million  for  the  construction  of  wastewater
 treatment facilities for Boston  Harbor,  MA,
 Bristol  County, MA,  and New Orleans,  LA.
 Funds are targeted to these areas  because  of
special circumstances including financial hardship
and unique sewer system problems.
Reducing Cross-border Environmental Risks -
Mexico Border

       The President's Budget requests a total of
$100  million for water infrastructure  projects
along the U.S./Mexico Border.  The goal of this
program is to reduce the incidence of waterbome
diseases and  enhance water quality along the
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  certified by the
Border Environment Cooperation Commission
(BECC). EPA has fulfilled the Administration's
$300  million commitment to provide funding
assistance for U.S. Colonias. Any eligible U.S.
Colonias   projects  requiring  wastewater
infrastructure assistance can be funded through
the U.S./Mexico Border program.
                                           73

-------
Page Intentionally Blank
            74

-------
                              FUNDS FOR AMERICA
      The President's Budget proposes several Funds for America in the FY 1999 budget to
enhance high-priority, inter-agency programs and initiatives.  These Funds support key
environmental and research programs through deficit neutral Funding mechanisms, including the
renewal of taxes that support the Superfund Trust Fund.  EPA programs and initiatives are
included in both the Environmental Resources Fund for America and the Research Fund for
America.
Environmental Resources Fund for America (dollars in millions)
                                          FY 1998
                                          Pres Bud

                                            $1,075.0

                                             $725.0
Clean Water SRF

Drinking Water SRF

Clean Water Initiative
  Nonpoint Source Grants
  Sec. 106 Water Quality Grants
  Wetlands
  Sec 104(b)(3) Coop. Agreements
  EPM Water Quality Programs
Total Clean Water Initiative

Superfund

Total

Research Fund for America (dollars in millions)
                                          FY 1998
                                          Pres Bud

 Office of Research & Development              $514.2

 Climate Change Technology Initiative           $149.3

 Total                                        S663.5
FY 1998
Enacted

  $1,350.0

    $725.0
                                                         FY 1998
                                                         Enacted
FY 1999
Pres Bud

  $1,075.0

    $775.0
$100.0
$95.5
$15.0
$20.0
$255.4
$485.9
$2,094.2
$4,378.2
$105.0
$95.5
$15.0
$20.0
$249.8
$485.3
$1,500.0
$4,058.3
$200.0
$115.5
$15.0
$20.0
$281.2
$631.7
$2,092.7
$4,572.4
                FY 1999
               Pres Bud
$538.9
$89.4
$628.3
$487.1
$205.7
$692.8
                                          75

-------
                           ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                             SUMMARY OF AGENCY RESOURCES

                                  (DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS)
^Agency f3rograms_by Goal
Clean Air
Clean & Safe Water
Safe Food
Preventing Pollution
Better Waste Management
Global & Cross Border
Right-to-Know
Sound Science
Credible Deterrent
Effective Management
FY 1999 1999-1998
FY1998 President's Difference
Enacted Budget Total Dollars
$490,448.2
$778,239,6
$56,459,3
$240,466.0
$225,642.1
$161,144.4
$137,696.9
$395,663-9
$298,01 5 .7
5544,544,8
$506,953.3
$873,869.3
$63,552.4
$258,845,0
$247,656.4
$295,960.5
$156,273.5
$358,918.5
$313,861.7
$527,429.8
$16,505.1
$95,629.7
$7,093.1
$18,379.0
$22,014.3
$134,816.1
$18,576.6
($36,745.4)
$15,846.0
($17,115.0)
Subtotal Operating Programs:

Better Waste Management
Right-to-Know
Sound Science
Credible Deterrent
Effective Management

Subtotal Trust Funds:

Clean & Safe Water
Global & Cross Border

Subtotal Water Infrastructure Financing:
$3,328,320.9
$1,565,000.0

$2,392,625.0
  $75,000.0

$2,467,625.0
$3,603,320.4
$2,163,955.0

$1,928,000.0
  $100,000.0

$2,028,000.0
$274,999.5
$1,411,143.2
$2,674.5
$9,057.3
$17,812.5
$124,312.5
$2,003,671.3
$2,814.3
$7,949.1
$17,089.6
$132,430.7
$592,528.1
$139.8
($1,108.2)
($722.9)
$8,118.2
 $598,955.0

($464,625.0)
 $25,000,0

($439,625.0)
GRAND TOTAL:
$7,360,945.9
$7,795,275.4
 $434,329.5
                                           76

-------
                 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                   SUMMARY OF AGENCY RESOURCES

                            (WORKYEARS)
Program
Clean Air
Clean & Safe Water
Safe Food
Preventing Pollution
Better Waste Management
Global & Cross Border
Right-to-Know
Sound Science
Credible Deterrent
Effective Management
Subtotal Operating Programs:
Better Waste Management
Right-to-Know
Sound Science
Credible Deterrent
Effective Management
Subtotal Trust Funds:
Clean & Safe Water
Global & Cross Border
Subtotal Water Infrastructure Financing:
FY1999 1999-1998
FY 1998 President's Difference
Enacted Budget Total Dollars
1,801.8
2,440,3
681,0
1,143.6
1,190,4
448.7
757,1
1,155.6
2,454.5
2,274.2
14,414.6
2,974.3
14,6
9,4
83.3
643.9
3,868.5
0,0
0.0
0.0
1 ,762.4
2,449.5
682.3
1,125.5
1,183.2
527.4
741.2
1,246.0
2,452,6
2,340.3
14,546.8
2,942.0
15,8
10.3
83,3
633.9
3,828.3
0.0
0.0
0.0
(39.4)
9,2
1.3
(18.1)
(7,2)
78.7
(15.9)
90.4
(1-9)
66.1
132.2
(32.3)
1.2
0.9
0.0
(10.0)
(40.2)
0.0
0,0
0.0
GRAND TOTAL:
18,283.1
18,375.1
92.0
                                   77

-------


-------