FY 2024 EPA Budget in Brief United States Environmental Protection Agency www.epa.gov ------- United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Chief Financial Officer (271 OA) Publication Number: EPA-190-R-23-002 March 2023 www.epa.gov Cover Photo Submission: Gabrielle Schluter - Kachemak Bay State Park, Alaska ------- FY 2024 EPA Budget in Brief Table of Contents Forward 1 Budget Overview 3 Summary Resource Charts EPA's Budget by Appropriation 23 EPA's Resource History 25 EPA's Resources by Major Category 27 Cross Agency Strategies (CAS) CAS 1: Ensure Scientific Integrity and Science-Based Decision Making 29 CAS 2: Consider the Health of Children at All Life Stages and Other Vulnerable Populations 31 CAS 3: Advance EPA's Organizational Excellence and Workforce Equity 33 CAS 4: Strengthen Tribal, State, and Local Partnerships and Enhance Engagement 37 Goal and Objective Overviews Goal 1: Tackle the Climate Crisis 39 Goal 2: Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights 47 Goal 3: Enforce Environmental Laws and Ensure Compliance 55 Goal 4: Ensure Clean and Healthy Air for All Communities 61 Goal 5: Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities 67 Goal 6: Safeguard and Revitalize Communities 73 Goal 7: Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment 79 Appendices Program Projects by Program Area 87 EPA's Resources by Appropriation 99 Categorical Program Grants 101 Categorical Grants Overview 103 Estimated SRI Obligations by State (FY 2022 - FY 2024) 111 Infrastructure Financing 117 Trust Funds 123 Programs Proposed for Elimination 127 Highlights of Major Program Changes 129 List of Acronyms 141 ------- ------- Forward Usage and Terminology The FY 2024 EPA Budget in Brief displays funding in columns marked as FY 2022 Actuals, FY 2023 Enacted Level, FY 2024 President's Budget, and the FY 2024 President's Budget versus the FY 2023 Enacted Level. Note that the American Rescue Plan, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and Inflation Reduction Act levels are excluded from all figures unless otherwise noted. Amounts in the FY 2022 Actuals column reflect direct financial obligations as reported by the Governmentwide Treasury Account Symbol (GTAS) system. Fixed costs refer primarily to costs that are largely unavoidable in the short term (e.g., pay increases, General Services Administration set rent costs, utilities and security costs, unemployment compensation, and government-wide changes in health benefits). Please note that amounts presented reflect budget authority unless otherwise specified. Numbers in tables and graphs may not add to totals because of rounding. l ------- 2 ------- Budget Overview United States Environmental Protection Agency FY 2024 Budget Overview The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a clear and vital mission: to protect human health and the environment. While the Agency, along with tribal, state, and local partners, has made great progress in advancing this mission over the last 50 years, much work remains to guarantee that all people living in the United States share more fully in the benefits of clean air, clean water, clean land, and chemical safety. The urgency of climate change raises the stakes of the Agency's work to protect communities. The FY 2024 President's Budget articulates Agency plans to confront these challenges and advance the priorities described in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan, which will make real, durable changes to the environmental and public and economic health of all Americans. The FY 2024 President's Budget for EPA totals $12,083 billion, $1.9 billion or 19 percent higher than the FY 2023 enacted level. It includes 17,077 full-time equivalents (FTE), an increase of 1,961 FTE above the current level, to restore the Agency's capacity to carry out its core mission. These resources will advance EPA's efforts to clean up air, land, and water pollution, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, fund scientific research, support the President's Cancer Moonshot Initiative, and position the Agency with the workforce required to address emerging and ongoing challenges. In furtherance of its mission to protect human health and the environment, the Budget requests robust funding to address the climate crisis by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; building resilience in the face of climate impacts; and engaging with the global community, and state, local and tribal partners to respond to this shared challenge. The Agency also will continue to ensure environmental justice is at the forefront of its activities by investing across numerous programs in support of environmental justice and ensuring compliance with several civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance from EPA. Reliable and safe drinking water is critical to every citizen's health while access to clean water for recreation, as well as commerce, supports the environmental and economic health of all communities; therefore, the Budget supports the full implementation of grant programs authorized in the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act (DWWIA). To capitalize on the once- in-a-generation opportunity to make meaningful, long overdue progress, the FY 2024 Budget will complement the significant resources provided in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IDA), American Rescue Plan (ARP), and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to ensure that EPA, tribes, and states have the support needed to effectively implement these new or significantly expanded programs. The FY 2024 Budget is rooted in the four foundational principles of the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: Follow the Science, Follow the Law, Be Transparent, and Advance Justice and Equity. These principles form the basis of the Agency's culture and will guide its operations and decision making now and into the future. The Strategic Plan focuses on achieving the Agency's and Administration's environmental priorities to instill scientific integrity in decision making, tackle the climate crisis, and embed environmental justice across Agency programs. 3 ------- Budget Overview FY 2024 Funding Priorities Tackle the Climate Crisis The FY 2024 Budget prioritizes tackling climate change with the urgency that science demands. EPA's Climate Change Indicators website presents compelling and clear evidence of changes to our climate reflected in rising temperatures, ocean acidity, sea level rise, river flooding, droughts, heat waves, and wildfires.1 Resources in the Budget support efforts to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis while spurring economic progress and creating good-paying jobs. Both climate mitigation and adaptation are essential components of the strategy to reduce the threats and impacts of climate change. The Budget empowers EPA to work with partners to address the climate crisis by reducing GHG emissions; building resilience in the face of climate impacts; and engaging with the global community to respond to this shared challenge. In FY 2024, EPA will drive reductions in emissions that significantly contribute to climate change through regulations of GHGs, climate partnership programs, and support to tribal, state, and local governments. The Agency will accomplish this through the transformative investments in the IRA, IIJA, and our annual appropriation, which funds the core operating accounts of the Agency. In FY 2024 and beyond, EPA will ensure its programs, policies, regulations, enforcement and compliance assurance activities, and internal business operations consider current and future impacts of climate change. The Budget proposes an additional $64.4 million and 24 FTE to implement the bipartisan American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act to continue phasing out potent greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Resources support efforts to implement innovative Information Technology solutions, such as a Quick Response (QR) code system and database integration across EPA and Customs and Border Patrol, to ensure that the phasedown is not undermined by illegal imports. By September 30, 2023, EPA expects that annual U. S. consumption of HFCs will be 10 percent below the baseline2 of 303.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCChe) consistent with the HFC phasedown schedule implemented in the AIM Act and codified in the implementing regulations. A 10 percent reduction would decrease the U.S. consumption limit to less than 273.5 MMTC02e by 2023, meeting an Agency Priority Goal for FY 2022 - 2023 to Phase down the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Building on investments in the FY 2023 enacted budget, the FY 2024 Budget also provides an additional $71.5 million and 40.6 FTE, for a total of $181 million and 257 FTE, for the Climate Protection Program to tackle the climate crisis at home and abroad through an integrated approach of regulations, partnerships, and technical assistance. This additional resource includes $5 million for EPA to provide administrative support to the $27 billion GHG Reduction Fund, enacted through the IRA. With enhanced administrative support, EPA will be able to more efficiently and effectively administer competitive grants to mobilize financing and leverage private capital for clean energy and climate projects that reduce GHG emissions with an emphasis on projects that 1 For more information, please visit:https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction/fuial-rule-phasedowa-hydrofluorocarbons- establishing-allowance-allocation. 2 https://www.epa.gov/cliiiiate-hfcs-reductioii/fiiial-iule-phasedowii-hydrofluorocarbons-establishiiig-allowance-allocation 4 ------- Budget Overview benefit low-income and disadvantaged communities. Additionally, EPA provides investments to support the private sector in calculating GHG emissions and climate risk and setting science-based climate targets, as well as investments to embed the economic impacts of climate change and decarbonization efforts within government economic projects. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to take action to reduce dangerous air pollution and GHG emissions from mobile sources. The FY 2024 Budget provides $150 million for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Grant Program, a $50 million increase above the FY 2023 enacted level, to expand the availability of DERA grants and rebates to reduce harmful diesel emissions, with a focus on school buses, ports, and communities disproportionately affected by air quality problems.3 These locations also are often where lower income communities and communities of color suffer from exposure to higher levels of pollution. The Agency also will commit an additional $62.3 million and 46.8 FTE for a total of $180 million and 370 FTE to the Federal Vehicle and Fuels Standards and Certification Program to build on investments in FY 2023. This includes the development of analytical methods, regulations, and analyses to support climate protection by controlling GHG emissions from light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles. In FY 2024, EPA also will promulgate a final rulemaking to establish new GHG emissions standards for heavy-duty engines and vehicles. This rule will reduce GHG and other emissions from highway heavy-duty vehicles, the second largest source of transportation GHG emissions. In support of Executive Order 14037: Strengthening American Leadership in Clean Cars and Trucks,4 EPA's longer-term rulemaking to set emission standards will save consumers money, cut pollution, boost public health, advance environmental justice, and tackle the climate crisis. EPA will establish new multi-pollutant emissions standards, including for GHG emissions, for light- and medium-duty vehicles beginning with model year 2027 and extending through at least model year 2030. Acting domestically to reduce GHG emissions is an important step to tackle the climate crisis; however, environmental protection is a shared responsibility that crosses international borders, and climate change poses a threat that no one government can solve alone. The FY 2024 Budget provides an additional $18 million and 16 FTE to support tackling the climate crisis abroad. Through a collaborative approach with international counterparts, we will enhance capacity building programs for priority countries with increasing GHG footprints, to enable stronger legislative, regulatory and legal enforcement. To this end, President Biden has ambitiously laid out a path, by 2030, for the United States to cut GHG emissions by at least half from 2005 levels showing our international partners that America is doing its part to reduce global emissions. EPA will continue to engage both bilaterally and through multilateral institutions to improve international cooperation on climate change. These efforts help fulfill EPA's commitment to Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. Tackling the climate crisis depends not only on the Agency's ability to mitigate GHG emissions but also the capacity to adapt and deliver targeted assistance to increase the Nation's resilience to climate change impacts. As part of a whole-of-government approach, EPA will directly support 3 DERA Fourth Report to Congress: https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P100XlBI.pdf. 4 Executive Order 14037: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/08/05/executive-order-on- strengthening-american-leadership-in-clean-cars-and-trucks/. 5 ------- Budget Overview federal partners, tribes and indigenous communities, states, territories, local governments, environmental justice organizations, community groups, and businesses as they anticipate, prepare for, adapt to, and recover from the impacts of climate change. In FY 2024, the Budget provides an additional $45.3 million and 26.5 FTE for climate adaptation efforts to strengthen the adaptive capacity of tribes, states, territories, local governments, communities, and businesses. The Budget also provides resources to support the implementation of the Agency's Climate Adaptation Action Plan, which accelerates and focuses attention on five priority actions the Agency will take over the next four years to increase human and ecosystem resilience as the climate changes and disruptive impacts increase. Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights The communities hardest hit by pollution and climate change are most often communities of color, indigenous communities, rural communities, and economically disadvantaged communities. For generations, many of these communities, which also are among the most vulnerable, have been overburdened with higher instances of polluted air, water, and land. The inequity of environmental protection is not just an environmental justice issue but also a civil rights concern. Neither an individual's skin color, nor the community in which they live, should determine whether they have clean air to breathe, safe water to drink, or healthy environments in which their children can play. And yet, the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies has not always ensured the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income. In FY 2024 EPA provides over $758 million within programs under Goal 2 to advance environmental justice and civil rights across the Nation and across Agency efforts. EPA will continue efforts in FY 2024 to implement the President's Justice40 Initiative with the goal of delivering at least 40 percent of the overall benefits of relevant federal investments to underserved and overburdened communities. In June 2022, EPA announced 73 programs that will be covered under the Justice40 initiative, including the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, Brownfields Projects Program, Superfund Remedial Program, and the Clean School Bus Program. EPA is currently looking at ways to ensure the delivery of benefits to disadvantaged communities to achieve the 40-percent goal within existing legal authorizations. EPA is also developing methodologies to track and report the benefits going toward communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution. Advancing the Administration's environmental justice priorities is a foundational component of the Agency's FY 2024 Budget, and success requires a whole-of-EPA approach. EPA's Budget recognizes the importance of embedding environmental justice principles in all Agency programs and implementing Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, and Executive Order 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. To elevate environmental justice as a top Agency priority in FY 2024, EPA's newest National Program Manager, the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR), will lead the agency-wide effort to address the needs of overburdened and underserved communities and maximize the benefits of the Agency's programs and activities to underserved communities. By September 30, 2023, EPA expects to develop and implement a cumulative impacts framework, 6 ------- Budget Overview issue guidance on civil rights compliance for recipients of federal funding, establish at least 10 indicators to assess EPA's performance in eliminating disparities in environmental and public health conditions, and train staff and partners on how to use these resources, to meet an Agency Priority Goal for FY 2022 - 2023 to Deliver tools and metrics for EPA and its tribal, state, local, and community partners to advance environmental justice and external civil rights compliance. The FY 2024 Budget will expand upon the FY 2023 enacted budget to enhance the Agency's ability to develop, manage, and award new competitive grants to reduce the historically disproportionate health impacts of pollution in communities with environmental justice concerns. Nearly $375 million and 265 FTE, an increase of $267 million and 41 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted, is requested for the Environmental Justice Program to expand support for community- based organizations, indigenous organizations, tribes, states, local governments, and territorial governments in pursuit of identifying and addressing environmental justice issues through multi- partner collaborations. The FY 2024 Budget proposes to invest $91 million and 50 FTE on building out community-centered technical assistance hubs to support basic capacity building of communities and their partners to advance equity and justice in their communities. With the FY 2024 investment of $34.7 million and 167 FTE in the Tribal Capacity Building Program, an increase of $20 million and 88 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted, EPA will strengthen efforts to support nationwide core work in the tribal capacity building program with a focus on addressing the climate change crisis. In addition, EPA will implement the revised EPA Tribal Consultation Policy and Implementation Guidance to improve consultation practices in conformance with the executive order on tribal consultation and train EPA staff. To fully implement its external civil rights mission with quality and consistency and in a way that yields positive and sustainable impacts for the most overburdened and vulnerable communities where protection of civil rights may be at risk, EPA must embed civil rights obligations into its programmatic actions and provide the level of funding and staffing necessary for success. All applicants for and recipients of EPA financial assistance, including state and local governments as well as private entities, have an affirmative obligation to comply with federal civil rights laws, both as a prerequisite to obtaining EPA financial assistance and in administering their programs and activities. EPA enforcement of these anti-discrimination provisions is a vital part of the Agency's goal to advance equity and environmental justice. Consistent enforcement of federal civil rights laws for recipients of federal funds will prevent decisions that can overburden underserved communities and create or exacerbate significant inequities in human health protection and environmental pollution. In FY 2024, the Budget provides a total of $31.5 million and 144 FTE, an increase of $18.6 million and 77.2 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted level, to build civil rights capacity across the Agency and to reduce the backlog of civil rights cases such as claims of discrimination in communities and pre-award and post-award compliance activities. In the long term, the vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws will address historical and systemic barriers that contribute to the environmental injustice affecting vulnerable communities. Enforce Environmental Laws and Ensure Compliance Ensuring compliance and enforcement of the Nation's environmental laws is foundational to achieving EPA's mission. The Agency will hold bad actors accountable for their violations, with a particular focus on protecting communities with multiple pollution sources and ensuring a level 7 ------- Budget Overview playing field in the marketplace for regulated sources and parties. In FY 2024, EPA will provide $757 million and 3,354 FTE to strengthen compliance with the Nation's environmental laws and hold violators accountable. The FY 2024 Budget provides an increase of $22.6 million and 38.3 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted levels to rebuild the inspector corps, which is EPA's highest enforcement priority. The inspector corps will be able to be more efficient attributable to the resources provided in the IRA that are targeted for improving enforcement technology and inspection software and for other related purposes. EPA also will leverage funding from the IRA for enhanced tools (such as the Integrated Compliance Information System, ICIS) and technical assistance to the regulated community to support understanding and compliance with environmental laws. EPA will implement a comprehensive action plan in FY 2024 for integrating environmental justice and climate change considerations throughout all aspects of its enforcement and compliance assurance work. The Agency will increase the percentage of inspections impacting overburdened communities and provide greater public access to compliance data to help a community better understand and manage risks. In addition, EPA will advance its efforts to address climate change mitigation and adaptation issues through targeted inspections, compliance monitoring, and technical assistance directed to sources with the most potential for noncompliant emissions of GHGs that contribute to climate change. The FY 2024 Budget includes $165 million for the Compliance Monitoring Program, an increase of $50.9 million and 41.5 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted, to support enforcement and compliance assurance efforts with a focus on incorporating environmental justice considerations into programmatic work. EPA will leverage its resources to expand software solutions for field inspectors to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of compliance inspections and continue the data system modernization effort, including enforcement and compliance assurance data systems. These resources will complement those provided to EPA under the IRA that are targeted for improving enforcement technology, inspection software, and other related purposes. In FY 2024, EPA will provide robust targeted oversight and support to tribal, state, and local programs. The Agency will prioritize work with states to develop methods that successfully leverage advances in both monitoring and information technology to increase the availability of information about environmental conditions in disadvantaged communities. EPA's Civil Enforcement Program is designed to protect human health and the environment by ensuring compliance with the Nation's environmental laws. The Budget provides $246 million for civil enforcement efforts, which includes funding to increase enforcement efforts in communities with high pollution exposure and to prevent the illegal importations and use of HFCs in the United States. These resources also include an additional $3.4 million and 7 FTE over the FY 2023 enacted level to support compliance and enforcement of the Coal Combustion Residual (CCR) Program. The CCR Program ensures that coal ash disposal units do not present dangerous structural stability issues that could put surrounding communities at risk, in particular, those in rural and underserved areas. These resources will allow the Agency to continue analyzing groundwater monitoring data and ensuring facility corrective action and closure efforts are complying with the regulatory requirements and adequately addressing coal ash disposal risks. Together, these resources will enable EPA to incorporate environmental justice and climate change considerations into all phases of case development without displacing other important enforcement and compliance assurance work. For example, EPA may focus on opportunities to reduce GHG emissions while providing co-benefits in underserved communities, expand inclusion of GHG mitigation and climate 8 ------- Budget Overview resilience remedies, and prioritize environmental justice concerns in case resolutions where appropriate. Overburdened and underserved communities are more often victims of environmental crime. EPA's FY 2024 Budget supports the development of a specialized Criminal Enforcement Initiative focused on addressing environmental justice issues with other Agency priority National Compliance Initiatives in partnership with the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Criminal Enforcement Initiative focuses on the prioritization of investigative resources to overburdened communities and vulnerable populations, while maintaining case initiation standards and reducing the impact of pollution. The FY 2024 Budget includes $75.1 million and 296 FTE to support the Criminal Enforcement Program by targeting investigations on the most egregious environmental cases. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to advance efforts to protect fenceline communities at risk to environmental health hazards from nearby oil and chemical facilities and underground storage tank releases. Fenceline communities are often low-income and/or communities of color facing disproportionate risks from environmental health hazards, particularly in light of severe weather events caused by a changing climate. The FY 2024 Budget invests additional resources to advance protection of these communities by increasing inspections and compliance assistance to ensure nearby facilities are adhering to regulations designed to protect vulnerable populations. This investment also will be used to create and expand programs to improve environmental protections and increase monitoring capability in fenceline communities. Ensure Clean and Healthy Air for All Communities Providing clean and healthy air for all communities is a central tenet of EPA's mission. Long-term exposure to elevated levels of certain air pollutants has been associated with increased risk of cancer, premature death, and damage to the immune, neurological, reproductive, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems, while short-term exposure can exacerbate asthma and lead to other adverse health effects and economic costs.5 Relying on the latest science, EPA will continue work to reduce emissions of the six National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) pollutants— particulate matter (PM), ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead—and air toxics from mobile and stationary sources. In FY 2024, EPA will leverage approaches including regulatory tools, innovative market-based techniques, public and private-sector partnerships, community-based approaches, voluntary programs that promote environmental stewardship, and programs that encourage adoption of cost-effective technologies and practices. The FY 2024 Budget includes approximately $1.4 billion and 2,207 FTE to advance EPA efforts in protecting human health and the environment from the harmful effects of air pollution. Building upon the work under the ARP and IRA, the FY 2024 Budget requests an additional investment of $100 million to develop and implement a community air quality monitoring and notification program to provide real-time data to the public in areas with greatest exposure to harmful levels of pollution, such as smoke pollution from wildfires. In FY 2024, the Agency will continue to work closely with tribes, states, and local air quality agencies to develop the most effective approaches to meet community concerns. The Budget includes resources to fulfill the 5 For more information, please visit https://www.epa.gov/air-research/research-health-effects-air-pollution. 9 ------- Budget Overview President's commitment to engage meaningfully with overburdened and vulnerable communities during the entire rulemaking process, from pre-proposal through final promulgation and implementation. In FY 2024, EPA will make critical resource investments in air regulatory development and implementation work, particularly to support NAAQS review and implementation activities. The President directed EPA to review the 2020 PM NAAQS and the 2020 Ozone NAAQS in accordance with Executive Order 13990: Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.6 An increase of $89.9 million and 193 FTE over the FY 2023 enacted is requested to develop and implement climate and clean air regulations and programs, including supporting NAAQS review and implementation work. Critical to successful NAAQS implementation are activities such as timely issuance of rules and guidance documents, ongoing outreach to states and other entities, development of NAAQS implementation and permitting- related tools, and taking timely action on State Implementation Plans (SIPs) and reducing the SIP backlog. In total, the FY 2024 Budget provides $367 million and 1,080 FTE, an increase of $208 million and 200 FTE above FY 2023 enacted levels, for the Federal Support for Air Quality Management Program. The FY 2024 President's Budget also provides $47.5 million and 165 FTE for the Federal Stationary Source Regulations Program to finalize the review of standards for power plants, as well as rules to limit GHG emissions from new and existing sources in the power sector and new and existing facilities in the oil and gas sector. The Budget provides $47.6 million and 71.4 FTE for the Reducing Risks from Indoor Air Program to expand technical assistance to community- based asthma programs to reduce asthma disparities, particularly in disadvantaged communities, and provide technical support to high-risk, low-income communities to reduce lung cancer risk. The Agency also will seek to address the air quality challenges presented by wildfires. Wildfire smoke can vary from year to year but can typically make up approximately 30 percent of total PM2.5 emissions in some regions of the U.S., aggravating heart and lung disease and causing premature death. Climate change has already led to a marked increase in wildfire season length, wildfire frequency, and burned area.7 The FY 2024 Budget includes $7 million for Wildfire Smoke Preparedness, and EPA will continue to work with the U.S. Forest Service and other federal, state, and community agencies and organizations to identify ways to improve public notification and reduce the public health risk from air pollution resulting from wildfires. The Agency is also committed to protect both the climate system and the stratospheric ozone layer, which shields all life on Earth from harmful solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The FY 2024 Budget will include $72.2 million and 52.2 FTE for Stratospheric Ozone: Domestic Programs to implement the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act of 2020 to phase out climate- damaging hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), building on the successful work with manufacturers and phase-out methodologies that have led to progress restoring the ozone layer. 6 Executive Order 13990: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order- protecting-public-health-and-environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-climate-crisis/. 7 For more information on climate impacts, risk and adaptation in the United States visit: https://nca201.8.globalcliaiige.gov/. 10 ------- Budget Overview The Agency also will provide $423 million in financial support through Categorical Grant Programs to EPA's tribal, state, and local partners, an increase of $158 million over the FY 2023 enacted level, to further their efforts in implementing air quality management programs. These programs are critical for EPA's state, tribal and local partners to support implementation of environmental laws in states and tribal lands across the county and assure tangible progress for historically overburdened and underserved communities through sustained financial support. Funding for state and tribal support has been largely flat since 2018, while the need and expectations from EPA partners has only increased. In FY 2024, EPA provides $400 million for the State and Local Air Quality Management Program to provide grants to tribes and states that will support on-the-ground efforts to address GHG emissions and continuing core work, such as state and local air quality monitoring networks, air permitting programs, emission inventories, air quality forecasts, air quality training, visibility improvements, and air toxic monitoring efforts. In FY 2024, EPA also includes $23.1 million for the Categorical Grant: Tribal Air Quality Management Program. Funding will assist tribes to develop and implement air pollution control programs for Indian Country to prevent and address air quality concerns, including mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change. EPA will work with tribes to assess environmental and public health conditions in Indian Country by developing emission inventories and, where appropriate, expanding the siting and operating of air quality monitors. Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities EPA's most recent clean and drinking water needs assessment surveys, published in 2016 and 2018, respectively, determined that the country would need to invest more than $743 billion over the next 20 years to maintain, upgrade, and replace critical drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.8 In FY 2023, EPA will finalize the seventh Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment (DWINSA). This survey provides a 20-year capital investment need for public water systems that are eligible to receive funding from state Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Programs. The survey also informs the DWSRF allocation formula as required under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Beginning in FY 2024, early framework activities for the eighth DWINSA will begin. Today, up to 10 million homes in America and more than 400,000 schools and childcare centers rely on drinking water distribution lines that contain lead—a clear and present danger to the health of children. Replacing these lead pipes and adapting America's water infrastructure to be more resilient to climate change is critical to keeping communities healthy and safe, consistent with the President's Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan.9 As the climate warms, more extreme rainfall and flooding events could damage or overwhelm water systems, leaving entire communities without safe water supplies for days or weeks. While there are significant funds from IIJA, there is still more demand and the FY 2024 Budget builds on the $8.83 billion available to State Revolving Funds (SRFs) in FY 2024 from the law. The Budget also includes $268 million and 1,056 FTE for the Surface Water Protection Program, an increase of $43.5 million and 46.1 FTE over the FY 2023 enacted level, to support efforts to protect, improve, and restore the quality of our Nation's coastal waters, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and streams. 8 For more information on EPA's Clean Water and Drinking Water Needs Survey Reports, visit: https://www.epa.gov/cwas and https://www.epa.gov/dwsrf/epas-6th-drinking-water-infrastructure-needs-survey-and-assessment. 9 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/16/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-1ead-pipe-and-paint- action-plan. 11 ------- Budget Overview The Budget provides $219 million for two grants dedicated to remediating lead contamination in water - Reducing Lead in Drinking Water and Lead Testing in Schools - an increase of $163 million over the 2023 enacted level. The Budget also funds other grants and loans that can be used for lead service line replacements. The Budget updates the cross-government Lead Pipe Replacement Funding Inventory that was published for the first time with the 2023 President's Budget. EPA's water infrastructure financing programs will advance the Agency's ongoing commitment to infrastructure repair and replacement and also build climate resilience into the water sector. At the same time, these investments will create hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs across the country.10 The Budget provides more than $4 billion for water infrastructure, an increase of $1 billion over the 2023 enacted level. These resources would advance efforts to upgrade drinking water and wastewater infrastructure nationwide, with a focus on underserved and rural communities that have historically been overlooked. The Budget also funds all of the authorizations in the original Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act (DWWIA) of 2021 and includes funding levels of $2.8 billion for EPA's State Revolving Funds (SRF), which complements funds provided for water infrastructure programs in the bipartisan IIJA. Also included is approximately $1.2 billion for grant programs authorized in the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2016, the America's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018, and DWWIA. These resources are intended to upgrade aging infrastructure, invest in new technologies, and provide assistance to communities. Another goal of the Agency's infrastructure repair and replacement efforts is to address lead and other contaminants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water, especially in small and underserved communities. AWIA strengthened many existing programs within EPA, including programs authorized by the WIIN Act, while creating new programs to tackle significant public health and environmental concerns. DWWIA, as authorized under IIJA, builds on the foundation of AWIA and WIIN to strengthen the federal government's ability to upgrade the Nation's drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. These investments will enable the Agency to increase water infrastructure resilience and sustainability, provide assistance for underserved communities, and reduce lead in drinking water. By September 30, 2023, in support of Goal 5, Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities and Goal 6, Safeguard and Revitalize Communities, EPA expects to provide technical assistance to at least 10 communities to help achieve clean and safe water, an Agency Priority Goal for FY 2022 - 2023 to Clean up contaminated sites and invest in water infrastructure to enhance the livability and economic vitality of overburdened and underserved communities. In FY 2024, EPA provides $150 million and 554 FTE, an increase of $22.9 million and 15.1 FTE, to support Drinking Water Programs to better protect communities, especially overburdened and underserved communities. This includes efforts to finalize the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) regulation, which aims to strengthen the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) issued in 2021 to more proactively replace lead service lines and more equitably protect public health. In August 2022, EPA released Guidance for Developing and Maintaining a Service 10 Jobs created estimates are based on the U.S. Water Alliance: The Value of Water Campaign: The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure. 12 ------- Budget Overview Line Inventory11 to support water systems with their efforts to develop inventories and to provide states with needed information for oversight and reporting to EPA. This guidance will help water systems comply with the LCRR requirement to prepare and maintain an inventory of service line materials by October 16, 2024. Resources also will support reducing public health and environmental threats from PFAS by finalizing the new drinking water standards in FY 2024. An additional $56.5 million is provided to accelerate progress on EPA's PFAS Strategic Roadmap,12 and enable EPA to move more quickly on policy, regulatory, and enforcement actions across multiple statutory authorities, and to support states and tribes in taking action on PFAS. EPA will continue its efforts in FY 2024 to develop analytical methods, drinking water health advisories, toxicity values, effluent limitation guidelines, as well as risk communication and other tools to support states, tribes, and localities in managing PFAS risks in their communities. Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Programs The FY 2024 Budget includes $1.64 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Program to capitalize state revolving loan funds in all 50 states and Puerto Rico to finance infrastructure improvements for public wastewater systems and projects to improve water quality. It represents the largest source of federal funds for states to provide loans and other forms of assistance for water quality projects including construction of wastewater treatment facilities, water and energy efficiency projects, and green infrastructure projects. In addition to capitalizing the CWSRF Program, a portion of the Budget will provide direct grants to communities in tribal nations and territories. The sanitation infrastructure in these communities often trails the rest of the country, causing significant public health concerns. EPA's DWSRF is designed to assist public water systems in financing the costs of drinking water infrastructure improvements needed to comply with SDWA requirements, protect public health, and support tribal, state, and local efforts to protect drinking water. The FY 2024 Budget includes $1.13 billion for the DWSRF to help finance critical infrastructure improvements to public water systems. States have considerable flexibility to tailor their DWSRF Programs to their unique circumstances and needs and to consider how best to achieve the maximum public health protection and infrastructure development that benefits all people living in the United States. Infrastructure within the water sector goes beyond repair and replacement to include the safety and reliability of the IT systems used to monitor clean and safe water. In FY 2024, EPA provides $25 million for a grant program to advance cybersecurity infrastructure capacity and protections within the water sector. An additional $19.6 million is provided to implement regulatory action to mitigate the risks of cyberattacks in the water sector as well as increase the Agency's ability to respond to incidents. Cybersecurity represents a substantial concern for the water sector, given the prevalence of state-sponsored and other malevolent attacks on the sector as well as the sector's inherent vulnerability and limited technical capacity to address cyber issues. Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) 11 https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-08/Inventory%20Guidance_August%202022 508%20compliant.pdf. 12 https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-strategic-roadmap-epas-commitments-action-2021-2Q24. 13 ------- Budget Overview The WIFIA Program, created in 2014, is a critical tool to increase water infrastructure investments by leveraging public and private sources of funds to maximize the reach of federal funds. As of February 2023, EPA had issued 100 WIFIA loans to communities across the country totaling over $17 billion in credit assistance to help finance more than $36 billion for water infrastructure projects.13 WIFIA loans for these projects have saved communities nearly $5 billion, which can be used for additional infrastructure investment and to keep rates affordable for water system users. These WIFIA-financed projects have created over 123,000 jobs and benefited more than 50 million people, demonstrating that WIFIA credit assistance is an effective tool to help address a variety of water infrastructure needs to support communities nationwide. The FY 2024 Budget supports WIFIA with $80.4 million in total funding. Geographic Programs Beyond water infrastructure, the Agency recognizes the important role federal assistance provides to protect water bodies of special ecological and economic importance to our Nation. Through EPA's Geographic Water Programs, the Agency assists state and multi-state partners and tribes to accelerate and manage the restoration of the ecological health of these water bodies. In total, the FY 2024 Budget provides $682 million for EPA's Geographic Water Programs to advance work on projects that target the most significant environmental problems in these important water bodies and watersheds. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to provide resources to accelerate ecological restoration and sustainable management for the Chesapeake Bay, Columbia River, Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, Lake Pontchartrain, Long Island Sound, Northwest Forest Watershed, Puget Sound, San Francisco Bay, South Florida, and Southeast New England. Funding will help monitor and restore these ecological treasures and enable sustainable use for years to come. These important geographic efforts also will benefit from the $343 million provided by the IIJA to create synergies for EPA's Geographic Programs in FY 2024. Categorical Grants The Agency will provide $493 million in financial support through Categorical Grant Programs to EPA's tribal, state, and local partners to support their efforts in implementing key provisions of the Clean Water Act. Within this amount, $279 million is provided to the Section 106 Grants Program, an increase of $42.4 million from the FY 2023 enacted budget, which funds state, interstate, and tribal water pollution control programs to support actions to identify and take actions to assess and mitigate PFAS in the environment, and is a critical funding source to establish, expand, and implement water quality programs to protect and restore water resources (e.g., rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and groundwater). Also included is $189 million for the Section 319 Grants Program, which will continue to focus on implementing watershed projects and maintaining current Nonpoint Source Management Programs to restore impaired waterbodies to meet water quality standards and protect unimpaired waters. In addition, EPA provides $133 million for the Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) Program, which helps support state drinking water programs and technical assistance providers in achieving and maintaining compliance at drinking water systems, amplifying best practices, strengthening state capacity, and certifying drinking water operators. EPA's efforts under this program will help deliver clean drinking water, improve public health, and support environmental justice for overburdened and underserved communities, including rural and tribal communities. 13 https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-100th-wifia-loan-investing-115-million-improve-resilience-extreme 14 ------- Budget Overview Safeguard and Revitalize Communities Preventing and cleaning up environmental damage that harms communities and poses a risk to public health and safety continues to be a top priority for the Administration. Cleaning up contaminated lands so that they can be redeveloped and returned to productive use is a challenge faced by many communities. Cleaning up America's most contaminated land and reducing exposure to toxic substances are critical components of the Agency's strategy to address human health impacts, particularly in underserved communities where many of these sites are located. Approximately 22 percent of Americans live within three miles of a Superfund site. Recent research shows Superfund cleanup actions lowered the risk of elevated blood lead levels by roughly 13 to 26 percent for children living within 1.2 miles of a Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) site where lead is a contaminant of concern.14 Remediating contaminated land and restoring it to productive use is not only an environmental imperative but presents an economic opportunity as well. A peer reviewed study found that residential property values within three miles of Superfund sites increased between 18.7 and 24.4 percent when sites were cleaned up and removed from the NPL.15 The FY 2024 Budget enables the Agency to continue efforts to clean up hazardous waste sites in communities across the Nation, including those where vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, and economically disadvantaged individuals, reside. These hazardous sites also are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, making remediation even more urgent. Federal data in a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report suggests that approximately 60 percent of Superfund sites overseen by EPA are in areas that are vulnerable to wildfires and different types of flooding—natural hazards that climate change will exacerbate.16 The Agency is working to clean up these sites considering climate change implications to protect at-risk populations. The Budget provides approximately $350 million for the Superfund Program to continue cleaning up some of the Nation's most contaminated land and respond to environmental emergencies and natural disasters, in addition to an estimated $2.5 billion in Superfund tax receipts that will be available to EPA in 2024. The Superfund tax receipts will allow the Agency to continue critical Superfund pre-construction work such as site characterization, construction design, and community outreach/engagement, as well as critical remedial actions to clean up sites as described above, which supports the Administration's Justice40 Initiative. Additionally, this funding will allow the Superfund Emergency Response and Removal Program to effectively and efficiently address situations that require emergency response and removal actions such as chemical releases, fires or explosions, natural disasters, and other threats to people from exposure to hazardous substances including from abandoned and uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. Investing in brownfields cleanup and redevelopment can revitalize main streets, neighborhoods, and rural communities, increase residential property values, and create good-paying jobs. The 14 Details can be found at https://www.epa.gov/enviroimental-economics/research-enviroimental-economics-ncee-workiiig- paper-series. 15 Shanti Gamper-Rabindran and Christopher Timmons. 2013. "Does cleanup of hazardous waste sites raise housing values? Evidence of spatially localized benefits," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 65(3): 345-360, http://dx.doi.Org/10.1016/j.jeem.2012.12.001. 16 https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-20-73. 15 ------- Budget Overview Budget provides $217 million for EPA's Brownfields Program to provide technical assistance and grants to communities so they can safely clean up and reuse contaminated properties, as well as $20 million for the new Alaska Contaminated Lands Program. These programs support the President's Cancer Moonshot initiative by addressing contaminants that lead to greater cancer risk. Approximately 143 million people live within three miles of a brownfi elds site that receives EPA funding.17 In FY 2022, EPA leveraged 14,170 jobs and $1.8 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funds and made 662 additional brownfields sites ready for anticipated use (RAU). Activities undertaken in FY 2024 will leverage approximately 13,400 jobs and $2.6 billion in other funding sources.18 By September 30, 2023, in support of Goal 6, Safeguard and Revitalize Communities and Goal 5, Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities, EPA expects to provide technical assistance to at least 10 communities to help achieve reduced exposures to hazardous substances, an Agency Priority Goal for FY 2022 - 2023 to Clean up contaminated sites and invest in water infrastructure to enhance the livability and economic vitality of overburdened and underserved communities. In FY 2024, the Agency will continue to invest in domestic recycling and solid waste infrastructure that build a circular economy, one where reuse and recycling is the norm. According to the U.S. EPA Recycling Economic Information Report, the U.S. recycling industry supports 680,000 jobs and provides $5.5 billion annually in tax revenues. In addition to these human resources and financial returns, the materials themselves hold great value, as recent data indicate that materials worth $9 billion are thrown away each year. The FY 2024 Budget includes $12.7 million and 53.4 FTE in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Waste Minimization and Recyling Program to better support the sustainable management of resources, in addition to a $10 million for Solid Waste Infrastructure in grant funding under State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG). This funding will advance efforts to strengthen the U.S. recycling system, address the global issue of plastic waste, engage communities, and prevent and reduce food loss and waste. The Agency has a statutory role to ensure that contamination is quickly and effectively cleaned up while ensuring protection of human health and the environment from releases of hazardous substances. Additional resources are provided to help increase protection of fenceline communities from hazardous substance releases from facilities and underground storage tanks. In FY 2024, the Budget includes $37.4 million in the Federal Facilities Program to enable EPA to address critical gaps in its ability to oversee federal agencies/facilities cleanup, including Department of Defense PFAS cleanup under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). The Agency also will assist with homeland security goals by investing in critical resources to replace the outdated Portable High-Throughput Integrated Laboratory Identification System (PHILIS) equipment. PHILIS is EPA's mobile laboratory asset for the on-site analysis of chemical warfare agent and toxic industrial compound contaminated environmental samples. Resources also will be provided to upgrade the Chemical Incident and Radiological Reconnaissance on Unmanned Systems (CIRRUS) with the Airborne Spectral Photometric 17 U.S. EPA, Office of Land and Emergency Management 2020. Data collected includes: (1) Superfund, Brownfield, and RCRA Corrective Action site information as of the end of FY 2019; (2) UST/LUST information as of late-2018 to mid-2019 depending on the state; and (3) 2015-2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Census data. 18 U.S. EPA, Office of Land and Emergency Management Estimate. All estimates of outputs and outcomes are supported by the data that is entered by cooperative agreement recipients via EPA's Assessment, Cleanup, and Redevelopment Exchange System (ACRES) database. 16 ------- Budget Overview Environmental Collection Technology (ASPECT) airborne screening capability to more effectively and efficiently support emergency response. Ensure the Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment The FY 2024 Budget provides additional resources to build Agency capacity to manage chemical safety and toxic substances. EPA has significant responsibilities under amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to ensure the safety of chemicals in or entering commerce and addressing unreasonable risks to human health or the environment. Chemicals and toxic substances are ubiquitous in our everyday lives and are often released into the environment from their manufacture, processing, use, or disposal. EPA's work in managing chemical safety and toxic substances is particularly important to vulnerable populations, including low-income, minority, and indigenous populations, as well as children, who may be disproportionately affected by, and particularly at risk from, exposure to chemicals. Based on five years of implementing TSCA since enactment of the bipartisan Lautenberg Act, the Agency has determined that additional FTE are required to increase the capacity of the Program to address the heavy workload associated with chemical risk evaluations and risk management to better support the Agency's ability to meet statutory mandates. Increased funding for the TSCA Program is needed in FY 2024 to advance implementation of the law's requirements. While the Program received additional funding in FY 2023, the full request of $131 million is needed in FY 2024, else achieving the TSCA goals will be a challenge. The FY 2024 Budget for TSCA implementation supports over 535 FTE with appropriated resources and represents a $47.9 million increase over the FY 2023 enacted level. EPA will continue to emphasize quality of work, adherence to statutory intent and timelines applicable to pre-market review of new chemicals, chemical risk evaluation and management, data development and information collection, and review of Confidential Business Information (CBI) claims. The Agency also has significant responsibility under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to screen new pesticides before they reach the market and ensure that pesticides already in commerce are safe. In addition, EPA is responsible for complying with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and ensuring that federally endangered and threatened species are not harmed as a result of the use of pesticides. Endangered species risk assessments involve consideration of risks for approximately 1,200 active ingredients in more than 17,000 pesticide products to the more than 1,600 listed endangered species and 800 designated critical habitats in the United States. Given the complexity of evaluating potential effects to diverse listed species under ESA, EPA has been subject to numerous litigation challenges for registration and registration review actions. To continue making progress toward meeting ESA mandates in FY 2024, EPA requests an additional $27 million and 22.5 FTE to provide a total of $77.7 million and 282 FTE for the Pesticides: Protect the Environment Program. The Agency' s Budget also provides $29 million and 69.2 FTE for the Pollution Prevention Program to support businesses, states, tribes, and other partners to promote and facilitate the adoption of approaches to improve multimedia environmental conditions and climate impacts through reductions in pollutants and other hazardous materials. In this Program, $7.9 million and 9 FTE is provided to a new grant program to help small businesses transitioning to TSCA compliant practices to mitigate economic impacts. 17 ------- Budget Overview As part of the President's commitment to tackling PFAS pollution, the Budget provides approximately $170 million for EPA to continue working toward commitments made in the 2021 PFAS Strategic Roadmap, including: increasing our knowledge of PFAS impacts to human health and ecological effects; restricting use to prevent PFAS from entering the air, land, and water; and remediating PFAS that have been released into the environment. Ensure Scientific Integrity and Science-based Decision Making Delivering rigorous scientific research and analyses to guide the Agency's policy and regulatory process and inform evidence-based decision making is one of EPA's cross-agency strategies. Scientific and technological information, data, and evidence-based decision making are central to the development and iterative improvement of sound policies and to the delivery of effective and equitable programs. Environmental challenges in the 21st century are increasingly complex. For example, the interplay between air quality, climate change, and emerging energy options requires new approaches and solutions than those used in the past. These solutions require research that transcends disciplinary lines and involve EPA regions and programs working together with tribal, state, and local partners, stakeholders, and communities. The FY 2024 Budget includes $643 million and 1,868 FTE for EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD). EPA requests an increase of $37.4 million and 34.7 FTE to the Air, Climate, and Energy Research Program, which will substantially advance research to assess the impacts of climate change on human health and ecosystems. EPA also requests an increase of $11.3 million and 28.5 FTE to the Chemical Safety for Sustainability Research Program, which will be focused on modernizing the chemical toxicity and assessment process and incorporating scientific advances in new chemical evaluations under TSCA. This funding will lead to the development and translation of science to inform regulatory and policy decisions by the Agency and external partners that increase access to clean and safe air, land, and water for all communities across the Nation. Continue to Restore EPA's Core Capacity Ensuring the Agency has the work force it needs to carry out its mission to protect clean air and water, tackle the climate crisis, and promote environmental justice is essential. The Budget adds more than 1,960 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) relative to 2023 levels, for a total of more than 17,000 FTEs, to help rebuild the Agency's capacity. This FTE level remains below EPA's workforce for much of the 1990s and early 2000s, while today the Agency faces a growing workload and set of statutory responsibilities. Restoring staffing capacity across the Agency would enable EPA to better protect our Nation's health by helping cut air, water, and climate pollution and advancing environmental justice. EPA strives to provide modern and efficient workforce services and serve as a model for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. In FY 2024, the Agency will continue to support this goal by providing funding to enhance diverse hiring practices, expand EPA's intern program, and strengthen agency-wide capacity to increase staff levels in key offices and programs. Effective workforce management is critical to EPA's ability to accomplish its mission. EPA's efforts in human resource functions are focused on strengthening the workforce, retaining critical expertise, and capturing institutional knowledge. EPA continues developing 18 ------- Budget Overview mechanisms to ensure that employees have the right skills to successfully achieve the Agency's core mission today and in the future. The FY 2024 Budget provides the funding needed for critical Agency infrastructure that all programs require to maintain operations and meet various mandates. In FY 2024, EPA funds new and rising costs to adequately fund mission support functions across EPA programs and regional offices, including Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) and data management, and support agency-wide implementation of OMB and DHS cybersecurity mandates. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to implement the actions identified in the Agency's DEIA Strategic Plan. This includes working to ensure that Agency recruitment, hiring, promotion, retention, professional development, performance evaluations, pay and compensation policies, reasonable accommodations access, and training policies and practices are equitable. The FY 2024 Budget also provides robust support for implementation of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018. EPA has embarked on a multi-year effort to strengthen how the Agency identifies, prioritizes, and undertakes evidence-building activities and develops evidence-building capacity to inform its policies and decisions, consistent with the Evidence Act. An additional $6.4 million and 7.2 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted level is included for evaluation work to support implementation of the Evidence Act. The FY 2024 Budget will continue to promote program evaluation as an essential component of federal evidence building. This effort will advance an evaluation culture through a bottom-up approach and increase agency-wide engagement in program evaluation. By restoring EPA's core capacity and ensuring that mission support services are adequately funded, the FY 2024 Budget will enable the Agency to carry out its mission effectively while being a good steward of federal resources. In FY 2024, the Agency will continue to reconfigure its workplaces to ensure the physical footprint can accommodate a growing and increasingly hybrid workforce. For example, EPA will continue the space optimization projects at the Agency's laboratories in Ada, Oklahoma, Athens, Georgia, and Corvallis, Oregon to achieve potential long-term cost and energy savings. EPA will consider all opportunities for supporting the future of work, in line with OMB Memoranda M-21-25, including the potential for releasing underutilized space or sharing with other federal agencies, investing in facility enhancements to assess utilization and inform future consolidations or releases, and converting workspaces to support hoteling and hybrid collaboration. In FY 2024, the Budget includes additional resources in the Buildings and Facilities account to pursue critical and backlogged repairs and improvements across EPA, initiate and complete climate resiliency and sustainability projects across EPA-owned facilities, and invest in cutting edge EPA lab facilities, including to support PFAS research. Support for the Cancer Moonshot Reducing exposure to environmental contaminants that are known or suspected to cause cancer is embedded in much of EPA's programmatic work. EPA uses cancer incidence as one of the indicators in its Report on the Environment19 to help answer questions relating to trends in the condition of the Nation's air, water, and land. To support the Administration's Cancer Moonshot initiative, EPA will renew focus on its scientific research and regulatory agenda in FY 2024 to 19 For more information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/report-enviroiiment/leam-about-roe-program. 19 ------- Budget Overview better prevent and mitigate cancer-related exposure. The Agency will accomplish this work with a focus on addressing environmental injustice, disparity, and inequities in prevention of and exposure to environmental hazards that can cause cancer. Below are some examples of EPA's work in FY 2024 to support this important initiative. • Research to Understand and Address Environmental and Toxic Exposures. EPA conducts extensive assessments on chemical hazards related to cancer outcomes and has developed a variety of tools for evaluating health hazards posed by chemicals.20*21'22 These programs provide toxicity information and toxicity values for contaminants of concern and have formed the scientific foundation for many of EPA's air and water quality standards and the Superfund Program. • Risk Evaluations of Toxic Substances and Pesticides. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to conduct TSCA risk evaluations on new and existing chemicals to determine if they present an unreasonable risk to human health and the environment. The Agency has authority to order manufacturers to provide information on a chemical's carcinogenicity. In addition, the Pesticide Programs generates an annual list of cancer classifications for all pesticides. • Air Toxics and Radon. EPA implements programs to improve air toxics data, characterize potential cancer risk, and issue regulations to lower emissions and reduce health risk for people across America. The FY 2024 Budget will continue to support work for air toxics and address emerging issues and likely carcinogens such as PFAS. EPA will also continue its efforts to prioritize strategies to reduce radon risk in underserved communities. • Drinking Water Regulations Aimed at Reducing Cancer Risks. The National Primary Drinking Water Regulations include primary standards and treatment techniques for drinking water that remove carcinogens and prevent cancer cases. The PFAS drinking water regulation may prevent additional cancer cases since PFAS exposure is associated with increased risk of prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers. The FY 2024 Budget will continue to support efforts to finalize the PFAS Rule. • Remediation at Superfund Sites to Reduce Exposure to Harmful Contaminants. EPA's Superfund Program cleans up contaminated land to reduce human exposures to harmful contaminants that lead to greater risk for cancer and other health complications. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to oversee federal agencies and facilities cleanup, including Department of Defense PFAS cleanup under CERCLA. • Childhood Cancer Prevention. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to help prevent childhood cancer by expanding the education provided to health care providers, parents, and communities about how to identify cancer clusters, key exposures to carcinogens, and the relationship between environmental exposures and childhood cancer or cancer due to exposures in childhood. 20 For more information, please visit: https://www, epa. gov/iris. 21 For more information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/pprtv/basic-information-about-provisional-peer-reviewed-toxicity- values-pprtvs#basicinfo. 22 For more information, please visit: https://www, epa. gov/isa. 20 ------- Budget Overview Supplemental Funding Resources in the FY 2024 Budget are complemented by the supplemental funding provided under the landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the transformative Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) The bipartisan IDA makes historic investments in tackling climate change, protecting public health, creating jobs in communities across the country, and delivering a more equitable future. The IIJA appropriated to EPA approximately $60 billion over a five-year period from FY 2022 through FY 2026. In FY 2024, $11.6 billion ofllJAfunding will be available to EPA for upgrading drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, replacing lead pipes, addressing emerging contaminants such as PFAS, protecting critical water bodies, cleaning up longstanding pollution at Superfund and brownfields sites, making improvements to waste management and recycling systems, decarbonizing the Nation's school bus fleet, and advancing the Pollution Prevention Program. The IIJA also invests in strengthening the work of our tribal and state partners and helping create good-paying jobs and increasing climate resilience throughout the country. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) The IRA appropriated $41.5 billion for EPA over the next decade to reduce harmful air pollution in places where people live, work, play, and go to school. With these resources, EPA will target climate change and harmful air pollution while supporting the creation of good jobs and lowering energy costs for families. The Agency will accelerate work on environmental justice and empower community-driven solutions in overburdened neighborhoods by dedicating resources specifically for environmental and climate justice efforts in underserved and overburdened communities. The IRA also contains funding for various grants to assist state, local, and tribal governments with creating their own such programs to address issues affecting their homes. Allocating Resources to Strategic Goals and Objectives In accordance with the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) and the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010, the FY 2024 Budget identifies resources aligned with the strategic goals and objectives of the Agency's FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan. The Budget also allocates agency-wide mission and science support resources and FTE across the goals and objectives. These resources provide support for multiple goals to achieve their objectives. This support involves the provision of foundational agency-wide and cross-agency research and development, science, and essential mission assistance services by the EPA Offices of the Administrator (OA), Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), General Counsel (OGC), Inspector General (OIG), Mission Support (OMS), and Research and Development (ORD). The resource summaries by Strategic Goal and Objective within this Submission provide the total of both direct and allocated resources. 21 ------- 22 ------- Summary Resource Charts U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's FY 2024 Budget by Appropriation Total Agency: $12,083 M (Dollars in Millions) WIFIA ¦ Science & Technology (S&T) ~ Environmental Programs & Management (EPM) ¦ Inspector General (IG) ~ Buildings & Facilities (B&F) ¦ Inland Oil Spill Programs (OIL) ~ Hazardous Substance Superfund (SF) ¦ Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUST) ~ State & Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG) ~ Water Infrastructure Finance & Innovation Program (WIFIA) 1. Excludes supplemental funding. 2. In addition to annual appropriated resources, the agency expects to receive an estimated $2.5 billion in Superfund tax receipts in FY 2024 not reflected here. These additional government revenues will support continued Superfund cleanup and enforcement. 23 ------- 24 ------- Summary Resource Charts EPA's Budget FY2015 to 2024 ¦ Enacted Budgets ~ President's Budget $14.0 $12.1 $12.0 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Fiscal Year Notes: 1. All agency totals include applicable rescissions. 2. FY 2020 Enacted excludes the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. 3. FY 2021 Enacted excludes the American Rescue Plan Act. 4. FY 2022 and FY 2023 Enacted exclude the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Resources correspond to the resource levels included in each year's Enacted Operating Plan, except for FY 2024, which is the requested level. EPA's FTE Ceiling History FY 2015 to 2024 18,000 16,000 14,000 12,000 H 10,000 Ph 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 Notes: 1. 2. 3. ¦ Enacted Budgets ~ President's Budget 17,077 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Fiscal Year FTE (Full Time Equivalent) = one employee working full time for a full year (52 weeks x 40 hours = 2,080 hours), or the equivalent number of hours worked by several part-time or temporary employees. Reimbursable FTE are included. FY 2022 and FY 2023 Enacted exclude the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Resources correspond to the resource levels included in each year's Enacted Operating Plan, except for FY 2024, which is the requested level. 25 ------- 26 ------- Summary Resource Charts EPAfs Resources by Major Category (Dollars in Billions) ~ Infrastructure Financing ¦ Trust Funds S Operating Budget ~ Categorical Grants $12.0 $10.0 $8.0 o ~ ¦a a> a. o $6.0 a. $4.0 a. $2.0 $0.0 $1.1 $2.5 $1.1 JS3 $1.1 I $i-i $2.6 $3.1 $1.1 $3.4 |3 53 $1.1 $1.3 $3.11 $1.1 $1.3 juze $1.1 $1.3 $3.2 $1.2 $1.4 : $4.4: 2015 EN 2016 EN 2017 EN 2018 2019 EN EN Fiscal Year 2020 EN 2021 EN 2022 EN 2023 EN 2024 PB EN - Enacted, PB - President's Budget Notes: 1. Totals may not add due to rounding. 2. Infrastructure Financing includes Clean Water SRF, Drinking Water SRF, STAG Special Programs, and WIFIA funding. 3. FY 2015 Enacted reflects a $40 M rescission. 4. FY 2016 Enacted reflects a $40 M rescission. 5. FY 2017 Enacted reflects a $90 M rescission. 6. FY 2018 Enacted reflects a $149 M rescission. 7. FY 2019 Enacted reflects a $211 M rescission. 8. FY 2020 Enacted excludes the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. 9. FY 2021 Enacted reflects a $28 M rescission and excludes the American Rescue Plan. 10. FY 2022 and FY 2023 Enacted exclude the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. 11. FY 2023 Enacted reflects a $13 M rescission. 12. In addition to annual appropriated resources, the agency expects to receive an estimated $2.5 billion in Superfund tax receipts in FY 2024 not reflected here. These additional government revenues will support continued Superfund cleanup and enforcement. 27 ------- 28 ------- Cross- Agency Strategies Cross-Agency Strategy 1: Ensure Scientific Integrity and Science-Based Decision Making Deliver rigorous scientific research and analyses to inform evidence-based decision making. EPA's ability to protect human health and the environment depends on the integrity and quality of the information, data, and evidence that secure the scientific foundation for Agency decision making. Identifying and implementing effective strategies, including strategies to adapt to the changing climate, advance environmental justice and equity, and protect children at all life stages, require that decisions be grounded in the best available science and evidence. EPA's Cross-Agency Strategy 1 in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan will strengthen scientific integrity, advance the delivery of rigorous and independent scientific evaluation and analyses, and ground EPA's actions in the best available science. Cross-Agency Strategy 1, Ensure Scientific Integrity and Science-Based Decision Making is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, increase the annual percentage of Office of Research and Development (ORD) research products meeting partner needs to 95% from a baseline of 93% in FY 2021.1 • By September 30, 2026, implement 126 actions for scientific integrity objectives that are certified by Deputy Scientific Integrity Officials in each EPA program and region. Science touches all parts of EPA and plays an integral role in informing a range of environmental decisions. EPA program and regional offices support this strategy through a commitment to science as foundational to decision making, scientific integrity, rigorous quality assurance, appropriate peer review, the timely release of scientific information, and transparency in decision making. As part of this commitment, the Agency will ensure an effective scientific integrity program. Scientific integrity results from adherence to professional values and practices when conducting, communicating, supervising, and developing and implementing science. It ensures objectivity, clarity, reproducibility, and utility, and it safeguards against bias, fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, outside interference, censorship, and inadequate procedures and information security. EPA will advance and strengthen a culture of scientific integrity across the Agency by ensuring adherence to the scientific and ethical standards outlined in EPA's Scientific Integrity Policy. To support employees, contractors, and officials, EPA will provide Agencywide training on scientific integrity. Employees, contractors, and officials have access to the Scientific Integrity Official and staff and a network of Deputy Scientific Integrity Officials on whom they can rely for advice or to report allegations of a loss of scientific integrity.2 1 ORD is tracking environmental justice and climate products as annual performance goals. Please see the annual performance plan table in the President's Budget (https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/ci) for more information. 2 The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 promotes a culture of evaluation and continuous learning that ensures agency decisions are made on the best available evidence including developing an Evaluations and Other Evidence- Building Activities Policy (Evaluation Policy). EPA's Evaluation Policy includes many elements that are related to EPA's Scientific Integrity Policy including principles of independence, objectivity, transparency, and rigor. Please see (https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-05/epa-evaluation-evidence-building-policy.pdf) for more information. 29 ------- Cross- Agency Strategies EPA's research and science programs support this strategy through the delivery of rigorous scientific research and analyses. The primary mission of the Agency's Office of Research and Development and Regional Lab Enterprise is to provide leading-edge research to meet near-term and long-term science needs of the Agency and inform EPA decisions. This research portfolio also supports the emerging needs of tribal, state, and community partners. Scientific research and development will support: 1) tackling the climate crisis by addressing the causes and consequences of climate change and developing more resilient communities; 2) addressing current, emerging, and long-term water resource challenges; 3) developing scientific and technical approaches to enhance the Agency's ability to evaluate chemicals and their risks; 4) accelerating the pace of cleanups at contaminated sites so they can be returned to beneficial use; 5) revitalizing and protecting the most vulnerable communities and groups; and 6) conducting environmental risk assessments to better inform policies for protecting human health, particularly for children at all life stages. The Agency's regional laboratories provide essential expertise and scientific data for a wide array of media needed to make local decisions. In FY 2024, regional laboratories will analyze scientific data to inform immediate and near-term decisions on environmental conditions, emergency response, compliance, and enforcement. In FY 2024, the Agency will continue critical research on the highest priority issues. EPA will focus on addressing lead issues associated with the Superfund and childhood lead exposure. The Agency also will continue to emphasize per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) research to increase understanding of PFAS exposures, human health and ecological effects, and technologies for reducing PFAS in the environment. In addition, the Agency will continue to advance the Administration's science-based approach to improve wildfire readiness by enhancing wildfire data and communications related to air quality and helping communities become "smoke ready." 30 ------- Cross- Agency Strategies Cross-Agency Strategy 2: Consider the Health of Children at All Life Stages and Other Vulnerable Populations Focus on protecting and improving the health of children at all life stages and other vulnerable populations in implementing our programs. EPA's programs will apply and promote the use of science, policy, partnerships, communications, and action to protect children at all life stages and other vulnerable populations from adverse health effects resulting from exposure to pollution and the impacts of climate change. EPA also will take actions to protect children and other vulnerable populations in underserved communities where socioeconomic determinants of health exacerbate the harm caused by these environmental stressors. Children's environmental health refers to the effect of the environment on children's growth, wellness, development, and risk of disease. EPA actions will be informed by two important considerations: first, the scientific understanding of childhood as a sequence of life stages, and second, the recognition that protecting children's health is necessary to protect human health, because every adult was once a child. The effects of early life exposures may become apparent during childhood or may not arise until adulthood or in later generations. Cross-Agency Strategy 2, Consider the Health of Children at All Life Stages and Other Vulnerable Populations is directly supported by the following long-term performance goal in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, assess and consider environmental health information and data for children at all life stages for EPA actions that concern human health.3 To best protect children's environmental health at all life stages and vulnerable populations, EPA will identify, assess, develop, and promote the use of science to support its policies, decisions, and actions, including regulations and voluntary programs. EPA also will ensure that Agency toxicity, exposure, and risk assessments consider all relevant and available science to address the unique vulnerabilities of children and vulnerable populations, including disproportionate impacts related to race, ethnicity, income, existing health problems, or other social determinants of health. In FY 2024, EPA's Children's Health Program will continue its core work to: • Coordinate and advance the protection of children's environmental health across EPA by assisting with development of regulations, improving risk assessment and science policy, implementing community-level outreach and education programs, and tracking indicators of progress on children's health. • Coordinate two plenary meetings of the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee,4 including delivery of expert responses to additional charge questions related to high priority children's environmental health issues. • Tackle the climate crisis and advance environmental justice by following up on recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences, which highlighted the latest 3 Changed from "By September 30, 2026, assess and consider environmental health information and data for children at all life stages for all completed EPA actions that concern human health." 4 For additional information, please visit: littps://www.epa. gov/children/chpac. 31 ------- Cross- Agency Strategies scientific advancement and challenges to protecting children's health, and continue to implement the 2021 Policy on Children's Health to ensure that EPA consistently and explicitly considers early life exposures and lifelong health in all human health decisions.5 • Support health care professionals via the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units to better address risks from childhood exposures, particularly in communities with environmental justice concerns. • Partner with the Department of Health and Human Services to lead the cross-federal President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children.6 To continue to implement Executive Order (EO) 13045: Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks in FY 2024 EPA also will: • Support the EPA Administrator to convene the President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children. The focus of this work will be on protecting children from adverse consequences of climate change and disasters, addressing disparities in asthma among children, and reducing childhood lead poisoning. • Take actions to protect children in underserved communities who suffer disproportionately from the effects of pollution exposures exacerbated by socio-economic determinants of health. 5 For additional information, please visit: https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25466/vibrant-and-healthy-kids-aligning- science-practice-and-policy-to. 6 For additional information, please visit: https://ptfcehs.niehs.nih.gov/. 32 ------- Cross- Agency Strategies Cross-Agency Strategy 3: Advance EPA's Organizational Excellence and Workforce Equity Foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce within an effective and mission-driven workplace. To support its mission to protect human health and the environment, EPA will make significant progress in FY 2024 to advance organizational excellence and workforce equity. The Agency will strengthen workforce planning of mission-critical positions and support succession management for the next generation of workers while emphasizing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). EPA will modernize information technology systems, enhance the physical workplace for a hybrid workforce, support employee-friendly work policies, and transition to a paperless work environment. EPA will focus on implementing efficient and effective processes across the full range of Agency efforts, utilizing proven continuous improvement techniques and training to equip staff to solve problems and enhance our ability to accomplish our mission. Additionally, EPA will continue to safeguard against cybersecurity risks to protect Agency assets and infrastructure from potentially malicious attacks. Further, EPA will be a leader in the federal government in advancing the sustainability of facilities and operations while developing resiliency to respond to the risks of climate change. EPA will eliminate barriers to its procurement processes through greater diversification of the Agency's vendor base, increasing engagement and technical assistance, and enhancing the Agency's contracts with new vendors, including with small and underserved businesses and targeting businesses located in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones).7 EPA will continue to provide resource stewardship to ensure that all agency programs operate with fiscal responsibility and management integrity, financial services are efficiently and consistently delivered nationwide, and programs demonstrate results. Cross-Agency Strategy 3, Advance EPA 's Organizational Excellence and Workforce Equity is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, EPA will achieve the highest Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Maturity Level of "Leading and Sustaining" as defined by the November 2021 Government-wide Strategic Plan to Advance DEIA in the Federal Workforce and achieve all EPA goals identified in the Agency's Gender Equity and Equality Action Plan. • By September 30, 2026, improve 1,000 operational processes. • By September 30, 2026, initiate all priority climate resiliency projects for EPA-owned facilities within 24 months of a completed facility climate assessment and project prioritization. • By September 30, 2026, EPA will be in full compliance with the five high-priority directives in Executive Order 14028 - Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity. • By September 30, 2026, award 4% of EPA contract spending to small businesses located in HUBZones compared to the FY 2018-2020 average annual baseline of 2.2%. • By September 30, 2026, automate the major EPA permitting programs. 7 For additional information, please consult the Small Business Administration's HUBZone Program webpage: https:/Avww. sba.gov/federal-coiitractiiig/coiitractiiig-assistaiice-prograiiis/liubzoiie-prograiii. 33 ------- Cross- Agency Strategies • By September 30, 2026, automate all priority internal administrative processes. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to implement the Agency' s DEIA Plan to advance progress towards recruiting and maintaining a workforce representative of the American public that promotes a culture of inclusion and accessibility within the Agency. By the end of FY 2024, EPA will have achieved at least the Level 2: Advancing Outcomes maturity level as defined by the November 2021 Government-wide Strategic Plan to Advance DEIA in the Federal Workforce.8 In FY 2024, EPA will make progress towards equity goals by eliminating barriers in its procurement processes and increasing the amount of spending on small and disadvantaged businesses. EPA will provide technical assistance to small business vendors on navigating federal contracting requirements and ensure that new EPA procurements are accessible in scope and requirements for small businesses to successfully compete. This work will yield an increase in contract spending awarded to small and disadvantaged businesses, including those located in HUBZones. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to implement its Future of Work plans that will re-envision both the workforce and the physical workspace of the Agency. Activities will include modernization and transformation of collaborative spaces across several Agency facilities to encourage seamless engagement of a hybrid workforce, leveraging the latest collaboration and productivity IT tools and software, and a continued investment in IT infrastructure to sustain the increase in telework, remote work, and operational readiness. Additionally, EPA will continue to manage flexible workforce policies and procedures that maximize productivity to support a hybrid workforce and enable EPA to be a model employer. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to pursue information technology systems and infrastructure modernization, innovation, and automation of internal administrative forms and processes to achieve a paperless work environment. To support the Agency's Cybersecurity posture, EPA will continue to accelerate cloud adoption. In addition, EPA will continue to increase adoption of Multifactor Authentication, encryption for Agency systems and data, adoption of a Zero Trust Architecture, and meeting advanced logging requirements to accomplish Executive Order (EO) 14028: Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity. In FY 2024, in support of EO 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, EPA will conduct climate resiliency assessments at six EPA-owned facilities. These assessments will include identifying potential projects the Agency can implement to increase facility resiliency against the impacts of climate change, such as roofing stability, building envelope, and emergency power projects. Following completion of a climate assessment, EPA will initiate high-priority projects within 24 months. Further, EPA will continue progress towards achieving carbon- pollution free energy use and net-zero emissions in line with Administration sustainability goals. In FY 2024, the Agency will continue to modernize its financial systems to gain greater efficiencies by improving accounting systems and retiring legacy systems. OCFO is evolving duplicative and manual work by automating and modifying business processes and enhancing the ability to 8 For more information, please refer to: https://www.whitehouse.gOv/wp-content/uploads/2021/l 1/Strategic-Plan-to-Advance- Diversity-Equity-Inclusion-and-Accessibility-in-the-Federal-Workforce-11.23.21.pdf. 34 ------- Cross- Agency Strategies generate automated reports. Robotics Process Automation will be a part of the overall strategy to reduce manual work, decrease error, and improve efficiency. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to expand and enhance easy to use dashboards to manage resources and track performance. Adopting Treasury's Invoice Processing Platform and G-Invoicing solution (for interagency agreements) will further standardize processes and allow for retirement of legacy administrative systems. Additionally, the Agency will leverage senior staff engagement in continuous improvement through nearly 100 executive-sponsored improvement projects annually. EPA is also applying continuous improvement tools and initiatives to support IIJA implementation with an emphasis on improving processes related to hiring and grants. In FY 2024, EPA will collaborate with the Agency's major permitting programs to establish the target number of permit processes to be automated.9 Automation of permit processes will reduce processing time on issuing permits, decrease the time between receiving monitoring data and engaging in enforcement actions, and foster transparency by allowing communities to search, track, and access permitting actions easily. Further, permit automation will enable the integration of climate change and environmental justice considerations into permit processes and ensure that they are addressed within the terms and conditions of the permit. For the regulated community, permit automation will allow for a simplified, streamlined, and transparent permitting process that will result in time and costs savings. For communities and stakeholders, permit automation can empower communities, especially communities with environmental justice concerns, to actively participate in the permit decision-making process and post-permit related compliance. 9 Broad statutory frameworks for the permitting programs are found in Sections 165,173, and 502 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 7475, 7503, and 7661a); Section 402 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1342); Section 3006 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (42 U.S.C. § 6926), and Section 1422 and Section 1425 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 300h and 300h-4). 35 ------- Cross- Agency Strategies 36 ------- Cross- Agency Strategies Cross-Agency Strategy 4: Strengthen Tribal, State, and Local Partnerships and Enhance Engagement Collaborate and engage effectively with Tribal Nations in keeping with the Federal Government's trust responsibilities, state and local governments, regulated entities, and the public to protect human health and the environment. Protecting human health and the environment is a shared responsibility of EPA and its tribal, state, and local government partners. With tribal governments, EPA also has a historic and fundamental trust responsibility. Environmental outcomes are best achieved through collaborative and effective partnerships across all levels of government, successful oversight of federally delegated programs, and robust engagement with non-governmental organizations, national and community groups, stakeholders, and the public, built on a foundation of public trust and transparency, including through timely responses to information requests. Through a renewed focus on fostering intergovernmental relationships, improving on-the-ground community engagement, delivering high-impact environmental education programs, and increasing public trust and transparency, EPA will forge stronger partnerships. As a result, EPA will be better positioned to advance durable solutions to its most pressing challenges and ensure the equitable protection of all communities, including those who have historically been underserved and overburdened. Cross-Agency Strategy 4, Strengthen Tribal, State, and Local Partnerships and Enhance Engagement is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, consider tribal treaty rights as part of all EPA tribal consultations that may affect tribal treaty rights. • By September 30, 2026, eliminate the backlog of overdue Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) responses, compared to the FY 2021 baseline of 1,056. In light of the disproportionate impact of environmental pollution on Native Americans, EPA is committed to strengthening its Nation-to-Nation relationship with American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Nations. EPA will strive to meet its federal trust responsibility and work to integrate consideration of tribal treaty and reserved rights early into decision making and regulatory processes. The early, meaningful, and substantial involvement of EPA's co-regulator partners is critical to the development, implementation, and enforcement of the Nation's environmental programs. With a renewed focus on climate, environmental justice, and children's health, EPA will emphasize frequent and early communication as a keystone of its partnership with tribal and state co- regulators, since EPA must thoughtfully consider their concerns and existing regulatory programs to develop effective and lasting solutions to our most pressing environmental challenges. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to support the Agency's web-based tribal Consultation Opportunities Tracking System, a publicly accessible database used to communicate upcoming and current EPA consultation opportunities to tribal governments. The system provides a management, oversight, and reporting structure that helps ensure accountability and transparency. 37 ------- Cross- Agency Strategies In addition, EPA will update key policies and guidances related to overseeing states' implementation of federal environmental programs. These updates are intended to strengthen and improve the Agency's oversight of federally delegated environmental programs. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to enhance transparency, build public trust in Agency actions, and support public participation by strengthening its implementation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). EPA will improve its processing of FOIA requests, in particular, to address the increasing complexity and volume of electronic documents required to be searched, collected, and reviewed when responding to FOIA requests. The Agency will work to increase processing speed and to apply appropriate technologies to ensure it supports the timely searching and collection of information for purposes of responding to FOIA requests and other information needs in a cost- effective and sustainable manner. In addition, EPA will procure and prepare to launch a new FOIA recordkeeping and processing software solution to replace FOIAonline at the beginning of FY 2024. 38 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews Goal 1: Tackle the Climate Crisis Cut pollution that causes climate change and increase the adaptive capacity of tribes, states, territories, and communities. Introduction Climate change is a global issue that has far-reaching human health, social, economic, and biodiversity impacts on our planet. It directly and adversely affects the United States. Climate change is accelerating the frequency and severity of wildfires and extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, floods, heat waves, and drought, and is altering sea temperature, ocean acidity, sea- level, and other global systems that support human life and biodiversity. Climate change impacts include famine, property loss, mass migrations, human conflict, species extinctions, and ecosystem failures, with significant humanitarian, economic and national security implications. Certain communities and individuals are particularly vulnerable to these impacts, including low-income communities and communities of color, children, the elderly, tribes, and indigenous people. The impacts of climate change challenge EPA's ability to accomplish its mission of protecting human health and the environment because climate change can exacerbate existing pollution problems and environmental stressors. EPA is working with other federal agencies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase the climate resilience of the Nation, with a particular focus on protecting and helping disadvantaged communities. Climate change is a global issue, and domestic action must go hand in hand with international leadership. EPA will continue to extend its expertise internationally, while learning from the expertise of others, to help shape and advance international agreements and solutions. In FY 2024, EPA will drive reductions in emissions that significantly contribute to climate change through regulations on GHGs, climate partnership programs, and support to tribal, state, and local governments. The Agency will accomplish this through the transformative investments in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act (IIJA), and our base appropriation, which funds the core operating accounts of the Agency. In FY 2024 and beyond, EPA will ensure its programs, policies, regulations, enforcement and compliance assurance activities, and internal business operations consider current and future impacts of climate change. EPA will consult and partner with tribes, states, territories, local governments and communities, businesses, and other federal agencies to strengthen adaptive capacity. By engaging with organizations representing overburdened and underserved communities, EPA will ensure its GHG mitigation and adaptation activities address environmental justice and equity concerns for all communities. Finally, EPA plans to implement international climate engagements that result in an individual partner commitment or action to reduce GHG emissions, adapt to climate change, and improve resilience in a manner that promotes equity. The FY 2024 President's Budget includes $909.9 million and 1,467.8 FTE for Goal 1: Tackle the Climate Crisis. Importantly, this total includes $5 million for additional administrative support to ensure the sound implementation of the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund under the Inflation Reduction Act, which received an administrative set aside of less than half of one percent in that appropriation. 39 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews Objective 1.1: Reduce Emissions that Cause Climate Change - Aggressively reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from all sectors while increasing energy and resource efficiency and the use of renewable energy. The FY 2024 Budget includes $679.4 million and 965.1 FTE for Objective 1.1. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, promulgate final rules to reduce GHG emissions from light duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicles; electric utility generating units; and the oil and gas industry. • By September 30, 2026, EPA's climate partnership programs will reduce expected annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 545 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTC02e). EPA's climate partnership programs reduced 518.6 MMTC02e of annual GHG emissions in 2019. In FY 2024, EPA will drive significant reductions in the emissions that cause climate change through regulation of GHGs; climate partnership programs such as ENERGY STAR; support for tribal, state, and local governments; and publication of GHG emissions data. EPA regulations will cut GHG pollutants, including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and HFCs. EPA will collaborate closely with stakeholders to promote energy efficiency, renewable energy, and decarbonization of the Nation's electric grid. By continuing the transition away from reliance on high-emitting fossil fuels, EPA programs will cut GHG emissions from cars, trucks, homes, and businesses. In the FY 2024 Budget, an additional $207.2 million and 119.8 FTE is provided to advance the Agency's priority work to mitigate climate change. This includes activities such as issuance of final rules to set new standards for light and medium-duty vehicles, development of a final rule to set new GHG emission standards for Model Year (MY) 2030 and later heavy-duty vehicles, and finalization of rulemakings proposed in FY 2023 under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act.1 EPA will also finalize standards for new and existing facilities in the oil and gas sector and rules to limit GHG emissions from new and existing sources in the power sector. The additional funding will bolster implementation efforts related to the Agency's GHG rulemakings (e.g., review of state plans to implement the oil and gas or power sector rulemakings). Additional funding also is requested for EPA to update and enhance its infrastructure to track and report on GHG reductions (e.g., revisions to the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program to require reporting of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, and enhanced reporting of emissions from other U.S. industrial sectors). Under the AIM Act of 2020, EPA will work with industry to phase down the production and import of HFCs, which are commonly used in refrigerators, air conditioners, and in many other applications. The AIM Act directs EPA to take steps to sharply reduce production and consumption of these harmful GHG pollutants by using an allowance allocation and trading program. This phasedown will decrease the production and import of HFCs in the United States by 85 percent over the next 15 years. A global HFC phasedown is expected to avoid up to 0.5°C of global warming by 2100. Within the additional request, $64.4 million and 24 FTE are requested to 1 For more information on the AIM Act, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction/aim-act. 40 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews implement provisions in the AIM Act to phase down the use of HFCs, to facilitate U.S. entry to the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol, and to restore staff capacity around efforts to tackle the climate crisis. For example, this investment includes resources to implement innovative IT solutions, such as a QR system and database integration across EPA and Customs and Border Patrol to help ensure that the phasedown is not undermined by illegal imports, as has happened in Europe. EPA finalized robust federal GHG emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks to secure pollution reductions through Model Year (MY) 2026. In FY 2024, EPA will promulgate a final rulemaking for new multi-pollutant emissions standards, including for GHG emissions, for light- and medium-duty vehicles beginning with MY 2027 and extending through and including at least MY 2030. These standards will help transition the fleet to zero and near-zero emissions. In FY 2024, EPA also will promulgate a final rulemaking to establish new GHG emissions standards for heavy-duty engines and vehicles. This rule will reduce GHG and other emissions from highway heavy-duty vehicles, the second-largest source of transportation GHG emissions. EPA will ensure additional GHG and air quality benefits by testing vehicles, engines, and fuels to certify that they comply with federal clean air, GHG, and fuel economy standards. In FY 2024, EPA is requesting an additional $52.5 million and 46.8 FTE for the development of analytical methods, regulations, and analyses to support climate protection by controlling greenhouse gas emissions from light duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicles. The additional funding also invests in the maintenance, repair and replacement of aging test equipment and infrastructure at the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to work with other federal agencies to promote more sustainable and resilient communities. This includes identifying and pursuing opportunities to reduce barriers to deploying EV charging infrastructure and working with tribes, states, and communities to ensure equitable distribution and thoughtful community integration of charging infrastructure, including for electric buses and delivery and rideshare vehicles. In meeting the requirements of Executive Order 13990: Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis2 and as part of the Administration's comprehensive approach to tackling the climate crisis, EPA will issue rules to reduce CO2 and methane from power plants and oil and gas facilities. These rules will be informed by robust engagement with tribes, states, communities, and regulated entities and by any guidance from the judiciary. Through voluntary partnership programs, EPA will work to incentivize energy efficiency and further decarbonize the transportation, power generation, industrial, and building sectors. Some examples of these programs include ENERGY STAR, Green Power Partnership, Natural Gas STAR, AgSTAR, GreenChill, and SmartWay. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to implement these climate partnership programs to improve delivery of energy efficiency, clean energy, and heat mitigation solutions to historically underserved and overburdened communities. EPA also will 2 Executive Order 13990: Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis (January 20,2021): https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/2Q/executive-order-protecting- public-health-and-environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-climate-crisis/. 41 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews continue domestic programs and international collaboration to reduce exposures to harmful emissions from cookstoves. EPA will continue to implement the U.S. GHG Reporting Program, which collects and publishes data from more than 8,100 facilities from 41 large industrial source categories in the United States. EPA will improve models of climate change impacts, including how risks and economic impacts can be reduced under mitigation and adaptation scenarios. EPA will also continue to make the Climate Change Indicators website more accessible through enhanced visualization. In FY 2024, EPA will work to complete the annual Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Emissions and Sinks,3 and to improve inventory methodologies in areas such as oil and gas, land-use, and waste, consistent with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines. EPA will also meet upcoming Paris reporting requirements and create a new GHG emission calculator, linked to Portfolio Manager, to develop building GHG inventories that fully comply with accounting protocols and local mandates. Objective 1.2: Accelerate Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Change Impacts - Deliver targeted assistance to increase the resilience of tribes, states, territories, and communities to the impacts of climate change. The FY 2024 Budget includes $134.9 million and 261.5 FTE for Objective 1.2. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, implement all priority actions in EPA's Climate Adaptation Action Plan and the 20 National Program and Regional Climate Adaptation Implementation Plans to account for the impacts of the changing climate on human health and the environment.4 • By September 30, 2026, assist at least 400 federally recognized tribes to take action to anticipate, prepare for, adapt to, or recover from the impacts of climate change. • By September 30, 2026, assist at least 450 states, territories, local governments, and communities, especially communities that are underserved and disproportionately at risk from climate change, to take action to anticipate, prepare for, adapt to, or recover from the impacts of climate change. EPA will take necessary actions to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to the impacts of climate change to ensure EPA continues to fulfill its mission of protecting human health and the environment even as the climate changes and disruptive impacts increase. It will also support the development of climate adaptation strategies at the local level to advance the climate resilience of tribes, states, territories, local governments, and communities across the Nation. EPA will actively engage organizations representing overburdened and underserved communities that are more vulnerable to climate impacts to ensure the Agency's adaptation plans reflect the principles of environmental justice and equity. EPA's commitments are part of a whole-of-government approach to pursue actions at home and abroad to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change. 3 https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks. 4 These plans are available at: https://www.epa.gov/climate-adaptation/climate-adaptation-plan. 42 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews In FY 2024, EPA will continue to modernize its financial assistance programs to encourage climate-resilient investments across the Nation. The Agency will focus on ensuring that the outcomes of its investments are resilient to the impacts of climate change. In addition, EPA will lead by example and prioritize climate resiliency investments across EPA-owned facilities. EPA will conduct climate resiliency assessments at EPA-owned facilities, prioritize investments, and initiate work on priority projects. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to pursue aggressive energy, water, and building infrastructure improvements to advance the Agency's use of carbon pollution- free electricity. The FY 2024 Budget includes additional $45.3 million and 26.5 FTE for its work in the Climate Adaptation Program. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to implement its 2021 Climate Adaptation Action Plan as well as the 20 Climate Adaptation Implementation Plans developed by the Program and Regional Offices in FY 2022 and updated in FY 2023. Each Program and Regional Office will implement the priority actions identified in their Implementation Plans to address the five agency- wide priorities from the 2021 EPA Climate Adaptation Action Plan. These strategies are informed by the best available science and deliver co-benefits for mitigation of GHG and other pollution, public health, economic growth and job creation, national security, and environmental justice - all of which will be central to building a more resilient future. These actions will integrate climate adaptation planning into Agency programs, policies, rulemaking processes, enforcement and compliance assurance activities, financial mechanisms, and operations to ensure they are effective even as the climate changes. EPA will leverage the additional resources and FTEs provided in FY 2024 to implement selected additional priority actions identified in program and regional Climate Adaptation Implementation Plans. These additional actions will enhance the adaptive capacity and resilience of states, tribes, territories, local governments, and communities by providing technical assistance through the program and regional offices. In FY 2024, EPA will provide targeted assistance to tribes and indigenous peoples, states, territories, local governments, communities, and businesses to bolster these groups' climate resilience efforts. The Agency will focus resources on communities with environmental justice concerns to develop new strategies that strengthen adaptive capacity and increase climate resilience across the Nation. The Agency will produce and deliver training, tools, technical assistance, financial incentives, and information the agency's partners indicate they need to adapt and to increase resilience to climate change. All of the baseline and additional priority actions identified in the 20 Climate Adaptation Implementation Plans support at least one of the three Long Term Performance Goals in Objective 1.2. The priority actions support EPA's efforts to continue to fulfill its mission even as the climate changes and disruptive impacts increase. The additional resources also will be used to advance climate justice through the provision of grants and technical assistance and protect communities that are disproportionately affected by climate change. Objective 1.3: Advance International and Subnational Climate Efforts - Collaborate with tribal, state, local, and international partners and provide leadership on the global stage to address climate change. 43 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews The FY 2024 Budget includes $95.6 million and 241.2 FTE for Objective 1.3. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goal in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan. • By September 30, 2026, implement at least 40 international climate engagements that result in an individual partner commitment or action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, adapt to climate change, or improve resilience in a manner that promotes equity. Moving forward in addressing the climate crisis calls for international as well as domestic efforts. EPA has an important role in helping countries respond to the climate crisis as well as in reducing domestic climate impacts. Progress will require both significant short-term global reductions in GHG emissions and net-zero global emissions by mid-century alongside increased and equitable adaptation and resiliency to climate change impacts. EPA plays a critical role internationally in providing technical expertise, guidance, and capacity building to help countries set and meet ambitious GHG reductions, improving adaptive capacity, and strengthening climate governance. Specifically, EPA international work will further the environmental governance of priority partner countries so that they can implement and enforce effective climate mitigation activities and incorporate environmental justice climate principles. Without basic governance infrastructure, it is difficult for many countries to make progress on their Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, opening the Agreement to criticism about lack of developing country action on climate. EPA will enhance capacity building governance programs for priority countries with increasing GHG footprints and increase their capacity to implement partnerships as well as legislative, regulatory, and legal enforcement. These programs will also work to improve adaptive capacity and mitigation strategies of pollution burdened, vulnerable and indigenous communities. These efforts support Executive Order (EO) 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,5 which directs federal agencies to develop plans for integrating climate considerations into their international work, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law. Objective 1.3 fulfills EO 14008 by dedicating EPA expertise to help countries build capacity so they can set and meet ambitious GHG reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement, while also building resilience to current and future climate impacts. EPA's long-term aim is to implement at least 40 international climate engagements by 2026 that result in an individual partner commitment or action to reduce GHG emissions, adapt to climate change, or improve resilience in a manner that promotes equity. As of January 2023, EPA had implemented 11 international climate engagements resulting in individual partner commitments or actions as outlined in the long-term performance goal stated above. In FY 2024 with additional resources, in anticipation of the G7 Summit in Italy, EPA would collaborate with other Federal agencies to design and implement projects for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) that conform to the values and climate policy objectives of EO 14008. PGII was announced at the 2022 G7 Summit in Germany for the purpose of mobilizing public and private investment in low-and-middle-income countries for decarbonizing infrastructure and to support the Just Energy Transition Partnerships with individual 5 Executive Order 14008: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefiiig-room/presideiitial-actioiis/2021/01/27/executive-order-on- tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/. 44 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews countries for the early decommissioning of coal-fired power plants and to attract private capital investment in support of efforts to decarbonize national economies. 45 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews 46 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews Goal 2: Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights Achieve tangible progress for historically overburdened and under served communities and ensure the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income in developing and implementing environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Introduction EPA will center its mission on the integration of environmental justice (EJ), equity, and civil rights across the Nation's environmental protection enterprise. We will focus on all American communities, those within the contiguous and non-contiguous states and all other territories and protectorates of the United States. By doing so, EPA will advance the promise of clean air, clean water, and safe land to communities across the country that have not fully benefitted from the Nation's decades of progress. Centering its work on justice is especially important in an era when EPA must simultaneously break the cycle of historic environmental injustices while maximizing protection for these same communities that are too often hit worst and first from the impacts of a changing climate. In the FY2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan, EPA added "justice and equity" to the Agency's fundamental principles,*' as originally articulated by Administrator William Ruckelshaus. EPA's goal is to achieve measurable environmental, public health, and quality of life improvements in the most overburdened, vulnerable, and underserved communities. Achieving this goal will require significant transformation and mindfulness in how EPA understands and conducts its work, including how EPA prioritizes program resources, stewards its relationships with regulatory partners and recipients of EPA funds, implements statutory authorities, and engages the communities most affected by environmental and public health threats, especially as the climate changes. Critical to achieving this goal is for EPA to proactively engage with tribes, states, and local governments to discuss and address disproportionate impacts through their implementation of EPA authorities and engage in meaningful joint planning with communities to advance community visions and priorities. The vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws is also key to addressing systemic barriers and ensuring recipients of EPA funding make more responsible and equitable siting and permitting decisions. EPA's work on environmental justice and civil rights enforcement will be a success if it leads to reductions in longstanding racial and ethnic disparities such as in levels of air pollutants and exposure to toxins; access to clean and reliable water infrastructure, free of lead and other toxins; and management of solid waste. EPA will work to increase its capacity to tackle environmental justice and civil rights issues and embed consideration of these issues in its programs, policies, and processes, all with the goal of improving outcomes in environmental and health conditions for communities with environmental justice concerns. The FY 2024 Budget includes $758.4 million and 1,181 FTE to advance Goal 2, Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights. 6 Follow the science, follow the law, and be transparent, and the additional fourth principle: advance justice and equity. 47 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews Objective 2.1: Promote Environmental Justice and Civil Rights at the Federal, Tribal, State, and Local Levels - Empower and build capacity of underserved and overburdened communities to protect human health and the environment. The FY 2024 Budget includes $204.5 million and 357.6 FTE for Objective 2.1. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, all EPA programs that seek feedback and comment from the public will provide capacity-building resources to communities with environmental justice concerns to support their ability to meaningfully engage and provide useful feedback to those programs.7 • By September 30, 2026, include commitments to address disproportionate impacts in all written agreements between EPA and tribes and states (e.g., grant work plans) implementing delegated authorities.8 • By September 30, 2026, EPA programs with direct implementation authority will take at least 100 significant actions that will result in measurable improvements in Indian country. • By September 30, 2026, all state recipients of EPA financial assistance will have foundational civil rights programs in place.9 • By September 30, 2026, increase by 40% the number of Office of Research and Development (ORD) activities related to environmental justice that involve or are applicable to tribes, states, territories, local governments, and communities.10 EPA has the responsibility to make transformative progress on environmental justice and civil rights at the tribal, state, and local levels through a whole-of-government approach that involves communities as authentic partners. In FY 2024, EPA will continue support for community-led action at new levels by providing unprecedented investments and benefits directly to communities with environmental justice concerns as well as by integrating equity throughout all Agency support programs. EPA will ensure that all relevant programs are actively supporting community efforts to engage and influence program implementation and maximize the benefits from the investment of resources to achieve meaningful change on the ground for the most impacted communities. Supporting communities as they adapt to and recover from climate change is also part of this commitment. Critical to EPA's success in advancing equity and justice is the responsibility to financially support the efforts of community members and organizations that provide EPA with opportunities to learn from and engage with their communities. To meet this responsibility, EPA commits to establishing the necessary policy and procurement mechanisms so that EPA is able to financially support organizations and individuals who provide EPA with community engagement, input, educational 7 First year activities of this LTPG will focus on definition and scope of program participation and what qualifies as capacity- building resources. 8 First year activities of this LTPG will focus on definition and scope of written agreements and what qualifies as addressing disproportionate impacts. 9 For reference only, and as an example from a smaller subset of state recipients - EPA's proactive initiative involving foundational civil rights programs of state agencies in Regions 1,5, and 7, which consisted of 14 state agencies, the baseline from the proactive initiative in FY 2020 was 6.5%. 10 Baseline to be developed in FY 2022. 48 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews opportunities, and other forms of community expertise. In addition, the Agency will take concrete action to include the voices, experiences, and passions of the full diversity of the Nation in our workforce, such as reaching out and bringing in diverse students on paid internships, fellowships, and clerkships. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to work proactively to integrate environmental justice and civil rights into policies and activities as a fundamental element of the Agency's relationships with federal, state, and local partners to jointly achieve beneficial changes on the ground for communities. EPA will invest in oversight, guidance, and assistance for states and local governments to embed environmental justice into their programs and enhance civil rights enforcement. With the public engagement, partnerships, and environmental education investment of $24 million and 24 FTE, EPA will establish and implement programs to improve its engagement, partnership, and environmental education initiatives at the regional levels and across EPA, including increased engagement with communities and Agency stakeholders and Justice40, an initiative identified in Executive Order (EO) 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.11 The additional FTE and funding will support the Administrator on public engagement travel and his Journey to Justice tours across the country to hear the environmental concerns of local communities. These resources also will allow EPA to better coordinate and communicate around Justice40; Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions engagements; expansion of public and private partnerships to reach out to a broader group of people; creation of a Youth Engagement Council for environmental learning; and strengthened environmental education work on the local level. Equity principles and equal protection require that implementation of federal environmental law protections be as robust inside Indian country as EPA requires these protections to be outside of Indian country. EPA directly implements the majority of federal environmental programs in Indian country where EPA seeks to apply key environmental justice principles, such as equity, meaningful involvement, and fair treatment. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to ensure that direct implementation activities are fully protective of communities and will advance environmental justice for federally recognized tribes in keeping with the federal trust responsibility. With the tribal strategic investment of $34.7 million and 166.9 FTE, an increase of $20 million and 88.3 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted, EPA will strengthen efforts to improve public health by reducing disparities in compliance rates between Indian country and the national average through greater agency support and leadership to EPA programs and regions for planning and measuring EPA direct implementation actions in Indian country. In addition, EPA will implement the revised EPA Tribal Consultation Policy and Implementation Guidance to improve consultation practices in conformance with the Executive Order on Tribal Consultation and train EPA staff. EPA will continue in FY 2024 its longstanding commitment to assist tribes in building the capacity to receive delegated programs. In those instances when tribal governments are authorized to implement federal programs, EPA supports tribal governments' inclusion of environmental justice 11 Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (January 27, 2001), found at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefiiig-room/presideiitial-actioiis/2021/01/27/executive-order-oii-tackliiig-the-climate-crisis-at- home-and-abroad/. 49 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews principles into their programs, community engagement, and decision-making processes, and is committed to ensuring flexibilities in Indian General Assistance Program (GAP) funding for tribal environmental program implementation. Integration of environmental justice principles into all EPA activities with tribal governments and in Indian Country is designed to be flexible enough to accommodate EPA tribal program activities and goals, while meeting EPA environmental justice goals. Objective 2.2: Embed Environmental Justice and Civil Rights in EPA Programs, Policies, and Activities - Integrate environmental justice and civil rights in all the Agency's work to maximize benefits and minimize impacts to underserved and overburdened communities. The FY 2024 Budget includes $476.8 million and 575.1 FTE for Objective 2.2. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, reduce disparities in environmental and public health conditions represented by the indicators identified through the FY 2022-2023 Agency Priority Goal.12 • By September 30, 2026, 80% of significant EPA actions with environmental justice implications will clearly demonstrate how the action is responsive to environmental justice concerns and reduces or otherwise addresses disproportionate impacts.13 • By September 30, 2026, all EPA programs that work in and with communities will do so in ways that are community-driven, coordinated and collaborative, support equitable and resilient community development, and provide for meaningful involvement and fair treatment of communities with environmental justice concerns.14 • By September 30, 2026, all EPA programs and regions will identify and implement areas and opportunities to integrate environmental justice considerations and achieve civil rights compliance in their planning, guidance, policy directives, monitoring, and review activities. • By September 30, 2026, all EPA programs and regions will implement program and region- specific language assistance plans. • By September 30, 2026, all EPA programs and regions will implement program and region- specific disability access plans. Meeting these commitments to achieving change on the ground and accountability for such change will be the ultimate measure of the Agency's success at advancing environmental justice, civil rights, and equity, including the implementation of EO 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, EO 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, and EO 14091, Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support 12 EPA will monitor progress through a holistic system that tracks the actions and responsibilities individual national programs have identified to support reducing disparities through the implementation of their statutory authorities, coordinated efforts of regulatory partners, support for community action, and other key actions. 13 First year activities of this LTPG will focus on definition and scope of significant EPA action and what qualifies as environmental justice implications, responsiveness to community concerns, and addressing disproportionate impacts. 14 First year activities of this LTPG will focus on definition and scope of program participation and what qualifies as adoption of the community-driven approach. 50 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews for Under served Communities Through the Federal Government.15 These efforts include incorporating feedback from communities with environmental justice concerns while analyzing and addressing disproportionate impacts. The laws that Congress passed to guide EPA's work are meant to apply to all Americans. EPA must not only better support community efforts to engage with the Agency but also advance the Agency's ability to engage in community-driven work through the regions and across all programs. EPA must implement the Civil Rights Act as equally as environmental statutes. The majority of the resources allocated for Objective 2.2 is devoted to the Environmental Justice program with more than $370 million and 264.6 FTE requested in FY 2024. This includes an important new investment of $71.2 million and 50 FTE to build out a cadre of staff to serve as EJ Community Navigators, primarily through regional offices, to provide a more robust and broad coverage of relationship building, awareness, and support directly from EPA to community leaders and their local on-the-ground partners such as local governments, tribes, and academic institutions. The EJ Community Navigators will be dedicated to developing and stewarding EPA's relationships with these partners to ensure: awareness by other EPA programs of the needs of these communities thus facilitating holistic responsiveness by the agency in deploying our programs, resources, and staff; deploying EJ resources directly to these communities in a timely manner and in ways that meet the needs of the communities; a much stronger ability to proactively connect other forms of federal involvement and assistance from other agencies to leverage the multiple resource streams needed to make meaningful progress on the complex and multifaceted challenges faced by communities with EJ concerns. In FY 2024, EPA will set ambitious goals of achieving meaningful change on the ground for communities with environmental justice concerns; identify data gaps; build tracking systems; and put in place any needed policy, guidance, or regulatory changes to achieve the goals. EPA also will ensure that Agency plans include responsibility and measurable accountability for advancing environmental justice, including the annual performance plans of key political, senior executive, and general schedule staff. EPA will develop and commit to at least 10 measures of progress towards achieving meaningful outcomes on the ground through the identification of indicators of disparities with the goal of informing EPA policy and tracking reductions over time. In FY 2024, EPA will establish policies to ensure that actions with major significance for environmental justice and civil rights are responsive to the needs of communities, consider the results of environmental justice analyses, and reflect recommendations from the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council. EPA also will continue to ensure that all EPA programs develop guidance on the use of environmental justice tools such as EJScreen and the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool16 to support screening and analysis of program outcomes. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to leverage and coordinate its investments in communities and collaborate with partners and other external stakeholders to advance comprehensive and strategic 15 Executive Order 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (January 20,2021), found at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefiiig-rooiii/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive- order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-govemment/. Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (January 27, 2021), found at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing- room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/. 16 For more information, please visit, https://screeningtool.geoplatform.goV/en/#3/33.47/-97.5. 51 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews community-driven approaches. EPA will increase the number of programs that have fully integrated the key principles of community work into their program implementation and will continue to build on the number of collaborative partnerships centered on community priorities primarily through an update and relaunch of EPA's comprehensive public involvement policy. This effort will reestablish a consistent foundation defined by the updated policy to ensure that all EPA program implementation efforts, with a particular focus on program deployment and policy development, will be rooted in a comprehensive approach to meaningfully engaging impacted communities. EPA will continue to communicate requirements and expectations related to environmental justice and civil rights to its employees through education, training, outreach, and technical assistance. In particular, EPA will improve employees' awareness and understanding of civil rights enforcement and strengthen intra-agency collaboration to identify whether recipient programs and activities are abiding by civil rights laws or engaging in prohibited discrimination. Objective 2.3: Strengthen Civil Rights Enforcement in Communities with Environmental Justice Concerns - Strengthen enforcement of and compliance with civil rights laws to address the legacy of pollution in overburdened communities. The FY 2024 Budget includes $77.1 million and 248.3 FTE for Objective 2.3. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, initiate 45 proactive post-award civil rights compliance reviews to address discrimination issues in environmentally overburdened and underserved communities. • By September 30, 2026, complete 305 audits to ensure EPA financial assistance recipients are complying with nondiscrimination program procedural requirements. • By September 30, 2026, complete 84 information sharing sessions and outreach and technical assistance events with overburdened and underserved communities and environmental justice advocacy groups on civil rights and environmental justice issues. To address the legacy of pollution in overburdened communities that results from discriminatory actions, whether direct or indirect, intentional or unintentional, EPA must use the full extent of its authority and resources to enforce federal civil rights laws. EPA is required to enforce federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin (including limited English proficiency), disability, gender, and age, in programs or activities that receive Agency financial assistance. To ensure EPA's financial assistance is not being used in a manner that discriminates and subjects already overburdened communities to further harm, EPA must support and promote a robust and mature external civil rights compliance program for execution of EPA responsibilities and to provide a strong partner to its environmental justice program. EPA is committed to enforcing compliance with federal civil rights laws to address historical and systemic barriers that contribute to the environmental injustice, overburdening, and vulnerability of communities. In FY 2024, EPA proposes to invest $31.5 million and 143.6 FTE, an increase of $18.6 million and 77.2 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted level, in the external civil rights program 52 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews to continue to build capacity to improve oversight and enforcement of civil rights compliance and prioritize and advance EJ concerns. The additional FTE will support activities including investigations into claims of discrimination in communities and pre-award and post-award compliance activities. It is critical that, in addition to increasing the FTE for the external civil rights work done in headquarters, there be a significant increase in FTE for the regional offices specifically targeted to external civil rights work. The regional offices provide critical support to external civil rights investigations and resolutions. In FY 2024, EPA will take actions that will address permitting decisions found to be discriminatory by EPA financial assistance recipients. Through investigations and informal resolution agreements, EPA will address discriminatory disparities in exposure to pollutants and toxins in order to advance access to clean air, water and land and health protection. EPA will increase the number of affirmative compliance reviews targeting discrimination in critical environmental health and quality of life impacts in overburdened communities. The Agency will issue important policy guidance to clarify recipients' civil rights obligations and improve compliance through technical assistance deliveries. Further, EPA will increase the timeliness and effectiveness of complaint investigations and resolutions. In FY 2024, EPA will increase the number of meaningful engagements with overburdened communities and environmental justice groups on civil rights and environmental justice issues. 53 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews 54 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews Goal 3: Enforce Environmental Laws and Ensure Compliance Improve Compliance with the Nation's environmental laws and hold violators accountable. Introduction A robust compliance monitoring and enforcement program is necessary to ensure communities receive the environmental and human health benefits intended by environmental statutes and EPA's regulations. EPA regulates more than 1.2 million facilities subject to a variety of environmental statutes that protect human health and the environment. Likewise, EPA regulates a wide range of products, from automobiles to pesticides. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to work cooperatively with tribes, states, territories, and other federal agencies to improve compliance with environmental laws and statutes. EPA will continue to collaborate with tribes in Indian country, by both directly implementing compliance monitoring and enforcement programs and supporting and overseeing tribal implementation of approved programs. In FY 2024, EPA will provide $757.1 million and 3,353.6 FTE to strengthen compliance with the Nation's environmental laws and hold violators accountable under Goal 3: Enforce Environmental Laws and Ensure Compliance. In FY 2024, EPA will collaborate with tribes, states, territories, and other federal agencies to focus federal enforcement resources on the most serious environmental problems where noncompliance with environmental statutes and regulations is a significant contributing factor and where federal enforcement can have a significant impact on the Nation's air, water, and land. The Agency will continue to identify a small number of key areas, called National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives, where EPA focuses attention on the most significant, widespread environmental problems. In FY 2024, the Agency is requesting an increase of $22.6 million and 38.4 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted to continue rebuilding the inspector cadre, which is EPA's highest enforcement priority. A robust inspection program, including compliance and enforcement actions, is essential to advancing the promise of clean air, land, and water to the many communities across the country that have not received the full benefits from the Nation's decades of progress. Dedicated staff that can identify public health concerns and environmental regulatory violations are critical to protect communities that are underserved or disproportionately harmed by pollution. EPA's inspection programs have faced substantial resource challenges for over a decade, leading to a loss of Agency expertise and a decline in the numbers of inspections. To meet EPA's environmental justice goals and its mission to protect human health and the environment, EPA must rebuild and strengthen its inspection program by hiring and training new and existing inspectors, including in-person basic inspector trainings and travel funding for the trainings for the following programs: Clean Air Act; Safe Drinking Water Act; Clean Water Act; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, & Rodenticide Act; and Toxic Substances Control Act. Additionally, funding is needed to purchase health and safety equipment and inspection monitoring equipment. Travel funding for inspections also is essential to get inspectors into the field. In addition, EPA will focus on vulnerable communities and those facing substantial burdens from environmental noncompliance. In these areas, EPA will increase inspections, prioritize enforcement cases, identify remedies with tangible benefits for harmed communities, and increase engagement with communities about enforcement cases. In FY 2024, EPA also will target 55 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews compliance monitoring in overburdened and underserved communities with environmental justice concerns. EPA will continue to initiate enforcement actions to protect against children's health hazards in areas such as exposure to lead paint, the presence of lead and other contaminants in drinking water, and particulate air emissions with the potential to aggravate asthma. The Agency will address climate change by directing resources to ensure effective enforcement responses for those sources with noncompliant emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), develop remedies that are consistent with GHG mitigation and climate resilience goals, and pursue violators of the Renewable Fuel Standard. In addition, EPA requests an additional $12.1million and 26.8 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted to enforce against the illegal importation, distribution, and use within the United States of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are chemicals with potent global warming potential, under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act.17 In FY 2024, an increase of $5.6 million and 6.5 FTE will support efforts to investigate and identify releases of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the air, land, and water by actively investigating under RCRA, TSCA, CWA, SDWA, and CAA at the yet-unknown number of processing facilities, waste disposal facilities, and federal facilities where PFAS are suspected of contaminating various environmental media. PFAS released into the environment may present an urgent public health and environmental threat. EPA will continue to investigate releases, address imminent and substantial endangerment situations, and prevent exposure to PFAS, under multiple environmental statutes. OECA has been stretching its base Superfund (SF) & EPM resources to (1) issue corporate-wide information requests and analyze responses, (2) create site profiles and information databases on specific facilities, (3) obtain site-specific data, and (4) use administrative and judicial authorities to require sampling and other response actions. EPA will continue implementing the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act,18 coordinated by EPA's Evidence Act officials. The Agency will expand its evidence-based compliance program through projects developed under OECA's compliance learning agenda, which systematically identifies the most important evidence the Agency needs to gather and generate to advance its compliance goals, and ensure the Agency uses high quality data and other information to inform policy and decision making. Objective 3.1: Hold Environmental Violators and Responsible Parties Accountable - Use vigorous and targeted civil and criminal enforcement to ensure accountability for violations and to clean up contamination. The FY 2024 Budget includes $438.6 million and 2,444.1 FTE for Objective 3.1. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goal in the FY 2022 - 2026 Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, reduce to not more than 93 the number of open civil judicial cases more than 2.5 years old without a complaint filed.19 17 For more information on the AIM Act, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction/aim-act. 18 Full-text of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 may be found at: https://www.c0ngress.g0v/bill/l 15th-congress/house-bill/4174/text. 19 For comparison, there were 129 cases more than 2.5 years old without a complaint filed as of June 30, 2018. The number of cases fluctuates and is therefore difficult to predict how many cases will "age in" in a given year. EPA reduces the number of 56 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews Enforcement is essential to ensuring that everyone is protected by the Nation's environmental laws and regulations. EPA strives to not only return violators to compliance but also obtain timely relief needed to address the underlying causes of the violations, to prevent reoccurrence, and, in appropriate cases, mitigate the harm to the communities impacted by noncompliance. EPA uses administrative enforcement and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), where appropriate, in the environmental enforcement context and plans to deploy ADR to new Superfund and External Civil Rights projects. In FY 2024, EPA will invest an additional $1.3 million and 4.1 FTE for a total of $3.1 million and 10.0 FTE to the ADR Program to promote equity by including underserved communities in negotiations. Civil Enforcement The overall goal of EPA's Civil Enforcement Program is to maximize compliance with the Nation's environmental laws and regulations to protect human health and the environment. In FY 2024, EPA requests $245.9 million and 1,041.7 FTE, an increase of $36.7 million and 43.6 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted, to support civil enforcement efforts. EPA will encourage regulated entities to correct violations rapidly, ensure that violators do not realize an economic benefit from noncompliance, pursue enforcement to deter future violations, and continue to strengthen environmental partnerships with tribes, states, and other federal agencies. The additional resources will enhance EPA's ability to incorporate environmental justice and climate change considerations into all phases of case development. To protect public health and ensure that private, public, and federal facilities are held to the same standard, EPA will rebuild and train headquarters and regional inspectors to inspect more facilities in the large public, private, and federal facility universe. In addition, EPA will continue to improve its sampling capability to identify regulatory violations. These resources are needed recognizing the complexity of many facilities and the inspections needed to identify the range of potential contamination. EPA will pursue enforcement actions at public, private, and federal facilities where significant violations are discovered to protect the health of surrounding communities. Lastly, EPA will provide technical and scientific support to tribes, states, and territories with authorized programs. In FY 2024, EPA is requesting an additional $3.4 million and 7.0 FTE to enforce the Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) rule. The CCR Program ensures that coal ash disposal units (landfills and surface impoundments) do not present dangerous structural stability issues (such as those that led to the catastrophic 2008 Kingston, Tennessee coal ash disaster) that could put surrounding communities in harm's way. These resources will augment the work the Agency has already started, i.e., analyzing groundwater monitoring data and the corrective action and closure efforts of facilities to determine whether facilities are complying with the regulatory requirements and adequately addressing coal ash disposal risks. EPA has been working to improve the processes associated with enforcement actions to move more quickly in protecting the environment. To reduce the time that a facility is in violation of an environmental standard, EPA has a FY 2026 long-term performance goal (LPTG) to reduce to no more than 93 the number of open civil judicial cases more than 2.5 years old without a complaint older cases using a number of different tools. For example, sometimes the United States government needs to file a complaint in order to make progress in resolving a case; other times, it needs to drop a claim or shift its injunctive relief or penalty demand because of litigation risk. 57 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews filed. In FY 2022, EPA reduced that number to 65, surpassing the FY 2026 LPTG. EPA will continue to build upon this success to further improve upon our accomplishments in FY 2024 and beyond. Criminal Enforcement EPA's Criminal Enforcement Program enforces the Nation's environmental laws through targeted investigation of criminal conduct committed by individual and corporate defendants who threaten public health and the environment. EPA's Criminal Enforcement Program plays a critical role across the country supporting tribes, states, and territories that may have limited capacity to investigate and prosecute environmental crimes. In FY 2024, the Agency requests $75.1 million and 296 FTE, an increase of $4.4 million and 26.7 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted, to support the Criminal Enforcement Program by targeting investigations on the most egregious environmental cases. Superfund Enforcement In FY 2024, the Superfund Enforcement program will transition from using annual appropriations to funding activities and staff through Superfund tax receipts. Resources are expected to be at an equivalent level. The Program will continue to facilitate prompt site cleanup. EPA uses an "enforcement first" approach before turning to taxpayer dollars to fund cleanups, by maximizing Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) involvement at Superfund sites. The Superfund Enforcement Program works to ensure that viable and liable PRPs pay to clean up sites and seeks to recover costs if EPA expends Superfund dollars to clean up sites. These enforcement efforts allow the Trust Fund to be used at those sites that have no funding source other than government resources and have no other means of cleanup. Thus, Superfund enforcement efforts ensure that Superfund sites are cleaned up in a timely manner in addition to getting more sites cleaned up than would be possible using only government funds. With the availability of Superfund tax receipts in FY 2024, EPA plans to use these resources to support traditional Superfund Enforcement efforts and to place greater emphasis towards implementing Agency initiatives like Environmental Justice, PFAS, and Lead. In addition, EPA will ensure we provide DOJ essential funding to support Agency efforts, complete negotiations quicker, provide additional training, and provide greater regional support towards PRP searches and other counseling work. Objective 3.2: Detect Violations and Promote Compliance - Ensure high levels of compliance with federal environmental laws and regulations through effective compliance tools - including inspections, other monitoring activities, and technical assistance supported by evidence and advanced technologies. The FY 2024 Budget includes $318.5 million and 909.5 FTE for Objective 3.2. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, send 75% of EPA inspection reports to facilities within 70 days of inspection.20 20 For comparison, 46% of inspection reports were sent within 70 days of inspection at the end of FY 2018. 58 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews • By September 30, 2026, conduct 55% of annual EPA inspections at facilities that affect communities with potential environmental justice concerns.21 Compliance Monitoring Effectively focusing compliance monitoring, including inspections in overburdened and underserved communities with environmental justice concerns, plays a critical role in achieving the goals EPA has set forth for protecting human health and the environment. Achieving high rates of compliance with environmental laws and regulations requires the use of a wide range of compliance tools, including compliance monitoring. Through its ongoing process of selecting National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives in collaboration with tribes, states, and territories, EPA will focus its work on critical areas of noncompliance. In FY 2024, EPA will advance its efforts to address climate change mitigation and adaptation issues through directing of inspections, compliance monitoring, and technical assistance to sources with the most potential for noncompliant emissions of greenhouse gases. EPA will continue to emphasize the importance of providing facilities with a completed inspection report in a timely manner notifying the facility of any potential compliance issues. In FY 2024, EPA is requesting a total of $3.3 million and 3.0 FTE to expand software solutions for field inspectors to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of compliance inspections conducted by EPA and authorized states. Smart Tools software allows EPA to use its compliance monitoring resources more efficiently and to make inspection reports more available to regulated entities and to the public in affected communities. In FY 2024, EPA is requesting a total of $3.1 million and 1.0 FTE to support the Agency's Compliance Advisor Program (previously called Circuit Riders Program), which reduces noncompliance at small public water systems (PWSs) and small wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs) by providing hands-on technical assistance. To date, Compliance Advisors have provided support to approximately 199 small PWSs and 63 WWTFs in under-resourced communities nationwide. Hundreds more small systems and facilities across the Nation need technical support to help them achieve and stay in compliance and provide clean and safe water to the communities they serve. In FY 2024, EPA will continue its implementation of the Evidence Act by continuing its work on the "Drinking Water Systems Out of Compliance" learning priority area of EPA's Learning Agenda. EPA also will expand its ongoing work with tribes, states, and academic experts to develop and implement OECA's compliance learning agenda: prioritizing the most pressing programmatic questions; conducting evidence-based studies to address these questions; and identifying effective and innovative approaches for improving compliance. In FY 2024, EPA will continue the data system modernization effort to better support tribes, states, local governments, federal partners, and the public's need for information with modernized technology and it will implement EPA's enterprise-wide Digital Strategy with shared IT services. For example, EPA is requesting an increase of $22.9 million and 5.0 FTE to modernize the Agency's enforcement and compliance assurance data systems. These resources will complement those provided to EPA under the Inflation Reduction Act that are targeted for improving 21 The baseline for this measure is 27% based on average of FY 2017 - FY 2019. 59 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews enforcement technology, inspection software, and other related purposes. Modernization will facilitate EPA's efforts to better target noncompliance that impacts overburdened and vulnerable communities and will increase the availability of information about environmental conditions in those communities and elsewhere. Through the State Review Framework, EPA periodically reviews authorized state compliance monitoring and enforcement programs for Clean Air Act (CAA) Stationary Sources, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Hazardous Waste facilities, and the Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) dischargers. This review is conducted using criteria agreed upon by states to evaluate performance against national compliance monitoring or enforcement program standards. When states do not achieve standards, the Agency works with them to make progress. However, EPA may take a lead implementation role when authorized states have a documented history of failure to make progress toward meeting national standards. In total, EPA provides $165.3 million and 520.4 FTE to detect violations and promote compliance with environmental laws, an increase of $50.9 million and 41.5 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted budget. Categorical Grants: Pesticides Enforcement In FY 2024, EPA is requesting a total of $25.6 million funding cooperative agreements to support state and tribal compliance and enforcement activities under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The resources will be used to rebuild programmatic capabilities between EPA and partner agencies; provide vital training programs to EPA, state, territory, and tribal partners; and help address environmental justice concerns in overburdened and vulnerable communities. Categorical Grants: Toxic Substances Compliance In FY 2024, EPA is requesting a total of $6.9 million to continue focusing on compliance monitoring programs to prevent or eliminate unreasonable risks to health or the environment associated with chemical substances such as asbestos, lead-based paint, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and to encourage states to establish their own compliance and enforcement programs for lead-based paint and asbestos. 60 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews Goal 4: Ensure Clean and Healthy Air for All Communities Protect human health and the environment from the harmful effects of air pollution. Introduction All people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income deserve to breathe clean air outside and indoors, and it is especially important to protect the health of vulnerable and sensitive populations including children and persons adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality. Numerous scientific studies have linked air pollution and specific pollutants to a variety of health problems and environmental impacts. Long-term exposure to elevated levels of certain air pollutants is associated with increased risk of cancer, premature mortality, and damage to the immune, neurological, reproductive, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems. Levels of harmful air pollutants have continued to decline even as the economy has grown significantly over the long term. Between 1970 and 2021, the combined emissions of six key pollutants dropped by 78 percent, while the U.S. economy remained strong - growing 292 percent over the same period.22 Yet poor air quality still affects millions of people across the country, affecting near- and long- term health and quality of life. EPA will continue to build on its historic progress and work to assure clean air for all Americans, with a particular focus on those in underserved and overburdened communities. In FY 2024, EPA will work to ensure clean and healthy air for all communities by reducing emissions of ozone-forming pollutants, particulate matter, and air toxics. In the FY 2024 Budget, EPA is requesting an investment of $132.5 million and 33 FTE to modernize the Nation's air quality and radiation monitors and to make their supporting information systems more reliable and resilient in emergencies, such as wildfires and radiation events, and better able to produce near real-time data to assess and communicate exposure risks to vulnerable populations. EPA also will work to address high-risk indoor air quality pollutants in homes, schools, and workplaces. The Agency will rely on proven approaches including innovative market-based techniques, public and private-sector partnerships, community-based approaches, regulatory and technical assistance programs that promote environmental stewardship, public education, and programs that encourage adoption of cost-effective technologies and practices. Understanding that many sources of air pollutants also are sources of greenhouse gases (GHG), the Agency will look to control strategies that can reduce both air pollution and mitigate the impacts of climate change. In the FY 2024 Budget, $1,402 billion and 2,207.0 FTE are allocated to Goal 4 to advance EPA efforts in protecting human health and the environment from the harmful effects of air pollution. Objective 4.1: Improve Air Quality and Reduce Localized Pollution and Health Impacts - Reduce air pollution on local, regional, and national scales to achieve healthy air quality for people and the environment. The FY 2024 Budget includes $1,242 billion and 1,833.2 FTE for Objective 4.1. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, reduce ozone season emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from electric power generation sources by 21% from the 2019 baseline of 390,354 tons. 22 For additional information, please visit: https://gispub.epa.gov/air/trendsreport/2022/ 61 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews • By September 30, 2026, improve measured air quality in counties not meeting the current National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) from the 2016 baseline by 10%. • By September 30, 2026, strive to ensure all people with low socio-economic status (SES) live in areas where the air quality meets the current fine particle pollution (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). • By September 30, 2026, ensure U.S. consumption of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) is less than 76.2 tons per year of ozone depletion potential.23 In FY 2024, EPA will work collaboratively with tribal and state air agencies to maintain and improve the Nation's air quality. EPA will focus particularly on advancing environmental justice by engaging with local communities that have been historically underserved on key activities including technical assistance, regulation development, and financial assistance. In FY 2024, $366.7 million and 1079.7 FTE are allocated to the Federal Support for Air Quality Management Program to implement climate and clean air regulations and programs, which is an increase of $207.6 million and 200.4 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted. This includes resources for activities such as supporting the NAAQS review and implementation work, taking timely action on State Implementation Plans (SIPs) to reduce the SIP backlog, and environmental justice activities. This also includes additional resources for modernizing the Nation's ambient air monitoring network and for supporting community-scale monitoring. Taking into account the most current research findings on health effects and changing conditions from a warming climate, EPA will continue to review the NAAQS and make revisions, as appropriate. Specifically, the President directed EPA to review the 2020 Particulate Matter (PM) NAAQS and the 2020 Ozone NAAQS.24 EPA will work to improve air quality in areas not in attainment with the NAAQS, including assisting tribes and states in developing Clean Air Act- compliant SIPs. EPA will continue reviewing regional haze SIPs, working closely with states to improve visibility in the country's national parks and wilderness areas. EPA will reduce air pollution by focusing on the transportation sector's largest contributors to criteria pollutant and GHG emissions: light-duty vehicles (LDVs) and heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs). EPA will continue to work to ensure that Clean Air Act requirements are met for new transportation projects with heavy-duty diesel traffic, such that they do not worsen air quality near communities with environmental justice concerns. The Agency will collaborate with a broad range of stakeholders to develop targeted, sector-based, and place-based strategies for diesel fleets, including school buses, ports, and other goods movement facilities. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to operate nationwide and multi-state programs, such as the Acid Rain Program (ARP) and the Cross-State Air Pollution Rules (CSAPR), that address major global, national, and regional air pollutants from the power sector and other large stationary sources. EPA also will work on several regulatory actions related to criteria air pollutants, air toxics, and GHG pollution from power plants. EPA has made significant progress in reducing emissions from power plants through the ARP and CSAPR. Together, as of2021, the Programs delivered a 94% reduction 23 The U.S. HCFC consumption baseline is 15,240 ODP-weighted metric tons effective as of January 1, 1996. 24 Executive Order 13990: Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis (January 20,2021): https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-protecting- public-health-and-environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-climate-crisis/. 62 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews of sulfur dioxide and a 85% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions from 1990 levels. For FY 2021, there has been 100% compliance for power plants in the ARP and CSARP allowance trading programs.25 As part of a forward-looking air toxics strategy, EPA will address regulatory and emerging issues and improve access to air toxics data. The Agency will continue implementing an approach that develops and shares air toxics data faster and more regularly to the public, allowing for increased transparency and the ability to see trends and risks over time. By 2024, EPA will continue reporting the most current air toxics data each year in the annual Air Trends Report and an online interactive tool, instead of the previous three to four-year cycle for reporting air toxics data, and providing that data at an increased spatial resolution. EPA will continue to protect and restore the stratospheric ozone layer by reducing the use, emission, import, and production of ozone-depleting substances in the U.S. By 2026, U.S. consumption of HCFCs, chemicals that deplete the Earth's protective ozone layer, will be less than 76.2 tons per year of ozone depletion potential compared to the 2015-2019 target of 1,520 tons per year. As a result of global action to phase out ozone-depleting substances, the ozone layer is expected to recover to its pre-1980 levels by mid-century. As a Party to the Montreal Protocol, the U.S. must incrementally decrease HCFC consumption and production, culminating in a complete HCFC phaseout in 2030. These reductions in consumption and production help protect the stratospheric ozone layer, which shields all life on Earth from harmful solar ultraviolent (UV) radiation. Scientific evidence demonstrates that ozone depleting substances used around the world destroy the stratospheric ozone layer, which raises the incidence of skin cancer, cataracts, and other illnesses through overexposure to increased levels of UV radiation. Under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, EPA will continue to phase down the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons, review and list alternatives that are safer for the ozone layer, as well as facilitate the transition to next-generation technologies. EPA also will seek to address air quality challenges presented by wildfires. Wildfire smoke can make up approximately 30 percent of total PM2.5 emissions in some regions of the U.S., aggravating heart and lung disease and causing premature death. In FY 2024, EPA requests additional resources for air monitoring and will continue to support work that will identify, predict, and communicate where smoke events are occuring, especially for overburdened and underserved communities impacted by wildfire issues. EPA also requests $7 million for Wildfire Smoke Preparedness Grants, a competitive grant funding to be awarded to tribes, states, public pre- schools, local educational agencies, and non-profit organizations to better prepare buildings for wildfire smoke. The Agency will continue to develop and make available the necessary technical data and tools to support air quality planning and environmental justice analyses, such as AirNow, the Air Quality System, and the National Emissions Inventory. The Agency also will develop new and enhanced applications of environmental justice analytics to inform how power sector rules can mitigate impacts on overburdened communities. This effort will include modeling of power sector emissions down to the county level as well as improved representation of fine particulate matter 25 For additional information, please visit: http://www3.epa.gov/airmarkets/progressreports/index.html. 63 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews that includes toxic heavy metals. EPA also will continue to test, evaluate, and refine draft tools for incorporating environmental justice considerations into EPA-issued permits and ensure opportunities for meaningful public involvement in the permit process. Early and meaningful dialogue between a permit applicant and a community is especially important in communities that have historically been underrepresented in the permitting process or that potentially bear a disproportionate burden of an area's pollution to promote environmental justice. Providing specific information about the pollution and related health impacts of a permit action may alleviate community's concerns about the facility or educate the public about other sources of exposure. Objective 4.2: Reduce Exposure to Radiation and Improve Indoor Air - Limit unnecessary radiation exposure and achieve healthier indoor air quality, especially for vulnerable populations. The FY 2024 Budget includes $160.1 million and 373.7 FTE for Objective 4.2. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goal in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, prevent 2,250 lung cancer deaths annually through lower radon exposure as compared to the FY 2020 baseline of 1,684 prevented lung cancer deaths. To improve indoor air and reduce exposure to radiation, EPA leads programs that educate the public about radiation and indoor air quality concerns, including radon, asthma triggers, and poor ventilation. These programs promote public action to reduce potential risks in homes, schools, and workplaces. Because Americans spend most of their time indoors, where pollutant levels are often significantly higher than outdoors, poor indoor air quality is a major health concern. For example, radon is a leading cause of lung cancer, responsible for 21,000 lung cancer deaths annually. Nearly 24 million Americans have asthma, and low-income, communities of color suffer disproportionately. Indoor allergens and irritants play a significant role in making asthma worse and triggering asthma attacks. These concerns have been heightened during the past two years of the COVID pandemic, when people have had to spend more time indoors, elevating the importance of effective ventilation. To better address these human health risks from indoor air and radiation, the FY 2024 Budget includes $5.3 million with 12.4 FTE for the Indoor Air Radon Program and $47.6 million with 71.4 FTE for the Reducing Risks from Indoor Air Program. EPA will continue programs to reduce exposures to radon through home testing and mitigation, promote in-home asthma management, improve air quality in homes and schools, and build capacity for tribes and communities across the country to comprehensively address indoor air risks. In-home asthma management is a critical component of asthma care, particularly in low-income populations. EPA, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through the Federal Asthma Disparities Action Plan, will support state Medicaid Programs and private health plans to pay for in-home asthma interventions through reimbursement mechanisms26. In addition, EPA will reduce asthma disparities for low-income people and communities of color by supporting public health and housing organizations to train community health workers to deliver in-home asthma interventions 26 For more information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/asthma/coordinated-federal-action-plan-reduce-racial-and-ethiiic- a sthma-di spari ties 64 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews and care. In FY 2024, EPA is measuring delivery of technical assistance, tools, and grants to equip community-based programs and the organizations that support them to deliver evidence-based, comprehensive asthma care. In FY 2024, EPA will collaborate with public and private sector organizations to provide clear and verifiable protocols and specifications for promoting good indoor air quality and support adoption of these protocols and specifications into existing healthy, energy efficiency, and green building programs and initiatives to promote healthy buildings for a changing climate. EPA also will equip the housing sector with guidance to promote the adoption of these best practices with the aim of creating healthier, more energy efficient homes, including for low-income families. EPA also will equip school leaders to make science-based decisions and implement sustainable ventilation, filtration and other indoor air quality improvements for healthy school environments. To reduce the high public health risks from exposure to indoor radon, EPA will co-lead the National Radon Action Plan, a multisector public-private coalition committed to eliminating avoidable radon- induced lung cancer in the U.S. and addressing radon as a health equity challenge. EPA will continue to provide State Indoor Radon Grant funding and technical assistance to tribes and states, with a focus on increasing access to testing and mitigation in underserved communities. This work supports the Administration's Cancer Moonshot Initiative. EPA responds to radiological emergencies; conducts essential national and regional radiological response planning and training; and develops response plans for radiological incidents or accidents. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to fill gaps in the expertise that is critical for essential preparedness work, restoring critical capacity to meet EPA's core mission. EPA will maintain personnel expertise, capabilities, and equipment readiness of the radiological emergency response program under the National Response Framework and the National Contingency Plan, including the Agency's Radiological Emergency Response Team. EPA also is requesting additional funding of $1.7 million and 3.4 FTE in the FY 2024 Budget to supports efforts to restore EPA's staff expertise, analysis, and capacity in the Indoor Air Radon Program in order to better lead the federal government's response to radon and to implement the Agency's own multi-pronged radon program. EPA will provide oversight of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, including review of the U.S. Department of Energy's plans for additional waste panels and surplus plutonium disposal, to ensure safe long-term disposal of radioactive waste and the continued cleanup of nuclear weapons program legacy sites. 65 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews 66 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews Goal 5: Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities Provide clean and safe water for all communities and protect our Nation's waterbodies from degradation. Introduction Clean and safe water is a vital resource essential to the protection of human health and is a foundation for supporting healthy communities and a thriving economy. The United States has made great progress over the past 50 years protecting and restoring water resources through legislation such as the Clean Water Act (CWA), Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), and Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA). As of January 2023, approximately 85 percent of the public water systems (e.g., 2,988 out of 3,508) with health-based violations as of the end of FY 2017 have returned to compliance. While progress is being made to bring systems into compliance, it is clear that the Nation still faces significant barriers and challenges to ensuring access to clean and safe water for communities. This is particularly the case regarding safe and clean water, as well as impacts from aging infrastructure, legacy lead pipes, cybersecurity threats, climate change, and emerging contaminants of concern. These challenges are distributed unequally, and tens of thousands of homes, primarily in tribal communities and the territories, currently lack access to basic sanitation and drinking water and experience higher pollution levels. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to work with its tribal, federal, state, and nongovernmental partners to advance science, to provide clean and safe water for all communities, and to protect our Nation's waterbodies from degradation. The FY 2024 Budget includes $6,373 billion and 3,271.5 FTE for Goal 5, Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities. This investment will complement resources provided in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) and expand the Agency's capacity to protect human health and the environment across the Nation. Objective 5.1: Ensure Safe Drinking Water and Reliable Water Infrastructure - Protect public health from the risk of exposure to regulated and emerging contaminants in drinking and source waters by improving the reliability, accessibility, and resilience of the Nation's water infrastructure to reduce the impacts of climate change, structural deterioration, and cyber threats. The FY 2024 Budget includes $4,620 billion and 1,391.7 FTE for Objective 5.1. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, reduce the number of community water systems still in noncompliance with health-based standards since March 31, 2021, from 752 to 500.27 • By September 30, 2026, reduce the number of community water systems in Indian Country still in noncompliance with health-based standards since March 31, 2021, from 110 to 70. • By September 30, 2026, leverage an additional $45 billion in non-federal dollars through EPA's water infrastructure finance programs (CWSRF, DWSRF, and WIFIA).28 27 This baseline is a subset of the 3,508 systems, including systems in Indian Country, that have been in long-term noncompliance since September 30, 2017. Technical assistance provided will focus on non-compliant water systems in underserved communities. 28 EPA will ensure a focus on climate resiliency and equity by revising loan guidelines, program guidance, and providing technical assistance. 67 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews • By September 30,2026, in coordination with other federal agencies, provide access to basic sanitation for an additional 36,500 American Indian and Alaska Native homes. • By September 30, 2026, provide 2,203 tribal, small, rural, or underserved communities with technical, managerial, or financial assistance to improve operations of their drinking water or wastewater systems. Safe and Reliable Water Providing safe and reliable drinking water and wastewater treatment for all communities is a priority for EPA. Aging infrastructure, climate change, cyber threats, and contaminants such as lead and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are creating new stresses on the Nation's water systems. In FY 2024, EPA will work to address these challenges through approximately $4 billion in water infrastructure spending. This includes $1,639 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Program, $1,126 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Program, and $80.4 million for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Program. Also included is approximately $1.2 billion for grant programs authorized in the America's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2016, and the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 (DWWIA). Among these resources, $219 million is dedicated to two grant programs for reducing lead in drinking water and lead testing in schools, an increase of $163 million over the 2023 enacted level. As of February 2023, EPA had issued 100 WIFIA loans to communities across the country totaling over $17 billion in credit assistance to help finance more than $36 billion for water infrastructure projects. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to use the SRF and WIFIA investments to improve the reliability, accessibility, and resilience of the Nation's water infrastructure. These programs are critical tools for EPA to accelerate water infrastructure investments by leveraging public and private sources of funds, which will maximize the reach of federal funds. To increase access to these funds, EPA will provide training and technical assistance to help disadvantaged communities identify needs, develop projects, apply for funding, design and implement projects, build capacity, and create training and career pathways. In addition, working collaboratively with the state and tribal partners, EPA's SRF programs will make progress toward Justice40, which aims to ensure that federal agencies deliver at least 40 percent of overall benefits of relevant federal investments to overburdened and underserved communities. In FY 2024, EPA requests $150 million and 554 FTEto support Drinking Water Programs to better protect communities, especially overburdened and underserved communities. This includes efforts to finalize the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) regulation, which aims to strengthen the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) issued in 2021 to more proactively replace lead service lines and more equitably protect public health. EPA released Guidance for Developing and Maintaining a Service Line Inventory29 in 2022 to support water systems in their efforts to develop lead service line inventories and to provide states with needed information for oversight and reporting to EPA. The guidance provides essential information to help water systems comply with the LCRR requirement to prepare and maintain an inventory of service line materials by October 16, 2024. 29 For additional information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/system/fLles/documents/2022- 08/Inventory%20Guidance_August%202022 508%20compliant.pdf. 68 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews Resources will support the Agency's efforts to reduce public health and environmental threats from PFAS by finalizing the new drinking water standards in FY 2024. An additional $42.8 million and 22 FTE is requested to advance EPA's PFAS Strategic Roadmap,30 which will allow EPA to accelerate its efforts to develop various methods and tools to support, states, tribes, and localities in managing PFAS risks, particularly in small and underserved communities. EPA will continue the development of the Drinking Water State-Federal-Tribal Information Exchange System and support state migration to the Compliance Monitoring Data Portal, which enables drinking water utilities and laboratories to report drinking water data electronically. EPA also will continue to coordinate and support protection of the Nation's critical water infrastructure from terrorist threats and all-hazard events, including cyberattacks. Cyberattacks can compromise the ability of water and wastewater utilities to provide clean and safe water to customers, erode customer confidence, and result in financial and legal liabilities. In FY 2024, EPA will leverage its role as the lead federal agency for cybersecurity in the water sector and work with government partners to close vulnerabilities and mitigate risks to cyberthreats. EPA requests $25 million for a grant program to help water systems establish and build the necessary cybersecurity infrastructure to address rising threats. EPA also requests $19.4 million and 25 FTE to implement regulatory action to mitigate the risk of cyberattacks in the water sector as well as increase the Agency's ability to respond to incidents. EPA will continue to provide practical tools, training, and technical assistance to increase resilience to extreme weather events (e.g., drought, flooding, wildfires, hurricanes), malevolent acts (e.g., cyberattacks), and climate change. In FY 2022, almost 4,000 drinking water and wastewater systems and water sector partners received training and technical assistance. The Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 (DWWIA) authorized a suite of water programs to help better address drinking water and wastewater issues across the country. Implementation of DWWIA will strengthen the federal government's ability to invest in water infrastructure in communities in every state, so that all residents of the United States can obtain and maintain access to safe drinking water and our Nation's waterways can remain clean and free from pollution. DWWIA strengthens many existing programs within EPA while creating new programs to upgrade aging infrastructure, invest in new technologies, and provide assistance to underserved communities. The FY 2024 Budget provides $1.2 billion funding for DWWIA at the full authorization level and represents a robust investment in America's drinking water infrastructure. Objective 5.2 Protect and Restore Waterbodies and Watersheds Address sources of water pollution and ensure water quality standards are protective of the health and needs of all people and ecosystems. The FY 2024 Budget includes $1,754 billion and 1,879.7 FTE for Objective 5.2. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goal in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: 30 The PFAS Strategic Roadmap may be found at: https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-strategic-roadmap-epas-commitments-action- 2021-2024. 69 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews • By September 30, 2026, increase by 41,000 square miles the area of watersheds with surface water meeting standards that previously did not meet standards.31 Clean Waterbodies and Watersheds Pollution and degradation of lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands endanger aquatic ecosystems, threaten the safety of drinking water, compromise water quality planning and flood protections, impact commercial and recreational opportunities, and reduce the natural benefits these resources provide to communities. Climate change is often the root cause of emerging threats such as drought, sea level rise, and invasive species proliferation. To address these challenges, in FY 2024, EPA will use a suite of CWA core programs to protect and improve water quality and ecosystem health, including the development and implementation of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), alternative restoration plans, or other protection approaches for impaired waterbodies; development of national recommended water quality criteria; development of technology-based and water-quality based standards; and implementation of effluent and stormwater discharge permit programs. In FY 2024, funding will support the Agency's work assisting local communities, particularly underserved communities, in their efforts to restore and protect the quality of their waters. In addition to strengthening its programs, EPA plans to promulgate and update several rules to support clean and safe water. In FY 2024, EPA will seek to complete a rulemaking to establish more protective nutrient limits on wastewater discharges from meat and poultry product facilities. The Agency also will produce effluent limitation guidelines for chemical manufacturers and metal finishing and electroplating companies to address PFAS, for steam electric power generators to address toxics and other pollutants, and for meat and poultry products to address nutrient discharges. The Agency will finalize rules related to improving CWA protections on tribal reservations and consider tribal treaty rights when acting on state Water Quality Standards (WQS) that impact those rights. EPA also will work collaboratively with public and private sector stakeholders to establish innovative, location-appropriate programs to protect and improve water quality. Additionally, the FY 2024 Budget request would continue to fund the Clean Water Act Research, Investigations, Training, and Information grant authorized by DWWIA in support of Objective 5.2. Ensuring Clean Water Through Partnerships, Including with Tribes and States EPA will work with partners and local communities to better safeguard human health and maintain, restore, and improve water quality. In FY 2024, EPA requests $493.3 million for ongoing categorical grants that support tribal and state implementation of the CWA. This request includes an increase of $42.4 million above the FY 2023 enacted for the Section 106 Grants Program, which funds actions to identify, assess and mitigate PFAS in the environment and supports programs for the prevention and control of surface and groundwater pollution from point and nonpoint sources In FY 2022, over 20 thousand square miles of watersheds that previously were not meeting water quality standards, now meet standards. 31 The FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan included a draft July 2021 baseline: 425,198 square miles of watersheds with surface water meeting standards and 652,609 square miles of watersheds with surface water not meeting standards. As of July 2022, the final baseline is 504,605 square miles of watersheds with surface water not meeting standards. 70 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews EPA plays an important role as a convener and facilitator with federal, tribal, state, territorial and local partners to align resources and authorities within regional, watershed, and basin-scaled collaborative networks. In FY 2024, EPA will invest $682 million and 175.4 FTE in Geographic Programs, funding equal to the current FY 2023 enacted levels, to maintain, restore, and improve water quality for all communities to enjoy. More specifically, EPA's Geographic Programs will deliver technical and financial assistance to solve problems and support healthy climate resilient ecosystems that address water quality, water infrastructure, nutrient pollution, habitat loss, treaty rights, equity, and environmental justice. 71 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews 72 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews Goal 6: Safeguard and Revitalize Communities Restore land to safe and productive uses to improve communities and protect public health. Introduction EPA collaborates with tribal, state, and local partners to benefit all communities across the United States by cleaning up, addressing health and environmental risks and then returning contaminated sites to productive use, through the Superfund, brownfields, underground storage tanks, and RCRA programs. Cleaning up contaminated land contributes toward the Administration's Justice40 goal, an initiative initially announced in Executive Order (EO) 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad?2 and amplified through Equity Plans under E.O. 13985 that outline specific actions to ensure fair program implementation. Communities reuse previously contaminated sites in many ways, including parks, shopping centers, sports fields, wildlife habitat, manufacturing facilities, homes and infrastructure. These reuse outcomes can provide significant benefits for underserved and overburdened communities. EPA and its partners also work to prevent releases of contaminants, reduce waste by increasing materials recovery and recycling, and support sustainable materials management practices. Through prevention activities, EPA protects groundwater from releases from underground storage tanks. Through reduction and recycling activities, EPA not only prevents future contamination but supports a less wasteful circular economy. Additionally, EPA prepares for and responds to environmental emergencies as a mission essential function. A recent example is responding to the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. EPA On-Scene Coordinators and other personnel were boots-on-the ground since the onset of the incident, conducting air, water, and soil monitoring at the site and working alongside federal, state, and local partners with response efforts to ensure the health and safety of the residents. In FY 2024, EPA requests a total of $1.301 billion and 3,642.6 FTE to support Goal 6, Safeguard and Revitalize Communities. New in FY 2024, discretionary appropriated funding for certain CERCLA programs is not included here as it is transitioned to the Superfund Tax receipts account. Superfund results remain critical to achieving environmental and human health protections for the Nation. Objective 6.1: Clean Up and Restore Land for Productive Uses and Healthy Communities - Clean up and restore contaminated sites to protect human health and the environment and build vibrant communities, especially in underserved and overburdened areas. The FY 2024 Budget includes $542.5 million and 2,028.5 FTE for Objective 6.1.33 This objective directly supports the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, bring human exposures under control at an additional 60 Superfund sites. • By September 30, 2026, complete 225 Superfund cleanup projects that address lead as a contaminant. 32 Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (January 27, 2001), found at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefmg-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at- home-and-abroad/. 33 Included in Objective 6.1 are the Superfund Remedial and Emergency Response and Removal programs for which appropriated funding is not requested. EPA will transition to funding from Superfund tax receipts for these programs in FY 2024. 73 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews • By September 30, 2026, clean up an additional 650 brownfields properties. • By September 30, 2026, make an additional 425 RCRA corrective action cleanups Ready for Anticipated Use. • By September 30, 2026, conduct an additional 35,000 cleanups at Leaking Underground Storage Tank facilities. Nationally, there are thousands of contaminated sites with challenging and complex environmental problems, including soil, sediment, and groundwater contaminated by chemicals such as PFAS. Superfund cleanups also contribute to reducing lead exposure, a particular health risk for children. Recent research shows Superfund cleanup actions lowered the risk of elevated blood lead levels by roughly 13 to 26 percent for children living within 1.2 miles of a Superfund NPL site where lead is a contaminant of concern.34 While there is no single way to characterize communities located near contaminated sites, the legacy of pollution disproportionally affects communities of color, low-income communities, linguistically isolated populations, and populations with lower rates of high school education. For these reasons, the Superfund program is an important part of the Administration's Justice40 Initiative. By cleaning up and returning contaminated land to productive use, EPA and its partners will reduce the environmental and health effects of exposure to contamination in communities, especially for underserved and overburdened communities. In FY 2024, EPA proposes to transition from using annual appropriations to funding from Superfund tax receipts for a number of core Superfund programs, starting with continuing critical Superfund pre-construction work such as site characterization, construction/remedial design, and community outreach/engagement, through the implementation of remedial efforts to clean up the sites. This work will complement resources received through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (inA) to implement the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) which have provided resources to help eliminate lags in investigation and cleanup as well as foster climate change adaptations to protect at-risk populations. Federal data in a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report suggests that approximately 60 percent of Superfund sites overseen by EPA are in areas that are vulnerable to wildfires and different types of flooding - natural hazards that climate change will exacerbate. Nationwide, EPA will aim to control human exposures at 12 additional Superfund sites supporting the 2022-2026 long-term performance goal of 60 sites. To reduce exposure to lead and associated health impacts, EPA will complete at least 45 Superfund lead cleanup projects supporting the 2022-2026 long- term performance goal of 225 projects. In FY 2024, the Superfund Emergency Response and Removal Program also will transition to Superfund tax receipts. Situations requiring emergency response and removal actions vary greatly in size, nature, and location, and include chemical releases, fires or explosions, natural disasters, and other threats to people from exposure to hazardous substances including from abandoned and uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. EPA's 24-hour-a-day response capability is a cornerstone element of the National Contingency Plan.35 These resources also will help the EPA and Navajo 34 Details can be found at https://www.epa.gov/enviromiiental-economics/research-enviromiiental-economics-ncee-workiiig- paper-series. 35 For more information, please refer to: https://www.epa.gov/eiiiergeiicy-respoiise/iiatioiial-oil-aiid-hazardous-substaiices- pollution-contingency-plan-iicp-overview. 74 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews Nation to accelerate actions laid out in the 2020 Ten-Year Plan: Federal Actions to Address Impacts of Uranium Contamination on the Navajo Nation 36 Additionally, in FY 2024, EPA requests an increase of $11.2 million in funding above the FY 2023 enacted to continue oversight of Federal Facility Superfund site cleanups and to strive to keep pace with the growing number of PFAS cleanups at Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Energy, and other federal agency sites. EPA anticipates additional engagement on non-National Priorities List (NPL) federal facilities on the Federal Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket to address new information on PFAS at these sites and ensure appropriate assessment and referral of these sites to appropriate cleanup programs. Currently operating facilities or businesses also may have contamination requiring cleanup, performed under the RCRA Corrective Action program. Cleaning up these contaminated sites also serves as a catalyst for economic growth and community revitalization and can help to preserve existing business operations. The 2021 RCRA economic benefits analyses of 79 RCRA cleanups found that these cleaned up facilities support 1,028 on-site businesses, which provide economic benefits including: $39 billion in annual sales revenue; over 82,000 jobs; and $7.9 billion in estimated annual employment income.37 The FY 2024 Budget includes $41.7 million and 174.4 FTE to continue efforts to clean up 3,983 priority contaminated hazardous waste facilities under RCRA, which include highly contaminated and technically challenging sites, and assess others to determine whether cleanups are necessary. In FY 2022, EPA approved 124 RCRA corrective action facilities as ready for anticipated use (RAU), bringing the total number of RCRA RAU facilities to 1,922. In FY 2024, EPA will make an additional 85 sites RAU supporting the FY 2022- 2026 long-term performance goal of making 425 sites RAU. Under the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Program, EPA is requesting $79.7 million and 46.8 FTE, an increase of $14.7 million and 5.2 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted, for states and tribes to assess and clean up petroleum contamination, including in groundwater.38 EPA collaborates with states to develop and implement flexible, state-driven strategies to reduce the number of remaining LUST sites that have not reached cleanup completion. Through the cooperative efforts between EPA and states, the backlog was reduced by approximately 42 percent between the end of 2008 and October 2022 (from 102,798 to 59,890).39 Requested funds also will support additional tribal cleanup activities in fenceline communities that are immediately adjacent to oil and chemical facilities and UST who are vulnerable to environmental health hazards and climate risks at those facilities. In FY 2024, EPA requests $131.0 million for the Brownfields Projects Program that will build on current work to revitalize communities, especially those that are historically overburdened and underserved, by providing financial and technical assistance to assess, clean up, and plan reuse at brownfields sites. In FY 2022, EPA leveraged 14,170 jobs and $1.8 billion in cleanup and 36 https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-02/documents/miaum-ten-vear-plan-2021-01.pdf 37 For more information, please refer to: https://www.epa.gov/hw/redevelopment-economics-rcra-corrective-action-facilities 38 Almost half of the Nation's overall population and 99 percent of the population in rural areas rely on groundwater for drinking water. (See EPA 2000 Water Quality Inventory Report, https://archive.epa.gov/water/archive/web/html/20Q0report index.htmT). 39 For additional information, please see EPA website: http://www.epa.gov/ust/ust-performance-measures. 75 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews redevelopment funds and made 662 additional brownfields sites RAU. Activities undertaken in FY 2024 will leverage approximately 13,400 jobs and $2.6 billion in other funding sources.40 In FY 2024, EPA continues to request the $20 million first provided in the FY 2023 enacted budget to inventory and support the cleanup of contaminated lands in Alaska, many of which were contaminated while not under Alaska Native ownership. Contaminants on some of these lands - arsenic, asbestos, lead, mercury, pesticides, PCBs, and other petroleum products - pose health concerns to Alaskan Native communities, negatively impact subsistence resources, and hamper economic activity. Objective 6.2: Reduce Waste and Prevent Environmental Contamination - Prevent environmental pollution by preventing releases, reducing waste, increasing materials recovery and recycling, and ensuring sustainable materials management practices. The FY 2024 Budget includes $346.4 million and 695.4 FTE for Objective 6.2. This objective directly supports the following long-term performance goal in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, increase the percentage of updated permits at RCRA facilities to 80% from the FY 2021 baseline of 72.7%. Nationwide, EPA and its state partners strive to reach all permitting-related decisions in a timely manner for the approximately 6,700 hazardous waste units (e.g., incinerators, landfills, and tanks) located at 1,300 permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. The goal is to ensure that permits are updated to reflect the latest technology and standards and remain protective under changing conditions, such as climate change, and that communities, including those that are underserved and overburdened, have an equitable opportunity to engage in the permitting process over time. To measure progress, EPA has set an FY 2024 target of 110 permit renewals at hazardous waste facilities supporting the FY 2022-2026 long-term performance goal. The FY 2024 Budget supports building capacity to implement various aspects of the coal combustion residuals (CCR) program. The Agency has promulgated regulations specifying improved management and disposal practices to protect people and ecosystems. The Agency will continue to work with our stakeholders as we implement these regulations. In FY 2024, EPA will take action to ensure protective management of CCR through the implementation of existing regulations, promulgation of additional regulations to address legacy surface impoundments, and the launch of a federal permitting program. EPA will continue to work with states that wish to establish state CCR permit programs that meet EPA's baseline requirements. Through its National Recycling Strategy and efforts to advance a more circular economy, EPA is working to develop a stronger, more resilient, and cost-effective U.S. municipal solid waste recycling system.41 Recycling is an important part of a circular economy, which refers to a system 40 U.S. EPA, Office of Land and Emergency Management Estimate. All estimates of outputs and outcomes are supported by the data that is entered by cooperative agreement recipients via EPA's ACRES database. 41 For additional information, please refer to: https://www.epa.gov/recyclingstrategy/what-circular- economy#:~:text=EPA's%20circular%20economy%20for%20all,healthy%20communities%20are%20the%20goals. 76 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews of activities that is restorative to the environment, enables resources to maintain their highest values, designs out waste, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling helps alleviate burdens on populations that bear the brunt of poorly run waste management facilities. The FY 2024 Budget includes $10 million to continue efforts to strengthen the U.S. recycling system, address the global issue of plastic waste, engage communities, and prevent and reduce food loss and waste. EPA will work with recipients of the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) grants and Recycling Education and Outreach (REO) grants on their projects, which are funded primarily by the IIJA, as well as complete key studies, and identify additional actions needed to support a circular economy for all. To protect groundwater from releases of petroleum from underground storage tanks (UST), EPA works with its tribal and state partners on prevention. FY 2024 resources include $42.6 million and 61.8 FTE, an increase of $3.3 million and 5.5 FTE, for inspecting UST facilities to meet the three-year inspection requirement and assisting states in adopting prevention measures such as delivery prohibition, secondary containment, and operator training. EPA also will continue assessing the compatibility of UST systems with higher blends of ethanol, including El 5, in fenceline communities. These activities emphasize bringing UST systems into compliance with release detection and release prevention requirements and minimizing future releases. Due to the increased emphasis on inspections and release prevention requirements, the number of confirmed releases decreased from 6,847 in FY 2014 to 4,568 reported releases in FY 2022. Objective 6.3: Prepare for and Respond to Environmental Emergencies - Prevent, prepare, and respond to environmental emergencies and support other agencies on nationally significant incidents, working with Tribes, states, and local planning and response organizations. The FY 2024 Budget includes $412.1 million and 918.7 FTE to support Objective 6.3. This objective directly supports the following long-term performance goal in the FY2022 - 2026EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, ensure that 40% of annual emergency response and removal exercises that EPA conducts or participates in incorporate environmental justice. Environmental emergencies are growing in frequency, and the risks they pose are increasing. EPA strives to prevent such emergencies and be ready to respond to those that occur through the Agency's planning and preparedness efforts, in coordination with and through the support of partner organizations. EPA develops regulations and policies that aim to prevent environmental emergencies and enhance the ability of communities and facilities to prepare for and respond to emergencies that occur. EPA also prepares for the possibility of significant incidents by maintaining a trained corps of federal On-Scene Coordinators, Special Teams, and Response Support Corps, and by providing guidance and technical assistance to tribal, state, and local planning and response organizations to strengthen their preparedness. EPA carries out its responsibility under multiple statutory authorities and the National Response Framework, which provides the comprehensive federal structure for managing national emergencies. 77 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews In FY 2024, EPA will continue to chair the U.S. National Response Team42 and co-chair the 13 Regional Response Teams, which serve as multi-agency coordination groups supporting emergency responders when convened as incident specific teams. EPA will participate in the development of limited, scenario-specific exercises and regional drills designed to assess national emergency response management capabilities. To bring broader opportunity to participate in these key planning and preparation activities, EPA has set a long-term performance goal of ensuring that 40 percent of annual emergency response and removal exercises that EPA conducts or participates in incorporate environmental justice principles. Based upon higher-than-expected results in the measure's initial year, EPA anticipates meeting this goal ahead of schedule. EPA will inspect chemical facilities to prevent accidental releases. The objective is to ensure compliance with accident prevention and preparedness regulations at Risk Management Plan (RMP) and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)-regulated facilities and to work with chemical facilities to reduce chemical risks and improve safety to populations, especially in fenceline communities. There are approximately 12,000 chemical facilities that are subject to the RMP regulations. Of these, approximately 1,800 facilities have been designated as high-risk based upon their accident history, quantity of on-site dangerous chemicals stored, and proximity to large residential populations.43 EPA prioritizes inspections at high-risk facilities and will focus on those facilities located in communities with environmental justice concerns and communities with increased climate-related risks (e.g., extreme weather, flooding, wildfires). In addition, EPA is developing a regulatory action to revise the RMP regulations to incorporate consideration of communities with environmental justice concerns and those vulnerable to climate risks. In FY 2024, EPA will inspect oil facilities to ensure compliance with prevention and preparedness requirements. Inspections involve reviewing the facility's prevention, preparedness, and response plans and discussing key aspects of these plans with facility staff. EPA will increase inspections, enforcement, and compliance assistance at regulated facilities, focusing on high-risk facilities located in communities with environmental justice concerns and communities with increased climate-related risks. EPA also will conduct unannounced exercises at facilities subject to Facility Response Plan regulations, a subset of facilities identified as high risk due to their size and location, to test the facility owner's ability to put preparedness and response plans into action. 42 For additional information, please refer to: https://www.nrt.0rg/.https://ww.nrt.0rg/. 43 Located in the EPA RMP database. 78 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews Goal 7: Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment Increase the safety of chemicals and pesticides and prevent pollution at the source. Introduction EPA is responsible for ensuring the safety of chemicals and pesticides for the environment and people at all life stages, improving access to chemical safety information, and preventing pollution at the source before it occurs. The Agency focuses on assessing, preventing, and reducing releases and exposures resulting from the manufacture, processing, use, and disposal of chemicals and pesticides and advances the community's right-to-know about these releases and exposures. EPA works to protect the most vulnerable populations from unsafe exposures, especially children, the elderly, and those with environmental justice concerns (including low-income, minority and indigenous populations) who may already be disproportionately harmed by and at risk from other stressors. In addition, EPA works to ensure public access to chemical and pesticide data, analytical tools, and other sources of information and expertise, and promotes source reduction, integrated pest management, and other pollution prevention strategies by organizations and businesses. In total, the FY 2024 Budget includes $581.3 million and 1,954.0 FTE for Goal 7: Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment. In FY 2024, EPA's activities under this goal, as described below, will focus on evaluating, assessing, and managing risks from exposure to new and existing industrial chemicals; continuing to address lead-based paint risks; reviewing and registering new pesticides and new uses for existing pesticides; reducing occupational exposure to pesticides, particularly in disadvantaged communities; and addressing potential risks to threatened and endangered species from pesticides. In addition, EPA will continue working with tribes, state agencies, industry, and communities to implement voluntary efforts to prevent pollution at the source and continue to publish Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data on chemical releases from industrial facilities for public review and use. Objective 7.1: Ensure Chemical and Pesticide Safety - Protect the health of families, communities, and ecosystems from the risks posed by chemicals and pesticides. The FY 2024 Budget includes $470.7 million and 1,677. FTE for Objective 7.1. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, complete at least eight High Priority Substance (HPS) TSCA risk evaluations annually within statutory timelines compared to the FY 2020 baseline of one. • By September 30, 2026, initiate all TSCA risk management actions within 45 days of the completion of a final existing chemical risk evaluation. • By September 30, 2026, review 90% of risk management actions for past TSCA new chemical substances reported to the 2020 Chemical Data Reporting Rule (CDR) compared to the FY 2021 baseline of none.44 44 Changed from "By September 30, 2026, review 90% of risk mitigation requirements for past TSCA new chemical substances decisions compared to the FY 2021 baseline of none." 79 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews • By September 30, 2026, recertify before the expiration date 36% of lead-based paint Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) firms whose certifications are scheduled to expire compared to the FY 2021 baseline of 32%. • By September 30, 2026, complete 78 pesticide registration review cases with statutory due dates that fall after October 1, 2022. • By September 30, 2026, consider the effects determinations or protections of federally threatened and endangered species for all new active ingredients in 90% of the risk assessments supporting pesticide registration decisions for new active ingredients compared to the FY 2020 baseline of 50%. • By September 30, 2026, consider the effects determinations or protections of federally threatened and endangered species in 50% of the risk assessments supporting pesticide registration review decisions compared to the FY 2020 baseline of 27%. • By September 30, 2026, support Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) pesticide safety training for 20,000 farmworkers annually compared to the FY 2018-2020 annual average baseline of 11,000. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Under Section 5 of TSCA, EPA is responsible for reviewing all new chemical submissions before they enter commerce to determine whether the chemicals may pose unreasonable risks to human health or the environment.45 In FY 2024, EPA will conduct risk assessments and make affirmative determinations on risks for more than 500 new chemical notice and exemption submissions annually. Under TSCA Section 6,46 EPA has responsibility for prioritizing and evaluating at least 20 existing chemicals at a time, assessing additional chemicals at manufacturers' request, and managing identified unreasonable risks. In FY 2024, EPA will continue developing draft and final risk evaluations for High Priority Substances (HPS) and will develop risk management actions in response to unreasonable human health and environmental risks identified in nine of the first 10 risk evaluations. The FY 2024 Budget includes $131 million and 452 FTE for the EPM TSCA Program, an increase of $47.9 million and 112.5 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted. Increased funding for the TSCA Program is needed in FY 2024 to advance implementation of the law's requirements. While the Program received additional funding in FY 2023, the full request of $131 million is needed in FY 2024, else achieving the TSCA goals will be a challenge. Lead-Based Paint (LBP) Risk Reduction Also under TSCA, EPA's EPM Lead-Based Paint Risk Reduction Program contributes to the goal of reducing lead exposure and works toward addressing historic and persistent disproportionate 45 Actions under TSCA Section 5 may be found at: https://www.epa.gov/reviewiiig-new-chemicals-under-toxic-substances-control- act-tsca/actions-under-tsca-section-5. 46 Information regarding the regulation of Chemicals under Section 6(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act may be found at: https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/regulation-chemicals-under-section-6a-toxic-substances. 80 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews vulnerabilities of certain communities.47'48 With $14.4 million and 62.9 FTE included in the FY 2024 Budget, EPA will continue to reduce exposure to lead in paint and dust by establishing standards governing lead hazard identification and abatement practices; establishing and maintaining a national pool of certified firms and individuals; and providing information and outreach to housing occupants and the public so they can make informed decisions and take actions on lead hazards in their homes. Pesticide Programs In FY 2024, consistent with statutory responsibilities,49'50'51 EPA will continue to review and register new pesticides and new uses for existing pesticides, and other covered applications under the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act (PRIA). EPA also will act on other registration requests in accordance with Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) standards. Many of these registration actions will be for reduced-risk conventional pesticides and biopesticides, which, once registered and used by consumers, will increase benefits to society and reduce ecological impacts. Additionally, in FY 2024, EPA will continue to reevaluate existing chemicals in the marketplace on a 15-year cycle to ensure the FIFRA standard for registration continues to be met based on current science, including registration review actions subject to the October 1, 2026, deadline for completion. The Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS)52 and the Certification of Pesticide Applicators (CPA)53 revised rules (finalized in FY 2015 and FY 2017, respectively) are key elements of EPA's strategy for reducing occupational exposure to pesticides. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to support the implementation of the regulations through education and outreach, guidance development, and grant programs, with a particular focus on environmental justice issues in rural communities and the health of farmworkers and their families. Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),54 EPA is responsible for ensuring that pesticide regulatory decisions will not destroy or adversely modify designated critical habitat or jeopardize the continued existence of species listed as threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), referred to collectively as the 47 Childhood blood lead levels (BLL) have declined substantially since the 1970s, due largely to the phasing out of lead in gasoline and to the reduction in the number of homes with lead-based paint hazards. The median concentration of lead in the blood of children aged 1 to 5 years dropped from 15 micrograms per deciliter in 1976-1980 to 0.7 micrograms per deciliter in 2013-2014, a decrease of 95%. See., America's Children and the Environment (EPA, 2019), found at: https://www.epa.gov/americaschildrenenvironment. 48 Among children ages 1 to 5 years in families with incomes below poverty level, the 95th percentile blood lead level (BLL) was 3.0 ng/dL, and among those in families at or above the poverty level, it was 2.1 (ig/dL, a difference that was statistically significant. See. America's Children and the Environment (EPA, 2019), found at: https://www.epa.gov/americaschildrenenvironment. 49 Summary of Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act: https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-federal- insecticide-fungicide-and-rodenticide-act. 50 Summary of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act: https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-federal-food-drug-and- cosmetic-act. 51 Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of2018 (PRIA 4): https: //www, epa. go v/pria-fees. 52 Agricultural Worker Protection Standard: https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-worker-safety/agricultural-worker-protection- standard-wps. 53 Revised Certification Standards for Pesticide Applicators: https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-worker-safety/revised-certification- standards-pesticide-applicators. 54 For additional information on the Endangered Species Protection Program, see: https://www.epa.gov/eiidaiigered- species/about-endangered-species-protection-program. 81 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews Services. This presents a great challenge given that there are approximately 1,200 active ingredients in more than 17,000 pesticide products—many of which have multiple uses. Endangered species risk assessments are extraordinarily complex, national in scope, and involve comprehensive evaluations that consider risks to over 1,700 listed endangered species and 800 designated critical habitats in the U.S. with diverse biological attributes, habitat requirements, and geographic ranges. In April 2022, EPA released a workplan outlining priorities for coming into compliance with ESA across the numerous types of actions it completes each year as well as the development of several pilots to begin to develop more programmatic approaches for ESA compliance.55 EPA prioritized meeting its ESA obligations for all conventional new active ingredient applications whereby all new active ingredient registrations will only be registered under conditions that comply with ESA. EPA also prioritized ESA determinations in response to litigation commitments and court decisions (the ESA workplan includes a list of the FY 2024 litigation commitments regarding ESA determinations and implementations of biological opinions from the Services). The increase EPA received in the FY 2023 enacted budget serves as initial funding to support EPA efforts in meeting these specific workplan commitments. In November 2022, EPA released a workplan update that announced the incorporation of a focus on FIFRA interim ecological mitigations for non-target and ESA listed species, including listed species, that EPA plans to incorporate into registration review and additional initiatives to make even faster progress on some of our ESA goals.56 The FY 2024 Budget requests $75.4 million and 222 FTE for the EPM Pesticide: Protect the Environment from Pesticide Risk Program, an increase of $26.7 million and 22.5 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted level. Of this increased funding, $24.8 million and 20.0 FTE will support the ESA compliance work. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to develop and improve existing processes to allow EPA to protect listed species earlier in the regulatory and consultation processes and pursue other major improvements to its ESA compliance work in coordination with the Services. Objective 7.2: Promote Pollution Prevention - Encourage the adoption of pollution prevention and other stewardship practices that conserve natural resources, mitigate climate change, and promote environmental sustainability. The FY 2024 Budget includes $111 million and 277 FTE for Objective 7.2. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, reduce a total of 6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTC02e) released attributed to EPA pollution prevention grants. • By September 30, 2026, EPA's Safer Choice Program will certify a total of 2,300 products compared to the FY 2021 baseline of 1,892 total certified products. 55 For additional information, see: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-04/balancing-wildlife-protection-and- responsible-pesticide-use finat.pdf". 56 For additional information, see: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-l 1Vesa-woitolan-update.pdf". 82 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews Pollution Prevention EPA's implementation of the Pollution Prevention (P2) Program under the Pollution Prevention Act of 199057 is one of EPA's primary tools for advancing environmental stewardship and sustainability by federal, tribal, and state governments, businesses, communities, and individuals. These practices focus on reducing the amount of any hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant entering a waste stream or released into the environment prior to recycling of discarded material, treatment, or disposal, as well as conserving the use of natural resources. P2 grants - a key element of the P2 Program - contributed to the elimination of 18.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gases between 2011 and 2020.58 In FY 2024, EPA will continue its work to prevent pollution at the source by awarding targeted P2 grants to tribes, states, and local governments, encouraging the use of products certified by EPA as safer for the environment, encouraging federal procurement of environmentally preferable products, and enhancing the use of TRI data to help prevent pollution and support the Administration's environmental justice priorities. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to focus on carrying out sector-focused P2 National Emphasis Areas59 and enabling the replication and leveraging of business successes supported by the $5 million P2 grants awarded annually. The Agency will deliver training on green chemistry and engineering solutions to companies, consumers, and communities. EPA also will deliver training and conduct outreach for communities overburdened with pollution, as well as tribal, state, and local governments to help with product and service procurement choices that are environmentally sound and promote human and environmental health. The additional Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding for the Program for FY 2022 to 2026 will significantly increase results and the generation of information on P2 approaches that other businesses can replicate, particularly in disadvantaged communities In FY 2024, EPA plans to complete the process of updating and strengthening the standards of the Safer Choice (SC) Program,60 which advances chemical safety by increasing the availability and identification of products containing ingredients that meet stringent health and environmental criteria, through a notice and comment process after consultation with stakeholders. The Agency will conduct outreach with federal, tribal, state, and local government procurement officials and institutional and industrial purchasers to communicate the benefits of SC and other environmentally preferable products, and work to make SC-certified products more widely available to disadvantaged communities. EPA will continue to partner with organizations serving disadvantaged communities with environmental concerns to help custodial staff and house cleaning companies fight occupational exposure-related conditions (e.g., asthma) and gain access to certified products. EPA also will update the Safer Chemical Ingredients List to enhance transparency and facilitate expansion of safer chemical choices and products, including increasing the number and volume of SC-certified products.61 The FY 2024 Budget includes $29 million and 69.2 FTE to support the P2 Program in the EPM appropriation, an increase of $16 million and 18 FTE above the FY 2023 enacted budget. A portion 57 Summary of the Pollution Prevention Act: https://www.epa.gov/kws-regulations/summarv-pollution-prevention-act. 58 For additional information, see: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2021-07/p2flier 2021 O.pdf. 59 P2 National Emphasis Areas may be found at: https://www.epa.gov/p2/p2-national-emphasis-areas-neas. 60 For additional information on Safer Choice, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice. 61 The Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL) may be found at: https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/safer-ingredients. 83 ------- Goal and Objective Overviews of this increase will fund a new P2 grant program to support small businesses with transitioning to TSCA compliant practices and mitigate economic impacts. EPA's P2 Program has supported work by P2 grantees, over several years, to work with businesses and industry to identify technically and economically feasible alternatives to toxic chemicals, including some that are the focus of current TSCA risk evaluation and management (e.g., halogenated solvents used in a variety of industries such as degreasing in metal fabrication). Additionally, pollution prevention reporting under the TRI Program collects information on facility-level P2 practices associated with reductions in use and release of toxic chemicals. In FY 2024, EPA will evaluate and integrate P2 case studies and best practices relevant to TSCA risk management by small businesses, clarify technical and economic factors associated with such transitions, and develop and deploy pilot programs to leverage training and ongoing support for small businesses expected to be making transitions in response to TSCA risk management. Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) The TRI Program provides data to support partnerships between community groups and companies that has reduced toxic pollution.62 With the FY 2024 request of $14 million and 37 FTE for the TRI/Right to Know Program, EPA will continue research on tools that can quickly and accurately identify disadvantaged communities near TRI facilities, which would support prioritization of P2 initiatives. In addition, in FY 2024, EPA will continue to publish the TRI and use analyses of toxic chemical releases from industrial facilities located near disadvantaged communities with environmental concerns to identify and develop sector specific P2 case studies, best practices, outreach, and training. This will help facilitate adoption of P2 practices in the facilities and in the communities themselves. 62 For additional information, please visit the TRI for Communities webpage: https://www.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri- program/tri-for-communities. 84 ------- Appendix 85 ------- ------- Program Project by Program Area U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FY 2024 Congressional Justification and Annual Performance Plan PROGRAM PROJECTS BY PROGRAM AREA (Dollars in Thousands) Science & Technology n 2M22 I imil WliiaK M 2023 I lKK ll lI Ojirrjling I'hill n 21124 riv.iiinir« liudgrl n 2024 riv-iiiciir- iiiniiii-1 \. 1^ 2023 liuilid <>|HT;iliiiU I'hill Qean Air and Climate Clean Air Allowance Trading Programs Climate Protection Federal Support for Air Quality Management Federal Vehicle and Fuels Standards and Certification Subtotal, Clean Air and Climate $8,360 $6,723 $8,494 $101,348 $124,925 $7,117 $8,750 $11,343 $117,341 $144,551 $19,983 $10,724 $10,666 $179,617 $220,990 $12,866 $1,974 -$677 $62,276 $76,439 Indoor Air and Radiation Indoor Air: Radon Program Radiation: Protection Radiation: Response Preparedness Reduce Risks from Indoor Air Subtotal, Indoor Air and Radiation $116 $2,224 $2,928 $136 $5,404 $199 $1,683 $3,596 $278 $5,756 $173 $2,349 $4,686 $183 $7,391 -$26 $666 $1,090 -$95 $1,635 Enforcement Forensics Support $14,815 $15,532 $18,657 $3,125 Homeland Security Homeland Security: Critical Infrastructure Protection Homeland Security: Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Homeland Security: Protection of EPA Personnel and Infrastructure Subtotal, Homeland Security $9,941 $24,536 $501 $34,978 $10,852 $25,347 $625 $36,824 $34,205 $39,539 $501 $74,245 $23,353 $14,192 -$124 $37,421 IT / Data Management / Security IT / Data Management $2,799 $3,197 $3,313 $116 Operations and Administration Facilities Infrastructure and Operations !,347 $67,500 $72,043 $4,543 Pesticides Licensing Pesticides: Protect Human Health from Pesticide Risk Pesticides: Protect the Environment from Pesticide Risk Pesticides: Realize the Value of Pesticide Availability $2,854 $2,487 $941 $2,894 $2,334 $925 $4,031 $2,339 $1,002 $1,137 $5 $77 87 ------- Program Project by Program Area Subtotal, Pesticides Licensing Research: Air, Climate and Energy Research: Air, Climate and Energy Research: Safe and Sustainable Water Resources Research: Safe and Sustainable Water Resources Research: Sustainable Communities Research: Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research: Chemical Safety for Sustainability Health and Environmental Risk Assessment Research: Chemical Safety for Sustainability Endocrine Disruptors Computational Toxicology Research: Chemical Safety for Sustainability (other activities) Subtotal, Research: Chemical Safety for Sustainability Subtotal, Research: Chemical Safety for Sustainability Ensure Safe Water Drinking Water Programs Congressional Priorities (previously named Clean and Safe Water Technical Assistance Grants) Congressional Priorities Total, Science & Technology n 21124 1^ 2M22 liml M 2H2.? l-'.iwclrd I'lr-idi-iH"- WluaK Ojicrjling I'liin liudgcl $6,282 $6,153 $7,372 $93,402 $100,448 $137,835 $113,427 $116,141 $123,555 $133,808 $137,857 $146,642 $38,740 $39,918 $44,942 $16,325 $16,353 $17,530 $21,349 $21,606 $23,128 $54,679 $54,591 $63,220 $92,353 $92,550 $103,878 $131,092 $132,468 $148,820 $4,177 $5,098 $6,975 $7,492 $30,751 $0 $740,947 $802,276 $967,838 Environmental Programs & Management dean Air and Climate Clean Air Allowance Trading Programs Climate Protection Federal Stationary Source Regulations Federal Support for Air Quality Management Stratospheric Ozone: Domestic Programs Stratospheric Ozone: Multilateral Fund Subtotal, Clean Air and Climate Indoor Air and Radiation Indoor Air: Radon Program $15,423 $16,554 $30,535 $100,267 $101,000 $170,512 $26,821 $30,344 $47,468 $148,894 $147,704 $356,016 $7,937 $6,951 $72,152 $8,326 $9,244 $18,000 $307,667 $311,797 $694,683 $2,966 $3,364 $5,113 n 2024 I'lv-idi-iil"- liudgcl \. M 2023 liuilid <>|HT;iliiig I'l;m $1,219 $37,387 $7,414 $8,785 $5,024 $1,177 $1,522 $8,629 $11,328 $16,352 $1,877 -$30,751 $165,562 $13,981 $69,512 $17,124 $208,312 $65,201 $8,756 $382,886 $1,749 88 ------- Program Project by Program Area n 21124 n 2M22 1 inal WluaK 1^ 2023 liuilid OprialiiiU I'lan I'lv-idi-nl"- liiidurl Radiation: Protection $8,244 $9,088 $11,638 Radiation: Response Preparedness $2,658 $2,650 $3,143 Reduce Risks from Indoor Air $12,611 $13,593 $47,389 Subtotal, Indoor Air and Radiation $26,479 $28,695 $67,283 Brownfields Brownfields $23,716 $26,189 $38,626 Compliance Compliance Monitoring $108,996 $112,730 $162,105 Environmental Justice Environmental Justice $20,455 $102,159 $369,106 Enforcement Civil Enforcement $179,062 $205,942 $242,585 Criminal Enforcement $55,343 $62,704 $66,487 NEPA Implementation $17,177 $20,611 $25,760 Subtotal, Enforcement $251,582 $289,257 $334,832 Geographic Programs Geographic Program: Chesapeake Bay $90,309 $92,000 $92,094 Geographic Program: Gulf of Mexico $21,194 $25,524 $25,558 Geographic Program: Lake Champlain $19,096 $25,000 $25,000 Geographic Program: Long Island Sound $29,758 $40,002 $40,005 Geographic Program: Other Lake Pontchartrain $1,899 $2,200 $2,200 S. New England Estuary (SNEE) $6,017 $7,000 $7,078 Geographic Program: Other (other activities) $4,881 $5,000 $4,934 Subtotal, Geographic Program: Other $12,797 $14,200 $14,212 Great Lakes Restoration $349,157 $368,000 $368,154 Geographic Program: South Florida $6,917 $8,500 $8,503 Geographic Program: San Francisco Bay $2,631 $54,500 $54,505 Geographic Program: Puget Sound $34,746 $54,000 $54,022 Subtotal, Geographic Programs $566,606 $681,726 $682,053 Homeland Security Homeland Security: Communication and Information $4,054 $4,692 $6,051 Homeland Security: Critical Infrastructure Protection $873 $923 $1,023 Homeland Security: Protection of EPA Personnel and Infrastructure $4,903 $5,188 $5,158 n 2024 riv-iiiciir- iiiniiii-1 \. 1^ 2023 liuilid Opcraling I'hin $2,550 $493 $33,796 $38,588 $12,437 $49,375 $266,947 $36,643 $3,783 $5,149 $45,575 $94 $34 $0 $3 $0 $78 -$66 $12 $154 $3 $5 $22 $327 $1,359 $100 -$30 89 ------- Program Project by Program Area Subtotal, Homeland Security n 2M22 liml WluaK $9,830 1^ 2023 r.nailril Ojirrjling I'hill $10,803 n 2024 I'lv-iili-iil"- liudgrl $12,232 Cross Agency Coordination, Outreach and Education (previously named Information Exchange / Outreach) State and Local Prevention and Preparedness TRI / Right to Know Tribal - Capacity Building Executive Management and Operations Environmental Education Exchange Network Small Minority Business Assistance Small Business Ombudsman Children and Other Sensitive Populations: Agency Coordination Subtotal, Cross Agency Coordination, Outreach and Education International Programs US Mexico Border International Sources of Pollution Trade and Governance Subtotal, International Programs IT / Data Management / Security Information Security IT / Data Management Subtotal, IT / Data Management / Security Legal / Science / Regulatory / Economic Review Integrated Environmental Strategies Administrative Law Alternative Dispute Resolution Civil Rights Program Legal Advice: Environmental Program Legal Advice: Support Program Regional Science and Technology (proposed to be moved to Operations and Administration) Science Advisory Board Regulatory/Economic-Management and Analysis Subtotal, Legal / Science / Regulatory / Economic Review Operations and Administration Central Planning, Budgeting, and Finance $14,957 $15,446 $23,884 $13,064 $15,052 $14,018 $13,735 $14,715 $34,674 $55,872 $56,160 $67,600 $8,303 $9,500 $23,972 $13,016 $14,995 $14,685 $2,564 $2,056 $1,996 $1,564 $2,250 $2,227 $6,098 $6,362 $6,500 $129,173 $136,536 $189,556 $2,886 $2,993 $5,088 $7,220 $7,323 $26,044 $6,252 $5,510 $7,153 $16,358 $15,826 $38,285 $10,450 $9,142 $23,889 $90,029 $91,821 $105,868 $100,480 $100,963 $129,757 $10,534 $11,297 $71,722 $5,022 $5,395 $6,116 $1,196 $972 $2,194 $10,061 $12,866 $31,462 $63,795 $60,061 $85,252 $18,246 $18,957 $20,322 $1,345 $1,554 $0 $3,854 $4,155 $4,124 $16,725 $17,475 $16,930 $130,778 $132,732 $238,122 $82,781 $87,099 $99,812 n 2024 I'lv-idi-in"- liiidiicl >¦ M 2023 liuilid ()|H'i':iling I'hill $1,429 $8,438 -$1,034 $19,959 $11,440 $14,472 -$310 -$60 -$23 $138 $53,020 $2,095 $18,721 $1,643 $22,459 $14,747 $14,047 $28,794 $60,425 $721 $1,222 $18,596 $25,191 $1,365 -$1,554 -$31 -$545 $105,390 $12,713 90 ------- Program Project by Program Area Facilities Infrastructure and Operations Acquisition Management Human Resources Management Financial Assistance Grants / IAG Management Regional Science and Technology (proposed to be moved from LSRE) Subtotal, Operations and Administration Pesticides Licensing Science Policy and Biotechnology Pesticides: Protect Fluman Flealth from Pesticide Risk Pesticides: Protect the Environment from Pesticide Risk Pesticides: Realize the Value of Pesticide Availability Subtotal, Pesticides Licensing Research: Chemical Safety for Sustainabillty Research: Chemical Safety for Sustainability Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) RCRA: Corrective Action RCRA: Waste Management RCRA: Waste Minimization & Recycling Subtotal, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Toxics Risk Review and Prevention Endocrine E)isruptors Pollution Prevention Program Toxic Substances: Chemical Risk Management Toxic Substances: Chemical Risk Review and Reduction Toxic Substances: Lead Risk Reduction Program Subtotal, Toxics Risk Review and Prevention Underground Storage Tanks (LUST / UST) LUST / UST Protecting Estuaries and Wetlands National Estuary Program / Coastal Waterways Wetlands Subtotal, Protecting Estuaries and Wetlands Ensure Safe Water n 21124 1^ 2M22 liml M 2H2.? I'.iiiiclril I'lv-idi-nl- WluaK Ojicrjling I'liin liinlgcl $291,501 $283,330 $305,753 $36,051 $37,251 $41,609 $56,709 $51,261 $71,093 $29,070 $30,188 $34,350 $0 $0 $4,972 $496,113 $489,129 $557,589 $1,185 $1,811 $1,627 $65,333 $62,125 $65,529 $43,688 $48,704 $75,391 $7,022 $7,637 $8,234 $117,227 $120,277 $150,781 $178 $0 $0 $43,061 $40,512 $41,669 $77,838 $75,958 $90,634 $12,603 $10,252 $12,668 $133,502 $126,722 $144,971 $6,629 $7,614 $7,680 $11,988 $12,987 $29,009 $2 $0 $0 $85,218 $82,822 $130,711 $12,404 $14,359 $14,437 $116,242 $117,782 $181,837 $11,807 $12,021 $14,451 $33,958 $40,000 $32,514 $21,103 $21,754 $26,671 $55,061 $61,754 $59,185 n 2024 I'lv-idi-iil"- liinliii-1 \. M 2023 liuilid <>|HT;iliiig I'l;m $22,423 $4,358 $19,832 $4,162 $4,972 $68,460 -$184 $3,404 $26,687 $597 $30,504 $0 $1,157 $14,676 $2,416 $18,249 $66 $16,022 $0 $47,889 $78 $64,055 $2,430 -$7,486 $4,917 -$2,569 91 ------- Program Project by Program Area Beach / Fish Programs Drinking Water Programs Subtotal, Ensure Safe Water n 2M22 HiijI WluaK $1,209 $117,205 $118,414 1^ 2023 I lKK ll lI Oprraling I'hill $2,246 $121,607 $123,853 n 21124 I'lv-iiii-iir- liudgrl $2,381 $142,583 $144,964 n 2024 I'lv-iili-in"- liinliii-1 \. 1^ 2023 liuilid Operating I'hill $135 $20,976 $21,111 Ensure Clean Water Marine Pollution Surface Water Protection Subtotal, Ensure Clean Water $8,699 $217,125 $225,825 $10,187 $224,492 $234,679 $12,624 $267,969 $280,593 $2,437 $43,477 $45,914 Congressional Priorities (previously named Clean and Safe Water Technical Assistance Grants) Congressional Priorities Total, Environmental Programs & Management $21,700 $30,700 $0 -$30,700 $2,988,189 $3,266,330 $4,491,011 $1,224,681 Environmental Programs & Management - No Year Alaska Contaminated Lands Alaska Contaminated Lands $0 $20,000 $20,000 $0 Total, Environmental Programs & Management - No Year $0 $20,000 $20,000 $0 Inspector General Audits, Evaluations, and Investigations Audits, Evaluations, and Investigations Total, Inspector General $48,605 $48,605 $44,030 $44,030 $64,526 $64,526 $20,496 $20,496 Building and Facilities Homeland Security Homeland Security: Protection of EPA Personnel and Infrastructure $7,049 $6,676 $6,676 $0 Operations and Administration Facilities Infrastructure and Operations Total, Building and Facilities $24,681 $31,730 $42,076 $48,752 $105,009 $111,685 $62,933 $62,933 Hazardous Substance Superfund Indoor Air and Radiation Radiation: Protection $2,011 $2,472 $3,010 $538 92 ------- Program Project by Program Area Audits, Evaluations, and Investigations Audits, Evaluations, and Investigations Compliance Compliance Monitoring Enforcement Criminal Enforcement Forensics Support Superfiind: Enforcement Superfiind: Federal Facilities Enforcement Subtotal, Enforcement n 2M22 liml WluaK $8,706 1^ 2023 I lKK ll lI Operaling I'hill $11,800 $1,278 $8,149 $1,676 $169,444 $7,263 $186,532 $1,017 $7,999 $1,240 $171,347 $8,192 $188,778 n 21124 I'lr-idi-iH"* liudgrl $13,847 $1,032 $8,644 $1,648 $0 $10,366 $20,658 n 2024 I'lv-idi-in"- liinliii-1 \. 1^ 2023 liuilid Opcraling I'hill $2,047 $15 $645 $408 -$171,347 $2,174 -$168,120 Environmental Justice Environmental Justice $1,065 $5,876 $5,888 $12 Homeland Security Flomeland Security: Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Flomeland Security: Protection of EPA Personnel and Infrastructure Subtotal, Homeland Security Information Exchange / Outreach Exchange Network IT / Data Management / Security Information Security IT / Data Management Subtotal, IT / Data Management / Security Legal / Science / Regulatory / Economic Review Alternative E)ispute Resolution Legal Advice: Environmental Program Subtotal, Legal / Science / Regulatory / Economic Review $35,026 $1,201 $36,226 $1,137 $1,209 $16,075 $17,284 $698 $475 $1,173 $34,661 $1,029 $35,690 $1,328 $1,062 $19,764 $20,826 $791 $599 $1,390 $56,484 $1,530 $58,014 $1,328 $7,859 $17,727 $25,586 $477 $1,357 $21,823 $501 $22,324 $0 $6,797 -$2,037 $4,760 $89 -$122 -$33 Operations and Administration Central Planning, Budgeting, and Finance Facilities Infrastructure and Operations Acquisition Management Human Resources Management Financial Assistance Grants / IAG Management Subtotal, Operations and Administration $29,102 $76,108 $23,550 $7,253 $4,188 $140,202 $31,338 $65,634 $27,247 $7,419 $4,002 $135,640 $30,207 $71,540 $33,758 $8,751 $4,601 $148,857 -$1,131 $5,906 $6,511 $1,332 $599 $13,217 93 ------- Program Project by Program Area Research: Sustainable Communities Research: Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research: Chemical Safety for Sustainabillty Health and Environmental Risk Assessment Research: Chemical Safety for Sustainability Subtotal, Research: Chemical Safety for Sustainabillty Superfund Cleanup Superfiind: Emergency Response and Removal Superfund: EPA Emergency Preparedness Superfund: Federal Facilities Superfund: Remedial Subtotal, Superfund Cleanup n 2M22 liniil WluaK $16,562 $9,405 $2,579 $11,984 $239,807 $9,071 $23,911 $552,089 $824,879 1^ 2023 I lKK ll lI Oprraling I'hin $16,937 $4,901 $8,060 $12,961 $195,000 $8,056 $26,189 $618,740 $847,985 n 21124 I'lr-idi-iH"* liudgrl $17,364 $5,005 $8,060 $13,065 $0 $8,445 $37,405 $0 $45,850 Total, Hazardous Substance Superfund $1,249,039 $1,282,700 $355,856 Leaking Underground Storage Tanks Enforcement Civil Enforcement $631 $661 $682 Operations and Administration Central Planning, Budgeting, and Finance Facilities Infrastructure and Operations Acquisition Management Subtotal, Operations and Administration Underground Storage Tanks (LUST / UST) LUST / UST LUST Cooperative Agreements LUST Prevention Subtotal, Underground Storage Tanks (LUST / UST) Research: Sustainable Communities Research: Sustainable and Healthy Communities Total, Leaking Underground Storage Tanks Inland Oil Spill Programs Compliance $360 $457 $469 $922 $754 $727 $158 $181 $136 $1,440 $1,392 $1,332 $9,707 $9,991 $14,665 $50,294 $55,040 $65,040 $22,045 $25,780 $26,669 $82,045 $90,811 $106,374 $312 $341 $351 $84,427 $93,205 $108,739 n 2024 I'lv-idi-in"- liiidiicl >¦ M 2023 liuilid Operating I'hill $427 $104 $0 $104 -$195,000 $389 $11,216 -$618,740 -$802,135 -$926,844 $21 $12 -$27 -$45 -$60 $4,674 $10,000 $889 $15,563 $10 $15,534 94 ------- Program Project by Program Area Compliance Monitoring Underground Storage Tanks (LUST / UST) LUST / UST Enforcement Civil Enforcement Oil Oil Spill: Prevention, Preparedness and Response Operations and Administration Facilities Infrastructure and Operations Research: Sustainable Communities Research: Sustainable and Healthy Communities Total, Inland Oil Spill Programs n 2M22 liml WluaK $278 -$1 M 202.i I lKK ll lI Opcl'jlillg I'hill $649 $0 $2,660 $17,136 $854 $782 $21,709 $2,565 $17,501 $682 $675 $22,072 n 2024 I'lv-idi-nl"- liudgcl $2,152 $0 n 2024 I'lv-idi-iil"- liiidiicl >¦ M 202.> liuilid Opcialiiig I'hill $1,503 $0 $2,665 $21,412 $641 $681 $27,551 $100 $3,911 -$41 $6 $5,479 State and Tribal Assistance Grants State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG) Infrastructure Assistance: Alaska Native Villages Brownfields Projects Infrastructure Assistance: Clean Water SRF Infrastructure Assistance: Drinking Water SRF Infrastructure Assistance: Mexico Border Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant Program Targeted Airshed Grants San Juan Watershed Monitoring Safe Water for Small & Disadvantaged Communities Reducing Lead in Drinking Water Lead Testing in Schools Drinking Water Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Technical Assistance for Wastewater Treatment Works Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Grants Water Infrastructure Workforce Investment Technical Assistance and Grants for Emergencies (SDWA) Technical Assistance and Grants for Emergencies, Small Systems Source Water Petition Program $39,605 $83,758 $1,018,013 $638,343 $28,711 $48,628 $59,000 $1,578 $23,173 $387 $14,431 $0 $12,000 $44,935 $3,322 $0 $0 $0 $39,686 $100,000 $1,638,861 $1,126,101 $36,386 $100,000 $69,927 $0 $30,158 $25,011 $30,500 $7,000 $27,000 $50,000 $6,000 $0 $0 $0 $40,000 $130,982 $1,638,874 $1,126,105 $36,386 $150,000 $69,927 $0 $80,005 $182,004 $36,500 $25,000 $18,000 $280,011 $17,711 $35,022 $15,000 $5,000 $314 $30,982 $13 $4 $0 $50,000 $0 $0 $49,847 $156,993 $6,000 $18,000 -$9,000 $230,011 $11,711 $35,022 $15,000 $5,000 95 ------- Program Project by Program Area Voluntary Connections to Public Water Systems Underserved Communities Grant to Meet SDWA Requirements Small System Water Loss Identification and Prevention Midsize and Large Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Indian Reservation Drinking Water Program Advanced Drinking Water Technologies Clean Water Act Research, Investigations, Training, and Information Wastewater Efficiency Grant Pilot Program Clean Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Program Small and Medium Publicly Owned Treatment Works Circuit Rider Program Grants for Low and Moderate income Household Decentralized Wastewater Systems Connection to Publicly Owned Treatment Works Water Data Sharing Pilot Program Storm water Infrastructure Technology Storm water Control Infrastructure Project Grants Alternative Water Sources Grants Pilot Program Enhanced Aquifer Use and Recharge Water Sector Cybersecurity Recycling Infrastructure Wildfire Smoke Preparedness Subtotal, State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG) n 2M22 liniil WluaK $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $2,015,882 1^ 2023 I lKK ll lI Ojicralinu I'hill $0 $0 $0 $5,000 $4,000 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $3,000 $0 $0 $4,000 $0 $6,500 $7,000 $3,316,130 n 2024 I'lv-iili-iil"- liud^il $20,004 $50,030 $50,019 $50,022 $50,017 $10,000 $75,033 $20,004 $25,011 $10,000 $50,022 $40,020 $15,000 $5,000 $10,000 $25,009 $5,000 $25,000 $10,000 $7,000 $4,438,718 n 2024 I'lv-iili-in"- liinliii-1 \. M 2023 liuilid ()|H'ialinu I'hill $20,004 $50,030 $50,019 $45,022 $46,017 $10,000 $75,033 $20,004 $25,011 $10,000 $50,022 $40,020 $15,000 $2,000 $10,000 $25,009 $1,000 $25,000 $3,500 $0 $1,122,588 Categorical Grants Categorical Grant: Nonpoint Source (Sec. 319) Categorical Grant: Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) Categorical Grant: State and Local Air Quality Management Categorical Grant: Radon Categorical Grant: Pollution Control (Sec. 106) Monitoring Grants Categorical Grant: Pollution Control (Sec. 106) (other activities) Subtotal, Categorical Grant: Pollution Control (Sec. 106) Categorical Grant: Wetlands Program Development Categorical Grant: Underground Injection Control (UIC) $169,189 $110,742 $226,481 $8,007 $18,585 $206,719 $225,304 $17,353 $11,825 $182,000 $121,500 $249,038 $10,995 $18,512 $218,488 $237,000 $14,692 $13,164 $188,999 $132,566 $400,198 $12,487 $26,515 $252,925 $279,440 $15,079 $11,387 $6,999 $11,066 $151,160 $1,492 $8,003 $34,437 $42,440 $387 -$1,777 96 ------- Program Project by Program Area n 2024 I'lv-iili-in"- I \ 2024 liinl»cl\. n 2022 final WluaK 1^ 2023 I ikk Ii iI Ojirialinu I'lan I'lr-idi-iH"- liiidurl 1^ 2023 Funded ()|Hi;ilin^ 1 'hin Categorical Grant: Pesticides Program Implementation $14,102 $14,027 $14,027 $0 Categorical Grant: Lead $14,813 $16,326 $24,639 $8,313 Resource Recovery and Hazardous Waste Grants $98,146 $105,000 $108,247 $3,247 Categorical Grant: Pesticides Enforcement $23,091 $25,580 $25,580 $0 Categorical Grant: Pollution Prevention $2,757 $4,973 $5,775 $802 Categorical Grant: Toxics Substances Compliance $4,768 $5,010 $6,877 $1,867 Categorical Grant: Tribal General Assistance Program $67,520 $74,750 $85,009 $10,259 Categorical Grant: Underground Storage Tanks $1,475 $1,505 $1,505 $0 Categorical Grant: Tribal Air Quality Management $14,543 $16,415 $23,126 $6,711 Categorical Grant: Environmental Information $3,586 $10,836 $15,000 $4,164 Categorical Grant: Beaches Protection $9,368 $10,619 $9,811 -$808 Categorical Grant: Brownfields $47,278 $47,195 $46,954 -$241 Categorical Grant: Multipurpose Grants $2,509 $0 $10,200 $10,200 Subtotal, Categorical Grants $1,072,856 $1,160,625 $1,416,906 $256,281 Congressional Priorities (previously named Clean and Safe Water Technical Assistance Grants) Congressionally Mandated Projects $148 $16,973 $0 -$16,973 Total, State and Tribal Assistance Grants $3,088,886 $4,493,728 $5,855,624 $1,361,896 Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) RCRA: Waste Management $12,482 $0 $0 $0 Operations and Administration Central Planning, Budgeting, and Finance $149 $0 $0 $0 Total, Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund $12,631 $0 $0 $0 Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Fund Ensure Clean Water Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation $154,098 $75,640 $80,443 $4,803 Total, Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Fund $31,620 $75,640 $80,443 $4,803 Subtotal, EPA $8,420,261 $10,148,733 $12,083,273 $1,934,540 Cancellation of Funds $0 -$13,300 $0 $13,300 97 ------- Program Project by Program Area n 2M24 I'lv-iili-in"- I \ 2024 liinl»cl\. 1^ 21122 l iiml M 2M2.i I'.iiiKlril I'lr-itlrnr- 1^ 202.? Iiuilid WlihiK Ojirriilinu I'hui liutlii.i l ()|H i;iliii^ I'hin TOTAL, EPA $8,420,261 $10,135,433 $12,083,273 $1,947,840 *For ease of comparison, Superfund transfer resources for the audit and research functions are shown in the Superfund account. **In addition to annual appropriated resources, the agency expects to receive an estimated $2.5 billion in Superfund tax receipts in FY 2024 not reflected here. These additional government revenues will support continued Superfund cleanup and enforcement. ***Note that the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Program is funded from fee collections. 98 ------- Agency Resources by Appropriation Summary of Agency Resources by Appropriation (Dollars in Thousands) Appropriation FY 2022 Actuals FY 2023 Enacted FY 2024 Pres. Bud. Delta FY 2024 PB - FY 2023 ENA Science & Technology (S&T) $740,947 $802,276 $967,838 $165,562 Environmental Program & Management (EPM) $2,988,189 $3,286,330 $4,511,011 $1,224,681 Inspector General (IG) $48,605 $44,030 $64,526 $20,496 Building and Facilities (B&F) $31,730 $48,752 $111,685 $62,933 Inland Oil Spill programs (Oil) $21,709 $22,072 $27,551 $5,479 Hazardous Substance Superfund (SF) Total $1,249,039 $1,282,700 $355,856 ($926,844) -Siiperfnnd Program $1,209,986 $1,239,293 $310,081 ($929,212) -Inspector General Transfer $8, 706 $11,800 $13,847 $2,047 -Science & Technology Transfer $30,347 $31,607 $31,928 $321 Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUST) $84,427 $93,205 $108,739 $15,534 State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG) Total $3,088,886 $4,493,728 $5,855,624 $1,361,896 -Categorical Grants $1,072,856 $1,160,625 $1,416,906 $256,281 -All other STAG $2,016,030 $3,333,103 $4,438,718 $1,105,615 Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Fund $154,098 $75,640 $80,443 $4,803 (WIFIA) Cancellations $0 ($13,300) $0 $13,300 Agency Total $8,420,261 $10,135,433 $12,083,273 $1,947,840 99 ------- 100 ------- Categorical Program Grants Categorical Program Grants By National Program and Media (Dollars in Thousands) Delta % Change NPM / Grant FY 2022 Actuals FY 2023 Enacted FY 2024 Pres Bud FY 2024 PB - FY 2023 Enacted FY 2024 PB-FY 2023 Enacted Air and Radiation State and Local Air Quality Management Tribal Air Quality Management $226,481 $249,038 $400,198 $151,160 60.70% $14,543 $16,415 $23,126 $6,711 40.88% Radon $8,007 $10,995 $12,487 $1,492 13.57% $249,031 $276,448 $435,811 $159,363 57.65% Water Pollution Control (Sec. 106) $225,304 $237,000 $279,440 $42,440 17.91% Beaches Protection $9,368 $10,619 $9,811 ($808) -7.61% Nonpoint Source (Sec. 319) $169,189 $182,000 $188,999 $6,999 3.85% Wetlands Program Development $17,353 $14,692 $15,079 $387 2.63% $421,214 $444,311 $493,329 $49,018 11.03% Drinking Water Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) Underground Injection Control (UIC) $110,742 $121,500 $132,566 $11,066 9.11% $11,825 $13,164 $11,387 ($1,777) -13.50% $122,567 $134,664 $143,953 $9,289 6.90% Hazardous Waste Resource Recovery and Hazardous Waste Grants (formerly Hazardous Waste $98,146 $105,000 $108,247 $3,247 3.09% Financial Assistance) Brownfields $47,278 $47,195 $46,954 ($241) -0.51% Underground Storage Tanks $1,475 $1,505 $1,505 $0 0.00% $146,899 $153,700 $156,706 $3,006 1.96% Pesticides and Toxics Pesticides Program Implementation $14,102 $14,027 $14,027 $0 0.00% Lead $14,813 $16,326 $24,639 $8,313 50.92% Toxics Substances Compliance $4,768 $5,010 $6,877 $1,867 37.27% Pesticides Enforcement $23,091 $25,580 $25,580 $0 0.00% $56,774 $60,943 $71,123 $10,180 16.70%. Multimedia Enviromnental Information $3,586 $10,836 $15,000 $4,164 38.43% Multipurpose Grants $2,509 $0 $10,200 $10,200 N/A Pollution Prevention $2,757 $4,973 $5,775 $802 16.13% Tribal General Assistance Program $67,520 $74,750 $85,009 $10,259 13.72% $76,371 $90,559 $115,984 $25,425 28.08%. Total Categorical Grants $1,072,856 $1,160,625 $1,416,906 $256,281 22.08% 101 ------- 102 ------- Categorical Grants Overview Categorical Grants (Dollars in Millions) $1,400 $1,200 - $1,000 - $800 $600 $400 $200 $0 - Categorical Grants In FY 2024, EPA requests a total of $1,417 billion for categorical program grants for tribal governments, states, interstate organizations, non-profit organizations, and inter-tribal consortia. This represents a $256 million, or 22 percent, increase above the FY 2023 enacted level in order to directly support EPA partners. As evidenced in the above chart, categorical grant funding at the EPA has been relatively flat over the last decade, while costs for EPA's partners have increased. The FY 2024 budget invests in additional categorical grant funding to support our co- implementing partners absorb these costs and advance progress across core environmental programs. The Agency will continue to pursue its strategy of building and supporting tribal, state, and local capacity to implement, operate, and enforce the Nation's environmental laws. Most environmental laws were designed with a decentralized nationwide structure to protect public health and the environment. In this way, environmental goals will ultimately be achieved through the collective actions, programs, and commitments of tribal, state, and local governments, organizations, and citizens. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to offer flexibility to tribal and state governments to manage their environmental programs as well as provide technical and financial assistance to achieve mutual environmental goals. First, EPA and its tribal and state partners will continue implementing the National Environmental Performance Partnership System (NEPPS). NEPPS is designed to provide states the flexibility to operate their programs, while continuing to emphasize measuring and reporting of environmental results. Second, Performance Partnership Grants (PPGs) will continue $1,417 2015 EN 2016 EN 2017 EN 2018 EN 2019 EN 2020 EN 2021 EN 2022 EN 2023 EN 2024 PB Note: EN - Enacted, PB - President's Budget 103 ------- Categorical Grants Overview to provide tribes and states the funding flexibility to combine categorical program grants to address environmental priorities and, in some cases, to reduce administrative burden. HIGHLIGHTS: State and Local Air Quality Management & Tribal Air Quality Management The FY 2024 President's Budget requests $423.3 million for grants to support State and Local and Tribal Air Quality Management programs, an increase of $157.9 million above the FY 2023 enacted level. Grant funds for State and Local Air Quality Management and Tribal Air Quality Management are requested in the amounts of $400.2 million and $23.1 million, respectively. These funds provide resources to multi-state, state, local, and tribal air pollution control agencies for the development and implementation of programs for the prevention and control of air pollution and for the implementation of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) set to protect public health and the environment. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to work with state and local air pollution control agencies to develop and implement State Implementation Plans (SIPs) for NAAQS, monitor industry compliance with EPA stationary source regulations, develop plans for regional haze, and develop and operate air quality monitoring networks. EPA also will continue to work with federally recognized tribal governments, nationwide, to develop and implement tribal air quality management programs and to build tribal air quality management capacity. Increased funding requested in both grant programs will help expand the efforts of tribal, state, and local air pollution control agencies to implement their programs and to accelerate immediate on-the-ground efforts to reduce and prevent greenhouse gases, such as expanding state- and local- level deployment of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency programs; ensuring safe and effective oil and gas well pollution management and prevention to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOC) and methane emissions in communities across the Nation; supporting state and local government development of policies and programs to facilitate build-out of electric vehicle charging station infrastructure; and supporting programs to improve transportation options and reduce disproportionate exposure to traffic emissions in underserved communities. Through this funding, EPA will support environmental justice by increasing air quality monitoring in minority, low-income, and marginalized communities that are and have been overburdened with disproportionate environmental or public health risks resulting from exposure to pollution. State Indoor Air Radon Grants The FY 2024 request includes approximately $12.5 million for grants to support State Indoor Air Radon Grant (SIRG) programs, an increase of $1.5 million above the FY 2023 enacted level. EPA assists tribes and states through the SIRG program, which provides categorical grants to develop, implement, and enhance programs that assess and mitigate radon risk. EPA provides guidance to tribes and states to promote and spread effective strategies for reducing indoor radon public health risks. EPA also works with tribes and states to support targeting SIRG funding to reduce risks for low-income populations that lack resources to mitigate radon risk on their own. 104 ------- Categorical Grants Overview Wetlands Grants In FY 2024, EPA requests $15.1 million for Wetlands Program Development Grants, which provide technical and financial assistance to tribes, states, and local governments, an increase of $0.4 million above the FY 2023 enacted level. These grants support development of tribal and state wetland programs that further the national goal of an overall increase in the acreage and condition of wetlands. The Wetland Program Development Grants are EPA's primary resource for supporting tribal and state wetland program development. Wetland grants are used to develop new, or refine existing, tribal and state wetland programs in one or more of the following areas: monitoring and assessment, voluntary restoration and protection, regulatory programs including Section 401 certification and Section 404 assumption, and wetland water quality standards. Public Water System Supervision Grants In FY 2024, EPA requests $132.6 million for Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) grants, an increase of $11.1 million above the FY 2023 enacted level. These grants assist tribes and states to implement and enforce National Primary Drinking Water Regulations to ensure the safety of the Nation's drinking water resources and to protect public health. Through this funding, EPA and tribal, state, and local governments will build on current efforts to identify, prevent, and protect drinking water from known and emerging contaminants that potentially endanger public health. All these activities help address health-based violations, water supply shortages, and provide operational efficiencies that protect the Nation's infrastructure investment. Beaches Protection In FY 2024, EPA requests $9.8 million for Beaches Protection grants. The beach grant program awards grants to eligible tribes, coastal and Great Lakes states, and territories to improve water quality monitoring at beaches and to notify the public of beach advisories and closings. The beach grant program is a collaborative effort between EPA, tribes, states, territories, and local governments to help ensure that coastal and Great Lakes recreational waters are safe for swimming. Nonpoint Source (NPS) (Section 319) In FY 2024, EPA requests approximately $189 million for Nonpoint Source Program grants to states, territories, and tribes, an increase of $7.0 million above the FY 2023 enacted level. These grants enable states to use a range of tools to implement their programs including: both non- regulatory and regulatory programs, technical assistance, financial assistance, education, training, technology transfer, and demonstration projects. EPA and the USDA will work collaboratively in high priority, focused watersheds to address agricultural nonpoint source pollution. The goal of this collaboration is to coordinate agency efforts, thereby increasing conservation on the ground to better protect water resources from nonpoint sources of pollution, including nitrogen and phosphorus. Pollution Control (Clean Water Act Section 106 Grants) EPA's FY 2024 request includes $279.4 million for Water Pollution Control grants to tribal, state, and interstate water quality programs, an increase of $42.4 million above the FY 2023 enacted level. These water quality funds assist tribal and state efforts to restore and maintain the quality of the Nation's waters through water quality standards, improved water quality monitoring and assessment, implementation of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and other watershed- 105 ------- Categorical Grants Overview related plans, and to operate the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. In FY 2024, EPA requests $26 million of the Section 106 program funding be provided to states and tribes that participate in national- and state-level statistical surveys of water resources and enhancements to state monitoring programs. Lead Grants The FY 2024 request includes $24.6 million to provide support to authorized tribal and state programs that administer training and certification programs for lead professionals and renovation contractors engaged in lead-based paint abatement and renovation, repair, and painting activities, as well as accreditation of training providers, an increase of $8.3 million above FY 2023 enacted levels. The grants also will provide assistance, using a targeted approach, to tribes and states interested in becoming authorized to run the Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Program. Further, this assistance supports tribal, state, and local efforts to reduce the disparities in blood lead levels between low-income children and non-low-income children. It also provides targeted support to authorized programs focused on reducing exposure to lead-based paint across the Nation, with an emphasis on better serving EJ communities and other disadvantaged sub- populations. Activities conducted under the Program by EPA and its partners will be aligned with the objectives of the Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Associated Health Impacts (Federal Lead Action Plan). Pollution Prevention In FY 2024, EPA requests $5.8 million for the Pollution Prevention (P2) grants program, an increase of $0.8 million above the FY 2023 enacted level. The P2 Program is one of the Agency's primary tools for advancing national environmental stewardship, pollution reduction and elimination, source reduction, and sustainability goals through targeted and coordinated partnerships and initiatives with federal, tribal, and state government partners, businesses, communities, and individuals. These partnerships and initiatives alleviate environmental problems by achieving: significant reductions in the generation of hazardous releases to air, water, and land; reductions in the use or inefficient use of hazardous materials in support of chemical safety; reductions in the generation of greenhouse gases in support of the Administration's climate change initiatives; and reductions in the use of water through system improvements in support of national infrastructure. As a result of implementing these preventative approaches, the P2 Program helps businesses and others reduce costs and access market opportunities while concurrently advancing the Agency's priorities to take action on climate change, better support EJ communities, and promote sustainability initiatives that support U.S. Government-wide goals and objectives. Increased funding will provide additional technical assistance to businesses, particularly small- and medium-sized firms in underserved communities, to help them: identify, develop, and implement cost-effective approaches for reducing or eliminating pollution at the source; better understand conformance with and access to EPA Recommended Standards and Ecolabels, and have better understanding of and access to EPA's Green Chemistry and sustainability programming. 106 ------- Categorical Grants Overview Underground Storage Tanks In FY 2024, EPA requests $1.5 million for the Underground Storage Tanks (UST) grants program, matching the FY 2023 enacted level. Grants are provided to states, under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, to improve and enhance UST programs. STAG funds may be used for prevention activities that are not specifically spelled out in the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005 such as: applying for state program approval to operate the UST Program in lieu of the federal program, updating UST regulations, and providing compliance assistance. EPA anticipates that all states with state program approval will have program renewal by the end of FY 2024. In addition, EPA anticipates several new states will apply and be approved for SPA for the first time by the end of FY 2024. Underground Injection Control (UIC) Grants In FY 2024, EPA requests $11.4 million for the Underground Injection Control (UIC) grants program. Grants are provided to states that have primary enforcement authority (primacy) to implement and maintain UIC programs. The funding allows for the implementation of the UIC program, including for states and tribes to administer UIC permitting programs, provide program oversight, implementation tools, and public outreach, and ensure that injection wells are safely operated. In addition, EPA will continue to process primacy applications and permit applications for Class VI geological sequestration wells. Multipurpose Grants In FY 2024, EPA requests $10.2 million for the Multipurpose Grants program. These flexible grants allow tribal nations and states the flexibility to fund high-priority activities that complement work being funded under established environmental statutes to protect human health and the environment. Recognizing that environmental challenges vary due to factors such as geography, population density, and economic activities, this program provides EPA's partners with flexibility to target funds to their highest priority efforts. Tribal General Assistance Program Grants In FY 2024, EPA requests $85 million in General Assistance Program (GAP) grants to provide tribes with a foundation to build their capacity to address environmental issues on Indian lands, an increase of $10.2 million above the FY 2023 enacted level. This increase will assist EPA's partnership and collaboration with tribes to address environmental program responsibilities and challenges. Resources will support activities to help tribes transition from capacity development to program implementation and support the development of EPA-Tribal Environmental Plans (ETEPs) to identify EPA and tribal responsibilities for ensuring environmental and public health responsibilities in tribal communities. These grants will assist tribal governments in building environmental capacity to assess environmental conditions, utilize available federal and other information, and build and administer environmental programs tailored to their unique needs. Pesticide Enforcement and Toxics Substances Compliance Grants The FY 2024 request includes $32.5 million to build environmental partnerships with tribes and states that strengthen their ability to address environmental and public health threats from pesticides and toxic substances, an increase of $1.9 million above the FY 2023 enacted level. The compliance monitoring and enforcement state grants request consists of $25.6 million for Pesticides Enforcement and $6.9 million for Toxic Substances Compliance grants. Tribal and state compliance and enforcement grants will be awarded to assist in the implementation of compliance 107 ------- Categorical Grants Overview and enforcement provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The Toxic Substances Compliance Monitoring grant program creates environmental partnerships with states and tribes to strengthen their ability to address environmental and public health threats from toxic substances. More specifically, the Program funds activities that protect the public and the environment from hazards associated with exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos, and lead-based paint. These grants will support the increase of newly authorized state programs, ensure current authorized states are fully funded to continue work, as well as help address EJ concerns in overburdened and vulnerable communities. Activities conducted under the Program by EPA and its partners associated with lead-based paint exposure protection will be aligned with the objectives of the Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Associated Health Impacts (Federal Lead Action Plan). Under the Pesticides Enforcement grant program, EPA provides resources to states and tribes to conduct FIFRA compliance inspections, take appropriate enforcement actions, and implement programs for farm worker protection. The Program also sponsors training for tribal and state inspectors, through the Pesticide Inspector Residential Program (PIRT), and for tribal and state managers through the Pesticide Regulatory Education Program (PREP). These grants will help tribes and states rebuild programmatic capabilities between EPA and its partners, provide vital laboratory capacity, protect the environment from harmful chemicals and pesticides. Pesticides Program Implementation Grants The FY 2024 request includes $14 million for Pesticides Program Implementation grants, matching the FY 2023 enacted level. These resources translate pesticide regulatory decisions made at the national level into results at the local level and help tribal, state, and other pesticide programs stay current with changing requirements, science, and technology, while incorporating EJ principles into their programs. These grants will assist tribes, states, and other partners, including universities, non-profit organizations, other federal agencies, pesticide users, environmental groups, and other entities to assist in strengthening and implementing EPA pesticide programs, focusing on issues such as worker safety activities, including worker protection and certification and training of pesticide applicators, protection of endangered species, protection of water resources from pesticides, protection of pollinators, and promotion of environmental stewardship and Integrated Pest Management (1PM) related activities. Resources will be used to support state efforts to focus on: worker safety activities, vulnerable and limited English-speaking communities, and grant assistance to tribes and territories. Through this assistance, EPA and its partners better protect human health and the environment from pesticide risk while helping stakeholders realize the value of pesticide availability by considering the economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits of the use of pesticides. Environmental Information Grants In FY 2024, EPA requests $ 15 million for the Environmental Information Exchange Network (EN) grant program, an increase of $4.2 million above the FY 2023 enacted level. The EN grants provide funding to federally recognized tribes, states, territories, and tribal consortia to support their participation in the EN. These grants help EN partners acquire and develop the hardware and software needed to connect to the EN; use the EN to collect, report, access, and analyze the data 108 ------- Categorical Grants Overview they need with greater efficiency; and integrate environmental data across programs. In collaboration with EPA, the tribes and states accept the EN as the standard approach for EPA and state data sharing. The grant program provides the funding to make this approach a reality. Specifically, grants will be used to develop publishing services, develop desktop and mobile applications that can send and receive data via the network, expand the network to new priority data systems, transition network services to an EPA-hosted cloud-based node, increase data sharing among partners, bring electronic reporting into compliance with the Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Rule (CROMERR) using EPA hosted shared services, as well as other priorities. In FY 2024, the Exchange Network Grant Program will prioritize increasing the Data and IT management capacity of tribal and territorial partners to increase their participation in the network and support capacity building for tribes and territories with the inclusion of mentoring resources for first-time tribal and territorial applicants. EPA will provide a minimum of $5.6 million to tribal and territorial grantees from within the overall EN Grant program. Additionally, EPA will continue to work agencywide to improve the leveraging of grant resources that sustain tribal data and IT management activities. Resource Recovery and Hazardous Waste Grants In FY 2024, EPA requests $108.2 million for Resource Recovery and Hazardous Waste (formerly Hazardous Waste Financial Assistance) grants, an increase of $3.2 million above the FY 2023 enacted level. Resource Recovery and Hazardous Waste grants are used for the implementation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste program, which includes permitting, authorization, waste minimization, enforcement, and corrective action activities. Brownfields Grants In FY 2024, EPA requests $46.9 million for the Brownfields grant program that provides assistance to tribes and states to establish core capabilities and enhance their tribal and state Brownfields response programs. These response programs address contaminated brownfields sites that do not require federal action but need assessment and/or cleanup before they can be ready for reuse. Tribes and states may use grant funding under this program for a number of areas, including: to develop a public record, create an inventory of brownfields sites, develop oversight and enforcement authorities, conduct public education and opportunities for public participation, develop mechanisms for approval of cleanup plans and certification that cleanup efforts are completed, purchase environmental insurance, develop tracking and management systems for land use, and conduct site specific activities such as assessments and cleanups at brownfields sites. 109 ------- 110 ------- Estimated SRF Obligations by State (FY 2022-FY 2024) Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Resources Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Resources State-by-State Distribution of Actual and Estimated Obligations Fiscal Years 2022 - 2024 - Dollars in Thousands The following tables show state-by-state distribution of resources for EPA's two largest State and Tribal Grant Programs, the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. Ill ------- Estimated SRF Obligations by State (FY 2022-FY 2024) Infrastructure Assistance: Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) (Dollars in Thousands) STATE OR TERRITORY FY 2022 Actual FY 2023 ENA ACT. OBLIG. TOT. OBLIG. FY 2024 PB EST. OBLIG. Alabama $15,106 - Alaska $7,008 - American Samoa $2,640 - Arizona $12,603 - Arkansas $0 - California $67,454 - Colorado $13,846 - Connecticut $7,008 - Delaware $7,008 - District of Columbia $7,008 - Florida $27,585 - Georgia $16,661 - Guam $2,454 - Hawaii $7,008 - Idaho $7,008 - Illinois $26,439 - Indiana $10,711 - Iowa $28,528 - Kansas $8,130 - Kentucky $0 - Louisiana $10,489 - Maine $7,008 - Maryland $12,837 - Massachusetts $16,260 - Michigan $17,202 - Minnesota $10,697 - Mississippi $0 - Missouri $11,860 - Montana $7,008 - Nebraska $7,008 - Nevada $8,123 - New Hampshire $7,008 - New Jersey $11,960 - New Mexico $700 - New York $28,618 - North Carolina $37,423 - North Dakota $8,927 - Northern Mariana Islands $2,754 - Ohio $17,624 - Oklahoma $10,587 - Oregon $9,220 - Pennsylvania $21,577 - Puerto Rico $0 - Rhode Island $7,008 - South Carolina $9,075 - South Dakota $471 - Tennessee $12,172 - Texas $0 - Utah $7,008 - Vermont $7,008 - Virgin Islands, U.S. $5,261 - Virginia $11,434 - Washington $15,655 - West Virginia $7,008 - Wisconsin $11,943 - Wyoming $1,101 - 112 ------- Estimated SRF Obligations by State (FY 2022-FY 2024) FY 2022 Actual FY 2023 ENA FY 2024 PB STATE OR TERRITORY ACT. OBLIG. TOT. OBLIG. EST. OBLIG. Tribal Resources $9,795 - - Non-state Resources1"7 $15,901 - - TOTAL: $659,935 8 $1,126,101 8 $1,126,105 Notes: 1. New Mexico FY 2022 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Base Capitalization Grants was to capitalize the recipient's DWSRF Program to improve source of water supply, replace, or construct finished water storage tanks. Public health benefits would be statewide. 2. Interagency Agreement with the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) provides service to increase basic drinking water access by providing drinking water infrastructure to Region 8 Indian Tribes. 3. The Cadmus Group LLC provides contracting support for the Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and HQ contracting that enables Region 9 Direct Implement (DI) of Underground Injection Control programs benefiting tribes and states. 4. Payroll to support Additional Supplemental Appropriation for Disaster Relief Act (ASADRA) Drinking Water Infrastructure Program. 5. EPA staff travel to the Pacific Island Territories to support Additional Supplemental Appropriation for Disaster Relief Act (ASADRA) Drinking Water Infrastructure Program. 6. The Buy America Build America (BABA) implementation and Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) provides small system monitoring costs. 7. Interagency Agreement with the Indian Health Services to install an emergency connection for the Kickapoo Tribe. 8. EPA is in the process of refining the allotment formula which has been adjusted from previous years' allotment. 113 ------- Estimated SRF Obligations by State (FY 2022-FY 2024) Infrastructure Assistance: Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) (Dollars in Thousands) si Mi.ou ii umiom n 2M22 WliMl A( l. Olil K.. n 2M2.? I.N \ l()l. Olil K.. n 2M24 rit i.si.oiii i<;. Alabama $13,069 $15,473 $17,931 Alaska $6,995 $60,055 49,597 American Samoa $6,351 $4,119 $8,701 Arizona $7,894 $17,720 $10,831 Arkansas $76 $9,617 $10,490 California $83,608 $129,140 $114,687 Colorado $9,349 $8,515 $12,827 Connecticut $14,358 $18,507 $19,645 Delaware $5,738 $14,280 $7,872 District of Columbia $5,738 $3,720 $7,872 Florida $39,452 $77,348 $54,129 Georgia $19,761 $42,209 $27,113 Guam $5,628 $2,980 $6,296 Hawaii $9,415 $10,067 $12,420 Idaho $5,681 $8,280 $7,872 Illinois $52,908 $56,817 $72,524 Indiana $28,167 $18,261 $38,646 Iowa $15,743 $16,255 $21,703 Kansas $10,550 $27,939 $14,474 Kentucky $14,875 $22,543 $20,409 Louisiana $12,848 $18,329 $17,628 Maine $9,047 $31,694 $12,413 Maryland $27,768 $29,145 $38,784 Massachusetts $39,682 $45,492 $54,444 Michigan $50,254 $65,506 $68,951 Minnesota $21,482 $26,307 $29,474 Mississippi $105 $29,827 $14,447 Missouri $32,400 $38,406 $44,454 Montana $5,681 $3,720 $7,872 Nebraska $6,038 $3,876 $8,202 Nevada $5,938 $21,990 $7,872 New Hampshire $11,680 $17,507 $16,025 New Jersey $48,061 $59,090 $65,529 New Mexico $1,423 $17,672 $7,872 New York $129,000 $147,274 $177,001 North Carolina $21,093 $30,961 $28,941 North Dakota $5,681 $3,720 $7,872 Northern Mariana Islands $3,163 $2,825 $4,044 Ohio $658 $78,991 $90,275 Oklahoma $10,394 $17,058 $12,955 Oregon $13,279 $24,512 $18,115 Pennsylvania $69,976 $58,531 $63,520 Puerto Rico $1,619 $9,883 $20,915 Rhode Island $7,848 $15,916 $10,767 South Carolina $11,973 $27,285 $16,428 South Dakota $57 $3,720 $7,872 Tennessee $16,978 $15,130 $23,295 Texas $534 $71,034 $73,293 Utah $6,158 $16,492 $8,449 Vermont $5,088 $2,390 $5,050 Virgin Islands, U.S. $5,738 $5,640 $7,872 Virginia $239 $22,267 $32,818 Washington $20,122 $29,232 $27,887 West Virginia $18,219 $36,951 $24,998 Wisconsin $31,597 $24,907 $43,352 Wyoming $68 $3,720 $7,872 114 ------- Estimated SRF Obligations by State (FY 2022-FY 2024) n 2M22 WliMl n 202.? I.N \ n 2024 rit si Mi.ou numiom A( l. Olil K.. l()l. Olil K.. 1.SI. Olil l(.. Tribal Resources $8,256 $15,515 $32,777 Non-state Resources1"7 $3,999 $2,500 $2,500 TOTAL: $1,018,034 $1,638,860 $1,638,874 Notes: 1 Interagency Agreement with the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) provides services to increase basic sanitation access by providing wastewater infrastructure to Indian Tribes. 2 Obligation Reversals and Other Accounting Adjustments: Compass Financials accounting adjustment entry of Carryover Out and Recoveries Withdrawn. 3 Contract to Tetra Tech Company for Watershed Plan Training. 4 Section 424 P.L. 114.113, which amended the Clean Water Act (CWA), provides EPA the authority to retain up to 0.25 percent of Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) appropriated funds for America Iron and Steel Management and Oversight. 5 Payroll to support Additional Supplemental Appropriation for Disaster Relief Act (ASADRA) Clean Water Infrastructure Program. 6 EPA staff travel to the Pacific Island Territories to support Additional Supplemental Appropriation for Disaster Relief Act (ASADRA) for the Clean Water Infrastructure Program. 7 EPA's Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (CWNS) is an assessment of capital investment needed nationwide for publicly-owned wastewater collection and treatment facilities to meet the water quality goals of the Clean Water Act (CWA). 115 ------- 116 ------- Infrastructure Financing Infrastructure/STAG Project Financing Infrastructure and Special Projects Funds The FY 2024 President's Budget requests a total of $4.5 billion for EPA's Infrastructure programs in the State and Tribal Assistance Grant (STAG) and Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) accounts. Infrastructure programs include: the State Revolving Funds (SRFs), WIFIA, Alaska Native Villages, Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure (DWWIA) programs, Brownfields Projects, etc. In addition, in FY 2024, EPA will continue implementing the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016 (WIIN) and America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA) legislation to address water infrastructure challenges throughout the Nation while promoting resiliency to climate change. With funds provided to the SRFs and technical assistance funding through EPA's operating programs, in FY 2024, EPA will continue its efforts to build the capacity of local utilities, private investors, and state programs to expand their contribution to the array of funding options to meet future infrastructure needs. Infrastructure and targeted project funding, under the STAG appropriation, provides financial assistance to states, municipalities, and tribal governments to fund a variety of drinking water, wastewater, air, and brownfields environmental projects. These funds help fulfill the federal government's commitment to help our state, tribal, and local partners comply with federal environmental requirements to ensure public health and revitalize contaminated properties. By providing STAG funds to capitalize the SRF programs, EPA enables the states to provide low- cost loans and grants to municipalities for infrastructure construction. All drinking water and wastewater projects are funded based on state-developed priority lists. Through the SRF set-asides, grants are available to Indian tribes and United States (U.S.) territories for infrastructure projects. The resources included in this budget request will enable the Agency, in conjunction with EPA's state, local, and tribal partners, to achieve important goals related to climate change, equity, and jobs. Capitalizing Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds The Drinking Water and Clean Water SRF programs demonstrate a true partnership between states, localities, and the federal government. These programs provide federal financial assistance, in the form of capitalization grants, to states to protect the Nation's water resources. These funds are used for the construction of drinking water and wastewater infrastructure and treatment facilities. The state revolving funds are two important elements of the Nation's substantial investment in sewage treatment and drinking water systems, which provide Americans with significant benefits in the form of reduced water pollution and safer drinking water. This federal investment also will support the continued work of the SRFs in ensuring that small and underserved communities have tools available to help address their pressing water infrastructure and other water quality needs. Many small systems face significant investment needs critical for the public health and environmental safety of the towns and cities they serve. EPA will focus on issues such as: financial planning for future infrastructure investments (applications, exploring financing options, planning and design); expanding current work with states to identify 117 ------- Infrastructure Financing additional financing opportunities for small communities; and enhancing collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on training, technical assistance, and funding opportunities for small communities. To maintain a focus on communities most in need, states are required to provide a portion of their capitalization grant as additional subsidization to disadvantaged communities in their state. EPA will continue to provide financial assistance for wastewater and other water projects through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). CWSRF projects also include estuary, storm water, and sewer overflow projects. The dramatic progress made in improving the quality of wastewater treatment since the 1970s is a national success. In 1972, only 78.2 million people were served by secondary or advanced wastewater treatment facilities. As of 2012 (from the most recent Clean Watersheds Needs Survey; updated survey data collection is currently underway), over 99 percent of Publicly Owned Treatment Works, serving 234 million people, use secondary treatment or better. Water infrastructure projects, supported by the program, contribute to direct ecosystem improvements by lowering the amount of nutrients and toxic pollutants in all types of surface waters. The FY 2024 request includes almost $1,639 billion in funding for the CWSRF. Total CWSRF funding provided for projects over the life of the program exceeds $153 billion. This total includes loan repayments, state match dollars, as well as other funding sources. EPA estimates that for every federal dollar that has been contributed, over three dollars have been made available to municipalities to fund infrastructure projects. The FY 2024 request includes $1,126 billion in funding for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). The total DWSRF assistance, provided over the life of the program, exceeds $48.5 billion. This total includes loan repayments, state match dollars, as well as other funding sources. EPA estimates that for every federal dollar that has been contributed, approximately two dollars have been made available to municipalities to fund infrastructure projects. The DWSRF helps address the costs of ensuring safe drinking water supplies and assists small communities in meeting their responsibilities. Tribal communities are often in need of assistance given aging or inadequate sanitation and drinking water infrastructure, which can cause significant public health concerns. To help address this situation, EPA is requesting a tribal funding floor of two percent, or $30 million for the CWSRF and $20 million for the DWSRF, whichever is greater, of the funds appropriated in FY 2024. For FY 2024, EPA requests 10 percent of the CWSRF funds and 14 percent of the DWSRF funds be made available to each state to be used to provide additional subsidy to eligible recipients in the form of forgiveness of principle, negative interest loans, or grants (or a combination of these). Under the DWSRF, EPA requests to allow states to exceed 14 percent if there is an emergency declared for lead. For FY 2024, the EPA will encourage states to utilize the subsidy to assist small drinking water and wastewater systems with standards compliance. For FY 2024, EPA also is continuing to request a $12 million set-aside from the DWSRF in order to implement the expansion of the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) program. 118 ------- Infrastructure Financing The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) established the current UCMR program including statutory provisions that require EPA to coordinate and pay the monitoring costs for a representative selection of small water systems that serve fewer than 10,000 individuals. Section 2021 of the AWIA requires, subject to availability of appropriations and adequate laboratory capacity, all Public Water Systems (PWSs) serving 3,300 to 10,000 persons to monitor under future UCMR cycles and ensure that a nationally representative sample of PWSs serving fewer than 3,300 persons monitor under future UCMR cycles. Traditionally, under this emerging contaminant monitoring program, EPA would require sampling at 800 small water systems that would be selected to represent the over 60,000 small water systems throughout the country. Based on the AWIA revisions to the SDWA, EPA is now preparing to significantly expand the small water system monitoring program. Starting with UCMR 5 (FY 2022-2026), the total number of small systems monitored is expected to increase by 7.5 times, from 800 to approximately 6,000. This will include approximately 5,200 public water systems that serve between 3,300 and 10,000 individuals and a representative selection of 800 systems serving fewer than 3,300 individuals. The FY 2024 President's Budget supports the authority of the existing small set-aside for the American Iron and Steel (AIS) requirement from the CWSRF to fund future Clean Watershed Needs Surveys (CWNS). The CWNS is a comprehensive assessment of the capital needs to meet the water quality goals in response to Sections 205(a) and 516 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). This assessment and documentation of future needs is critical in the effort to manage and fund our Nation's wastewater infrastructure. A comprehensive CWNS is an important tool for identifying critical water quality needs in communities across the Nation, including small and disadvantaged communities, and opportunities to invest in climate resiliency. The current set-aside of up to $1.5 million will allow EPA to continue to fully fund the required Clean Water AIS management and oversight activities and provide reliable and sufficient resources to conduct the CWNS. For FY 2024, EPA also is requesting a seven percent set-aside of the total amount of funding provided for Community Project Funding/ Congressionally Directed Items in order to fund the agency's administration of the projects. This set-aside would provide a dedicated source of administrative funding for any enacted community project funding/ congressionally directed items and will ensure timely awards and proper management over each project's multi-year life cycles. Without dedicated funds, providing timely awards and meeting the workload associated with these projects will be a major challenge. Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Program In FY 2024, EPA will continue to fund the WIFIA program. The FY 2024 request of $80.4 million will support WIFIA credit assistance to finance drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects. The WIFIA program will accelerate investment in our Nation's water and wastewater infrastructure by providing supplemental credit assistance to credit worthy nationally and regionally significant water projects. With a request of $80.4 million in appropriations, including $72 million in credit subsidy, EPA could potentially provide over $8 billion in credit assistance and, when combined with other funding sources, help to spur over $16 billion in total infrastructure investment.1 It is expected that entities with complex water and wastewater projects will be 1 This approximation is based on notional calculations. Subsidy cost is determined on a loan-by-loan basis. 119 ------- Infrastructure Financing attracted to WIFIA and EPA will work to provide assistance to a diverse set of projects. EPA also will work to assist small and underserved communities with limited ability to repay loans. Through the Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center, EPA will work to promote public/private collaboration and maintain an ongoing dialogue with the financial community to encourage investment in the water market as well as innovative financing. Water Infrastructure Grant Programs under Multiple Acts In FY 2024, EPA proposes approximately $1.2 billion to implement the grant programs authorized in the America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA), the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016 (WIIN), and the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 (DWWIA). DWWIA re-authorizes and strengthens many existing programs under AWIA and WIIN while creating new programs to upgrade aging infrastructure. Implementation of these programs will strengthen the federal government's ability to invest in water infrastructure in communities in every state, so that all Americans can continue to have access to safe drinking water and our Nation's waterways can remain clean and free from pollution. Among the resources proposed for FY 2024, a combined $340.7 million is requested to implement four programs originally established under AWIA, including the Drinking Water Infrastructure Resilience, Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Grants, Technical Assistance for Wastewater Treatment Work, and Water Infrastructure and Workforce Investment. To support the President's priority on addressing lead and other contaminants in drinking water, especially in small and disadvantaged communities, a total of $298.5 million will be invested in three grant programs originally under WIIN, including the Reducing Lead in Drinking Water, Safe Water for Small and Disadvantaged Communities Drinking Water, and Lead Testing in Schools programs. In addition, EPA requests $565 million to support 20 new DWWIA grants programs at the full authorization level. Also included in the FY 2024 request is $40 million for Alaska native villages for the construction of wastewater and drinking water facilities to address sanitation problems unique to this area of the country. EPA will continue to work with the Department of Health and Human Services' Indian Health Service, the State of Alaska, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Council, and local communities to provide needed financial and technical assistance. Diesel Emissions Reduction Act Grants The Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) program authorizes funding to provide immediate, effective emission reductions from existing diesel engines through engine retrofits, rebuilds, and replacements; switching to cleaner fuels; idling reduction strategies; and other clean diesel strategies. DERA promotes strategies to reduce harmful emissions of NOx, PM2.5, HC, CO, and CO2 and protect public health by working with manufacturers, fleet operators, air quality professionals, environmental and community organizations, Tribes, and state and local officials. The FY 2024 President's Budget requests $150 million in DERA funding to accelerate the reduction of diesel emissions in communities, including targeting its discretionary funding to direct DERA grants and rebates to reduce diesel emissions in priority areas of highly concentrated diesel pollution to tackle the climate change crisis, such as ports and areas with environmental justice concerns. 120 ------- Infrastructure Financing Hrown fields Projects The FY 2024 President's Budget requests approximately $131 million for Brownfields Projects, with a particular focus on those in disadvantaged communities. This investment includes $15 million dedicated for quality cooperative agreements targeted at communities affected by the retirement of coal-fired plants. With the FY 2024 request, EPA plans to fund assessment cooperative agreements, direct cleanup cooperative agreements, supplemental Revolving Loan Fund cooperative agreements, multipurpose cooperative agreements, and Environmental Workforce Development & Job Training cooperative agreements, as well as provide technical assistance to support states, tribes, and communities. EPA also will support the assessment and cleanup of sites contaminated by petroleum or petroleum products. In FY 2024, the funding requested is expected to result in the assessment and cleanup of approximately 1,700 brownfields properties located in economically, socially, and environmentally disadvantaged communities.2 Using EPA grant dollars, the brownfields grantees will leverage approximately 13,400 jobs and approximately $2.6 billion in other funding sources. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to foster federal, state, local, and public/private partnerships to return properties to productive economic use in communities. Mexico Border The FY 2024 President's Budget requests a total of $36.4 million for water infrastructure projects along the U.S.-Mexico Border. EPA works collaboratively with federal, state, and local partners and the Mexican water agency - CONAGUA - through the U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program to fund planning, design, and construction of high-priority water and wastewater treatment facilities for underserved communities along the border. Investments in wastewater and drinking water infrastructure in communities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico Border reduce disease and health care costs because exposure to raw sewage and drinking water contaminants cause acute and chronic illnesses. U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure projects stimulate local economies through public health-related economic gains, job creation, and increased demand for goods and services. Recycling Infrastructure The President's Budget requests $10 million for a grant program to further assist EPA's partners to achieve progress on the ground in solid waste management infrastructure and post-consumer materials management. This investment will use the authority provided in the Save our Seas 2.0 Act,3 which was passed by Congress in December 2020. The Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) financing program will help reduce waste, reduce greenhouse emissions, increase disadvantaged communities' access to recycling programs and services, and create jobs. 2 See Brownfields Assessment Proposal Guidelines for evaluation criteria (https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/multipurpose- assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-marc-grant-application-resources.) 3 For additional information, please visit: https://www.congress.gov/! 16/plaws/publ224/PLAW-l 16publ224.pdf. 121 ------- 122 ------- Trust Funds Trust Funds (Dollars in Millions) I V 2022 I V 21)23 I V 2024 Actual liudiict Knacled President's Budget Trust riincls Program $ iti: $ in: $ in: Superfund1'2 $1,210 2518.0 $1,239 2,572.4 $310 2,614.3 Inspector General (Transfers) $12 39.8 $12 42.5 $14 49.0 Research & Development (Transfers) $30 65.4 $32 63.1 $32 63.1 Superfund Total $1,249 2,623.2 $1,283 2,678.0 $356 2,726.4 LUST $84 42.3 $93 49.4 $109 54.6 Trust I iiihIs Total $1,333 2.665.5 SI.376 2,727.4 $465 2.781.0 Totals may not add due to rounding. 1 FTE numbers include all direct and reimbursable Superfund employees, including FTE which are proposed to be transitioned to the Superfund tax receipts in FY 2024. FTE funded from expected tax revenue count against the agency's FTE ceiling. 2 In FY 2023 and FY 2024, the Superfund tax receipt resource levels are not included in the totals. Superfund In FY 2024, the President's Budget requests a total of $355.9 million in budget authority and 2,726.4 FTE for EPA's Superfund program. This lower amount accounts for the proposal to transition the Superfund Remedial, Superfund Emergency Response and Removal, and the Superfund Enforcement programs to be funded by the anticipated revenue generated from the Superfund taxes- which is expected to be $2.5 billion in FY 2024.1'2'3 The Superfund Remedial program also will have access to the additional resources from the enacted infrastructure law that will continue to advance work in this important area. EPA will utilize resources to carry out the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended. In FY 2024, EPA will continue to address environmental and public health risks resulting from releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances associated with any emergency site, as well 1 On November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act [(IIJA), P.L. 117-58] reinstated and modified the excise taxes on certain listed chemicals and imported substances that are used as materials in their manufacture or production one or more of those listed chemicals ("Superfund chemical taxes"). The Superfund chemical taxes went into effect July 1, 2022 and expire on December 31, 2031. 2 On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act [(IRA), P.L. 117-169] reinstated and modified the taxes on oil and petroleum products. The oil and petroleum taxes went into effect on January 1, 2023. 3 On December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023 (P.L. 117-328) included legislative language that allows all tax receipts collected in the Superfund Trust Fund from the prior fiscal year to be available to implement Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) without further congressional appropriation and designated as emergency funding. 123 ------- Trust Funds as over 1,336 active Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) and non-NPL sites.4 It also provides funding to pursue responsible parties for cleanup costs, preserving federal dollars for sites where there are no viable contributing parties. As of December 2022, there were 1,788 sites on or deleted from the NPL. Of these, 1,238 sites5 have construction completions and 140 partial deletions have occurred at 108 NPL sites. In FY 2022, EPA made 16 Superfund sites ready for anticipated use. Reuse and restoration of Superfund NPL sites directly support President Biden's Executive Order 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (January 27, 2021).6 In FY 2024, EPA will continue to prioritize resources to execute its non-delegable, federal responsibility to remediate sites and protect human health, welfare, and the environment. Of the total funding requested for Superfund, $45.9 million and 1,276.0 FTE7 are for Superfund cleanup programs which include the Superfund Remedial, Emergency Response and Removal, EPA Emergency Preparedness, and Federal Facilities programs. While the FY 2024 Budget proposes to transition funding the Superfund Remedial and Superfund Emergency Response and Removal programs from annual appropriations to the Superfund tax receipts, the FTE in these programs remain in the Agency's FTE ceiling and the pace of work is not expected to be impacted. Other components of the program area, including Superfund EPA Emergency Preparedness and Superfund Federal Facilities will continue to be funded from annual appropriations. Based on an analysis of recent fiscal year data, more than 75 percent of Superfund Remedial and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) site-specific funds were obligated to Superfund NPL sites where there is a potential for environmental justice concerns. The Superfund program protects the American public and its resources by cleaning up sites which pose an imminent or long-term risk of exposure and harm to human health and the environment. While conducting cleanup at NPL and non-NPL sites, Superfund remedial construction projects and Superfund removals can enhance our national infrastructure while addressing these harmful exposures. In FY 2024, the Agency will continue to respond to emergency releases of hazardous substances through the Superfund Emergency Response and Removal program, stabilizing sites, and mitigating immediate threats to keep our communities safe and healthy. The Superfund Remedial program will continue to maintain focus on completing projects at various stages in the response process and endeavor to maximize the use of site-specific special accounts. Special account funds may not be used for sites or uses not specified in the settlement agreement, and as a result special account resources, annually appropriated resources, and Superfund tax receipts are critical to the Superfund program. 4 Data provided from EPA's Superfund Enterprise Management System (SEMS) and as posted as of December 22, 2022 on: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-national-priorities-list-npl. 5 Starting in FY 2014, the universe of potential site-wide construction completion sites includes final and deleted NPL sites as well as sites with Superfund Alternative Approach (SAA) agreements. Since FY 2014, construction completion has been achieved at nine sites with SAA agreements. Prior to FY 2014, CCL was achieved at nine sites with SAA agreements. For more information about SAA sites, see: http://www.epa.gov/enforcement/superfund- alternative-approach. 6 For additional information, please refer to: https://www.whitehonse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021 /01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/. 7 This includes the Superfund Remedial and Superfund Emergency Response and Removal FTE which are proposed to be transitioned to the Superfund tax receipts. 124 ------- Trust Funds Of the total funding requested, $20.7 million and 854.2 FTE8 are for Superfund enforcement- related activities. While the FY 2024 Budget proposes to transition funding the Superfund Enforcement program from annual appropriations to the Superfund tax receipts, the FTE in this program remain in the Agency's FTE ceiling. Other components of the program area, including Criminal Enforcement, Forensics Support, and Superfund Federal Facilities Enforcement will continue to be funded from annual appropriations. One of the Superfund program's primary goals is to have responsible parties pay for and conduct cleanups at abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. In FY 2022, the Superfund Enforcement program secured private party commitments for cleanup and cost recovery and billed for oversight amounts totaling more than $670.2 million. CERCLA authorizes the Agency to retain and use funds received pursuant to an agreement with a potentially responsible party (PRP) to carry out the purpose of that agreement. EPA retains such funds in special accounts and uses them to finance site-specific CERCLA response actions in accordance with the settlement agreement, including, but not limited to, investigations, construction and implementation of the remedy, post-construction activities, and oversight of PRPs conducting the cleanup. Through the use of special accounts, EPA ensures responsible parties pay for cleanup so that the annually appropriated resources from the Superfund Trust Fund are preserved for sites where no viable or liable PRPs have been identified. Through the end of FY 2022, EPA has collected approximately $8.1 billion from PRPs and earned approximately $797.6 million in interest. In addition, for those sites that had no additional work planned or costs to be incurred by EPA, EPA has transferred over $59.0 million to the Superfund Trust Fund for future appropriation by Congress. As of the end of FY 2022, over $4.8 billion has been disbursed to finance site response actions and approximately $416.5 million has been obligated but not yet disbursed. EPA has plans to spend approximately $1.4 billion of currently available special account funds over the next 5 years, but funds also are planned much further into the future to continue activities, such as conducting five-year reviews or remedy optimization. EPA's Homeland Security work is a component of the federal government's prevention, protection, and response activities. The FY 2024 President's Budget requests approximately $55.0 million, within the Hazardous Substance Superfund Account, to: maintain the Agency's capacity to respond to incidents that may involve harmful chemical, biological, radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) substances; develop and maintain Agency expertise and operational readiness for all phases of consequence management following a CBRN incident; and conduct CBRN training for the Agency's responders to improve CBRN preparedness. These resources also support conducting research to enhance response capabilities by developing methods, tools, and information for site characterization, decontamination, waste management, and clearance for priority chemical, biological, and radiological threats all while reducing time and cost and ensuring safety. In addition, EPA will conduct research to generate resources, tools, and training for risk communication outreach, building relationships, and community engagement to empower under- resourced communities and populations with environmental justice concerns. The FY 2024 President's Budget also includes resources to support agencywide resource management and control functions. This includes essential infrastructure, contract and grant administration, financial accounting, and other fiscal operations. Appropriated resources support 8 This includes the Superfund Enforcement FTE which are proposed to be transitioned to the Superfund tax receipts. 125 ------- Trust Funds both the activities accomplished with special accounts and those funded with annual appropriations. In addition, the Agency provides funds for Superfund program research and for auditing. The President's Budget requests $31.9 million and 63.1 FTE to be transferred to Research and Development. Research will enable EPA's Superfund program to accelerate scientifically defensible and cost-effective decisions for cleanup at complex contaminated Superfund sites and support the development of decontamination techniques for a wide-area CBRN event. The Superfund research program is driven by program needs to reduce the cost of cleaning up Superfund sites, improve the efficiency of characterizing and remediating sites, identify effective remediation technologies, and reduce the scientific uncertainties for improved decision-making at Superfund sites. The President's Budget also requests $13.8 million and 49.0 FTE to be transferred to the Inspector General for program auditing. Leaking Underground Storage Tanks The FY 2024 President's Budget requests $108.7 million and 54.6 FTE for the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund program. The Agency, working with states and tribes, addresses public health and environmental threats from releases through detection and cleanup activities. As required by law (42 U.S.C. 6991c(f)), not less than 80 percent of LUST funds appropriated to cleanup will be used for reasonable costs incurred under cooperative agreements with any state to carry out related purposes. While tank owners and operators are liable for the cost of cleanups at leaking underground storage tank sites for which they have responsibility, EPA and state regulatory agencies are not always able to identify responsible parties and sometimes responsible parties are no longer financially viable or have a limited ability to pay. In those cases, the cost of the site cleanup is distributed among fuel users through a targeted fuel tax, which is available for appropriation from Congress to support leak prevention and the cleanup of sites addressed under the LUST program. For FY 2022, the LUST Trust Fund received more than $251.6 million in gross tax receipts. 126 ------- Programs Proposedfor Elimination Eliminated Programs Eliminated Program Projects1 Water Quality Research and Support Grants (also referred to as Congressional Priorities) (FY 2024 President's Budget: $0.0, 0.0 FTE) This program is proposed for elimination in the FY 2024 President's Budget. Work to advance water quality protection can be accomplished within core statutory programs funded in the Budget request. This program focuses on water quality and water availability research, the development and application of water quality criteria, the implementation of watershed management approaches, and the application of technological options to restore and protect water bodies. For training and technical assistance aspects of the Program, states have the ability to develop technical assistance plans for their water systems using Public Water System Supervision funds and set-asides from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). For research and development components of the Program, EPA was instructed by Congress to award grants on a competitive basis, independent of the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program and give priority to not-for-profit organizations that: conduct activities that are national in scope; can provide a twenty-five percent match, including in-kind contributions; and often partner with the Agency. San Juan Watershed Monitoring (formerly Gold King Mine Water Monitoring) (FY 2024 President's Budget: $0.0, 0.0 FTE) This program is proposed for elimination in the FY 2024 Budget due to project completion. This program was established under Section 5 004(d) of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016 (WIIN). EPA and the tribes and states in the San Juan watershed - Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and Southern Ute Indian Tribe - work together to monitor water quality and use the best available data and science to identify and implement pollution prevention and restoration projects to improve water quality. Additional programs exist that the states may use to monitor the water quality of the San Juan watershed. 1 Although not eliminated, funding for Superfund Enforcement, Remedial and Emergency Response and Removal programs is proposed to be transitioned from annual appropriations to Superfund Tax receipts in FY 2024. Work will continue and FTE will be funded through the tax receipts as reimbursable FTE and included in the annual FTE count. 127 ------- 128 ------- Highlights of Major Program Changes Highlights of Major Program Changes Note that the numbers in text descriptions may be rounded Programs with Increases (in Descending Order) Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 (Multiple) (STAG) (FY 2023 ENA: $173.8 M/2 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $1,190 B/121.6 FTE; Change: +$1,016 B/119.6 FTE) The Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 (DWWIA) was enacted to help address numerous drinking water and wastewater issues across the country and the budget requests over $1 billion in additional funding to support DWWIA programs. Implementation of the Act will enhance the federal government's ability to invest in water infrastructure in communities in every state so that all Americans can continue to have access to safe drinking water and our Nation's waterways can remain clean and free from pollution. DWWIA strengthens many existing programs within EPA while creating new programs to upgrade aging infrastructure, , invest in new technologies, and provide assistance to underserved communities. The FY 2024 Budget proposes $1.19 billion, an increase of $1.02 billion above the FY 2023 enacted level, to support all the DWWIA programs. Of this amount, $565 million is requested to meet the DWWIA authorized levels for 20 new programs. DWWIA program level changes are highlighted below: • Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Grants (FY 2023 ENA: $50 M/0 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $280 M/5 FTE; Change: +$230 M/5 FTE) This program provides funding to address sewer overflows and stormwater management, including reuse, to support the growing need to improve the infrastructure and management of combined sewer overflows, sanitary sewer overflows, and stormwater issues. • Reducing Lead in Drinking Water (FY 2023 ENA: $25 M/l FTE; FY 2024 PB: $182 M/l FTE; Change: +$157 M/0 FTE) This program was established in the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act to reduce the concentration of lead in drinking water. The increase of resources supports the President's priority of addressing lead in drinking water, especially in small and disadvantaged communities. • Safe Water for Small and Disadvantaged Communities (FY 2023 ENA: $30.2 M/l FTE; FY 2024 PB: $80 M/l FTE; Change: +$49.8 M/0 FTE) This program provides assistance to underserved communities that have no household drinking water or wastewater services or are served by a public water system that violates or exceeds any maximum contaminant level, treatment technique, or action level. • Indian Reservation Drinking Water Program (FY 2023 ENA: $4 M/ 0 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $50 M/8 FTE; Change: +$46 M/8 FTE) This program continues to develop the Indian reservation drinking water grant program (which has not been appropriated to date), extending to projects on Indian reservations that connect, expand, or repair existing public water systems, as well as ambient water quality or sanitation projects for treatment works. • Midsize and Large Drinking Water System Infrastructure (FY 2023 ENA: $5 M/0 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $50 M/10 FTE; Change: +$45 M/10 FTE) 129 ------- Highlights of Major Program Changes This program supports the resilience and sustainability of public water systems serving more than 10,000 people; including projects that increase resilience to natural hazards, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, or extreme weather events. • Drinking Water Infrastructure Resilience (FY 2023 ENA: $7 M; FY 2024 PB: $25 M; Change: +$18 M) This program supports water infrastructure in communities, ensuring access to safe drinking water and supports the President's priority of assisting eligible entities in the planning, design, construction, implementation, operation, or maintenance of a program or project that increases resilience to natural hazards. • Water Infrastructure Workforce Investment (FY 2023 ENA: $6 M; FY 2024 PB: $17.7 M; Change: +$11.7 M) This program provides competitive grants to promote water utility workforce development and increase public awareness of water utilities and careers. • Stormwater Infrastructure Technology (FY 2023 ENA: $3 M/0 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $5 M/l FTE; Change: +2 M/l FTE) This competitive grant program aims at creating between three and five centers of excellence for new and emerging stormwater control infrastructure technologies. Environmental Justice (EPM and SF) (FY 2023 ENA: $108 M/223.6 FTE; FY2024 PB: $375 M/264.6FTE; Change: +$267M/41 FTE) This program leads and coordinates the Agency's efforts to address the needs of vulnerable communities by decreasing environmental burdens, increasing environmental benefits, and building collaborative partnerships with all stakeholders to build healthy, sustainable communities. The increase in resources and FTE will support the Agency's newly created national program manager, the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR), to significantly expand its base activity and agencywide coordination required across the EJ Program. Increased funding also will be provided to three grant programs and a training program. This increase will fully build out the Thriving Community Technical Assistance Centers to support capacity building of communities and their partners to advance equity and justice in their communities and support ongoing response efforts for Red Hill, HI to protect communities and ensure safe drinking water. Furthermore, additional resources are provided to: 1) support and improve the national EJ screening and mapping tool (EJScreen), with a focus on identifying and adding new data sources to the tool and enhancing user interface elements; 2) update EPA's IT systems to support the Climate and Economic Justice Screening tool and the EJ Clearinghouse; and 3) support for the interagency coordination, including the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, and other federal advisory council activities. Federal Support for Air Quality Management (EPM and S&T) (FY 2023 ENA: $159 M/879.3 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $366.7 M/1079.7 FTE; Change: +$207.6 M/200.4 FTE) This program supports development of State Implementation Plans (SIPs) through modeling and other tools and assists states in implementing, attaining, maintaining, and enforcing the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for criteria pollutants. The increase in funding will support critical work to implement climate and clean air regulations and programs, including 130 ------- Highlights of Major Program Changes activities such as reviewing and implementing state plans required under forthcoming GHG standards, priority NAAQS work, taking timely action on SIPs, reducing the SIP backlog, air monitoring and analysis, and environmental justice activities. Additional resources also will support the development and implementation of a community air quality monitoring and notification program to provide real-time data to the public in areas with greatest exposure to harmful levels of pollution. This increase supports work to reduce GHG emissions to tackle the climate crisis and ensure equitable environmental outcomes to advance environmental justice. Categorical Grant: State and Local Air Quality Management (STAG) (FY 2023 ENA: $249 M; FY 2024 PB: $400.2 M; Change: +$151.2 M) This program provides funding for state air programs, as implemented by state, multi-state, and local air agencies. This increase in grant resources will help expand the efforts of air pollution control agencies to implement their programs and to accelerate immediate on-the-ground efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The increase also will enhance the resiliency, capacity, and capability of air monitoring systems for National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and local-scale monitoring and will support additional air quality monitoring in disadvantaged communities suffering from disproportionate impact of traffic emissions. Climate Protection (EPM and S&T) (FY 2023 ENA: $109.8 M/216.1 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $181.2 M/256.7 FTE; Change: +$71.5 M/40.6 FTE) This program uses an integrated approach of regulations, partnerships, and technical assistance to tackle the climate crisis at home and abroad. The increase in funding and FTE will help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while also addressing environmental justice. This increase enables EPA to take strong action on CO2 and methane as well as high-global warming potential climate pollutants, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), as directed under the AIM Act; restores the capacity of EPA's climate partnership programs; and strengthens EPA's capacity to apply its modeling tools and expertise across a wide range of high priority work areas including supporting U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement. A portion of this investment will also support EPA working with NASA on prototyping capabilities for a GHG monitoring and information system to make data more accessible and usable to federal, state, and local governments, researchers, the public, and other users. Additionally, the increase supports implementation of the GHG Reduction Fund under the Inflation Reduction Act. Stratospheric Ozone: Domestic Programs (EPM) (FY 2023 ENA: $7 M/28.2 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $72.2 M/52.2 FTE; Change: +$65.2 M/24 FTE) This program implements actions to help protect both the climate system and the stratospheric ozone layer, which shields all life on Earth from harmful solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This increase in resources and FTE supports the implementation of provisions in the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act to phase down the use of hydrofluorocarbons, to facilitate U.S. entry to the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, and to restore the Agency's capacity to tackle the climate crisis. A portion of this increase is to develop a grant program that will provide grants to small businesses for the purchase of new specialized equipment for the recycling, recovery, or reclamation of a substitute for a regulated substance. 131 ------- Highlights of Major Program Changes Federal Vehicle and Fuels Standards and Certifications (S&T) (FY2023 ENA: $117.3 M/323.5 FTE; FY2024 PB: $179.6 M/370.3 FTE; Change: +$62.3 M/46.8 FTE) This program provides critical resources for EPA's core greenhouse gas (GHG) regulatory and compliance work in the mobile sector. It also supports the establishment of federal GHG emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks to secure pollution reductions through Model Year 2026. The increase in funding and FTE will support program activities to address the climate crisis, including the development of analytical methods, regulations, and analyses to support climate protection by controlling GHG emissions from cars and trucks. A portion of the funding will support EPA's National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory (NVFEL) to carry out its mission- critical work of certifying vehicle compliance. This program change also invests in the maintenance, repair and replacement of aging test equipment at NVFEL. Integrated Environmental Strategies (EPM) (FY 2023 ENA: $11.3 M/55.5 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $71.7 M/91 FTE; Change: +$60.4 M/35.5 FTE) This program advances the Agency's mission by focusing on cross-media environmental concerns. This program focuses on four major areas - permitting, smart sectors, community-driven environmental protection, and climate adaptation program - to improve delivery of environmental protection across multiple media and stakeholders. The increase in funding and FTE will support the coordination, streamlining, oversight, automation, and integration of EJ and climate change into environmental permitting. The increase also will advance climate adaptation efforts to support increased resilience of EPA's programs and strengthen the adaptive capacity of tribes, states, territories, local governments, communities, and businesses. Compliance Monitoring (EPM, OIL, and SF) (FY 2023 ENA: $114.4 M/478.9 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $165.3 M/520.6 FTE; Change: +$50.9 M/41.5 FTE) This program supports both compliance with federal environmental laws and efforts to identify noncompliance. The increase in resources and FTE will allow EPA to accelerate the modernization of the Integrated Compliance Information System and enhance its integration with the Enforcement and Compliance History Online web-based services, facilitating better access of compliance data and community information to EPA, states, and to the public. The increase also will rebuild EPA's inspector cadre, enhance programmatic capacities for inspections and case development, as well as supplement the program's training and travel budget. This investment will advance EPA's efforts to address compliance concerns in environmental justice communities. Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant Program (STAG) (FY 2023 ENA: $100 M; FY 2024 PB: $150 M; Change: + $50 M) This program provides effective emission reductions from existing diesel engines through engine retrofits, rebuilds, and replacements; switching to cleaner fuels; idling reduction; and other strategies. This increase in grant funding will expand grant offerings and rebates to reduce harmful diesel emissions, with a focus on priority areas including school buses, ports, and vulnerable communities. 132 ------- Highlights of Major Program Changes Toxic Substances: Chemical Risk Review and Reduction (EPM) (FY 2023 ENA: $82.8 M/360.8 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $130.7 M/534.8 FTE; Change: +$47.9 M/174 FTE) Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA is responsible for ensuring the safety of chemicals that are already in or are entering into commerce and addressing unreasonable risks to human health and the environment. The increase in resources and FTE will expand the program's capacity and support the implementation of the TSCA, as amended in 2016, to meet statutory mandates for chemical risk review, management, and action. This increase enables EPA to develop and review data critical to existing chemical risk evaluation and risk management activities; update and develop 21st century information technology and data tools to meet increasing demands; and begin to transform new chemicals review into an efficient and sustainable process to complete cases in keeping with the statutory requirements. This increase also will support an agencywide multi-year collaborative research program for new chemicals that is focused on modernizing the process and incorporating scientific advances in new chemical evaluations under TSCA. Research: Air, Climate and Energy (S&T) (FY 2023 ENA: $100.4 M/264 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $137.8 M/298.7 FTE; Change: +$37.4 M/34.7 FTE) This program supports climate research at EPA to accelerate solutions to tackle the climate crisis. This increase in resources and FTE will enhance EPA's efforts to combat the global issue of climate change and substantially advance research to assess the impacts of climate change on human health and ecosystems. Homeland Security: Preparedness & Response (S&T and SF) (FY 2023 ENA: $60 M/124.1 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $96 M/138.3 FTE; Change: +$36 M/14.2 FTE) This program carries out EPA's responsibility, under legislation and Presidential Directives, to remediate contaminated environments created by incidents such as terrorist attacks, industrial accidents, or natural disasters. The increased resources will support efforts to upgrade the Chemical Incident and Radiological Reconnaissance on Unmanned Systems (CIRRUS) to more effectively and efficiently support emergency response. This effort will assist in improving preparedness for communities with environmental justice concerns such as fenceline communities. This increase in resources and FTE also will expand EPA's capabilities to conduct research at its BSL-3 facility in Fort Meade, MD; to update the aging equipment that monitors the Nation's air for radiation; to modernize IT infrastructure for the Analytical Radiation Data System; and to support enhanced lab and field office facility operations and maintenance, including replacing the outdated PHILIS equipment. A portion of the funding will support research efforts to identify and address emerging threats to the water sector. Reduce Risks from Indoor Air (EPM and S&T) (FY 2023 ENA: $13.9 M/39.2 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $47.6 M/71.4 FTE; Change: +$33.7 M/32.2 FTE) This program works to reduce asthma disparities in low-income and/or communities of color in the U.S. by providing grants to nongovernmental organizations in public health/housing agencies to train and deploy community health workers who will deliver in-home asthma interventions and care. This increase in resources and FTE supports efforts to restore EPA's staff expertise, analysis, and capacity in the indoor air program. Funds also support efforts to address indoor air quality 133 ------- Highlights of Major Program Changes during wildfires, promote healthy school facilities in low-income communities in the U.S., and to address the international climate crisis by improving public health through the adoption of clean cookstoves. Brownfields Projects (STAG) (FY 2023 ENA: $100 M; FY 2024 PB: $131 M; Change: +$31 M) This program awards grants and provides financial and technical assistance to help tribes, states, local communities, and other stakeholders to work together to plan, inventory, assess, safely clean up, and reuse brownfields, particularly in underserved communities. A portion of this investment is designated for cooperative agreements targeted at communities affected by the retirement of coal-fired power plants. This program increase will build on current work to revitalize communities across the country by providing financial and technical assistance to assess, conduct cleanup, and plan reuse at brownfields sites. Clean Air Allowance Trading Programs (EPM and S&T) (FY 2023 ENA: $23.7 MI 66.7 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $50.5 MI 86.1 FTE; Change: +$26.8 M/19.4 FTE) This program is responsible for managing the Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET), an ambient monitoring network that has been continuously collecting data for more than 30 years. Increased resources will focus on technology updates such as replacing aging equipment, repairing monitoring shelters, deploying new equipment and sites in rural, often low-income/minority areas, and modernizing data reporting tools critical during emergencies and emerging needs. This investment also will support EPA's efforts to implement the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act. A portion of this investment also will expand EPA's ability to perform advanced power sector analyses to tackle the climate crisis, including developing environmental justice tools to consider the distributional impacts of emissions on overburdened communities. Pesticides: Protect Environment from Pesticides Risk (EPM and S&T) (FY 2023 ENA: $51 M/259.6 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $77.7 M/282.1 FTE; Change: +$26.7 M/22.5 FTE) This program screens new pesticides before they reach the market and ensures that pesticides already in commerce are safe. EPA is legally responsible for registering and re-evaluating pesticides to protect humans, plants, animals, and ecosystems that are not targets of the pesticide. In addition, the Agency has responsibilities to ensure that pesticide regulatory decisions will not destroy or adversely modify designated critical habitat or result in jeopardy to the existence of endangered species. The increase in funding and FTE is to implement Endangered Species Act (ESA) considerations into pesticide regulatory decisions and develop regulatory processes, strategies, and approaches for EPA to come into fuller compliance with ESA. Legal Advice: Environmental Program (EPM and SF) (FY 2023 ENA: $60.7 M/273.3 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $85.7 M/343.5 FTE; Change: +$25 M/70.2 FTE) This program provides legal representational services, legal counseling, and legal support for all the Agency's environmental activities. It plays a central role in all statutory and regulatory interpretation of new and existing rules, rule development under EPA's environmental authorities, providing legal advice for every petition response and emergency response and defends actions in 134 ------- Highlights of Major Program Changes court, in coordination with the Department of Justice (DOJ). This increase in resources and FTE addresses a need for increased defensive litigation work in multiple environmental statutes, including legal work in pesticides and rulemakings for climate and clean air toxics. It also strengthens staffing and attorney training for those who provide legal advice and counsel in support of multiple environmental statutes and regulations to assist EPA in its ability to broaden and accelerate cleanup and management of PFAS contamination to protect human health and ecological systems. Homeland Security: Critical Infrastructure Protection (EPM and S&T) (FY 2023 ENA: $11.8 M/26.6 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $35.2 M/57.6 FTE; Change: +$23.5 M/31 FTE) This program supports the protection of critical water infrastructure, including providing water utilities of all sizes access to information, tools, training, and protocols designed to enhance the security (including cybersecurity), preparedness, and resiliency of the water sector. This increase of resources and FTE supports the Water Sector Cybersecurity Program to enhance cyber incident preparation, response, recovery, information sharing, and intelligence for water utilities to protect infrastructure. In addition, an increase of resources and FTE will help implement regulatory actions to mitigate the risks of cyberattacks in the water sector as well as increase the Agency's ability to respond to cyber incidents. Audits, Evaluations, and Investigations (IG and SF IG Transfer) (FY 2023 ENA: $55.8 M/270 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $78.4 M/333.5 FTE; Change: +$22.5 M/63.5 FTE) This program allows the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to conduct independent audits, evaluations, special reviews, and investigations of EPA, then identify risks and make recommendations to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. This increase in resources and FTE will expand the oversight arm of audit, evaluations, investigation, and support offices within the OIG, to include administrative investigations into allegations of misconduct by senior agency employees and complaints of whistleblowers; data analytics and business intelligence tools to address high risk, high vulnerability areas of interest; creation of a standalone IT system; and audits, evaluations, and investigations of the Agency's spending under the Inflation Reduction Act. Information Security (EPM and SF) (FY 2023 ENA: $10.2 M/14.1 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $31.7 M/17.1 FTE; Change: +$21.5 M/3 FTE) The Information Security Program's mission is to protect the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of EPA's information assets. This increase supports enhancements to protect the Agency's information technology infrastructure and advance the implementation of EO 14028: Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity. This investment will increase EPA's information technology resiliency and limit vulnerabilities in the event of a malicious attack. Human Resources Management (EPM, SF and WCF Reimbursable) (FY 2023 ENA: $58.7 M/254.4 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $79.8 M/327.4 FTE; Change: +$21.2 M/73 FTE) This program supports human capital management (HCM) activities throughout EPA, including recruitment, hiring, employee development, performance management, leadership development, workforce planning, and labor union engagement. The increase of resources and FTE will support developing and implementing a new paid internship program to strengthen talent and workforce 135 ------- Highlights of Major Program Changes acquisition and focus on expanding federal work experience opportunities for underrepresented and underserved populations, support diversity, equity, and inclusion in the federal workforce, and increase support of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act. A portion of the increase will strengthen agencywide capacity to quickly increase staff levels in key offices and programs (i.e., environmental justice, climate, infrastructure programs, etc.). Tribal - Capacity Building (EPM) (FY 2023 ENA: $14.7 M/78.6 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $34.7 M/166.9 FTE; Change: +$20 M/88.3 FTE) EPA works with federally recognized tribes to implement federal environmental programs in Indian Country and strengthen human health and environmental protection in Indian Country. The increase in resources and FTE will support work to advance equitable implementation of EPA authorities and directives in Indian Country. This increase will enable EPA to work effectively with tribal governments and communities, administer tribal grants and critical technical assistance, and fulfill the federal trust responsibilities that align with the environmental statues. Support will be provided to priority commitments made in EPA and Tribal Climate Adaptation Implementation Plans and allow incorporation of indigenous knowledge into climate change efforts. International Sources of Pollution (EPM) (FY 2023 ENA: $7.3 M/33.4 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $26 M/50.9 FTE; Change: +$18.7 M/17.5 FTE) The United States works with international partners to address global sources of pollution, including greenhouse gases, as well as the impacts of pollution from the United States on other countries and the global environment. This increase in resources and FTE will support efforts for climate change work, including GHG guidance, pilot programs, and indigenous engagements on climate change. It also will enhance capacity building governance programs for priority countries with increasing GHG footprints to increase their capacity to implement partnerships as well as legislative, regulatory, and legal enforcement. Civil Rights Program (EPM) (FY 2023 ENA: $12.9 M/66.4 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $31.5 MI 143.6 FTE; Change: +$18.6 M/77.2 FTE) This program enforces federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination by recipients of federal financial assistance and protects employees and applicants for employment from discrimination. This program change increases staffing and capacity to enforce the Nation's external civil rights laws and to work toward the goal of achieving measurable environmental, public health, and quality of life improvements in the most overburdened, vulnerable, and underserved communities; supports activities including investigations into claims of discrimination by underserved communities and pre-award and post-award compliance activities. Federal Stationary Source Regulations (EPM) (FY 2023 ENA: $30.3 M/124.5 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $47.5 M/165.3 FTE; Change: +$17.1 M/40.8 FTE) The Clean Air Act (CAA) directs EPA to take actions to control air emissions of toxic, criteria, and other pollutants from stationary sources. This increase in funding and FTE will support the regulation of stationary sources of air pollution through developing and implementing emissions standards, regulations, and guidelines. 136 ------- Highlights of Major Program Changes Pollution Prevention Program (EPM) (FY 2023 ENA: $13 M/51.2 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $29 M/69.2 FTE; Change: +$16 M/l 8 FTE) This program provides technical assistance and/or training to businesses and facilities to help them adopt and implement source reduction approaches, and to increase the development, adoption, and market penetration of greener products and sustainable manufacturing practices. This increased investment supports additional analyses, tool development, training, outreach, and partnerships to promote industrial awareness of P2 approaches and benefits as well as the widespread implementation to prevent or reduce pollution. Additional funding and FTE are provided to establish a new grant program supporting small businesses with transitioning to Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) compliant practices and with mitigation of economic impacts. Public Engagement, Partnership, and Environmental Education (formerly Environmental Education, EPM) (FY 2023 ENA: $9.5 M/l 1.2 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $24 M/24.2 FTE; Change: +$14.5 M/13 FTE) This program coordinates critical stakeholder outreach across all EPA's programs and environmental education, supporting the Agency's mission and Administration priorities. This program change is an increase to establish new programs and improve the Agency's public engagement, partnership, and outreach initiatives at the regional level and across the Agency. Brownfields (EPM) (FY 2023 ENA: $26.2 Ml 129.5 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $38.6 Ml 187.5 FTE; Change: +$12.4 M/58 FTE) This program supports the revitalization of Brownfields sites by awarding grants and providing technical assistance to tribes, states, local communities, and other stakeholders to work together to plan, inventory, assess, safely clean up, and reuse brownfields. The increased funding will support EPA's Community Development Specialists in their efforts to manage land revitalization projects, provide one-on-one financial planning support, and educate tribal, rural, and EJ communities on how to address brownfields. This increase in resources and FTE will provide expanded technical assistance and build capacity in small, rural, EJ, and other historically underserved communities. Superfund: Federal Facilities (SF) (FY 2023 ENA: $26.2 M/l 13.2 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $37.4 M/l 12.7 FTE; Change: +$11.2 M/-0.5 FTE) This program oversees and provides technical assistance for the cleanup and reuse of Federal Facility National Priorities List (NPL) sites. This program supports oversight functions related to the work of the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Energy, and other federal agencies that have released PFAS (Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) into the environment. This increase will help address critical gaps in EPA's ability to oversee DoD PFAS cleanup and to restore core program capacity, including keeping pace with the Agency's oversight role at Federal Facilities NPL sites. Stratospheric Ozone: Multilateral Fund (EPM) (FY 2023 ENA: $9.2 M; FY 2024 PB: $18 M; Change: +$8.8 M) The Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol (Multilateral Fund) was created by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol to provide funds to enable developing countries to 137 ------- Highlights of Major Program Changes comply with their Montreal Protocol obligations to phase out ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). This increase will help fund additional activities associated with the adoption of the Kigali Amendment and developing country phase down of HFCs while continuing to support ODS phaseout activities. State and Local Prevention and Preparedness (EPM) (FY 2023 ENA: $15.4 M/67.1 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $23.8 M/93.1 FTE; Change: +$8.4 M/26 FTE) This program establishes a structure for federal, tribal, state, and local partners to work together with industry to protect emergency responders, local communities, facility workers, the environment, and property from chemical accident risks through accident prevention and emergency response programs, community and facility engagement, and improved safety systems. This increase in resources and FTE supports a multi-pronged approach to protect fenceline communities at risk from nearby chemical facilities, including providing increased outreach and inspections at regulated facilities to ensure facilities have measures in place to prevent chemical accidents. Categorical Grant: Lead (STAG) (FY 2023 ENA: $16.3 M; FY 2024 PB: $24.6 M; Change: +$8.3 M) This program provides support to authorized tribal and state programs that administer training and certification programs for lead professionals and renovation contractors engaged in lead-based paint abatement and renovation, repair and painting activities, as well as accreditation of training providers. This funding will increase support for EPA's tribal and state partners to run programs that develop and implement authorized lead-based paint abatement programs, authorize Renovation, Repair, and Paining programs, and lead-poisoning programs. LUST/UST (EPM and LUST) (FY 2023 ENA: $22 M/97.9 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $29.1 M/108.6 FTE; Change: +$7.1 M/10.7 FTE) This program's work helps prevent releases of petroleum through activities such as inspection and compliance assistance support. It provides states and tribes with technical assistance and guidance and directly funds projects that assist states and tribes in their program implementation. EPA is the primary implementer of the UST Program in Indian Country. The increase in resources and FTE is requested to conduct direct El 5 compliance inspections in Indian Country; to develop outreach materials and coordinate with the regulated community; as well as to support an additional 11 Superfund cleanups and five potentially responsible party-led cleanups in Indian Country. Categorical Grant: Tribal Air Quality Management (STAG) (FY 2023 ENA: $16.4 M; FY 2024 PB: $23.1 M; Change: + $6.7 M) This resource increase will help expand the efforts of tribes and tribal air quality control agencies to implement their programs and to accelerate immediate on-the-ground efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. The increase supports additional air quality monitoring capacity on tribal lands. 138 ------- Highlights of Major Program Changes Programs with Decreases (in Ascending Order) Superfund: Remedial (SF and Superfund Tax) (FY 2023 ENA: $618.7M/890.8 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $0 M/874.8 FTE; Change: -$618.7 M/-16.0 FTE) This program works to clean up and remove National Priority List (NPL) sites through remedial construction projects. Funds are prioritized for NPL sites that present the highest risk to human health and the environment. In FY 2024, the Superfund Remedial Program is proposed to be transitioned from the annual Superfund appropriated resources to Superfund tax receipts. 874.8 FTE will be funded by the tax receipts as reimbursable FTE. The U. S. Treasury forecasts collecting a total of $2.54 billion in Superfund taxes which will be available for use in FY 2024. As a result, the pace of work is not expected to be negatively impacted since both program and FTE costs could be supported by Superfund tax receipts and the increased revenue to the government. Superfund: Emergency Response Removal (SF and Superfund Tax) (FY 2023 ENA: $195 M/247.7 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $0 M/250.7 FTE; Change: -$195 M/+3 FTE) This program is the primary institution of federal emergency responses to releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants. EPA's 24-hour-a-day response capability is a critical component of the National Contingency Plan. Superfund Removal cleanups vary in complexity and contain a wide variety of contaminants including lead, mercury, and asbestos. In FY 2024, the Agency proposes to transition the Superfund Removal Program from the annual Superfund appropriation to Superfund tax receipts. 250.7 FTE will be funded by the tax receipts as reimbursable FTE. The pace of work is not expected to be negatively impacted since both response work and FTE costs will be supported by Superfund tax receipts. Superfund: Enforcement (SF and Superfund Tax) (FY 2023 ENA: $171.3 M/771.3 FTE; FY 2024 PB: $0 M/771.8 FTE; Change: -$171.3 M/0.5 FTE) This program protects communities by ensuring prompt site cleanup by maximizing the participation of potentially responsible parties in performing and paying for cleanups or using program resources if there are no liable parties. In FY 2024, the Agency proposes to transition the Superfund Enforcement Program from the annual Superfund appropriation to Superfund tax receipts. The U.S. Treasury forecasts collecting a total of $2.54 billion in Superfund taxes which will be available for use in FY 2024. 771.8 FTE will be funded by the tax receipts as reimbursable FTE. These additional government revenues will allow the Agency to advance work to enforce cleanup actions in FY 2024. Technical Assistance for Wastewater Treatment Work (STAG) (FY 2023 ENA: $27 M; FY 2024 PB: $18 M; Change: -$9 M) This program provides grants to nonprofit organizations to help rural, small, and tribal municipalities to obtain Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) financing, protect water quality and ensure Clean Water Act (CWA) compliance, and share information on planning, design, construction, and operation of wastewater systems. Other EPA grant programs and sources provide similar funding opportunities. 139 ------- 140 ------- List of Acronyms U.S Environmental Protection Agency List of Acronyms ASPECT Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology AIM American Innovation and Manufacturing ARP American Rescue Plan AWIA America's Water Infrastructure Act B&F Building and Facilities CAA Clean Air Act CAS Cross Agency Strategy CBI Confidential Business Information CBRN Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear CCR Coal Combustion Residue CDR Chemical Data Reporting Rule CERCLA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act CIRRUS Chemical Incident and Radiological Reconnaissance on Unmanned Systems CPA Certification of Pesticide Applicators CSAPR Cross-State Air Pollution Rules CWA Clean Water Act CROMERR Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Rule CWNS Clean Watershed Needs Surveys CWSRF Clean Water State Revolving Fund DEIA Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility DERA Diesel Emissions Reduction Act DHS Department of Homeland Security DOD Department of Defense DOJ Department of Justice DWINSA Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment DWSRF Drinking Water State Revolving Fund DWWIA Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act EN Environmental Information Exchange Network EJ Environmental Justice EPA Environmental Protection Agency EPAct Energy Policy Act EPCRA Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act EPM Environmental Programs and Management ESA Endangered Species Act ETEP EPA-Tribal Environmental Plans FFDCA Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act FIFRA Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act FTE Full-Time Equivalent FY Fiscal Year GAO Government Accountability Office GAP General Assistance Program GHG Greenhouse Gas GPRA Government Performance and Results Act GSA General Services Administration HFCs Hydrofluorocarbons 141 ------- List of Acronyms HPS High Priority Substance HUBZones Historically Underutilized Business Zones IAG Interagency Agreements ICIS Integrated Compliance Information System IIJA Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act IPM Integrated Pest Management IRA Inflation Reduction Act IT Information Technology JETP Just Energy Transition Partnerships LCRI Lead and Copper Rule Improvements LCRR Lead and Copper Rule Revisions LUST Leaking Underground Storage Tanks MMTC02e Million Metrics Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent MPRSA Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act MY Model Year NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NEPPS National Environmental Performance Partnership System NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System NPL National Priorities List NPS Nonpoint Source NVFEL National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory OA Office of the Administrator OCFO Office of the Chief Financial Officer OEJECR Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights OGC Office of General Counsel OIG Office of the Inspector General OMB Office of Management and Budget OMS Office of Mission Support ORD Office of Research and Development P2 Pollution Prevention PB President's Budget PCB Polychlorinated Biphenyls PFAS Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances PGII Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment PHILIS Portable High-Throughout Integrated Laboratory Identification System PIRT Pesticide Inspector Residential Program PM Particulate Matter PPG Performance Partnership Grants PREP Pesticide Regulatory Education Program PRIA Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act PRP Potentially Responsible Party PWSS Public Water System Supervision QR Quick Response code RAU Ready for Anticipated Use RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act REO Recycling Education and Outreach RMP Risk Management Plan RRP Renovation, Repair, and Painting SC Safer Choice 142 ------- List of Acronyms SDWA Safe Drinking Water Act SDWIS Safe Drinking Water Information System SES Senior Executive Service SF Superfund SNEE Southern New England Estuary SIP State Implementation Plans SIRG State Indoor Air Radon Grant SRF State Revolving Fund STAG State and Tribal Assistance Grants SWIFR Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling TMDL Total Maximum Daily Loads TRI Toxics Release Inventory TSCA Toxic Substances Control Act UCMR Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule UIC Underground Injection Control UST Underground Storage Tanks uv Ultraviolet voc Volatile Organic Compounds WIFIA Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act WIIN Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act WQS Water Quality Standards WPS Agricultural Worker Protection Standard 143 ------- ------- United States Environmental Protection Agency www.epa.gov ------- |