United States Environmental Protection Agency Fiscal Year 2025 Justification of Appropriation Estimates for the Committee on Appropriations Tab 03: Goal and Objective Overview EPA-190R24002 March 2024 www.epa.gov/cj ------- Environmental Protection Agency FY 2025 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification Table of Contents - Goal and Objective Overviews GOAL, APPROPRIATION SUMMARY 2 Budget Authority 2 Authorized Full-time Equivalents (FTE) 4 Tackle the Climate Crisis 6 Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights 13 Enforce Environmental Laws and Ensure Compliance 21 Ensure Clean and Healthy Air for All Communities 29 Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities 35 Safeguard and Revitalize Communities 41 Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment 49 l ------- GOAL, APPROPRIATION SUMMARY Budget Authority (Dollars in Thousands) Tackle the Climate Crisis Science & Technology Environmental Programs & Management State and Tribal Assistance Grants Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights Environmental Programs & Management Hazardous Substance Superfund State and Tribal Assistance Grants Enforce Environmental Laws and Ensure Compliance Science & Technology Environmental Programs & Management Inland Oil Spill Programs Hazardous Substance Superfund Leaking Underground Storage Tanks State and Tribal Assistance Grants Ensure Clean and Healthy Air for All Communities Science & Technology Environmental Programs & Management Hazardous Substance Superfund State and Tribal Assistance Grants Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities Science & Technology Environmental Programs & Management State and Tribal Assistance Grants FY 2023 Final Actuals $501,453 $212,814 $277,702 $10,937 $390,374 $264,247 $1,068 $125,060 $756,579 $21,248 $462,123 $3,095 $229,936 $669 $39,508 $755,505 $35,373 $320,032 $2,510 $397,589 $3,977,390 $20,417 $1,155,164 $2,762,574 FY 2024 Annualized CR $597,652 $199,389 $264,052 $134,211 $386,224 $264,742 $6,902 $114,580 $807,220 $23,769 $512,157 $3,824 $226,754 $741 $39,976 $812,733 $40,154 $331,719 $2,942 $437,918 $5,195,104 $7,266 $1,204,692 $3,901,660 FY 2025 President's Budget $844,603 $284,782 $429,572 $130,249 $720,750 $556,916 $8,393 $155,441 $768,785 $27,168 $656,258 $5,750 $37,729 $785 $41,096 $1,312,283 $55,650 $637,018 $4,534 $615,081 $5,135,849 $9,302 $1,332,238 $3,707,374 2 ------- FY 2025 FY 2023 Final FY 2024 President's Actuals Annualized CR Budget Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Fund $39,194 $81,486 $86,935 Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment $26 $0 $0 UIC Injection Well Permit BLM $14 $o $0 Safeguard and Revitalize Communities $1,917,534 $1,893,811 $1,616,807 Science & Technology $72,959 $69,389 $123,966 Environmental Programs & Management $284 216 $303 784 $377 048 Building and Facilities $9,097 $14,715 $13,167 Inland Oil Spill Programs $22,386 $22,774 $27,257 Hazardous Substance Superfund $1,122,808 $1,060,326 $598,220 Leaking Underground Storage Tanks $102,864 $100,843 $120,727 State and Tribal Assistance Grants $303,204 $321,980 $356,422 Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment $453,924 $455,988 $594,577 Science & Technology $10,639 $10,261 $16,845 Environmental Programs & Management $339 593 $395 554 $5^9 314 State and Tribal Assistance Grants $52 995 $49 164 $58 417 Pesticide Registration Fund $597 $q $0 Sub-Total Cancellation of Funds $8,752,759 $10,148,733 $10,993,653 $0 -$13,300 $0 TOTAL, EPA $8,752,759 $10,135,433 $10,993,653 3 ------- Environmental Protection Agency FY 2025 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification GOAL, APPROPRIATION SUMMARY Authorized Full-time Equivalents (FTE) Tackle the Climate Crisis Science & Technology Environmental Programs & Management State and Tribal Assistance Grants Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights Environmental Programs & Management Hazardous Substance Superfund State and Tribal Assistance Grants WCF-Reimbursable Enforce Environmental Laws and Ensure Compliance Science & Technology Environmental Programs & Management Inland Oil Spill Programs Hazardous Substance Superfund Leaking Underground Storage Tanks State and Tribal Assistance Grants Rereg. & Exped. Proc. Rev Fund Ensure Clean and Healthy Air for All Communities Science & Technology Environmental Programs & Management Hazardous Substance Superfund State and Tribal Assistance Grants Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities Science & Technology Environmental Programs & Management FY 2023 Final Actuals 1,137.9 469.4 660.2 8.4 706.7 596.3 4.8 105.4 0.2 2,945.9 77.0 1,945.9 11.3 883.2 3.0 24.2 1.3 1,673.6 80.7 1,355.5 12.0 225.5 2,766.3 30.8 2,064.0 FY 2024 Annualized CR 1.230.3 466.6 677.9 85.8 853.5 744.9 8.0 100.4 0.2 3.190.4 78.3 2.130.7 15.1 939.3 3.4 23.5 0.0 1,764.2 84.1 1.438.8 12.2 229.2 3.085.0 24.5 2.243.1 FY 2025 President's Budget 1,457.9 541.0 848.0 68.9 1,168.2 1.044.8 10.4 112.7 0.2 3.428.9 87.4 2,402.6 15.8 898.6 3.5 21.1 0.0 2,231.0 99.0 1,867.6 16.0 248.4 3,254.8 29.1 2,399.5 4 ------- FY 2025 FY 2023 Final FY 2024 President's Actuals Annualized CR Budget State and Tribal Assistance Grants 5^9 g 75 j 7 755 § Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Fund 45 8 55 8 59 5 Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment 4 0 0 0 0 0 UIC Injection Well Permit BLM 2 1 0 0 0 0 Safeguard and Revitalize Communities 3 224 2 3 316 9 3 631 2 Science & Technology 156 8 153 0 236.1 Environmental Programs & Management 1 014 4 1 087 4 1 298 6 Building and Facilities ^0 9 17 8 13 8 Inland Oil Spill Programs 33 7 9^5 iq5 3 Hazardous Substance Superfund 1 714 6 1 709 3 1 698 3 Leaking Underground Storage Tanks 55 4 72 4 83 4 State and Tribal Assistance Grants 154 5 157 2 169 4 Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund 10 5 15 0 13.0 WCF-Reimbursable 12 3 13 3 13 3 Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment 1,641.8 1,682.2 1,973.3 Science & Technology 27 7 28 4 31 8 Environmental Programs & Management \ 354 g | 433 7 1 771 7 State and Tribal Assistance Grants 41 2 347 346 Rereg. & Exped. Proc. Rev Fund 135 2 135 3 135 3 Pesticide Registration Fund 72 9 0 0 0 0 Sub-Total 14,096.4 15,122.6 1 7,145.4 TOTAL, EPA 14,096.4 15,122.6 17,145.4 5 ------- Environmental Protection Agency FY 2025 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification Tackle the Climate Crisis Goal 1: Tackle the Climate Crisis—Cut pollution that causes climate change and increase the adaptive capacity of Tribes, states, territories, and communities. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: • 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. • 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. • 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. GOAL, OBJECTIVE SUMMARY Budget Authority Full-time Equivalents (Dollars in Thousands) FY 2023 Final Actuals FY 2024 Annualized CR FY 2025 President's Budget FY 2025 President's Budget v. FY 2024 Annualized CR Tackle the Climate Crisis $501,453 $597,652 $844,603 $246,951 Reduce Emissions that Cause Climate Change $374,962 $470,331 $646,510 $176,179 Accelerate Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Change Impacts $59,016 $61,198 $100,498 $39,300 Advance International and Subnational Climate Efforts $67,476 $66,122 $97,595 $31,472 Total Authorized Workyears 1,137.9 1,230.3 1,457.9 227.6 6 ------- 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, environmental, 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, 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 states, tribes, territories, local governments, and 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 2025, EPA will continue to 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 significant investments represented by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IDA), and its base appropriation, which funds the core operating accounts and ongoing environmental programs of the Agency. In FY 2025 and beyond, EPA will ensure its programs, policies, rulemaking processes, 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. Furthermore, EPA will continue to engage both bilaterally and through multilateral institutions to improve international cooperation on climate change. The FY 2025 Budget includes $844.6 million and 1,457.9 FTE for Goal 1: Tackle the Climate Crisis. . 7 ------- 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 2025 Budget includes $646.5 million and 969.6 FTE for Objective 1.1, which is $176.2 million and 132.7 FTE above the FY 2024 Annualized continuing resolution (ACR). 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 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. Objective 1.1 is also directly supported by the following FY 2024-2025 Agency Priority Goal: Phase down the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). By September 30, 2025, annual U.S. consumption of HFCs will be 40 percent below the baseline of 302.5 MMTC02e consistent with the HFC phasedown schedule in the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act and codified in the implementing regulations. In FY 2025, 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 expansion of the GHG Emissions Reporting Program and Sinks Inventory. EPA regulations will cut GHG pollutants, including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and HFCs. Furthermore, in FY 2022, EPA finalized federal GHG emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks for Model Years (MY) 2023 through 2026. 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 FY 2025, EPA plans to implement new source performance standards and emission guidelines applicable to power plants and to new and existing facilities in the oil and gas sector that EPA will have finalized under Section 111. As part of this effort, EPA also will provide support for implementation of the final new source performance standards and support to states in the development of state plans to meet requirements of oil and natural gas emission guidelines and power plant emission guidelines. The Agency also will implement regulations in FY 2025 to require enhanced reporting of emissions from U.S. industrial sectors, including methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector. Under the AIM Act, EPA will continue to 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 8 ------- 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. The FY 2025 Budget includes $65.3 million and 24 FTE to implement provisions in the AIM Act to phase down the use of HFCs, to support U.S. entry to the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol, and to restore staff capacity around efforts to tackle the climate crisis. This investment includes resources to implement innovative IT solutions, such as database integration across EPA and Customs and Border Patrol to help ensure that the phasedown is not undermined by illegal imports.1 In FY 2025, EPA will begin implementing the multi-pollutant emissions standards, including for GHG emissions, for light- and medium-duty vehicles beginning with Model Year (MY) 2027 and extending through and including at least MY 2030. In FY 2025, EPA also will begin implementing a final rulemaking under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to establish new GHG emissions standards for heavy-duty engines and vehicles beginning with MY 2027. EPA will invest significant resources to address a myriad of new technical challenges to support these two sets of long-term rulemakings, which will include added light-duty vehicle and heavy-duty vehicle testing and modeling capabilities at the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory (NVFEL). Key to this technical work is to understand the cost, feasibility, and infrastructure impacts of electrifying the broad range of products in the light-duty vehicle and heavy-duty vehicle sectors. This will include vehicle demonstration projects focused on zero-emission technologies whose use are rapidly growing in the light- and heavy-duty sectors and will be important in meeting future multi-pollutant emissions standards. Additional funding is also requested for the maintenance, repair and replacement of aging test equipment and infrastructure at the NVFEL. In FY 2025, 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 the equitable distribution and thoughtful community integration of charging infrastructure, including for electric buses and delivery and rideshare vehicles. 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 2025, 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 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 across 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 also will continue to make the Climate Change Indicators website more accessible through enhanced visualization. 1 For more information on the AIM Act, please visit: https:/Avww.epa.gov/cliiiiate-lifcs-reductioii/aiiii-act. 9 ------- In FY 2025, EPA will work to complete the annual Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Emissions and Sinks,2 and to improve inventory methodologies in areas such as oil and gas, land-use, and waste, consistent with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines. EPA also will 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 2025 Budget includes $100.5 million and 242.0 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.3 • 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 550 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. The Agency also will support the development and implementation of climate adaptation strategies at the local level to advance the climate resilience of states, tribes, 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. In FY 2025, EPA will continue to encourage climate-resilient investments across the Nation through federal financial assistance agreements. 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. As a result of FY 2022 assessments, EPA initiated two high priority projects in FY 2023: a feasibility study to improve the resilience of the causeway in Gulf Breeze, FL, and a solar array feasibility study at the research facility in Narragansett, RI. In FY 2025, EPA plans to conduct 2 https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks. 3 These plans are available at: https://www.epa.gov/climate-adaptation/climate-adaptation-plan. 10 ------- climate assessments at the Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center in Cincinnati, OH, and the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, MI. In line with federal sustainability goals, 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 2025 Budget includes an additional $19.3 million and 14.5 FTE above the FY 2024 ACR level to advance the Climate Adaptation Program. In FY 2025, EPA will continue to implement the updated version of 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 most recently 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. In FY 2022, EPA assisted 110 federally recognized tribes and 242 states, territories, local governments, and communities to take action to anticipate, prepare for, adapt to, or recover from the impacts of climate change. In FY 2023, EPA also completed 177 priority actions in its Climate Adaptation Action Plan and Program and Regional Implementation Plans, exceeding the annual target of 100. Also included in the FY 2025 Budget is an additional $5 million and 3 FTE to support EPA's interagency work by increasing the number of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to help energy communities facing economic challenges from the energy transition. In FY 2025, as part of the Climate Adaptation Program, EPA will continue to 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. 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. The FY 2025 Budget includes $97.6 million and 246.3 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. ll ------- 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. 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. As of September 2023, EPA implemented 18 international climate engagements, resulting in individual partner commitments or actions as outlined in the long-term performance goal stated above. EPA's responsibilities for protection of human health and the environment require EPA to have 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 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,4 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. 4 Executive Order 14008: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on- tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/. 12 ------- Environmental Protection Agency FY 2025 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights Goal 2: Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights—Achieve tangible progress for historically overburdened and underserved 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. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: • 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. • Objective 2.2: Embed Environmental Justice and Civil Rights into EPA's 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. • 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. GOAL, OBJECTIVE SUMMARY Budget Authority Full-time Equivalents (Dollars in Thousands) FY 2023 Final Actuals FY 2024 Annualized CR FY 2025 President's Budget FY 2025 President's Budget v. FY 2024 Annualized CR Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights $390,374 $386,224 $720,750 $334,526 Promote Environmental Justice and Civil Rights at the Federal, Tribal, State and Local Levels $157,950 $152,262 $218,651 $66,389 Embed Environmental Justice and Civil Rights into EPA's Programs, Policies, and Activities $182,574 $182,242 $423,456 $241,215 Strengthen Civil Rights Enforcement in Communities with Environmental Justice Concerns $49,851 $51,720 $78,642 $26,922 Total Authorized Workyears 706.7 853.5 1,168.2 314.6 13 ------- Goal 2: Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights Achieve tangible progress for historically overburdened and underserved 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 places environmental justice (EJ), equity, and civil rights at the center of its mission and is embedding them across the Nation"s environmental protection enterprise. EPA has a responsibility to protect all American communities, including those within the contiguous and non-contiguous states and all territories and protectorates of the United States. By doing so, EP A 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 progress. EPA is centering its work on justice, which 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 FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan, EPA added "justice and equity" to the Agency's fundamental principles," as originally articulated by Administrator William Ruckelshaus. This goal aims to achieve measurable environmental, public health, and quality of life improvements in the most overburdened, vulnerable, and underserved communities while ensuring that EPA's commitment to following the law includes the civil rights laws just as fully as the environmental laws. Achieving this goal will require 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. To achieve this goal, it is critical 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 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 continue to 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 2025 Budget includes $720.7 million and 1,168.2 FTE to advance Goal 2, Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights. 5 Follow the science, follow the law, and be transparent, and the additional fourth principle: advance justice and equity. 14 ------- Objective 2.1: Promote Environmental Justice and Civil Rights at the Federal, Tribal, State, and Local Levels - Empower and build capacity of under served and overburdened communities to protect human health and the environment. The FY 2025 Budget includes $218.7 million and 354.0 FTE for Objective 2.1. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, 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. • 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. • 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. • By September 30, 2026, increase by 40 percent 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. 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 2025, 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 mitigate the effects of climate change is also part of this commitment. In FY 2025, EPA will continue to proactively 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. In FY 2023, 58 percent of the procedural safeguard elements across all of the state environmental permitting agencies had been implemented, and EPA is working to increase this number. With the public's engagement, and through partnerships and environmental education, EPA will work to improve initiatives at the regional levels and across EPA, including increased engagement with communities, Agency stakeholders, and across Justice40 programs, in support of Executive 15 ------- Order (EO) 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.6 The Budget provides an increase of $6.2 million and 2.5 FTE above the FY 2024 ACRto expand and improve the Agency's public engagement, partnership, and outreach initiatives; and support the newly established National Environmental Youth Advisory Council and Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions Advisory Council.7 Federal environmental law requires that federal environmental programs are in place across the U.S., including in Indian Country. Programs are implemented in two manners: by federally recognized tribes through EPA delegations, authorizations, or approvals of EPA authorities; and by EPA, which is known as EPA direct implementation. Approximately 95 percent of federal environmental programs in Indian Country are directly implemented by EPA with the remaining programs implemented by tribes. In FY 2025, 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. EPA also will continue to strengthen efforts to improve human 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, executing, assessing, and measuring EPA direct implementation actions in Indian Country. In FY 2023, EPA programs with direct implementation authority took 25 significant actions that will result in measurable improvements in Indian Country. In addition, in FY 2025 EPA will implement the revised EPA Consultation Policy and new Implementation Guidance to improve consultation practices in conformance with Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, and train EPA staff on the same practices. In FY 2025, EPA will continue its longstanding commitment to assist tribes in building the capacity to receive delegated, authorized, or approved programs. In those instances when tribal governments assume federal program authority, EPA supports tribal governments' inclusion of environmental justice principles into their programs, community engagement, and decision- making processes, and is committed to ensuring flexibilities in Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (GAP) funding for implementing environmental justice principles in tribal environmental programs. 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. EPA's goal is to ensure that environmental programs implemented inside Indian Country are as robust and protective as those same programs implemented outside of Indian Country. To support this work, the FY25 Budget includes a new $25.0 million grant program to focus on advancing environmental justice through direct implementation in Indian Country. With these additional resources, EPA will provide dedicated funding for a new tribal multi-disciplinary effort using Direct Implementation Tribal Cooperative Agreements (DITCAs), an authority previously established by Congress. DITCAs are a unique funding vehicle that allows EPA to fund tribes to assist EPA in implementing federal environmental programs in Indian Country. For the first time, 6 Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (January 27, 2001), found at: https://www.whitehouse.gOv/briefing-room/OTesidentM-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at- home-and-abroad/. 7 For more information, please visit: https://www.federatregister.gov/documents/2023/09/26/2023-2Q878/establishment-of- historically-black-colleges-and-universities-hbcus-and-minority-serving 16 ------- the FY 2025 Budget proposes a new program specifically dedicated to leverage EPA's authorities to expand direct implementation work and reach more tribal communities in need. 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 2025 Budget includes $423.5 million and 561.8 FTE for Objective 2.2. 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 disparities in environmental and public health conditions represented by the indicators identified through the FY 2022-2023 Agency Priority Goal. • By September 30, 2026, 80 percent 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. • 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. • 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. Objective 2.2 is directly supported by the following FY 2024 - 2025 Agency Priority Goal: Implement guidance, tools, and metrics for EPA and its tribal, state, local, and community partners to advance environmental justice and external civil rights compliance. By September 30, 2025, advance cumulative impacts practice across agency programs, finalize and deploy external civil rights guidance, and apply at least 10 indicators to drive disparity reductions in environmental and public health conditions. 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,8 EO 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,9 EO 14091, Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support 8 Executive Order 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (January 20, 2021), found at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order- advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/ 9 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/Ql/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at- home-and-abroad/. 17 ------- for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,10 and EO 14096, Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to Environmental Justice for All.11 These efforts include incorporating feedback from communities with environmental justice concerns while analyzing and addressing disproportionate impacts. The environmental laws that Congress passed are meant to apply to all Americans. EPA must not only strive to 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 laws as vigorously as it implements the environmental statutes. Most of the resources allocated for Objective 2.2 are devoted to the Environmental Justice Program with more than $323.6 million and 264.6 FTE requested in FY 2025, an increase of $215.6 million and 41.0 FTE above the FY 2024 ACR. The FY 2025 Budget proposes to invest $69.7 million and 39.3 FTE to continue to enhance its engagement with communities by building out community- centered technical assistance hubs, the Thriving Community Technical Assistance Centers (TCTACs) established in FY 2023 and ensuring that the network provides coverage across the United States. The TCTACs will be instrumental in providing dedicated EPA staff, hands-on facilitation of connecting underserved communities and their partners directly with fundamental technical assistance and capacity building EPA program resources in addition to resources available through other federal partners. EPA will ensure that all community support activities provide a stream of tools, data, and methods back to the Agency to help other EPA programs analyze the EJ implications of policy decisions and program implementation, such as through National Environmental Policy Act processes or the consideration of costs and benefits in economic analyses. In FY 2025, 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 utilize at least 10 indicators of disparity, as described in the FY 2024-2025 Agency Priority Goal, to drive policy change and track meaningful reductions on the ground for communities over time. EPA will continue to establish and implement 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 (NEJAC). 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 Tool12 to support screening and analysis of program outcomes. 10 Executive Order 14091: Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (February 22, 2023), found at: https://www.federa1register.gov/documents/2023/02/22/2023-03779/further- advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal. 11 Executive Order 14096: Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to Environmental Justice for All (April 26, 2023), found at: https://www.federa1register.gov/docunients/2023/04/26/2023-08955/revitalizing-our-iiations-commitment-to-enviromiiental- justice-for-all. 12 For more information, please visit, https://screeningtool.geop1atform.goV/en/#3/33.47/-97.5. 18 ------- In FY 2025, EPA will continue to leverage and coordinate its investments in communities and collaborate with partners and other external stakeholders to advance comprehensive and strategic community-driven approaches. EPA will continue to implement its revised meaningful involvement policy and will continue to build on the number of collaborative partnerships centered on community priorities. Such partnerships will provide a solid 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 its efforts to implement EPA-wide policies and procedures to ensure EPA programs, activities and services are meaningfully accessible to persons with limited English proficiency and to develop an EPA wide program to ensure access for persons with disabilities to EPA programs activities and services. 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 2025 Budget includes $78.6 million and 252.4 FTE for Objective 2.3. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA 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, 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 EJ program. 19 ------- EPA's Office of External Civil Rights Compliance (OECRC) 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 2025, EPA proposes to invest $32.2 million and 145.6 FTE in the external civil rights program, an increase of $17.6 million and 76.5 FTE above the FY 2024 ACR, 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 2025, EPA will take actions to address permitting decisions by EPA financial assistance recipients found to be discriminatory. Through investigations and informal resolution agreements, EPA will address discriminatory exposure to pollutants and toxins in order to advance access to clean air, water and land, and health protection. To meet the Agency's goals, 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 policy guidance to clarify recipients' civil rights obligations and improve compliance through technical assistance deliveries. In FY 2022 and FY 2023, EPA held 235 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. In FY 2025, EPA will increase the number of meaningful engagements with overburdened communities and EJ groups on civil rights and environmental justice issues. 20 ------- Environmental Protection Agency FY 2025 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification Enforce Environmental Laws and Ensure Compliance Goal 3: Enforce Environmental Laws and Ensure Compliance—Improve compliance with the nation's environmental laws and hold violators accountable. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: • Obj ective 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. • 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. GOAL, OBJECTIVE SUMMARY Budget Authority Full-time Equivalents (Dollars in Thousands) FY 2023 Final Actuals FY 2024 Annualized CR FY 2025 President's Budget FY 2025 President's Budget v. FY 2024 Annualized CR Enforce Environmental Laws and Ensure Compliance $756,579 $807,220 $768,785 -$38,435 Hold Environmental Violators and Responsible Parties Accountable $529,406 $562,125 $443,052 -$119,073 Detect Violations and Promote Compliance $227,172 $245,096 $325,733 $80,637 Total Authorized Workyears 2,945.9 3,190.4 3,428.9 238.6 21 ------- 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 at EPA is essential to ensuring that communities across the country realize the environmental and human health benefits intended by environmental statutes and regulations. EPA regulates more than 1.2 million facilities subject to a variety of environmental statutes. EPA also regulates a wide range of products, from automobiles to pesticides, to protect the public. 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. The FY 2025 Budget includes $768.8 million and 3428.9 FTE to strengthen compliance with the Nation's environmental laws and hold violators accountable under Goal 3: Enforce Environmental Laws and Ensure Compliance. FY 2025 Overview In FY 2025, EPA will collaborate with tribes, states, territories, and other federal agencies to focus federal enforcement resources on 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. EPA will continue to work cooperatively with tribes, states, territories, and other federal agencies to improve compliance with environmental laws. EPA will target increased resources on the most serious environmental violations by implementing National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (NECIs) that seek to mitigate climate change, address exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination, protect communities from coal combustion residuals, address hazardous air pollution, provide for clean and safe drinking water, and reduce the risk of deadly chemical accidents.13 EPA also will fully incorporate Environmental Justice (EJ) considerations into every NECI as EPA strives to reduce environmental harm in vulnerable and overburdened communities. The following initiatives will be part of EPA's FY 2024 - 2027 NECIs: • Mitigating Climate Change - focuses on reducing non-compliance with the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act) and the Clean Air Act (CAA) to seek to combat climate change, including the reduction of excess emissions from oil and natural gas production facilities and municipal solid waste landfills. • Addressing Exposure to PFAS - focuses on implementing the commitments to action made in EPA's 2021 - 2024 per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) Strategic Roadmap to address PFAS contamination that pose a threat to human health and the environment.14 In 2022, EPA proposed listing PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive 13 For additional information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/emforcement/national-enforcement-and-compliance-iiiitiatives. 14 For additional information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-strategic-roadmap-epas-commitments-action-2021- 2024. 22 ------- Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).15 If EPA designates PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund), this NECI would focus on implementing EPA's PFAS Strategic Roadmap and holding responsible those who significantly contribute to the release of PFAS into the environment, such as major manufacturers and users of manufactured PFAS, federal facilities that are significant sources of PFAS, and other industrial parties. If PFOA and PFOS are listed as hazardous substances, EPA does not intend to pursue entities where equitable factors do not support CERCLA responsibility, such as farmers, water utilities, airports, or local fire departments, much as EPA exercises CERCLA enforcement discretion in other areas. • Protecting Communities from Coal Ash Contamination - focuses on compliance and enforcement at coal ash facilities that are in noncompliance with the applicable law, particularly those facilities impacting vulnerable or overburdened communities. • Reducing Air Toxics in Overburdened Communities - focuses air enforcement resources on overburdened communities that are facing high levels of air pollution from Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs). • Increasing Compliance with Drinking Water Standards - focuses on ensuring safe and clean drinking water from regulated community drinking water systems. • Chemical Accident Risk Reduction - focuses on decreasing the likelihood of chemical accidents, thereby reducing risk to communities. EPA's inspection programs have faced substantial resource challenges for over a decade, leading to a loss of Agency expertise and number of inspectors, and a resulting decline in the numbers of inspections. To meet EPA's EJ goals and its mission to protect human health and the environment, EPA must continue to rebuild and strengthen its inspection program by hiring more and training new and existing inspectors. This includes providing in-person basic inspector trainings and travel funding for the following statutes: the CAA; the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA); the Clean Water Act (CWA); the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, & Rodenticide Act; and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Additionally, funding is needed to purchase health and safety equipment and inspection monitoring equipment. In FY 2025, the Agency is requesting an increase of $67.3 million and 128.3 FTE above the FY 2024 Annualized Continuing Resolution (ACR) to implement the NECIs and to continue rebuilding the inspector cadre. EPA will focus on vulnerable communities and those facing substantial burdens from environmental noncompliance. In these communities, EPA will increase inspections, prioritize enforcement cases, identify remedies with tangible benefits, and increase engagement about enforcement cases. Each of the six NECIs for the FY 2024 - 2027 cycle will target compliance monitoring in overburdened, vulnerable, and underserved communities with EJ concerns. EPA will continue to initiate enforcement actions to protect against children's health hazards, including exposure to lead paint, the presence of lead and other contaminants in drinking water and soil, and particulate air emissions with the potential to aggravate asthma. 15 For additional information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfmd/OToposed-designation-perfIuorooctanoic-acid-pfoa- and-perfluorooctanesulfonic-acid-pfos 23 ------- 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. EPA requests an additional $12.9 million and 27.5 FTE above the FY 2024 ACR to take action against the illegal importation, distribution, and use within the United States of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are chemicals with potent global warming potential, under the AIM Act.16 In FY 2025, an increase of $5.7 million and 6.5 FTE will support efforts to investigate and identify releases of PFAS to air, land, and water. This will be accomplished by actively investigating under the authorities of RCRA, TSCA, CWA, SDWA, CERCLA and CAA the yet-unknown number of processing facilities, waste disposal facilities, and federal facilities where PFAS are suspected of contaminating various environmental media. EPA will continue to investigate releases, address imminent and substantial endangerment situations, and prevent exposure to PFAS under multiple environmental statutes. EPA relies on Superfund (SF) and Environmental Programs and Management (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 such as samples from private drinking water wells near military installations with significant PFAS contamination, and (4) use administrative and judicial authorities to require sampling and other response actions. EPA also will continue implementing the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act,17 coordinated by EPA's Evidence Act officials. The Agency will expand its evidence-based compliance program through projects developed under EPA's compliance learning agenda, which systematically identifies the most important evidence the Agency needs to gather and generate advancement of 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 2025 Budget includes $443.1 million and 2,490.9 FTE for Objective 3.1. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goal in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA 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.18 16 For more information on the AIM Act, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction/background-hfcs-and-aim-act. 17 Full-text of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 may be found at: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/4174/text. 18 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 older cases through different approaches and strategies. For example, sometimes the United States government files a complaint to make progress in resolving a case; other times, it eliminates a claim in its settlement proposal or modifies its injunctive relief or penalty demand because of litigation risk or other relevant factors such as an entities inability to pay the penalty. 24 ------- 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 2025, EPA requests $259.6 million and 1,096.7 FTE, an increase of $50.5 million and 98.6 FTE above the FY 2024 ACR, 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, and pursue enforcement to deter future violations and mitigate past harm. In FY 2023, EPA reduced the number of open civil judicial cases more than 2.5 years old without a complaint filed to 50, down from 129 cases in FY 2018. EPA also will continue to strengthen environmental partnerships with tribes, states, and other federal agencies. The additional resources will improve EPA's ability to incorporate EJ 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 the Civil Enforcement Program 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 violations. These resources are needed given 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. Also included in this increase is $4.6 million and 20.0 FTE to expand EPA's role in water sector emergency response, which can include inspections to ensure compliance, enforcement efforts to compel corrective actions, or require entities (e.g., public water systems or private facilities) to distribute bottled water, filters, or testing kits to communities being impacted. This can also include EPA acting to directly distribute and/or provide bottled water, filters and testing kits on a short- term basis. As water systems continue to be adversely impacted by climate change and aging infrastructure, this investment will allow EPA to respond to the increasing number of water incidents across the Nation, many of which affect EJ communities as evident from past incidents in Flint, Michigan; Jackson, Mississippi; Benton Harbor, Michigan; and Coachella Valley, California. 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 2025, the Agency requests $76.7 million and 299.4 FTE, an increase of $6.0 million and 30.1 FTE above the FY 2024 ACR, to support the Criminal Enforcement Program in its efforts to target investigations on the most egregious environmental cases. Superfund Enforcement 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 25 ------- to recover costs if EPA expends Superfund dollars to clean up sites. This approach seeks to ensure that the Superfund Trust Fund is used at those sites that have no funding source other than government resources and have no other means of cleanup. EPA's Superfund enforcement efforts ensure that sites are cleaned up in a timely manner and result in the cleanup of more sites than would be possible using only government funds. Absent annual Superfund appropriations, EPA plans to fund its Superfund Enforcement Program using Superfund tax receipts in FY 2025. These resources will support traditional Superfund Enforcement efforts and place greater emphasis towards implementing Agency initiatives like EJ, PFAS, and lead. In addition, EPA will continue to provide expertise on key enforcement issues (e.g., financial assurance, cost recovery, insurance recovery), complete negotiations in a timely manner, provide additional training to new and experienced staff, provide greater support to regions for PRP searches and other counseling work, and provide the Department of Justice with essential funding to support cleanup efforts. Superfund Enforcement at Federal Facilities In FY 2025, Superfund Enforcement at federal facilities will continue to support responding to significant contamination from federal facilities. This includes an increase of approximately $2 million and 4.3 FTE to address PFAS releases. The program conducts PFAS sampling of private drinking water wells in communities with EJ concerns near military installations with significant PFAS contamination, both to identify drinking water with significant PFAS contamination and to evaluate historic Department of Defense sampling results where no interim remedial actions to address PFAS contamination have occurred. EPA will continue to focus its enforcement resources on the highest priority sites, particularly those that may present an imminent and substantial endangerment, have human exposure not yet under control, have an impact on overburdened or vulnerable communities with EJ concerns, or have the potential for beneficial redevelopment. EPA also will negotiate and amend, as appropriate, Federal Facility Agreements (FFAs) for federal facility sites on the National Priorities List (NPL) and continue to monitor FFAs for compliance. These actions will protect military families from harmful contamination and minimize risk to communities located near military installations. EPA will expedite cleanup and redevelopment of federal facility sites, particularly those located in communities with EJ concerns and will use dispute resolution processes and other approaches to timely resolve formal and informal cleanup disputes. EPA also will continue to seek ways to improve its engagement with other federal agencies, tribal, state, local governments, and their partners, while emphasizing protective, timely cleanups that address communities' needs. EPA will work with its federal partners to encourage greater community outreach and transparency. 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 2025 Budget includes $325.7 million and 938.1 FTE for Objective 3.2. This objective is directly supported by the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: 26 ------- • By September 30, 2026, send 75 percent of EPA inspection reports to facilities within 70 days of inspection.19 • By September 30, 2026, conduct 55 percent of annual EPA inspections at facilities that affect communities with potential environmental justice concerns.20 Compliance Monitoring The Compliance Monitoring Program supports both compliance with federal environmental laws as well as efforts to identify noncompliance. In FY 2025, EPA is requesting a total of $171.7 million and 544.6 FTE to detect violations and promote compliance with environmental laws, an increase of $57.3 million and 65.7 FTE above the FY 2024 ACR. The program and its co- regulators (federally recognized tribes, states, and territories) conduct inspections and investigations, review self-reported compliance monitoring information and other forms of offsite compliance monitoring to determine if regulated entities are complying with environmental statutes, applicable regulations, and permit conditions. A robust inspection, compliance assistance, and enforcement program is essential to advancing cleaner air, land, and water for communities across the country, including those that are vulnerable and overburdened, and for implementing Executive Order 14008 on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. Effectively focusing compliance monitoring, including inspections in overburdened and vulnerable communities with EJ 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 NECIs with input from tribes, states, and territories, EPA will focus its work on critical areas of noncompliance. In FY 2025, EPA will advance its efforts to address climate change mitigation and adaptation issues by directing inspections, compliance monitoring, and technical assistance to sources with the most potential for noncompliant emissions of greenhouse gases. In FY 2025, 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 2023, 77 percent of EPA inspection reports were sent to facilities within 70 days of inspection, exceeding the target of 75 percent. In FY 2025, EPA is requesting an increase of $2.0 million to expand software solutions for field inspectors to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of compliance inspections conducted by EPA and authorized states. This program increase will allow EPA to advance work on the Smart Tools for Field Inspectors to develop the tool for some of the smaller programs that have more of a direct impact for EJ communities such as the TSCA lead-based paint programs. These Smart Tools allow EPA to use its compliance monitoring resources more efficiently and to make inspection reports more quickly available to regulated entities and to the public in affected communities. In FY 2025, EPA is requesting an increase of $2.0 million to support the Agency's Compliance Advisor Program (previously called the Circuit Riders Program), which reduces noncompliance at small public water systems (PWSs) and small wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs) by 19 For comparison, 46 percent of inspection reports were sent within 70 days of inspection at the end of FY 2018. 20 The baseline for this measure is 27 percent based on average of FY 2017 - FY 2019. 27 ------- providing hands-on technical assistance. In FY 2023, Compliance Advisors provided support to approximately 195 small PWSs and 61 WWTFs, approximately 84 percent of which are in overburdened or vulnerable communities. 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 2025, 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 EPA'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 2025, EPA will continue the data system modernization effort to better support tribes, states, local governments, federal partners, and the public's need for information related to compliance with and enforcement of environmental regulations with modernized technology. The Agency will implement EPA's enterprise-wide digital strategy that leverages shared Information Technology (IT) services where appropriate. For example, EPA is requesting an increase of approximately $1 million and 5.0 FTE to modernize the Agency's enforcement and compliance assurance data systems. The Agency will continue using funds provided under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that are targeted for improving enforcement information technology, inspection software, and other related purposes. Modernization will facilitate EPA's efforts to better track and 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 CAA Stationary Sources, 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. Categorical Grants: Pesticides Enforcement In FY 2025, EPA is requesting a total of $25.6 million funding cooperative agreements to support tribal and state 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, tribal, state, and territory partners; and help address EJ concerns in overburdened and vulnerable communities. Categorical Grants: Toxic Substances Compliance In FY 2025, EPA is requesting a total of $6.9 million, or $1.9 million above FY 2024 ACR levels, to increase support for 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. 28 ------- Environmental Protection Agency FY 2025 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification Ensure Clean and Healthy Air for All Communities Goal 4: Ensure Clean and Healthy Air for All Communities—Protect human health and the environment from the harmful effects of air pollution. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: • 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. • 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. GOAL, OBJECTIVE SUMMARY Budget Authority Full-time Equivalents (Dollars in Thousands) FY 2023 Final Actuals FY 2024 Annualized CR FY 2025 President's Budget FY 2025 President's Budget v. FY 2024 Annualized CR Ensure Clean and Healthy Air for All Communities $755,505 $812,733 $1,312,283 $499,550 Improve Air Quality and Reduce Localized Pollution and Health Impacts $655,316 $707,803 $1,151,363 $443,560 Reduce Exposure to Radiation and Improve Indoor Air $100,189 $104,929 $160,919 $55,990 Total Authorized Workyears 1,673.6 1,764.2 2,231.0 466.8 29 ------- 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. Ensuring clean and healthy air is critical to protect 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. The United States has successfully reduced air pollution while continuing strong economic growth. Between 1970 and 2022, the combined emissions of six key pollutants dropped by 78 percent, while the U. S. economy remained strong - growing 304 percent over the same period.21 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 2025, 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 2025 Budget, EPA is requesting additional resources 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, and regulatory and technical assistance programs, that promote environmental stewardship, public education, and programs that encourage adoption of cost- effective technologies and practices. Recognizing 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 2025 Budget, $1,312 billion and 2,231 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 2025 Budget includes $1,151 billion and 1,856.1 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 percent from the 2019 baseline of 390,354 tons. 21 For additional information, please visit: fattps: IIgispub. epa. gov/air/trendsreport/202 3/#lionie 30 ------- • 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 percent. • 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) NAAQS. • By September 30, 2026, ensure U.S. consumption of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) is less than 76.2 tons per year of ozone depletion potential.22 In FY 2025, EPA will continue to 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 2025, $269.4 million and 1,079.7 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 $110.4 million and 200.4 FTE above the FY 2024 ACR. 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. EPA will continue to review the NAAQS and make revisions, as appropriate based on the most current research findings on the health effects and changing conditions from a warming climate. The President has directed EPA to review the 2020 Particulate Matter (PM) NAAQS and the 2020 Ozone NAAQS.23 EPA strengthened the PM2.5 annual standard on February 7, 2024.24 EPA is also under a consent decree to issue a proposed rulemaking for the secondary NAAQS for sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter by April 9, 2024, and to finalize the decision by December 10, 2024. In FY 2025, EPA will advance the review of the 2020 Ozone NAAQS and will continue its review of the lead NAAQS. EPA anticipates reviewing the primary nitrogen oxides NAAQS under a consent decree schedule. Further, the Agency will continue its 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 also 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. 22 The U.S. HCFC consumption baseline is 15,240 ODP-weighted metric tons effective as of January 1,1996. 23 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/. 24 For more information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-02/pm-naaqs-fiiial-fm-pre- publication.pdf. 31 ------- In FY 2025, 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. The Power Sector Programs Progress Report provides annual updates on EPA's regulatory programs to reduce emissions in the power sector.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. In 2025, 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, is targeted to be less than 76.2 tons per year of ozone depletion potential, down from the target from 2015-2019 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. Per 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. EPA will continue to review and list alternatives that are safer for the ozone layer, as well as facilitate the transition to next- generation technologies. EPA also will work to address the especially challenging air quality issues created by wildfires. In FY 2025, EPA will continue to advance efforts to identify, predict, and communicate where smoke events are occurring, especially for overburdened and underserved communities impacted by wildfire issues. This includes a request of $7 million for the Wildfire Smoke Preparedness Grants Program to fund competitive grants 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 through systems, such as AirNow, the Air Quality System, and the National Emissions Inventory. In keeping with the Agency's renewed commitment to energy equity and environmental justice, EPA published the Power Plants and Neighboring Communities web application26 where consumers and advocates can find information about the demographics of communities located near power plants. EPA is developing analytical tools to better understand and communicate the impact of electricity generation on low- 25 For additional information, please visit: fattps: //www3. epa. go v/airmarket s/progress/reports/ 26 For more information, please visit: https://www.epa.gOv/TOwer-sector/TOwer-plants-and-neighboriiig-comiiiunities#mapping 32 ------- income communities and communities of color. 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. 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 2025 Budget includes $160.9 million and 374.9 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. Millions of 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 were heightened during the COVID pandemic, when people 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 2025 Budget includes $5.3 million and 12.4 FTE for the Indoor Air Radon Program and $47.8 million and 71.4 FTE for the Reduce 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 FY 2023, the estimated number of lung cancer deaths prevented annually by reducing radon exposure was 1,970. 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 mechanisms.27 In addition, EPA will reduce asthma disparities for low-income people and communities of color by supporting public health and 27 For more information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/asthma/coordinated-federal-action-plan-reduce-racial-and-ethiiic- a sthma-di spari ties. 33 ------- housing organizations to train community health workers to deliver in-home asthma interventions and care. In FY 2025, EPA will measure 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 2025, 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 plays a critical role in responding to radiological emergencies, conducts essential national and regional radiological response planning and training, and develops response plans for radiological incidents or accidents. In FY 2025, 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 requests $535 thousand and 3.1 FTE above the FY 2024 ACR, to 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 $1.8 million and 3.4 FTE in the FY 2025 Budget to support 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. 34 ------- Environmental Protection Agency FY 2025 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities 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. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: • 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. • 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. GOAL, OBJECTIVE SUMMARY Budget Authority Full-time Equivalents (Dollars in Thousands) FY 2023 Final Actuals FY 2024 Annualized CR FY 2025 President's Budget FY 2025 President's Budget v. FY 2024 Annualized CR Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities $3,977,390 $5,195,104 $5,135,849 -$59,255 Ensure Safe Drinking Water and Reliable Water Infrastructure $2,491,007 $3,642,922 $3,435,556 -$207,366 Protect and Restore Waterbodies and Watersheds $1,486,383 $1,552,182 $1,700,293 $148,111 Total Authorized Workyears 2,766.3 3,085.0 3,254.8 169.8 35 ------- 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 an essential resource for the protection of human health and is a foundation for supporting healthy communities and a thriving economy. EPA and its partners have made great progress over the past 50 years protecting and restoring water resources through the Clean Water Act (CWA), Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), and Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA). As of September 2023, approximately 87 percent of the public water systems (i.e., 3,042 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, the United States still faces significant barriers and challenges to ensuring access to clean and safe water for communities, including 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 2025, EPA will continue to work with its federal, tribal, 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 2025 Budget includes $5,136 billion and 3,254.8 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. Goal 5, Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities is directly supported by the following FY 2024-2025 Agency Priority Goal: • Reduce harmful lead exposure in drinking water through the replacement of lead service lines in communities. By September 30, 2025, increase the number of lead service line replacements funded to 500,000.28 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 2025 Budget includes $3,436 billion and 1,351.0 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: 28 Based on available data, EPA estimates that on average 73,000 lead service lines have been funded annually. The number of lead service line replacements funded is tracked quarterly, but the two-year goal is to increase that number to 300%. 36 ------- • 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 500.29 • 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).30 • 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.31 • 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 top 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 2025, EPA will work to address these challenges through approximately $2.78 billion in water infrastructure spending. This includes $1.24 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Program, $1,126 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Program, and $80 million for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Program. Also included is $334 million for grant programs authorized or modified in the America's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA), the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, and the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act (DWWIA). Among these resources, $101 million is dedicated to two grant programs for reducing lead in drinking water and lead testing in schools. As of September 2023, EPA reduced the overall number of community water systems still in noncompliance with health-based standards since March 2021, to 466, while the number of systems still in noncompliance in Indian Country was similarly reduced to 54. Both measures have exceeded their long-term performance goals of 500 and 70 respectively, by 2026. As of December 2023, EPA has issued 120 WIFIA loans to communities across the country totaling over $19 billion in credit assistance to help finance more than $43 billion for water infrastructure projects. In FY 2025, 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. In FY 2023, these programs leveraged over $11.4 billion of non-federal funds. EPA's goal is to leverage an additional $9.5 billion in FY 2025. 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 29 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. 30 EPA will ensure a focus on climate resiliency and equity by revising loan guidelines, program guidance, and providing technical assistance. 31 In 2022, the Indian Health Service (IHS) started tracking this data in a different way, and EPA will no longer be able to report on this-measure. EPA is exploring an alternative measure which would also use IHS data. 37 ------- pathways. In FY 2023, the Agency provided technical, managerial, or financial assistance to over 2,100 tribal, small, rural, or underserved communities, resulting in EPA exceeding the long-term performance goal of providing assistance to 2,203 communities by 2026. In addition, working collaboratively with the tribal and state partners, EPA's SRF programs will continue to make progress toward the Justice40 initiative, which aims to ensure that federal agencies deliver at least 40 percent of overall benefits of relevant federal investments to overburdened and underserved communities. To aid in that effort, the EPA is providing water technical assistance to help communities build their capacity and address compliance challenges. In FY 2025, EPA requests $150.9 million and 554.5 FTE to support Drinking Water Programs to better protect communities, especially overburdened and underserved communities. This includes efforts to finalize and implement the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI)32 regulation, which aims to strengthen the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) issued in 2021 to replace lead service lines more proactively and more equitably protect public health. In addition to publishing Guidance for Developing and Maintaining a Service Line Inventory33 in FY 2022, EPA also released Developing and Maintaining a Service Line Inventory: Small Entity Compliance Guide34 in June 2023. These guidance documents provide 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. 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 2025, 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 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 2023, nearly 4,000 drinking water and wastewater systems and water sector partners received training and technical assistance. EPA also is requesting $30 million and 30.0 FTE to prepare for water emergencies in a new program project proposed in the Budget. These resources will enable EPA to respond to water emergencies where water quality poses a risk to public health, and the water system and/or primacy agency may not be able to ensure the community has access to safe drinking water in a timely or effective manner. EPA may be expected to serve as the lead federal agency (LFA) when communities lack safe and clean water due to unpredictable events such as extreme weather, lead contamination, and cyber attacks. Additionally, these resources will set up a fund that EPA will use to assist drinking water or wastewater system in an emergency that poses a risk to public health. 32 For additional information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/gromd-water-and-drinking-water/proposed-1ead-and-copper- rule-improvements. 33 For additional information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022- 08/Inventory%20Gui dance August%202022_508%20compliant.pdf. 34 For additional information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023- 06/Final%20Small%20System%20Entity%20Inventory%2 0Guide_508.pdf. 38 ------- This new program and proposed appropriations language provides the program with important expanded authorities to close gaps and protect communities experiencing water crises. 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 2025 Budget includes $1.7 billion and 1,903.9 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: • 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.35 Since FY 2022, a total of 27,632 square miles of watershed with surface water has met standards that previously did not meet standards. 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 2025, 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 2025, 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 2025, EPA plans to finalize a rulemaking to establish more protective nutrient limits on wastewater discharges from meat and poultry product facilities. The Agency also plans to propose and take comment on effluent limitation guideline rulemakings to establish PFAS limits for organic chemical manufacturing, metal finishing/electroplating, and landfills industrial point source categories. An additional $42.8 million and 22 FTE above FY 2024 ACR levels is requested to advance EPA's PFAS Strategic Roadmap,36 which will allow EPA to accelerate its efforts to develop various methods and tools to support tribes, states, and localities in managing PFAS risks, particularly in small and underserved communities. The Agency will continue implementing rules related to improving CWA protections on tribal reservations and 35 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. 36 The PFAS Strategic Roadmap may be found at: https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-strategic-roadmap-epas-commitments-action- 2021-2024. 39 ------- considering tribal treaty rights when acting on state Water Quality Standards (WQS) that impact those rights. 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 2025, EPA requests $509.5 million for ongoing categorical grants that support tribal and state implementation of the CWA. This request includes an increase of $51.7 million above the FY 2024 ACR budget for the Section 106 Grants Program, which includes funding 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 as well as increases the amount available for tribes. This also includes a $7.3 million increase for the Wetlands Program Development Categorical Grant for a total of $22 million which will be targeted towards helping states implement programs to protect wetlands that have lost federal protection following the Sackett Supreme Court decision. EPA plays a critical 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 2025, EPA will invest $682 million and 175.4 FTE in Geographic Programs, slightly above the FY 2024 ACR levels, to maintain, restore, and improve water quality for communities to enjoy and to bolster important regional economies. In FY 2025, 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. 40 ------- Environmental Protection Agency FY 2025 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification Safeguard and Revitalize Communities Goal 6: Safeguard and Revitalize Communities—Restore land to safe and productive uses to improve communities and protect public health. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: • 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. • 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. • 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. GOAL, OBJECTIVE SUMMARY Budget Authority Full-time Equivalents (Dollars in Thousands) FY 2023 Final Actuals FY 2024 Annualized CR FY 2025 President's Budget FY 2025 President's Budget v. FY 2024 Annualized CR Safeguard and Revitalize Communities $1,917,534 $1,893,811 $1,616,807 -$277,004 Clean Up and Restore Land for Productive Uses and Healthy Communities $1,399,774 $1,364,307 $927,304 -$437,003 Reduce Waste and Prevent Environmental Contamination $301,250 $312,317 $355,061 $42,744 Prepare for and Respond to Environmental Emergencies $216,510 $217,187 $334,443 $117,255 Total Authorized Workyears 3,224.2 3,316.9 3,631.2 314.3 41 ------- 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 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,3'1 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 beneficial ways, including for new 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. 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 2025, EPA requests a total of $1,617 billion and 3,631.2 FTEto support Goal 6, Safeguard and Revitalize Communities. Discretionary appropriated funding is not included for certain Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) programs that are funded entirely through Superfund tax receipts. 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 2025 Budget includes $927.3 million and 2,175.0 FTE for Objective 6.1.38 This objective directly supports the following long-term performance goals in the FY 2022 - 2026EPA Strategic Plan: 37 Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (January 27, 2001), found at: https://www.whitehouse.gOv/briefing-room/OTesidentM-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at- home-and-abroad/. 38 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. 42 ------- • 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. • 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 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Superfund cleanups address these problems and also contribute to reducing lead exposure, a particular health risk for children. 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.39 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 remedial 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 2025, the Budget proposes to transition funding to a combination of appropriations and Superfund tax receipts for a number of core Superfund programs including critical Superfund pre- construction work such as site characterization, remedial design, community outreach/engagement, and construction work at sites on the NPL, through the implementation of remedial efforts to clean up the sites. EPA expects to fully allocate Superfund remedial funds available for site work received through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), to implement CERCLA by no later than the end of FY 2024. Appropriated funds and Superfund tax receipts will be used 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. In FY 2023, the Agency added 13 Superfund sites with human exposures under control but retracted 16 sites, resulting in a net three sites retracted. Nationwide, EPA will aim to control human exposures at 12 additional Superfund sites in FY 2025 in support of the 2022 - 2026 long- term performance goal. 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 2023, EPA completed 49 Superfund cleanup projects that addressed lead as a contaminant. 39 Heather Klemick, Henry Mason, and Karen Sullivan. 2020. "Superfund Cleanups and Children's Lead Exposure," Journal of Environmental Management, 100. doi: 10.1016/i..ieaii..2019.102289.. 43 ------- In FY 2025, 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.40 These resources also will help EPA and Navajo Nation to accelerate response actions laid out in the 2020 Ten-Year Plan: Federal Actions to Address Impacts of Uranium Contamination on the Navajo Nation,41 Additionally, in FY 2025, EPA requests an increase of $11.5 million above the FY 2024 ACR level to the Superfund Federal Facilities Program to help address critical gaps in its ability to oversee Department of Defense PFAS cleanup under CERCLA and to adjust core program capacity, including keeping pace with the Agency's oversight role at federal facility NPL sites. EPA anticipates additional engagement on non-NPL federal facilities in 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.42 The FY 2025 Budget includes $42.1 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 2023, EPA approved 117 RCRA corrective action facilities as ready for anticipated use (RAU), bringing the total number of RCRA RAU facilities to 2,043. In FY 2025, EPA will make an additional 70 sites ready for anticipated use, supporting the FY 2022 - 2026 long-term performance goal of making 425 sites RAU. Under the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) program, the Budget includes $79.8 million and 46.8 FTE for states and tribes to assess and clean up petroleum contamination, including in groundwater.43 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. In FY 2023, the Agency completed 6,597 cleanups at LUST facilities that met risk- based standards for human exposure and groundwater migration. Through the cooperative efforts between EPA and states, the backlog was reduced by approximately 44 percent between fiscal 40 For more information, please refer to: https://www.epa.gov/emergency-response/national-oil-and-hazardous-substances- pollution-contingency-plan-ncp-overview. 41 The Ten-Year Plan may be found at: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-02/documents/nnaum-ten-year-plan-2021- 01. .pelf. 42 For more information, please refer to: https://www.epa.gov/hw/redevelopiiieiit-ecoiioiiiics-rcra-coiTective-actioii-facilities. 43 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/waler/archive/web/hlml/2000report_index.hlml'). 44 ------- years 2008 and 2023 (from 102,798 to 57,437).44 Funding also will support 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 2025, funding for EPA's Brownfields program 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. The FY 2025 Budget includes an additional $10.6 million and 58.0 FTE for community development specialists to manage land revitalization projects, provide one-on-one financial planning support, and educate tribal communities, rural communities and communities with environmental justice concerns on how to address brownfields sites. The FTE request is designed to meet current program demands and strengthen EPA's ability to engage directly with the communities who need support the most. Prior to the IIJA funding, approximately 80 people managed more than 1,100 open cooperative agreements across the country. It is estimated that the program will have approximately 2,700 open cooperative agreements to manage by FY 2027. The additional FTE resources will enable EPA to sustain and responsibly manage the unprecedented infrastructure investments in the Brownfields program. In FY 2023, EPA leveraged 17,441 jobs and $3.76 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funds and made 736 additional brownfields sites RAU through the Brownfields program. Activities undertaken in FY 2025 will leverage approximately 12,135 jobs and $2.3 billion in other funding sources.45 In FY 2025, 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 2025 Budget includes 355.1 million and 728.6 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 percent from the FY 2021 baseline of 72.7 percent. 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 44 For additional information, please see EPA website: 1ntp://www.epa.aov/usl/usl-perfoniiarK;e-measures. 45 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. 45 ------- 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 2025 target of 117 permit renewals at hazardous waste facilities supporting the FY 2022 - 2026 long-term performance goal. Through June 2023, EPA and its state partners had updated RCRA permits at 73.7 percent of facilities that required renewals and are on track to achieve the FY 2026 goal of 80 percent, based on current planning. The FY 2025 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. 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 implement the federal permitting program. The FY 2025 Budget requests an additional $4.6 million and 20.5 FTE above FY 2024 to provide sufficient staffing levels to implement the federal CCR permitting program. EPA will continue to work with states that wish to establish state CCR permit programs that meet EPA's baseline requirements. In FY 2025, EPA requests an additional $4.2 million and 25 FTE for the RCRA Waste Minimization and Recycling program to manage grants under the new Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling grant program. This investment will focus on efforts to strengthen the U. S. recycling system by investing in solid waste management infrastructure and consumer education and outreach, address the global issue of plastic waste, engage communities, and prevent and reduce food loss and waste. 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.46 Recycling is an important part of a circular economy, which refers to a system 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. To protect groundwater from releases of petroleum from underground storage tanks (UST), EPA works closely with its tribal and state partners on prevention. FY 2025 resources include $42.8 million and 61.8 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. This request includes an additional $889,000 in grant funding to support fenceline communities by increasing state inspections that will focus on ensuring UST systems are compatible with E15. Due to the increased emphasis on inspections and release prevention requirements, the number of confirmed releases decreased from 6,847 in FY 2014 to 4,354 reported releases in FY 2023. 46 For additional information, please refer to: https://www.epa.gov/recyclingstrategy/what-circular- economv#:—: text=EPA's%20circular%20economy%20for%20alUiealthy%20communities%20are%20the%20goals. 46 ------- 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 2025 Budget includes $334.4 million and 727.6 FTE to support Objective 6.3. This objective directly supports the following long-term performance goal in the FY2022 - 2026 EPA Strategic Plan: • By September 30, 2026, ensure that 40 percent 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. EPA will continue to chair the U.S. National Response Team47 and co-chair the 13 Regional Response Teams, which serve as multi-agency coordination groups supporting emergency responders when convened as incident specific teams. In FY 2025, EPA requests an additional $22.1 million and 1.8 FTE to modernize the Chemical Incident and Radiological Reconnaissance on Unmanned Systems (CIRRUS) program and to overhaul the aging Portable High-Throughput Integrated Identification System (PHILIS) capability. These resources also support the development of rapid, mobile analytical capabilities for biological agents. EPA will participate in the development of limited, scenario-specific exercises and regional drills designed to assess national emergency response management capabilities, including response to biological incidents. 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, EPA exceeded this goal during FY 2022 and FY 2023. Unless resources are reduced or diverted, for example toward responding to multiple large-scale disasters, EPA expects to meet this goal each year through FY 2026. a In FY 2025, EPA will continue to 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. To this end, the FY 2025 Budget requests an additional $7.5 million and 26 FTE above the FY 2024 ACRto support a multi- 47 For additional information, please refer to: fattps://www.nil.org/. 47 ------- 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. There are approximately 11,600 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.48 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 2025, EPA will continue to 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. 48 Located in the EPA RMP database. 48 ------- Environmental Protection Agency FY 2025 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment Goal 7: Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment—Increase the safety of chemicals and pesticides and prevent pollution at the source. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: • Objective 7.1: Ensure Chemical and Pesticide Safety—Protect the health of families, communities, and ecosystems from the risks posed by chemicals and pesticides. • 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. GOAL, OBJECTIVE SUMMARY Budget Authority Full-time Equivalents (Dollars in Thousands) FY 2023 Final Actuals FY 2024 Annualized CR FY 2025 President's Budget FY 2025 President's Budget v. FY 2024 Annualized CR Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment $453,924 $455,988 $594,577 $138,588 Ensure Chemical and Pesticide Safety $368,990 $368,436 $482,698 $114,261 Promote Pollution Prevention $84,933 $87,552 $111,879 $24,327 Total Authorized Workyears 1,641.8 1,682.2 1,973.3 291.2 49 ------- 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 2025 Budget includes $594.6 million and 1,973.3 FTE for Goal 7: Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment. In FY 2025, EPA's activities under this goal 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 2025 Budget includes $482.7 million and 1,693.5 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 percent 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. • By September 30, 2026, recertify before the expiration date 36 percent of lead-based paint Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) firms whose certifications are scheduled to expire compared to the FY 2021 baseline of 32 percent. • By September 30, 2026, complete pesticide registration review for 78 cases. 50 ------- • By September 30, 2026, consider the effects determinations or protections of federally threatened and endangered species for new active ingredients in 90 percent of the risk assessments supporting pesticide registration decisions compared to the FY 2020 baseline of 50 percent. • By September 30, 2026, consider the effects determinations or protections of federally threatened and endangered species in 50 percent of the risk assessments supporting pesticide registration review decisions compared to the FY 2020 baseline of 27 percent. • 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.49 EPA's new chemicals program serves as a "gatekeeper" role to help manage potential risk to human health and the environment from chemicals new to the marketplace. Any chemical that is not on the TSCA Inventory is considered a "new" chemical substance. TSCA section 5 requires that any person planning to manufacture or import a new chemical substance submit notice to EPA prior to commencing that activity. EPA is required to assess the potential risks to human health and the environment of the chemical, make an affirmative determination, and where potential risks are identified, EPA must take action to mitigate those risks before the chemical can enter commerce. In FY 2025, EPA expects to conduct risk assessments and make affirmative determinations on risks for more than 500 new chemical notice and exemption submissions annually. Under TSCA Section 6,50 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 to human health and the environment. In FY 2025, EPA continues developing draft and final risk evaluations for High Priority Substances (HPS) and expects to promulgate risk management actions in response to unreasonable human health and environmental risks identified in those risk evaluations. In FY 2024 - 2025, EPA anticipates issuing draft and final risk evaluations for Asbestos Part 2, a flame retardant (TCEP), formaldehyde, and three chlorinated solvents (1,1-DCA, 1,2-DCA, and TDCE). In addition, EPA anticipates finalizing the 1,4-Dioxane Risk Evaluation Supplement. EPA will expeditiously move into the management of any unreasonable risks identified in the evaluations and expects to initiate up to seven proposed risk management actions for chemicals with risk evaluations anticipated to be proposed or finalized in FY 2024. Additionally, EPA expects to have finalized risk management actions for nine of EPA's first 10 existing chemical risk evaluations actions in FY 2025 and will engage in implementation activities associated with these final actions, including development of compliance guides and outreach to impacted entities. The FY 2025 Budget includes $131.9 million and 451.8 FTE for the EPM TSCA 49 Actions under TSCA Section 5 may be found at: https://www.epa.gov/reviewing-new-chemicals-under-toxic-substances- coiitrol-act-tsca/actioiis-under-tsca-sectioii-5. 50 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. 51 ------- Program, an increase of $49.1 million and 112.5 FTE above the FY 2024 ACR. Increased funding for the TSCA Program is needed in FY 2025 to advance implementation of the law's requirements. The 2016 amendments to TSCA brought about a dramatic increase in EPA's workload and significantly changed the way EPA implemented the New Chemicals Program. Under the prior law, EPA issued formal written unreasonable risk determinations for about 20 percent of new chemical submissions. Under the amended law, EPA is required to issue determinations for 100 percent of new chemical submissions (a five-fold increase). Despite these significant new responsibilities, the Program's budget stayed essentially flat for the first six years of the new law. As noted in a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), since the 2016 amendments, EPA has missed most deadlines for reviewing new and existing chemicals under TSCA due in part to workforce planning gaps, staff shortages and, and insufficient resources.51 While the Program received additional funding in FY 2023, the full request of $131.9 million in FY 2025 will allow EPA to continue making progress toward implementing TSCA in the manner envisioned by Congress. 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 vulnerabilities of certain communities.52-53 With $14.6 million and 62.9 FTE included in the FY 2025 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. In July 2023, EPA announced a proposal to strengthen requirements for the removal of lead-based paint hazards in pre-1978 buildings and childcare facilities, known as abatement activities, to better protect children and communities from the harmful effects of exposure to dust generated from lead paint, advancing President Biden's whole-of-government approach to protecting families and children from lead exposure." If finalized, the proposed rule would strengthen EPA's regulations under section 402 of the TSCA by revising the dust-lead hazard standards (DLHS), which identify hazardous lead in dust on floors and window sills, and the dust-lead clearance levels (DLCL), the amount of lead that can remain in dust on floors, window sills and window troughs after lead removal activities. If finalized, the rule is estimated to reduce the lead exposures of approximately 250,000 to 500,000 children under age six per year. Assuming the rule is finalized, EPA will be in the process of implementing it in FY 2025. 51 For more information, please visit: https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-105728.pdf. 52 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 percent. See. America's Children and the Environment (EPA, 2019), found at: https://www.epa.gov/americaschildrenenviromnent. 53 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. 54 See https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-proposes-strengthen-lead-paint-standards-protect-against. 52 ------- Pesticide Programs In FY 2025, consistent with statutory responsibilities,555657 EPA will continue to review and register new pesticides and new uses for existing pesticides, and other covered applications under the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) and its reauthorizations. 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 2025, 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)58 and the Certification of Pesticide Applicators (CPA)59 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 2023 and FY 2024, the Agency revised the WPS Application Exclusion Zone provisions. In FY 2025, 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. For example, in FY 2023, 15,155 farmworkers received EPA-supported WPS pesticide safety training. Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),60 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 Services. Meeting this responsibility 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 full compliance with the ESA across the numerous types of actions it completes annually as well as developing several pilot projects to more efficiently comply with the ESA, given that the current process for each 55 Summary of Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act: https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-federal- insecticide-fungicide-and-rodenticide-act. 56 Summary of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act: https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-federal-food-drug- and-cosmetic-act. 57 Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2018 (PRIA 4): https://www.epa.gov/pria-fees. 58 Agricultural Worker Protection Standard: https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-worker-safety/agricultural-worker-protection- standard-wps. 59 Revised Certification Standards for Pesticide Applicators: https: //www, epa. go v/pesticide-~worker-safety /revised-certification- standards-pesticide-applicators. 60 For additional information on the Endangered Species Protection Program, see: https://www.epa.gov/endangered- species/about-endangered-species-protection-program. 53 ------- pesticide active ingredient can span 4-12 years.61 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 2022 litigation commitments regarding ESA determinations and implementations of biologic opinions from the Services). The increase EPA received in the FY 2023 enacted budget serves as initial funding to help EPA meet these specific workplan commitments. In November 2022, EPA released a workplan update that announced FIFRA interim ecological mitigations for non-target and ESA listed species that EPA has begun to incorporate into registration review. The update also announced other initiatives to make even faster progress on some of our ESA goals.62 EPA also released two draft initiatives for public comment in 2023 to make further progress on addressing ESA protections. In June 2023, EPA released a draft pilot that identified 27 listed species that are particularly vulnerable to pesticide exposures and a proposed strategy to reduce impacts to them. In July 2023, EPA released for public comment a draft strategy to more efficiently address ESA obligations for herbicides, referred to as the herbicide strategy. EPA started with a strategy for herbicides over other types of pesticides because of the large number of listed plant species and the high importance of herbicides to agriculture. Addressing ESA for these pesticides will increase certainty and predictability of their availability. Similar strategies are planned for other classes of pesticides, such as insecticides, after EPA completes the herbicide strategy. In FY 2025, EPA expects to implement the ESA strategies that it has finalized, including by updating its IT systems needed to implement those strategies. EPA also expects to continue to address its ESA obligations for the registration of all new conventional active ingredient pesticides as well as meet its court deadlines under various settlement agreements. EPA also intends to continue developing a strategy to further ESA protections for insecticides in FY 2025 and to issue a strategy to further ESA protections for rodenticides in FY 2025. The FY 2025 Budget requests $76 million and 221.6 FTE for the EPM Pesticide: Protect the Environment from Pesticide Risk Program, which includes an increase of $26.8 million and 20 FTE to support ESA compliance work. In FY 2025, 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 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service and USDA. 61 For additional information, see: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-04/balancing-wildlife-protection-and- responsible-pesticide-use fiiiat.pdf". 62 For additional information, see: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-l 1Vesa-woitolan-update.pdf". 54 ------- 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 2025 Budget includes $111.9 million and 279.9 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. Pollution Prevention EPA's implementation of the Pollution Prevention (P2) Program under the Pollution Prevention Act of 199063 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 19.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gases between 2011 and 2021.64 In FY 2025, 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 2025, EPA will continue to focus on carrying out sector-focused P2 National Emphasis Areas65 and enabling the replication and leveraging of business successes supported by the $5 million P2 grants awarded annually. 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 2025, EPA plans to complete the process of updating and strengthening the standards of the Safer Choice (SC) Program,66 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 63 Summary of the Pollution Prevention Act: https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-pollution-prevention-act. 64 For additional information, see: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2021-07/p2flier_2021_0.pdf. 65 P2 National Emphasis Areas may be found at: https://www.epa.gov/p2/p2-national-emphasis-areas-neas. 66 For additional information on Safer Choice, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice. 55 ------- 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.67 At the end of FY 2023, 1,788 products were Safer Choice certified and about 1,000 ingredients were on the SCIL. The FY 2025 Budget includes $29.2 million and 69.2 FTE to support the P2 Program in the EPM appropriation, an increase of $16.2 million and 18 FTE above the FY 2024 ACR. 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 2025, 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 makes TRI data available to the public each year. EPA encourages communities, industry, and other stakeholders to access the data through any one of the TRI Program's state-of- the-art tools and analyze the data to: evaluate improvements in environmental performance, leverage pollution prevention information, identify communities that may be disproportionately exposed to toxics emissions, and identify opportunities for improvement.68 With the FY 2025 request of $14.1 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 2025, 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. 67 The Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL) may be found at: https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/safer-iiigredients. 68 For additional information, please visit the TRI for Communities webpage: https://www.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri- program/tri-for-communities. 56 ------- |